Hypnotic Spiti

I first came across the name 'Spiti' on Facebook. It was a description of Mudh village. While I was going through the article, what caught my attention was the unavailability of mobile network and ATM. Something is beyond civilization over there!

I asked one of my ' Born Wanderer' friends whether he wish to go to Spiti and all of a sudden I discovered I have been added in a WhatsApp group named 'Spiti. Again'. Now there are few fellows who apparently planned the trip in 2017 but it didn't happen, somehow. So the story of the journey starts unfolding, here onwards.

I asked one of my long time friends from the school group to join me and she agreed. We planned the itinerary, fixed the car for the trip along with the driver. We booked all our stays at different  places by paying some nominal advances. The car costed us 30 k INR for 8 days. It was a Toyota Innova. We left for Delhi on 22nd June 2018. There was a sweet couple who joined us at Delhi and the excitement started.
We reached Shimla from Delhi on 24th June 2018, early morning. We took the car soon after. Our driver Gopal ji greeted us and the ride started. We headed for Kalpa from Shimla. The sweet and crisp morning mountain air embraced us and we felt it. Little did we know what lies ahead! That a trip in Spiti valley would be remembered for a lifetime.

The next day we went to Tabo from Kalpa. We stayed at Tab Exotica, Kalpa. There was a slender fresh spring water stream running just adjacent to our hotel. In the morning I and my old friend strayed downhill, in front of our hotel and enjoyed the beauty of the thick pine forest in front of us. Kinnar Kailash range was just in front of us at Kalpa.

We packed our rucksacks and left for Tabo. Tabo is unforgettable. The moon at night was magical and straight out of fantasy. We stayed at Siddharth Guest House. The view from the room was simply superb with orchards in the close proximity. There was a river nearby which was gushing down with a lot of force and anger. We crossed a helipad and climbed down a little to reach the river. Apart from the sound of the gushing water there was nothing else. We came to the helipad at night as well, under full moon. It was something else! The quietness was soul stirring.

Day 3, and we headed towards Mudh village, Spiti. When the road towards Spiti starts, a never seen before rustic texture comes into the picture. It's a different side of The Himalayas. We reached Mudh almost in the evening and the sky was overcast. Mudh is a remote village in Spiti and there is no mobile network. The structure and the feel of the guest houses or home stays depicts the aura of Mudh, pretty well. We had a wonderful dinner at night. We stayed at TARA home stay and had food at TARA Cafe which was outside the stay. It was drizzling at night. And the chill in the air was palpable. There was a group of trekkers we met at TARA Cafe who were about to begin their journey through Kunzum pass. We met another group who were from Mumbai and one of them was wandering around Spiti since last 21 days with different set of persons. They were reaching at different places and used to spot book their stays. There were a handful of Israelis, as well at TARA. We finished our dinner and came back at our stay.

We headed towards Kibber and stayed at Norling Homestay. While reaching Kibber the rugged mountain was already making us hypnotized! We trekked Dhankar Lake and it took away half of the day. It was such a feel that makes one believe that there is a world outside the world within our cities. Mesmerizing would be an understatement. We were enchanted, captivated, charmed and enthralled. Adjectives are going to fall short, if one tries to portray Spiti just for the sake of portraying Spiti! It's an experience. The moon was splendid at night. It was 2018 FIFA WC going on and we watched a match at night sitting in the big Tibetan styled dining hall. I was in good spirit with the help of one particular sort of spirit!

Day no 5. We went to Nomad Cottage, Losar. The beauty of Losar is like the beauty of the poem 'Solitary Reaper' by William Wordsworth. It's a Serene and quiet valley between the mountains. We had Momo at lunch and it was quite an authentic one. The local village kids welcomed us in their regional one worded greeting while we were passing the valley. There is a beautiful river which flows at Losar. The width is small but the force is noticeable. It was amazing to sit by that river with your friends and enjoy the time. Arnab aka Kittu flowed one paper boat into the stream of water and it sailed away without any hesitation, like a young horse galloping forward without a blinker. Our only groupfie of the entire trip was taken at Losar, only! Arpan and his wife Srabani sitting side by side.

Day 6, Chandratal Lake!

We started our journey towards Chandratal. The road was treacherous as was the tongue of our driver, Shri Gopal ji! In a funny way.

We reached Parasol camp around 12. The tents were pretty good. The trek towards Chandratal started almost an hour later. While climbing the uphill, we strayed towards an unmarked trail and suddenly found ourselves completely isolated in a valley. It was heavenly. There were marshlands in between. Three of us clicked some photos and rested ourselves.

We started again following the marked trail and almost after three hours got the first glimpse of magic! Chandratal it was. The transparent, turquoise blue colored water body resting in front of us, for eternity. It was a sight to behold. It will be remembered for times to come. Etched in memory, forever. There is a folklore which surrounds this beautiful lake. It was beautiful Chandra who met her beloved Bhaga here. Such is the beauty and tranquility of this area. The placid waters of the lake, changing colors with the passage of time and clouds. We started to circumfere the lake. Walked around it's pebbled shores and sat down to take time lapse through our cameras. There was no sound. Not even a bird, chirping. The poise was infectious. We started our down hill journey and the light was diming. Lastly me and my friend once again climbed up the terrain in search of the marked trail. Some fellow travelers joined us and together we got down bearing the strong chilly wind. Our other friends did reach the camps, by that time. Entered the camp and wore gloves. It was a chilling and mesmerizing experience.

After returning from the trip we all were subdued in our emotions, I guess so. Perhaps that is why they call "The Himalayas". The mountains have seen and withstood the test of time, for millions of years and will do for the millions to come.