Lahual – Spiti Jeep Safari

Arrive in Chandigarh and drive to Narkanda via Shimla. With all of seven hills to call its very own and yet a surprisingly compact geographic area coupled with an enormous amount of history and heritage, Shimla has all the ingredients that make for a series of interesting walks ‐‐ the famous mall, Jakhu Hill, the Hanuman Temple, old historical buildings such as the Vicereal Lodge, Christ Church. Overnight in a hotel in Narkanda.

After breakfast we start our drive via many small towns such as Nirth and Rampur through Satluj Valley till we reach Sangla. At Nirth, there is an old temple, dedicated to the Sun God which is said to be built by the great sage Parshuram. Overnight in a deluxe campsite.

The Sangla or Baspa valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in Himachal. En route visit the beautiful village of Chitkul (3,450 mts). The route in this stretch is very narrow and steep till Chitkul, the last and highest village in the Baspa Valley. It is situated on the right bank of the Baspa Valley; there is a temple dedicated to the local Goddess, Mathi, constructed over 500 years ago. The location of Rackcham – another village in the Baspa Valley is striking, as there are rocky cliffs of granite rocks and forests surround it. One can visit the Kamru Temple and fort in Kamru Village, situated on a top of Sangla Village. The whole day is spending visiting all these beautiful villages and meeting their charming inhabitants. We drive to Kalpa via Recongpeo. Kalpa provides the best view of the Kinner Kailash peak. Overnight at hotel in Kalpa.

We continue towards Nako and drive all along the River Satluj till Khab, the meeting point of the Spiti and Satluj river. The next part of the trip is climbing through the zigzags along the Spiti River to Nako (2,950 m/9,678 ft) which is situated about 2 km from the Hangrang valley road in the western direction of the huge mountain of Pargil. This is the highest and the largest village in the valley on the left bank of the Spiti river. It is encircled on every side by high hills, which is a witness to the presence of former lake. The villagers are mostly Buddhist, but there are Hindu local deities too namely Gyalbo, Dabla and Yalso. To the north of the village is the monastic complex of four large temples; belonging to the Dugpa order. The complex is called Locha‐Lhakhang i.e. Lhostaba, Lhakhang after the great Rin‐Chen Zangpo. Besides these temples on the southwest are almost undistinguishable heaps of ruined monks cells and few chortens (stupas). Driving along the Spiti River we pass through various villages to get to Tabo. Overnight at a hotel in Tabo.

Drive along the Spiti Valley and pass through many villages and monasteries on your way to Kaza. Overnight in a hotel in Kaza.

Dhankar: Through the steep hillside, a dusty road slowly winds its way up to the village Dhankar, about 30 km from Tabo. Situated in the middle of a ridge in a striking location, is a 6th century Gompa, though not well‐ preserved, still has some magnificent original Thanka paintings. There are some beautiful murals here too. Unfortunately a part of monastery was destroyed during a severe winter in 1989.

Lahlung: This small village in the beautiful Lingthi Valley consists of a cluster of 50 to 60 houses with a population over 300. The Gompa situated on the top of the village, is invisible from the road. The main temple is decorated with unique mandalas and statues with the main statue of Bodhisattva in the centre. A small, but very attractive temple depicts the philosophy which originated in Western Tibet about 800 years ago. The monastery is over shadowed by a huge fig tree. There is another small temple to the left of the main building, which houses a four‐headed clay idol of Buddha looking in to four different directions.

Pin: Cross the Spiti river by a solid concrete bridge and follow the Pin River, one of the major tributaries of the Spiti river. The valley is famous for wild life – Ibex and Snow Leopard. There is also a monastery called Kungri Monastery, which is believed to be founded by Guru Padmasambhava. Drive back to the main road and further on to Kaza. Overnight at a hotel in Kaza.

Today we visit Kibber, the highest village in the world. We also visit the iconic Kye Monastery, famous for its magnificent views. Overnight in Kaza.

After an early start, we keep driving along the Spiti River and series of other villages namely Kyoto, Hansa, Morang, and Rangrik, etc. We reach Losor after few kms drive. There is a small temple here with lot of prayer flags, dedicated to Kunzum Lamo (Local Deity), that is how the pass got its name. This Pass is the origin of the Spiti River, Now the Spiti Valley ends and the landscape slowly embodies the alpine shape. We descend down the pass and then take an 18 Km side‐trip on a narrow mountain road to the beautiful lake (Chander taal) to view the extraordinary landscape. Overnight at the campsite.

Drive back to join the main road. The valley now opens up and we get to view the magnificent Himalayan ranges of Chandra and Bhaga, famously called the CB Range. This area is very popular for mountain expeditions. The route veers to the left of the base of the immense Bara Shigri Glacier. Nearly 28 km long and several kilometres wide, the Bara Shigri is the largest glacier of the Lahaul Valley of Himachal Pradesh. It opens out onto the Chandra Valley and adds its waters to the river. It is located in a cirque on the middle slopes of the main Himalayan Range. Small tributary glaciers feed the main glacier. The entire track is devoid of a vegetative cover. High mountains surround this glacier on three sides. All around are the great peaks of Parvati. We drive along the Chandra River till we will meet the Manali‐ Leh national highway road at Gramphu. We continue to drive another 15 kms over the Rohtang Pass to Manali. Overnight in a hotel at Manali.

We complete the circuit by driving from Manali to Chandigarh airport for our flight back home.