Kalka - Narkanda/Thanedar - Chitkul/Rakcham - Kalpa - Kalka

ocean2sky · Apr 25th, 2007, 01:27

Dear All
Am travelling with my family Chandigarh - Narkanda -Sarahan - Sangla - Kalpa- Tabo - Kaza - Manali (via Rohtang) - Naggar - Chandigarh, starting 19 May. I really appreciate the tips posted on getting a good hill driver with a reliable vehicle (Qualis maybe, as I am comfy with it). Does anyone know a good vehicle hire agency operating on this route, and hopefully contact numbers?
This afternoon I visited the local HPTDC office and they contacted their contracted vehicle agency in Ambala which coolly said that the link between Kinnaur and Spiti on NH22 was broken somewhere for past few years and that no vehicle could cross at present. This just blew my mind, so I rang the HRTC Regional Mgr at Recong Peo and he assured that the road was clear all the way to Losar, barring of course the unforeseen landslide (at Malling?)
The above experience only underlines the importance of hiring a vehicle and driver from an agency that knows the Kinnaur-Spiti route well. So, guys, any ideas?

rishabh6296 · Apr 28th, 2007, 21:21

You just need a good driver.i took a delhi driver who had no idea about the route but manged it quite well,i was his guide offcourse.

himadventures · May 4th, 2007, 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by AvidTrekker

am the wrong person to ask for accomodations... i live on open fields or in caves or tents or the cheapest possible shelter/room coz my money is spent on trekking rather than staying.

Kumarsain is not bad, as good or slightly better place than Narkanda.

Suggestion for Kalka jeep booking....
Get some hotel names and nos. off the net, Ask them for private car services to Narkanda. Even HPTDC will give you nos. of Jeep operators in Kalka. They will give you some numbers. You can negotiate with them. The rate will be a minimum Rs 2000 after haggling hard, and will be actually around Rs 2500 per day for your seven day trip. They will start by quoting 3000 per day.

Dont drop Chhitkul. Its beautiful.

Kalpa GH has become Hotel.... I did not understand. You want to live in the Govt Forest rest house or something?? You can stay in the Hotel as long as it is in Kalpa [high up the road].

The Govt GH in "Kalpa" is in Rekong Peo in the bazaar. Sprawling and huge place with some 150 rooms, but I would not want to stay in the bazaar. [its fenced and insulated and somewhat quieter, but its in the middle of town] I would rather stay high up on the highest place. There are only two hotels there from what I remember. [dont know their names].

The view from kalpa is fantastic.... you will see the golden top of kinnaur kailash bathed in the first rays of the rising sun, if you are up early.

FOLLOW AVID - he is right..and please DO NOT drop CHITKUL. I promise..you will not regret this.

dhari · May 9th, 2007, 23:22

oceansky .. dont stay in sangla .. stay in chitkul .. it is the most beautiful place in your whole trip .. i dont think you will find a river and snow clad mountain so near to each other at any other place ..

get best vechicle .. in your budget .. i saw maruti 800 doing chitkul ... but see ur comfort .. we took qualis .. and it eventually cost us nearly 2300 per day .. from kalka .. saharan .. chitkul .. kalpa .. narkanda .. kufri .. kalka .. for 7 days .. if u want to take a car from shimla .. qualis should cost u 2000 - 2200 per day and tata sumo 1500 per day .. there is a vishal himachal taxi union .. u can search its phone no on net ... and they will provide u driver who has done the route before ..

vivek

dhari · May 9th, 2007, 23:25

taxi booking from shimla to all the routes .. 09816025893 .. vishal himachal taxi union ..

ocean2sky · May 10th, 2007, 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhari

oceansky .. dont stay in sangla .. stay in chitkul .. it is the most beautiful place in your whole trip .. i dont think you will find a river and snow clad mountain so near to each other at any other place ..

get best vechicle .. in your budget .. i saw maruti 800 doing chitkul ... but see ur comfort .. we took qualis .. and it eventually cost us nearly 2300 per day .. from kalka .. saharan .. chitkul .. kalpa .. narkanda .. kufri .. kalka .. for 7 days .. if u want to take a car from shimla .. qualis should cost u 2000 - 2200 per day and tata sumo 1500 per day .. there is a vishal himachal taxi union .. u can search its phone no on net ... and they will provide u driver who has done the route before ..

vivek

Thanks!

Is there any place/govt accommodation where a family of four can stay in Chitkul? I have got a quote of Rs.1800 per day all incl. from Manmahesh Tours & travels, Shimla.

dhari · May 14th, 2007, 12:13

which vehicle they are offering you .. in chitkul there is a thakur guest house and pwd guest house .. choose any .. thakur has an advantage having a kitchen so that u dont have to wander out in night to get dinner .. i dont knwo about the pwd guest house whether they serve food or not .. thakur guest house no is 01786244275 .. make advance booking .. rent 300 max ..

ocean2sky · May 15th, 2007, 11:03

Thanks, Dhari. The vehicle is a non-AC Qualis. I will talk to the Chitkul guest house.

dhari · May 15th, 2007, 12:19

u can space ur stay at chitkul as one day at chitkul and one day at rakcham .. which is 10 kms before chittkul .. while travelling do stop at rakcham .. it is also beautiful place .. best is if u carry ur own tents .. so tht u can tent near river at rakcham ..

dhari · May 15th, 2007, 13:23

In Kalpa .. stay at Parvati Guest house .. which is highest up on the road along with one more guest house and of course the HPTDC guest house .. i stayed at Kinnar kalash for one day and Parvati next day .. I found Parvati views better than Kinnar kailash (of cource my room at KK was of 1000 per day and not 2500 per day) .. at much cheaper price .. u can negotatie rent to 200 rs with 250 being max. u will find many people all over the world staying at these guest houses .. the other guest house was asking me 500 rs for rooms having best views .. but i found Parvati best and ofcourse cheapest .. also they have a very good cook .. which will give u great dinner at good prices .. One thing u make sure .. that dont do advance booking in HPTDC hotels if u are going to places where there is chances of getting other accomodations .. which are generally good to stay at...

there is a village near Kalpa .. which i am sure ur driver will take u .. its called Rodhi .. there is an old indo tibetian road there .. do travel the full road inside .. till u reach sucide point there .. vasise sab hi sucide point hai kinnaur mai .. haha ..

One more suggestion .. it is adviceable if u can book the Narkanda PWD guest house before .. it has good rooms at about 275 .. we were 2 couples and there was only one room in pwd guest house so the adjustment was made and the vip room was opened in the night for just little more price .. there is a circuit house in narkanda which is even better located .. but was closed for renovation

.. i was not able to see thanedar .. if u go there .. please post on this thread .. wht are the accomodation facilities there ..

dhari · May 15th, 2007, 13:31

i do hope u are planning a trip in which u have more days to stay and explore .. i was short on time so just visited these places .. will again travel to these places in future .. with time in hand .. to explore .. all the places were beautiful and asking to be explored ..

one more thing ... the route from Rampur to Sangla is HORRIBLE .. not just because of the road conditions but also because of what blasting did to the hills for making tht FCUKING DAM... sach kah raha hu ... nangi pahadiyo ko dekhne mai koi maza nahi aata ...

so it will take time for u to cross these terrains and sometimes u will find ur driver to be a bit slow .. esp when a maruti will over take u

..

at all the places the sun is up early .. so if u want to see the sunrise and its effect on the slow clad mountains u also needs to be up early ...

.. its difficult sometime .. :-)

himadventures · May 16th, 2007, 02:52

dhari !
Listen to what Avid says....I am sure you will be having good time up there. This is correct that only traveling and traveling kills the very feel of mountain. You should take it 'easy'.

dhari · May 17th, 2007, 14:59

i will go back there soon :-)

rishabh6296 · May 21st, 2007, 04:30

Himadventures is absolutely right.

Sadanand Kamath · May 21st, 2007, 09:45

The sum and substance of all the posts under this thread is that (i) one should have at least 10 days to really enjoy the trip to Sarhan-Sangla-Rakcham-Chitkul-Kalpa. Afterall it costs a lot for doing a second trip.(ii) The driver to be engaged should be the one who has experience in driving in these places. I have been to Shimla and surrounding places few years back and my hunch is that it is better to engage drivers from Shimla for hilly routes than from Kalka or Delhi.

Sadanand

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Apr 25th, 2007, 01:27	#31
ocean2sky Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 15	Dear All Am travelling with my family Chandigarh - Narkanda -Sarahan - Sangla - Kalpa- Tabo - Kaza - Manali (via Rohtang) - Naggar - Chandigarh, starting 19 May. I really appreciate the tips posted on getting a good hill driver with a reliable vehicle (Qualis maybe, as I am comfy with it). Does anyone know a good vehicle hire agency operating on this route, and hopefully contact numbers? This afternoon I visited the local HPTDC office and they contacted their contracted vehicle agency in Ambala which coolly said that the link between Kinnaur and Spiti on NH22 was broken somewhere for past few years and that no vehicle could cross at present. This just blew my mind, so I rang the HRTC Regional Mgr at Recong Peo and he assured that the road was clear all the way to Losar, barring of course the unforeseen landslide (at Malling?) The above experience only underlines the importance of hiring a vehicle and driver from an agency that knows the Kinnaur-Spiti route well. So, guys, any ideas?

Apr 28th, 2007, 21:21	#32
rishabh6296 Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: new delhi Posts: 779	You just need a good driver.i took a delhi driver who had no idea about the route but manged it quite well,i was his guide offcourse.

May 9th, 2007, 23:22	#34
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	oceansky .. dont stay in sangla .. stay in chitkul .. it is the most beautiful place in your whole trip .. i dont think you will find a river and snow clad mountain so near to each other at any other place .. get best vechicle .. in your budget .. i saw maruti 800 doing chitkul ... but see ur comfort .. we took qualis .. and it eventually cost us nearly 2300 per day .. from kalka .. saharan .. chitkul .. kalpa .. narkanda .. kufri .. kalka .. for 7 days .. if u want to take a car from shimla .. qualis should cost u 2000 - 2200 per day and tata sumo 1500 per day .. there is a vishal himachal taxi union .. u can search its phone no on net ... and they will provide u driver who has done the route before .. vivek

May 9th, 2007, 23:25	#35
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	taxi booking from shimla to all the routes .. 09816025893 .. vishal himachal taxi union ..

May 14th, 2007, 12:13	#37
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	which vehicle they are offering you .. in chitkul there is a thakur guest house and pwd guest house .. choose any .. thakur has an advantage having a kitchen so that u dont have to wander out in night to get dinner .. i dont knwo about the pwd guest house whether they serve food or not .. thakur guest house no is 01786244275 .. make advance booking .. rent 300 max ..

May 15th, 2007, 11:03	#38
ocean2sky Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 15	Thanks, Dhari. The vehicle is a non-AC Qualis. I will talk to the Chitkul guest house.

May 15th, 2007, 12:19	#39
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	u can space ur stay at chitkul as one day at chitkul and one day at rakcham .. which is 10 kms before chittkul .. while travelling do stop at rakcham .. it is also beautiful place .. best is if u carry ur own tents .. so tht u can tent near river at rakcham ..

May 15th, 2007, 13:23	#40
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	In Kalpa .. stay at Parvati Guest house .. which is highest up on the road along with one more guest house and of course the HPTDC guest house .. i stayed at Kinnar kalash for one day and Parvati next day .. I found Parvati views better than Kinnar kailash (of cource my room at KK was of 1000 per day and not 2500 per day) .. at much cheaper price .. u can negotatie rent to 200 rs with 250 being max. u will find many people all over the world staying at these guest houses .. the other guest house was asking me 500 rs for rooms having best views .. but i found Parvati best and ofcourse cheapest .. also they have a very good cook .. which will give u great dinner at good prices .. One thing u make sure .. that dont do advance booking in HPTDC hotels if u are going to places where there is chances of getting other accomodations .. which are generally good to stay at... there is a village near Kalpa .. which i am sure ur driver will take u .. its called Rodhi .. there is an old indo tibetian road there .. do travel the full road inside .. till u reach sucide point there .. vasise sab hi sucide point hai kinnaur mai .. haha .. One more suggestion .. it is adviceable if u can book the Narkanda PWD guest house before .. it has good rooms at about 275 .. we were 2 couples and there was only one room in pwd guest house so the adjustment was made and the vip room was opened in the night for just little more price .. there is a circuit house in narkanda which is even better located .. but was closed for renovation .. i was not able to see thanedar .. if u go there .. please post on this thread .. wht are the accomodation facilities there ..

May 15th, 2007, 13:31	#41
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	i do hope u are planning a trip in which u have more days to stay and explore .. i was short on time so just visited these places .. will again travel to these places in future .. with time in hand .. to explore .. all the places were beautiful and asking to be explored .. one more thing ... the route from Rampur to Sangla is HORRIBLE .. not just because of the road conditions but also because of what blasting did to the hills for making tht FCUKING DAM... sach kah raha hu ... nangi pahadiyo ko dekhne mai koi maza nahi aata ... so it will take time for u to cross these terrains and sometimes u will find ur driver to be a bit slow .. esp when a maruti will over take u .. at all the places the sun is up early .. so if u want to see the sunrise and its effect on the slow clad mountains u also needs to be up early ... .. its difficult sometime .. :-)

May 16th, 2007, 02:52	#42
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,070	dhari ! Listen to what Avid says....I am sure you will be having good time up there. This is correct that only traveling and traveling kills the very feel of mountain. You should take it 'easy'.

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May 17th, 2007, 14:59	#43
dhari Maha Bhari Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 49	i will go back there soon :-)

May 21st, 2007, 04:30	#44
rishabh6296 Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: new delhi Posts: 779	Himadventures is absolutely right.

May 21st, 2007, 09:45	#45
Sadanand Kamath Maha Guru Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 854	The sum and substance of all the posts under this thread is that (i) one should have at least 10 days to really enjoy the trip to Sarhan-Sangla-Rakcham-Chitkul-Kalpa. Afterall it costs a lot for doing a second trip.(ii) The driver to be engaged should be the one who has experience in driving in these places. I have been to Shimla and surrounding places few years back and my hunch is that it is better to engage drivers from Shimla for hilly routes than from Kalka or Delhi. Sadanand