The trip to Spiti was organized by Tripver. I had taken the Explorer option since that was fitting well with my dates. Plus we would be completing the whole circuit of Spiti starting from Shimla and ending in Manali. Spiti has two major entry routes. One from Shimla side via Kinnaur district and the other from Manali side via Rohtang La and Kunzum La. So our itinerary looked like this.
- Day 1 – Overnight bus to Shimla from Delhi
- Day 2 – Shift to a tempo traveler (TT) and reach Narkanda. Explore Hatu Peak
- Day 3 – Narkanda to Kalpa
- Day 4 – Kalpa to Kaza via Nako and Tabo
- Day 5 – Explore Kaza, Key Gompa, Komic, Langza, Hikkim
- Day 6 – Kaza to Chandratal. Camping in Chandratal.
- Day 7 – Chandratal to Manali
- Day 8 – Explore Old Manali and leave for Delhi overnight.
- Day 9 – Reach Delhi by morning
But again mother nature had some other plans for us.
Rains batter Himachal Pradesh: Manali cut off, 378 roads closed
This happened in the week we were supposed to leave. Non-stop rains and snow had wrecked havoc in Himachal. Manali – Leh road was shut indefinitely. Once the rains stopped, the magnitude of the disaster started to unfold. Rohtang and Kunzum La were buried under heavy snow. Tents in Chandratal were literally submerged in snow. Lots of vehicles, people and local residents were stuck. Army and Airforce had to be called in to rescue them. Since we were planning to return via Kunzum La during 1st week of October, we hoped that by that time the road would open up. But we were wrong. When we reached Kaza, we came to know that Chandratal was still inaccessible and the route to Manali was still not open for tourists. So we had to come up with an alternative. Tripver came up with this modified itinerary.
- Till Day 5 – Everything same
- Day 6 – Kaza to Chitkul
- Day 7 – Explore Chitkul village and shift to tents for overnight camping
- Day 8 – Chitkul to Shimla and leave for Delhi overnight
- Day 9 – Reach Delhi by morning
And going to Chitkul was indeed worth the effort! Chitkul is the often called the last inhabited village of India towards Tibet. It is situated on the banks of Baspa river. We also got a chance to stay in swiss style tents near the river bank. More about that in the upcoming posts 🙂
So let the journey begin ! Will post in the same day by day format since there is a lot to share. I hope it does justice to the trip 🙂
I have also written in a two part format. Do check that also.
Vishal's blog 
I’ve been to Spiti too! Just loved it. So you couldn’t go to Chandrataal it looks like. I hope you get to do it sometime as that was one the best places I have ever seen. Do read my Chandrataal experience when you can. I have also written several posts on my Spiti experience
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Yes, we couldn’t go to Chandratal due to unseasonal heavy rain and snow. Roads were blocked for more than a week. I am definitely going back to Spiti and will surely cover Chandrataal 🙂
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