Rekong Peo to Kaza? Possible yet? Kaza to Manali? Possible yet?

I am currently in Shimla and ideally would like to travel this route starting as soon as possible and lasting a maximum of two weeks:

Shimla - Sarahan - Sangla Valley - Rekong Peo/Kalpa - Tabo/Kaza - Manali.

I am aware that there are some serious passes en route but do not when they open. I would be happy enough if I get at least get as far as Kaza.

As for the road to Manali, when does that open?

I intend to travel as cheaply as possible i.e. goverment buses, but would be willing to spend on share jeeps etc. if necessary and possible on some legs of the journey.

Also, at what point is it necessary to have an inner line permit and can thes be obtained only in Shimla?

Any advice/information greatly appreciated.

At this time of the year Kunzum la between Spiti and Lahaul as well as Rothang pass are impassable therefore you can not travel from Kaza to Manali.
The road will be open when passes are cleared of snow. I am not sure even if those guys at BRO and PWD know when this will happen.
Going to Kaza should not be a problem except for that landslide - hope somebody else have more current info about situation on NH22.
You need inner line permit after Reckong Peo where you can also apply for it. The permit is issued for 7 days only if I remember correctly therefore you might need anotherone from Kaza to return the same way.
Two weeks does not seem to be enough time if you want to visit Sarahan, Sangla valley, wait a few days for the permit in Reckong Peo, stop in Tabo, Dankar, Kaza... (and still miss Nako, Pin valley, Lingti, Kibber...) and return the same way.

Last July when I passed by, the active landslide just north of Nako was still causing problems - basically, the whole road is gone for a stretch of 200-300m though they try to get a stable road now and then using bulldozers... but they'll probably give up on it some time soon as they were building a new road high above the landslide to bypass the problem alltogether. (By the way, if this were China, they would just whack a huge big bridge here, no problem).

The 06:00 Nako to Peo bus shortly stops off at the landslide to let people out; you then walk across the landslide (we had to dodge falling rocks and jump over the 2m-wide stream that is causing the problem). There's a baggage cable car system too but when we passed the guy manning it wasn't there so we had to walk with bags - not a very good idea. A connecting bus waits at the other end of the landslide - ours broke down and we had to take one of the jeeps that occasionally drop off people here to get to Tabo.

Have a look at my report at www.travelpod.com/members/jeroen to see my description on the route I took from Shimla to Kaza and beyond - it's similar to your plans.

You can do it pretty easily and cheap using public buses; up to Recong Peo it's just a matter of standing by the road and waving the first one down; beyond Peo they get very scarce - maybe one a day, and you'll need to plan.

Days you'd need on the way up to do the valley justice:
1) Shimla to Sarahan, I got there with 2 changes. Sarahan is easily seen, no real need for staying a day. Great guesthouse in the temple complex but bring earplugs as they like playing very very loud music at ungodly times though inferior sound systems.
2) Sarahan to Sangla; bus to the valley, bus to the dam, jeep up to Sangla. Stay in Sangla and eat Tibetan or Nepalese.
3) Sangla valley. I suggest going to the top village of the valley for the night (I rode on the roof - great views but low rocks too!). Couple of guesthouses there. Take the 06:00 bus the next morning down to Rakcham (breakfast in the guesthouse there) and then walk down to Sangla along the other side of the valey along an easy and beautiful path.
5) to Recong Peo, Kalpa. Easy trip. Get your permit here - you have to do it via a travel agency [we used the one in the cafe at the top of the main market]; cheap at 50Rs, I think, and easy; ready next day (beware of sundays). Have photos ready. Check if you need a seperate permit to use the same road back down - if you can get it here, do so as I hear it's more difficult to get them in Kaza.
Sleep in Kalpa - 7Rs minibuses every couple of minutes take you there; lots of guesthouses, and great walks along the HTR - try the walk a few km south to the gorge - you can look nearly 1km down to the river from the road.
6) Peo or Kalpa.
6) to Nako. Only limited buses from here; beautiful and quite scary ride; steep drops to raging rivers. You need a permit between here and Tabo, basically.
7) to Tabo or on to Kaza via the landslide.

You could also save Sangla valley for later to break up the return journey.

Have fun, Jeroen.

Hmmm wonderful work there Jereon,
heres the map to settle the things more easier for you people as I had to cross my bike on same rope which jereon you are talking about.!

For others I hope this Map would be a big help as the road and distances are measured by my own speedometer.

The trip is from Delhi - Rampur - nako - kaza - manali - Delhi
spreading over 1776kms within 6 nights and 7 days.

Check my photogallery for the Map.
p.s: Dont know how to post the pic here
any tips!

link: http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...php/photo/7446

Just spent a very pleasant half-hour or so reading your travelogue Jeroen - Great stuff. Very helpful.

That Shimla to Spiti journey sounds out of this world.

Goverment buses are not frequent to kaza, i think there is only one bus, and it consumes a lot of time, is wasted, better go in a taxi. it is fast. and u can take ur route, stop where u want, and save time,

Hi! From Peo to Kaza there is indeed only one bus a day. Jeeps are faster but they cost 5000 Rs and it's not easy to find share jeeps. To/from Manali there are now no buses running,but plenty of share and returning jeeps,in both directions.

As far as I know there's also another bus from Peo to Nako at 12 noon, so it's possible to spend a night in Nako (interesting in itself) and continue to Kaza the next day.