April 2008 - Need help planning Kinnaur, Spiti tour

shaleen

hi all. i am waiting to get the details of the tour from nayan. he must be relaxing.have a nice time to u all

Dilliwala

:

Quote:

....the later is easily treated.

Only if said butter tea is not required for ritual immolation!

Dilliwala

Cross-posted - just answered your previous post.

shaleen

thanks. i will follow your advice. its a real nice group.i am really happy and lucky to get you all.i am taking my wife ,my kid of 5 months with me.i am already been to
banglore-mysore-ooty-munnar-kumarakam-kovalam in january
jaipur-udaipur-mount abu-march
chandigarh-shimla-naldehra-march.

but the dream remains lahaul spiti & leh ladakh. i am planning to take tata safari for those dream tour. keep in touch..
give more inputs before 20th whatever you all feel like. waiting.

uttam

People with addiction to Dhauladhar, Pir-Panjal, Great Himalayan and Trans- Himalayan etc Ranges start having symptoms of LAS from Shivaliks itself while traveling back to plains. .
So one gets LAS even before hitting the plains.
As Vistet puts it LAS is chronic, guys take necessary precautions (if you can!!)before venturing into these Mountains!!

shaleen

i am planning-

20-(12 midnight)- Start----reach 21st- 6 am chandigarh have breakfast then to sarahan.Night stay at sarahan.(546 km)

22- sarahan-rampur-wangtu-sangla-kinnaur(rekong peo/kalpa). Night stay at kinnaur.(262KM).

23-kinnaur-khab-tabo-kaza night stay at kaza.(178 km).

24-KAZA to SANGLA (348 km )

25-SANGLA to narkanda (198 km )

26 narkanda-shimla-chandigarh-delhi. (433 km )

--->>>can it be possible to shorten the duration by one day and reach delhi by 25th night or 26th early morning ???

--->>>will it be possible & can be covered as planned .

nayan

hi Shaleen,
your plan looks workable.....though it will be a bit hurried. you will be spending more than 7-8 hours in the car everyday
I want to mention just 2 points -
1. when I was in Kaza and tabo none of the private guest houses were open. We stayed in the PWD guest house in Tabo for 2 nights. It has OK rooms, quilts, geyser, indian style bathrooms. Its OK for adults but i donot know about such a small baby. but may be by that time all guest houses will open.
2. for kinnaur definitely stay in kalpa.

shaleen

Thanks Nayan.
How Was Yo Tour . I M Eager To Know The Experience..

1.how Is The Road Now
2.can I Go In My Santro.i Have Been To Dharamshala , Delhousie, Joshimath-auli,mount Abu, Manali Through Shimla Jalori Pass& Was Comfortable In These.
3.u Said Its Ok But Not Sure For The Kid??? Is It Because Of The Cold/low Oxygen/accomodation/ ???.
She Was With Me On Our Trip To Mount Abu, Ooty-munnar,mukteshwar In January-apr.
4. I Drive For> 12 Hours Always & Have Driven 27 Hours At A Stretch With Break For Just Lunch & Tea.so I Think Duration Of Driving 7-8 Hours A Day Wont Be A Problem.

Keep In Touch.

nayan

1.how Is The Road Now
road overall is ok. but as and when more ice will melt it will be more difficult. we experienced a days delay in kalpa because of road blockage near akpa and 5 hours dealay in malling nala due to land slide. other than that road was ok. some places had loose rocks on the road but our hired tavera managed that without any mishap other than a tire puncture near Sumdo.

2.can I Go In My Santro.i Have Been To Dharamshala , Delhousie, Joshimath-auli,mount Abu, Manali Through Shimla Jalori Pass& Was Comfortable In These.
cant really comment. didnot see any santros on these route. saw SUVs and a lot of Altos(all locals). the route conditions cannot be compared to any other places in India other than ladakh. If you feel very confident then try. but remember that there are long streches of the route without any sign of human habitation.

3.u Said Its Ok But Not Sure For The Kid??? Is It Because Of The Cold/low Oxygen/accomodation/ ???.
She Was With Me On Our Trip To Mount Abu, Ooty-munnar,mukteshwar In January-apr.
see my reply to 2. the places in spiti and upper kinnaur have a very isolated feel. It depends on your level of comfort with adventure. In an emergency (suppose car gets stranded in middle of now where), a small baby may have less reserves of strength than an adult.
4. I Drive For> 12 Hours Always & Have Driven 27 Hours At A Stretch With Break For Just Lunch & Tea.so I Think Duration Of Driving 7-8 Hours A Day Wont Be A Problem.
Depends on your comfort level. Road conditions are unique and extremely high level of concentration is required for driving.

Dilliwala

20th - Completely crazy schedule. Are you super-human? Hill-driving is NOT plains-driving! If you don't have more time available, drop some places from the schedule, but DON"T DRIVE AT NIGHT!!!

22nd - Kinnaur is a district! Sangla, R/Pio and Kalpa are all in it. Go to Sangla OR Pio/Kalpa, not both.

23rd - One night in Kaza? Not worth it.

24th - Too long

26th - Too long, I don't care what anyone else says.

And you want to SHORTEN the trip further?!! I think I have to go and lie down, suddenly I'm feeling very weak!

And all this with a baby of 5 MONTHS??!! I do NOT think this is a good idea!! You can expect adequate facilities NOWHERE except Shimla if something goes seriously wrong, and I don't even want to think of the effects of lack of acclimatisation on a baby. BTW, your present schedule doesn't allow for it. If vistet or AvidTrekker were around you'd probably get an earful.
Be advised, unless you have contacts very high up in the GOI, there will be no helicopter evacuation possible from Kaza, e.g.

If you must go with this schedule, then leave the baby at home if that's at all possible. Otherwise, you shud completely forget Spiti, then you can shorten the trip by a day too if you like. Still I don't know if it's a good idea with the baby, even if it's a very tough baby. Travelling since 2 months old? Phew!

Quote:

Is It Because Of The Cold/low Oxygen/accomodation/ ???.

All.


P.S. Ooty, Munnar and Mukteshwar are like a stroll in the park compared to driving in Kinnaur and Spiti, specially since you haven't been before.
And Mount Abu doesn't count.

Sorry if this seems harsh, but I think you need to do a lot more planning and preparation before taking the baby along.

shaleen

thanks for the advice.......what if i plan my tour for five days till sangla only . till wat point it will be safe n feasible for going with the kid .

Dilliwala

I wud say Pio. At least, being district HQ, there are some sort of medical facilities available. You cud base yourself there and do day trips to Kalpa and Sangla/Chhitkul. You cud spend a few hours in Sarahan on the way there or back.

shaleen

thanks ...

shaleen

20-(12 midnight)- Start from delhi----reach 21st- 9 am shimla (370 km ).
21-shimla to sarahan--(170km)- i think will cover 11am -5 pm.(6 hrs)-average speed 30 km/hr.night stay at sarahan .

22- sarahan-rampur-wangtu-sangla-kinnaur(rekong peo/kalpa). Night stay at kinnaur.(262KM).=starting at 9 am -reaching 6 pm. (30 km /hr )

23-kinnaur-khab-tabo-kaza-tabo night stay at TABO .(227 km )-starting at 9 and reach by 5pm (less than 30 km/ hr -average speed). NIGHT STAY AT TABO.

24-Tabo to SANGLA (299 km )- 10 hrs-8 am -6 pm (30 km/ hr -average speed).NIGHT STAY AT SANGLA

25-SANGLA to SHIMLA (261 km )-starting 10 am - reaching 7 pm (9hrs)-(30 km/ hr -average speed)


26-shimla-chandigarh-delhi. (370 km )-9 hours-starting 11 am -reaching by 8 pm .


....YA I KNOW I HAVENT CONSIDERED THE TIME FOR STUCKING IN LAND SLIDE/ROADCLOSED/BAD WHEATHER/TYRE PUNCTURE ETC..

I AM JUST PLANNING. YOU ARE ALL EXPERIENCED .IS IT FEASIBLE ??...


NIGHT STAY AT--SARAHAN,KINNAUR,TABO,SANGLA,SH IMLA..

DO WE GET ACCOMODATION AT THESE PLACES IF REACH AT EVENING TIME.


HOW YOU DO IT NAYAN ?

shaleen

i will follow your advice dilliwala if i will take the baby and will shorten the tour to sarahan-sangla-r.peo or just to sangla or sarahan depending on the conditions.