Spiti valley is a stunning scenic beauty located high in the Himalayas in the north-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh, India. This can be a training ground for people planning their trip to Ladakh, India. Now you might ask what is so special about the Spiti valley, and the answer to this question is everything! It is well said that “Show, Don’t Tell!”, I will leave with some of the pics we took during our trip.
If these picture cannot convince you to stand up and get your riding gear out then I am not sure what will. It is one of those places which makes you believe that “To Travel Is To Free Your Soul”. Before I took this trip I was also not sure about a few things, and to be honest I feel that is normal. If you don’t have that uncertainty in your trip then you are over-planning things and limiting yourself to selective experiences. I had a few questions about this trip:
- I am not that fit, will I be able to undergo the stress of driving a bike for long hours?
- What will happen if the bike broke down mid trip?
- Where will we stay, is it safe? At first the answer seemed No. After all most of the trip is off-roading from one village to next, but it is safer than most of the trip. More on this in later parts of this series.
These were some of the major questions that popped in my head and there were many more. Even with these many questions we decided to go on with the trip. And let me tell you it was the best decision ever. I got answers to all my questions and many more on this spell binding trip.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
Road to Kaza
If you are still reading this there is a high chance that I was able to convince you. Maybe you are just curious about my experiences. In any case, I will tell you what all things you need for this trip. I will also share the details of my trip in the next post in this series.
To start with there are many ways one can make this trip happen. The first which is by far the most adventurous option among all is by your own bike/car. This will need a lot more commitments than any other option. I am a biker and thus was interested in traveling on a bike but there are other option as well like by a taxi or a bus. Yes! you read it right and its not a typo. There is a bus service that runs from Shimla, Manali and Reckong Peo to Kaza (Capital of Spiti Valley).
Though you can enjoy all the sceneries on the way in a taxi/bus as well, traveling on you bike/car is a completely different experience altogether. A disclaimer from my end, if you cannot drive for more than 5-8 hours on normal roads then you should not opt to take your own vehicle. The roads are difficult and you will have to off-road for the most part till you reach Kaza. We traveled 7-8 hours daily with multiple river crossings and on dirt roads covered in mountain rocks and gravel. For us it was a 6 day trip and I cherish every moment of it with each passing day.
More on this in my next posts in this series. You really wouldn’t think that such an mesmerizing experience would be over in a single post, would you? Till next time 🙂