chandratal

vimalkatiyar

Hi Snowrider,
We are planning to start on 5th Septmeber from Chandigarh on 5th September. And plan the following. Please advise if its going to be ok. Or We should add or delete some locations. What would be the temperatures during this period ?
5th Chandigarh - Narkanda
6th Narkanda - Sangla
7th Sangla-Chitkul- Kalpa
8th Kalpa - Tabo
9th Tabo - Kungri - Dhankar- Kaza
10th Kaza- Kyi - Kibber - Losar
11th Losar - Chandrataal - Manali

trooooon

Dear Vimal,

march i doubt it . . . there would be too much snow and the chances of getting stuck in a bad weather would be high!
i did it in early june reached spiti via the pin parvati pass took a cab till kunzum top, and walked from the pass . . . there was a lot of very soft snow and it took us almost two days to reach the lake from the pass, from there it was an easy 4 day walk to baralachala . . .
your itenary sounds tight, do you plan to drive yourself?
september will be cold, and there's the off chance of snow in lahaul . . . having said that its a good time to go
squeeaing sangla valley into such a tight schedule may not be advisable, spend the extra day in the spiti valley
kalpa - tabo is a long day's driving
dhankar lake is worth checking out
komic monastery above kaza is too . . . located on a surreal high altitude plateau

cheers
tj

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vimalkatiyar

Hi TJ,

Thanks for your response. No I wont be driving myself. Plannig to take a Innova. There is no time constraint. So I can make the trip a little flexible. What would you advice ? If I skip Sangla, then where do you advice that extra night/ day to be spent ? I mean where in Spiti Valley ?

Regards

trooooon

if there is no time constraint then go to sangla its beautiful . . . the pin and lingti valleys in spiti are also worth exploring, as are the few places mentioned in the previous post.

vimalkatiyar

Is there any permit required from any of the DM's office for travel along the Shimla - Kaza - Manali route ? I was reading some travelogue where it is mentioned that a permit is required for travelling beyond Recong Peo !!

trooooon

nothing at all . . . just indian citizenship . . . which no one asks you to prove anyway . . . however if you want to cross parang la you will need an inner line . . . if you want some good advice, get to kazaa and walk to komic, then on to daimul and down to dhankar, its a beautiful 3 day trek which requires no tents or stove . . . otherwise you could go down the pin valley in the car to mudh that's pretty desolate and spectacular too and the road goes all the way to choch den enroute bhaba and pin parvati passes . . . :-)

OccasionalTraveller

Troooon, is the road from Mudh to bhaba pass motorable road or is it a trek route? Is this the new road thats being laid to connect Kinnaur and Spiti that bypasses Malling? thx

trooooon

no no . . . that's via nako . . . and its open. the bhaba pass is a trek . . . at least from the pin side, its only till chochden (12km from mudh) . . .

Mirage

Friends,
I am interested to go to chandratal but i have no company. I would like to take the 15Km route from Kulzum la. My question is

Is it ok to walk along the root alone?
What precautions must i take and what danger I might face if any?
And is it that near the lake I can get a tented accommodation? I do not have any experience in setting up a tent or a camp. if not, then can I come back walking the same day?

Secondly I hear that the tented dhaba (Budha Dorjee's) at Batal is good enough. So I would like to stay there. Any advices on this?

Finally I would like to go in second week of August. Is that time fine to go?
Regards
Mohit

modykiran

As far trekking is concerned i will not be able to say a word on it but Budha Dorjee is a fantastic guy. You will have no problem either eating or stay for a night or two. Food is also very good.

modykiran

Is motorable from Baralacha La to Chandratal?

trooooon

far from motorable, its like a veritable high altitude sanctuary, lets hope they never make a road there . . . i even saw snow leopard pugmarks :-)

Mirage,
the trek from kunzumla to chandratal is a solid one day walk and there is nothing on the way. as you start climbing from 4500m some degree of acclamitisation is essential . . . we encountered very mushy conditions and soft snow, and having started after lunch, we were forced to camp atop the peak. unless you have some experience, or are very adventurous i would suggest you drive to chandratal. we would have driven too, but the road was closed when we did it, and there was nothing at chandratal either, but i am to believe there would be a dhaba till september

Mirage

@trooooon

I sit possible to get some shared cab (sumo etc) from Kulzum la or batal etc to the lake itself?

BTW thanks for the tips

@modykiran
This is morale boosting!!

smakkar

I don't think there are shared taxis running to the lake... you'll have to hire one..!!

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modykiran

There is nothing available at Batal. Only one Dhaba, i dont know if any other has come up. It would really be difficult to get a shared taxi to
chandratal. If u can trek from Batal, distance is abt 15+kms one way.