We came across Kalpa while heading to Spiti Valley in winters last year. My friends and I stopped by this town to take a halt for a night. We were about to leave for Spiti Valley the next day. Just a few kilometers before Kalpa, there is a place just below the Kalpa village, called Reckong Peo.
It's located in the lower section of the mountains. We stayed in a hotel near the bus station to spend a night but it started snowing heavily in the night and until we woke up in the morning, Kalpa was already under a white sheet. And in winters it means roadblocks.
So the road for Spiti Valley was shut off due to the heavy snowfall and that's when Kalpa expanded our trip. Kalpa is often a gateway town for those heading to Spiti, but it’s worth staying a few days to breathe in the relaxed vibe of this vintage Himalayan village.
Though we stayed down in Kinnaur but due to the roadblock, we decided to seek the surroundings of Kinnaur and Kalpa was the nearest village. We went straight to Kalpa without giving it a second opinion. It was snowed everywhere so the roads were slippery, we took the village route instead and we walked all the way up to Kalpa for the sunset.
Trust me it came to be the best walk of our lives. We met a few locals who offered us lunch and filled our bags with some apples. As we were walking we were looked after by some adorable dogs in Kalpa. That feeling of walking in the snow for so long was exceptional. We felt every moment of it.
The views were amazing from anywhere we stood. We had to go a long way up for the sunset, we wanted to go further but the storm stopped us from venturing further. We were happy with what we received because of the roadblock. It made us believe the certainly that unplanned trips are always better.
