Now, you would know that there are two types of people in this world. The first category that runs to the beach to wash away the monotony of their lives and the second category, which likes to breathe in the fresh mountain air to feel alive.
As a person who is in love with the sea and the sheer beauty of a wonderful beach, mountains are my less favored place of vacation. But being from Delhi and being a backpacker with budget and time constrains, mountains are more often than not the more feasible option.
While the country was reveling in the monsoon, I had a week to spare with my heart ablaze with wanderlust.
I checked out a few locations nearby but the rain had left no place untouched when I came across the mountain desert of Spiti. The colorful Gompa’s in contrast to its moonscape had me instantly falling in love.
I grabbed my backpack and headed on a week of adventure with three of my friends to Spiti!
About: The beautiful desert mountain valley of Spiti is located in the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh and lies high in the Himalayas. It is cut off from the Kullu Valley by the Rohtang Pass while Lahaul and Spiti are cut off from each other by the Kunzum Pass. As it is cut off from the rest of the country for most of tne year due to harsh weather conditions, May to October is the best time to visit the valley.
My Journey:
Day 1: We took an evening bus from New Delhi that dropped us the next morning in Manali.
Day 2: Reached Manali by 8AM and after a quick breakfast, headed to Chandrataal by cab stopping by the village of Chhatru for a quick lunch. We reached our camps by 5pm and ran over to the lake for a quick evening view.The Chandrataal Lake is situated a bit off route from Rohtang to Spiti. It owes its name to the crescent shape and is at a very high altitude. Since we were here on the first day of our journey and didn’t have much time to acclimatise, we went on a course of Diamox to prevent AMS.
Day 3: We trekked up to the lake to witness it’s beauty in the morning and then headed to Kaza. We stayed here at Zostel and after our long back breaking journey, retired to bed early.
Day 4: Refreshed from the proper sleep we had, we headed to explore Key Monastery and the quaint little village of Kibber for the day. Key Monastery is the largest monastery in Spiti with a large number of students. You can also choose to stay at the monastery if you wish.
Day 5: We headed fro our hostel in Kaza to Dhankar and then to Tabo where we’d be spending the night. As our first stop, we explored the beautiful Dhankar village and headed up to the Dhankar Monastery. Words can’t describe the peace we felt in the walls of the monastery. We then trekked up to the Dhankar Lake which took us an hour while locals take less than half an hour to reach the lake!
We then headed to Tabo and oh my, I have to say it was my favourite stop from the trip! The highlight of this beautiful village is the oldest monastery in Spiti valley. The Tabo Monastery was established in 996. We spent the night with a local homestay and it has definitely been one our most memorable nights.
Day 6: We left early for Pin Valley to visit Kungri Monastery and the breathtaking little village of Mudh. We trekked up to a visible glacier and then headed back to our base in Kaza which was a rather long journey.
Day 7: It was our time to head back to Manali from where we would catch our bus back to Delhi. On our way back to Manali, we tried to take in the landscape of the dry mountain desert as much as we could before we once again found ourselves in the heavy Delhi rains.
This one week has been one of the best weeks of my life! In the span of a week, one can only begin to cover the tremendous beauty of the valley which can be explored at length only by spending a few months here. I’ll therefore be heading back soon to the valley to see what more beautiful experiences it has to offer!