Need help planning for spiti

Am writing this post hoping to get inputs on giving shape to my spiti trips. But anyone willing to tag along is always welcome.

Heres my rough plan

Day1 Mumbai train
Day2 noon Delhi. Evening bus to Manali. Are there early morning buses to Manali from Delhi? Ex. if i reach delhi at lets say 5AM, will i manage to find a bus from ISBT to Manali by 6AM or so?
Day3 morning bus from Manali to Batal/Losar. (any idea about the timings?)
Day4 Batal/Losar to Chandrataal and camping at Chandrataal overnight or a couple of days.

My friends need to return to Mumbai by day12. So the latest they can leave from Losar is Day 9 i guess?
Day9 morning Losar to Manali
Day10 evening manali to Delhi
Day11 Delhi to Mumbai train.

I guess Chandrataal is a must see place for those visiting this place for the first time. So its part of the itinerary.

I cant figure what to plan from Day5 or 6 to day9. My options were:
1. Either trek to Topko Gongma/Yongma from C'Taal and camp there. Or
2. Explore villages along the Satluj such as Kibber Gue (for the mummy) Kye and back.

I would prefer to keep it a slow paced vacation and avoid daily travel. The theme of the trip is to get as much camping and nature walks/exploration as possible.

Also, if you know about the Kashmere gate ISBT bus timings to Manali, and bus timings from Manali to Losar, i could perhaps reach a day earlier.

Am also open to a complete change of route since nothing has been confirmed yet.

When are you planning to do this?

For bus check HRTC site.

July. Because i intend to carry beyond Kunzum La after my friends have left for Mumbai.

Day 1 NO idea
Day 2 yes there are lots of buses from Delhi to Manali but if u r thinking an VOLVO bus u might have to book ticket before

Day 3 There is only one bus from Manali to Kaza . Last time (last summer) it used to leave Kullu at 4.00 A.M. in morning
so keep some 1 hour to reach manali it will leave manali from 5 or 6 A.M. If all goes well it will reach Batal near 11 A.M.
since manali to Rohtang Pass road see huge traffic jams so be prepare for anything . AT rahninala there will be tourist traffic and very bad road
prepare to spend some 4-5 hours in worst case to spend in traffic jam.

Day 4 U can go to chandratal either from Batal or Kunzum. I will personally suggest kunzum Pass as it decends all the way to chandrataal and short
otherone from battal is 14 K.M. long and I dont think it is easy. ( I hope u get acclimatize to High Altitute everything is above 4000mt better takes things easy
and have someone with you and take medicines) overnight stay is easy
P.S. Be careful of dogs of Gaddis (shepherds) they r dangerous

<< I dont knoe what you are gonna do at losar from day 5 to day 8 as it is not that a freindly terrain to move around ,
you will get bored first day >>

Day 9 Losar ro manali Bus reaches at Losar from Kaza around 11 A.M., dont expect to get seat though u might have to stand all your way to manali


P.P.S. "there is no satluj river in Spiti , It is Spiti river i u r going kibber better stay at kaza then ,
Kibber is 15km from key gompa and key gompa 15 km from kaza
kaza is 60 km from Losar so take ur pic

Jini,
Appreciate your reply.

Which one of the 2 options below do you feel would make a better use of time from day5 to day9?

1) A small trek- Chandrataal to Topko Gomgpa/Yongma and move to Losar or Kaza for bus to Manali
2) Explore places around Kaza for nature walks/camping and catch a bus to Manali from Kaza.

Basically, we would like to keep more time for camping/staying and less time for traveling from Day5 to 9.

Aarosh, hi

Any idea why I am unable to pull up Kaza Or Batal Or Kunzum as a destination on their website? Is it because only private buses ply between that route?

this is because there is no bus for eight months on that road and practically Kaza is connected by only one bus through Reckong peo

and They dont put unsignificantly small roadside stops on website.

option 2 is more kinda fruitful as you will see more places in and around Kaza

option 1 is quite tiresome and you wont get much out of it there are all stone mountains all around you nothing refreshing

Jini
Thanks a lot.
Ill move to Kaza from Chandrataal in that case. Places like Kye, Kibber, Komic and Gue(the place with the mummy). Would there be any scenic camping grounds around Kaza in case we need to spend a night outdoors?


Also,
About my second leg, ill be continuing the trip along after they return to Mumbai. I want to go to the Pin Valley. I heard its quite different from the Spiti Valley and much greener. Would i get to spot the ibex and the famous horse breed there? Also are there any recommended or must see places / routes / treks in that valley? All i know about it is that we either get off at Sangam or Mud village and set off on foot. But dont know any popular routes. Also am not sure if July is the right month since the streams will be difficult to cross. Any suggestions?

Scenic would be a lot to ask there is nothing scenic there, threr is stones everywhere, there are some huts of HP tourism department you can book them in advance that should for ur outdoor thingy Kaza ia oretty big village but than againd it is only thing closet to city 100 km both sides of it, it will be too cold outside in night ur wollens may betray u there so better take some accomomdation rather camping

people who see valley first time get amazed for a n hour and them slip in to gloom for rest of time , also public transport is a rare commodity over there , though there is bus for spiti valley, I wouldnt count on buses to move around spiti, you better hire cabs , they will be costly as peak tourist season and those hippies pay a lot.

Pin Valley : yes it is kinda oasis in desert but in july most of spiti green anyway horse breed is common , ibex I am not sure (i coudn't find snow leopard either), there is a camping ground in Pin and also it is a village so whereever you find place just settle down there, though there are some forest resthouse there give guy 200-250 he will give you accomodation

i havnt done trek route you mentioned , but one thing i know water stream better than snow, so you will live atleast :P

lol i love how direct your replies are. What was your route in the Pin valley during your visit?

About local transport: Are there no shared Sumos or jeeps either between most places?

Through Bus , Dont have much money

yes there will be shared SUmos and Jeeps there local use that to travel between villages and Kaza.

but moment cab driver realize you are a tourist you will end up paying more , ask the fare before sitting in cab


Mod Note: please refrain from using SMS speak in your posts, instead take the time to write your posts in full. Thanks.

lol am on a shoestring budget too. I dont mind those shared sumos with 15 people squashed in as long as it saved me some dough. I'd done it last year in Uttaranchal and it works out pretty cheap.

About your previous trip to Pin, what i meant to ask was, what was your travel plan in the Pin valley? Which places did you go to? and whether u trekked or camped any any places in the Pin Valley.

Please take a look at my Trip Report at: https://sites.google.com/site/spiti2010/

Separate picture albums from the same link can be accessed for various spots along the route.

Hi ramakant cso

Thank you for the link. Quite a helpful write up and particularly the map. Great pics too, i bet they get you nostalgic when you see them now.

One thing i wanted to understand is that you did not venture any further into the Pin valley beyond Mud. Ive not read much about the Pin valley on the net either. Is it possible to go beyond Mud? If so, any recommended places or routes?

Hi Four321zero,

The road stops at Mudh. You can trek beyond Mudh all the way towards Manikaran near Kullu. But, the drive to Mudh in Pin Vally is beautiful.

Cheers,
Rama Kant