Help with itenary - kinnaur and L&S

rock'er

Hello all,

We are a group of 3 students planning a trip to Himachal. Our itenary is like this.

June 23 - Mumbai - Chandigarh (Train)
June 24 - Chandigarh - Simla
June 25 - Simla - Sarahan
June 26 - Sarahan
June 27 - Sarahan - Kalpa/Sangla
June 28 - Kalpa - Sangla - Chitkul
June 29 - Travel to Tabo
June 30 - Tabo - Kaza
July 1 - Kaza - Chandratal(via Kunzum la)
July 2 - Chandratal
July 3 - Chandratal - Rohtang La - Manali
July 4 - Manali - Simla
July 5 - Simla - Ambala (Train to Mumbai at 6.00 pm)

Here are my questions -
a) Are there any accomodations at Kunzum la?
b) Is it possible to do Kaza - Chandratal in one day? Is a guide required? And are there buses to Kunzum La from Kaza?
c) We are planning to take tents. The normal 2 man dome tents without any flysheets... will there be any rain/strong winds at Chandratal? Can we manage with it?
d)Will just a sleeping bag do at Chandratal? I mean without the tent.
e)What kind of food/dry food can we get at kaza/kunzum la for the day at chandratal? Or do we have to carry it from mumbai? We are not carrying any stoves.
f)Is it possible to swim at Chandratal. Is it dangerous?
g)Is it posssible to do Manali - Ambala in one day? Are there any night buses to ambala?
h)Which is better Kalpa/Chitkul?

It's on a really really tight budget, so as far as possible we want to rough it out. Are there any dangerous wildlife in these areas which we should be aware of?
Any suggestions to the itenary will be welcome. I dont think we can do these parts again any time soon so we want to make the best of it.

Thanks in advance.

Balvar

a) Are there any accomodations at Kunzum la?
Kunzam La is mountain Top Crossing at apprxo 4500Mts , no accomodation watsoever. nearest Possible accomdation would be Batal or Kaza
b) Is it possible to do Kaza - Chandratal in one day? Is a guide required? And are there buses to Kunzum La from Kaza?
Its Just Possiblle , otherwsie stay overnight
c) We are planning to take tents. The normal 2 man dome tents without any flysheets... will there be any rain/strong winds at Chandratal? Can we manage with it?
there is full probablity of Strong Winds / flysheets are recommened
d)Will just a sleeping bag do at Chandratal? I mean without the tent.
No just a sleeping bag wont do at all
e)What kind of food/dry food can we get at kaza/kunzum la for the day at chandratal? Or do we have to carry it from mumbai? We are not carrying any stoves.
U can get Basic Fodding at Kaza. in case of specfic packed Foods. carry them from Mumbai
f)Is it possible to swim at Chandratal. Is it dangerous?
Not all , water may be Icy Cold, & there wont be Much Help arnd.
g)Is it posssible to do Manali - Ambala in one day? Are there any night buses to ambala?
Yeah it casn be done . U can get Buses for Chandiagrh, & then Chansge the Bus for Ambala.
h)Which is better Kalpa/Chitkul?
I personally like Chitkul, but in terms of Accomodation & Fooding Kalpa is better

voyager61

Hi! At Kunzum La no accomodation but in Losar,the nearest village to the pass there are 2 guest houses.TO get to Chandratal in one day from Kaza is no problem,as long as you don't want to go back.No guide required,just follow the big path starting from the pass until the small Balarmo La,over the ridge to the north of the pass,and then all the way down to the lake.From Kaza to Kunzum La you take one of the 2 daily Manali buses,early morning.At the lake rain is possible,wind is almost assured.But normally there is a tent-dhaba where you can sleep dry and warm,and the guy also cooks something and sells basic things(Or he used to at least).In Kaza you can buy white and brown bread(or local buns)and Yak and amul cheese, and if you have a sweet tooth all kind of cakes in the german bakery. In the stores you can buy jam,honey,Nutella,peanut butter,dry fruits.The water of the lake is quite cold of course,but really tempting.No dangerous wildlife nowhere in Spiti,wolves you will not see for sure and even then they would shy away.

rock'er

Thanks a lot Balvar , Voyager...
Im kinda stuck on what to do now... We just have dome tents without the flysheets... Its not possible to rent from kaza since we dont have time to go back... Can we sleep at the tent-dhaba for free?
Do you think we can manage with what we have... Are there any possible spots where we can be protected from the wind???
And are there any places in mumbai where we can buy tents? We went to avi industries but they have only four man tents... any other place anyone can recommend???
And ya, where do we catch the bus to Simla from Chandigarh?

Thanks again.

voyager61

Hi! No,not much protection from wind at the lake,but don't despair,although it might be cold without good sleeping bags. If the dhaba guy is there he will not charge much,just talk to him clearly in advance and I think he will understand,but again I don't know whether he's there or not right now.Not many chances to rent tents in Kaza,in Manali there was a factory of 2 men tents at the other side of the river,a litlle way down towards Naggar,until a couple of years ago,not sure now.

Balvar

For Shimla you can catch a Bus From Chandiagrh Bus Stand, Easily. there are lot of buses Plying on Chandiagrh - shimla Route on daily Basis. Rest u can use your dome Tent with Good Sleeping Bags.

Dilliwala

rocker,

Whatever foodstuffs you need that can't be bought at Kaza, buy them at Shimla. No point carrying from home.

On 4/7, why do you want to go back to Shimla again? Just stay the day in Manali (or reserve day for delays) and go directly Manali-Ambala on 4th night or 5th morn - all the Delhi buses have to pass through Ambala. Or just go to Chandigarh and change.

rock'er

Hey, thanks again guys. Hope it all goes well.

Dilliwala , u have a point. Point noted.