If you are an awesome group of five friends and plan a budget travel to Spiti in Himachal Pradesh
next all you are going to need is this- 19k each and loads of fitness and health.
Here is how we did it.
Route- Mumbai—Delhi—Manali—Rohtang Pass--- Chandratal— Kaza--- Kibber --- Lhangza--- Komic--- Pin Valley---Dhankar---Tabo---Nako—Sangla---Chitkul----Shimla—Delhi---Mumbai
Duration- 10 days
Budget- 19,000 per person
Grand budget- Rs95,000 for five people (For convenience we pooled in all the money together)
Day One
Choose a flight from Mumbai which helps you reach Delhi airport around 1-2 pm. Buses from Delhi to Manali leave post 5pm and from the ISBT-Kashmiri Gate which is roughly an hour from the Delhi airport is medium traffic scenario. Websites like redbus.in and general bus inquiries will help you find various Delhi-Manali bus services starting as cheap as Rs800 per ticket. Volvo buses operating between Delhi and Manali can also be booked in advance online through HDRTC website, suggest you book in advance as they are fast filing. The HDRTC buses are slightly expensive at about Rs1300 per ticket.
Book your air tickets two-three months in advance. We managed a Mumbai-Delhi flight for under 3k per person.
Total Bus travel budget- Rs4000 (Rs800 per person)
Total flight budget- Rs.14500 (Rs.2900 per person, all taxes inclusive)
Discount tip- Book using airline apps, or travel portal apps
Airport taxi fare- Rs800
Day Two
The buses reach Manali early morning between 5am and 6 am. Be ready to lug your baggage around and do some early bird bargaining. We managed to find two rooms to accommodate five people on spot booking basis at RR Villa, close to Mall Road.
Total Manali stay budget—Rs.1800 for five people for two rooms
Bargain tip- Some hotels may insist Rs500 extra as early check-in charges, DO NOT AGREE
Spend the remaining part of the day exploring Manali’s markets. If you have not chosen a travel agency earlier for a car for your Manali-Spiti-Shimla stretch, you will find many local car operators at the Manali market.
Visit three to four operator offices, until you find the best deal.
Car budget- Rs25900 for a Tavera to accommodate five people
Car tip- Choose a Tavera over an Innova if given a choice, as it's more comfortable.
Driver tip- Ask for an experienced driver, insist on an adventurous driver, Spiti roads are dangerously beautiful.
Day three
Leave from Manali for Chandratal lake, via Rohtang Pass. This drive will take you anything between four to six hours depending on how many U-turns your driver took and how bad the roads were.
At the base of Chandratal Lake you will find many tents where you can camp for the night. We chose a camp named Moonlake Camps. These tents had proper beds, cheaper tents may require you to sleep on a thin sheet of plastic. The camp had common washrooms which were good in condition.
Camping budget- Rs5000 (Dinner and Breakfast inclusive for five people)
Day Four
Leave from Chandratal Lake towards Kaza. This drive again can take you anything between four to ix hours or longer. We left in the morning and reached somewhere in the afternoon. Don your bargaining hats on again and look for cheap stays. We chose to stay at Mahabaudha homestay close to Snow Lion restaurant. Homestay which has good old charm décor and common washrooms. The place seems to be a favourite with foreigners.
Stay budget- Rs900 for two rooms to accommodate five people
Day Five
Leave from Kaza to Kee Monastery, followed by two beautiful villages- Kibber, Lhangza and Komic. End the day with a long and beautiful drive to Pin Valley. We reached Pin Valley post 9 pm, but still managed to find accommodation at Tara Guest House, which is a homestay run by some beautiful human beings. Highly recommended.
Stay budget – Rs 850 for two rooms for five people
Day Six
Leave from Pin Valley towards Dhankar Monastery and later proceed for Tabo. We chose to spend the night at Maitriya Guest House in Tabo. Alternately, you call also stay at the Tabo Monastery for single rooms as cheap as Rs200 per room and common washrooms.
Stay Budget- Rs 800 for two rooms for five people
Day Seven
Leave from Tabo for Nako and from Nako proceed to Kalpa. We planned to spend the night at Kalpa to catch the sun rays falling on Kailash Kinnaur in the morning. As we reached late in the night we chose to stay at Shankar Homestay. Suggest you try reaching early and check out more hotels, which could be cheaper and give you a better view.
Stay budget- Rs1000 for five people for two spacious rooms
Day Eight
Leave from Kalpa towards Sangla and later Chitkul. Our night and final halt for the trip was at Chitkul. Chitkul offers you a wide range of stay options starting from Rs400 to Rs1000 per room. Use your discretion and let your purse strings decide. We chose to splurge as it was our final stay. We spent the night at Hotel Chhitkul Heights. Avoid staying at Sangla or be careful choosing your stay at Sangla as some of thier hotels may have uninvited visitors like wild lizards in the plenty.
Stay Budget- Rs2000 for two rooms for five people
Day Nine
Leave from Kalpa towards Shimla and then board a bus from Shimla to Delhi. We had booked our seats in advance on HDRTC website for a Volvo service which leaves at around 9 pm from Shimla ISBT bus stand.
Bus travel budget- Rs 4380 for five people
Day ten
The bus services reach Delhi latest 7am and the distance between the ISBT Kashmiri gate bus stand and Delhi airport in the early morning traffic hours is less than hour. Choose a Delhi-Mumbai flight accordingly with enough buffer time to factor in bus delays. There are taxi operators who ply between the bus stand and airport for a pre-decided charge. We paid Rs600 for five people, not sure if this could have been cheaper, do cross-check with your Delhi friends.
Having booked in advance, our flight tickets for Delhi-Mumbai cost us about Rs2600 all inclusive.
Airport taxi fare- Rs 600
Flight cost- Rs13000
Flight tip- You can always choose a few hours later flight if it is cheaper and spend some time at the Delhi airport. Every penny counts.
Flight tip 2- Do not binge much at the Delhi airport, will add up to the budget.
((Food bills vary from person to person and choice of food. We managed our total ten day food bills in less than Rs 15,000)
TOTAL FLIGHT COST-Rs27500
TOTAL CAR COST- Rs.25900
TOTAL BUS TRAVEL- Rs.8380
TOTAL STAY COST—Rs. 12350
TOTAL FOOD BILL- Rs.15000
TOTAL AIRPORT TAXI COST- Rs1400
GRAND TOTAL--- Rs 90530/-
Grand Total tip—You can plan your Spiti trip for less than 15k by opting for Train travel between Mumbai-Delhi which will cost you around Rs1500 for an AC coach one way.
Hope this helps you budget your travel better. If you have been to Spiti earlier and at a lower budget, would love to hear from you.
If you plan to go to Spiti,
watch out this space for more from our travel adventures soon.
Check out Spiti photographs here https://goo.gl/23KONr