Delhi ~ Kaza ~ Delhi ~ Manali

MonkeyBoy4u

Hi All,

Please have a look at my Itinerary below and let me know if any improvements can be made


Day 1 : New Delhi ~ Shimla ~ Fagu (stay)

Day 2 : Fagu ~ RecongPeo ~ Kalpa (stay)

Day 3 : Kalpa ~ Sangla ~ Chitkul ~ Sangla (stay)

Day 4 : Sangla ~ Puh ~ Nako (stay)

Day 5 : Nako ~ Tabo ~ Kaza (stay)

Day 6 : Kaza ~ Ki Monastery ~ Kibber ~ Kaza (stay)

Day 7 : Kaza ~ Kunzum Pass ~ Manali (stay)

Day 8 : Manali ~ Kullu ~ New Delhi (end)


Can you suggest any more places to visit ? I will be covering almost everything in between.

Leaving June last week

Cheers !

__________________
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

~ Robert Frost

g. vasanth

hey...i am pretty much doing the same route starting 1st july...how are you travelling..??bike, bullet or car..??we are group of 4 people travelling on 2 bikes and 1 bullet and are pretty much doing the same route...i would suggest you add kaurik, chandertal also.

__________________
Earn to eat, eat to live, live to ride

anupmathur

MonkeyBoy, are you planning to stay at the Peach Blossom, Fagu?
It's in bad shape this summer! Avoid.

And you are actually not covering everything in that circuit. Read on.

If you start real early from Delhi, you can make it to Sarahan on Day 1. It is a place that is worth a visit and is missing from your itinerary. In fact Sarahan is called the 'Gateway to Kinnaur'. Book the Srikhand Cottage or Hotel (HPTDC). Superb!

In the Sangla Valley, I'd recommend you stay at Chitkul, rather than at Sangla. Cheaper than the Banjara Resorts and a much better place to be at.

Tabo can give you a different kind of flavour if you choose to stay at the Millennium Guest House within the Tabo Monastery.
Very basic, but you're living in a place run by Lamas. Can't do this in very many places.

Kaza is also a place that is essentially only a hick, cluttered township. Staying at Kibber can be very rewarding but the accommodation available is only basic.
If you stay at Kaza, do not opt for HPTDC's Spiti Hotel; try the Khangsar Hotel nearby.

Are you not keen to visit the Dhankar Monastery and Pin Valley? You'd do this between Tabo and Kaza. Can be a day trip but you'd have to make a very early start from Nako for this, to be able to reach Kaza in daylight.

If you're going by car do remember that the Malling Nallah can be a dampener! Closed very often due to landslides. Always good to have a couple of buffer days in hand.

MonkeyBoy4u

Hi Anup, Vasanth,

Thanks for your valuable inputs on this. I am starting this on 21st June.I am going by car (Innova) along with my family.

Anup, Yes I am staying at the Peach Blossom Fagu,In fact I already booked rooms there. When you say it is in a bad shape, what exactly does this mean.

I will see if i can do Sarahan. At Sangla I am staying at a place Madhu Guest House. Banjara Resorts are too expensive.

At Kaza I already booked HPTDC.

Now the following questions are coming to my mind,

1.How bad are the hotels at Fagu and Kaza which I have booked ?

2.From Nako is it difficult to reach Kaza in daylight with a stop at Tabo in between ?

3. On which route does Mallang Nallah fall ? Is it always a pain spot ?

4. Vasanth.. Chandertal can only be reached by trekking ? or does it have a motorable road to it ? Also how can i reach Kaurik

5. Pin Valley and Dhankar Monastery can be covered in one day if I start from Kaza ? I can extend my stay in Kaza.


Guys thanks for your help, I can use all your experience.


P.S. we can meetup one day,I am putting up at Dwarka :-)

g. vasanth

my friend...kaurik should be done just for the kicks since that pretty much is the last spot in this country's border :O)....also i am hearing from this very forum that chandertal is definitely accessible so you must not miss it....also, our common friend anup seems to be more knowledgeable so i am pretty much following his advise too...:-)...i stay in Inderpuri so we can definitely catch up one day...!!!!

g. vasanth

hey anup...you pretty much seem to have the entire map of lahual & spiti imprinted in your brains...so i definitely feel sensible to seek your opinion on the itinerary that I have got in mind...i am riding a bullet btw..please feel free to comment:
day 1: delhi-narkanda (i can try reaching sarahan, as per your idea)
day 2: narkanda-sangla-chitkul
day 3: chitkul-recong peo-kalpa
day 4: kalpa-khab-shipki la(if possible)-nako
day 5: nako-tabo
day 6: tabo-dankar-kaza-kibber
day 7: kibber-komik-kye-kibber
day 8: kibber-kaza-hanse-losar
day 9: losar-chandertal
day 10: chandertal-batal-gramphoo-rohtang-manali
day 11: manali-delhi

i have one buffer day and i can see that its pretty much water-tight..please advise

anupmathur

MonkeyBoy,

1) Nothing very alarming about the HPTDC hotels at Fagu and Kaza! The Peach Blossom is under some renovation and what should have been a beautiful garden with flowers is lying barren and littered with construction material! They really ought to give discounted rates at such times.
Why the renovation has to be done during peak season is again something I cannot fathom.

Also, I found the upkeep/housekeeping very shoddy. Bad, dis-interested Manager?

The Spiti in Kaza is not worth the money they charge. Better options are available with the private hotels.

2) It is possible to do Nako, Pin Valley drive and on to Kaza in a day. It is also possible to do these ex-Kaza.

3) Malling Nallah is on the Kalpa to Sumdo sector. There is a byepass that was made via Nako but this has been almost as bad as the original road and is closed just as often if not more!

4) There is a motorable road to Chandratal but that goes from Batal. There is a trekking route from Kunzum Pass. The motorable road is invariably in bad shape and might not be possible for the Innova so early in the season. Best to go with a 4WD vehicle.
Batal to Chandratal is about 14 kms while Kunzum to Chandratal is about 8 kms.
It would not be possible to do Kaza - Chandratal - Manali in a day, even if the motorable road is open.

By the way, the Kaza - Kunzum - Gramphoo sector is possibly the toughest road in the country! Much more so than the legendary Manali - Leh road.

Looking at your itinerary, why are you going to Kalpa first and then backtracking to Sangla?
The logical sequence would be to first visit Sangla Valley then proceed to Recong Peo/Kalpa.

g. vasanth

hmmm...thanks for the prompt response...i think that was a mistake. i do intend to go to sangla-chitkul first and the proceed to recong-kalpa. also, now i am a little worried to know that kaza-kunzum-gramphoo is a very tough road to ride on...is it because of snow? is there any alternate way..??

MonkeyBoy4u

Hi Anup,Vasanth,

Thanks so much for the advice. I have some questions which i will post later im on a shatabdi to chandigarh and the net connection is pretty crappy

anupmathur

LOL, Vasanth, your query and my reply to MonkeyBoy were posted almost simultaneously.
I saw that your plan followed the normal progression of Sangla Valley and then Kalpa. I was commenting on MonkeyBoy's itinerary there!

As for the Losar to Gramphoo road, well, that is the thrill we seek, isn't it?
The road is conspicuous by its absence, LOL! Many streams to cross and at places the streams flow on the non-road!

And Batal - Chandratal is even worse! It is not really snow; snow would make it near impossible. This year there is hardly any snow on that route on the Spiti side. After Kunzum there will be but the road will have been cleared by the time you go, if that is after mid-June. However, early in the season the road is in bad shape.

There is no alternate route for Kaza - Manali other than going back all the way to Rampur!
Also, the Rampur to Karcham sector is bad due to the hydro project work going on. Karcham to Sangla ditto.

voyager61

Hi! In Spiti,besides Tabo, you can stay in places run by lamas at Dankhar,Kungri,Comic and Ki gompas.Kaza to Manali via Chandratal in one day is easily possible.

anupmathur

Only if the entire 14 kms from Batal to Chandratal is motorable!
Else it might well be dark much before you reach Manali.

g. vasanth

hey anup, thanks for the insight..i am relieved to know that there won't be snow on the road...i feel i can definitely use my experience of riding solo to ladakh in this one..:-) btw, have you done camping at chandertal..i am told its a sublime experience and therefore, i don't want to miss it...any tips..??

voyager61

Hi! Obviously if you have to trek all the way to the lake you can't go to Manali in one day ,but not long after the Manali Kaza is cleared so will be the link road to Chandratal.In any case,is it so bad to reach Manali in the dark?

anupmathur

We're unfortunately not talking about you or me!
This is all in response to the person who posted the query and the 'brief' he gave!