Spiti Adventure

Fly into Chandigarh from Delhi or reach Chandigarh by Kalka Shatabdi express train around 1200 hrs. Meet the driver and further drive to Thanedar. Check into the retreat.

For six months every year, the Himalayan valleys of Kinnaur and Spiti emerge from a thick cloak of snow to reveal a spectacular landscape. This journey begins with Sangla. At a height of 2,700 Mts, Sangla is surrounded by towering mountains on all sides and is set on the banks of the Baspa River that surges through the valley. Long walks to discover the amazing fauna and flora of the valley, treks to view snow covered Himalayan peaks, experiencing some of the local culture and traditions, rock climbing, rappelling (optional and depends on the retreat we choose to stay) are some of the delights that are on offer.

Visit Chitkul and hike up to Nagasthi, the last village on the old Indo-Tibetan trade route. Back to our retreat for overnight..

THike to Rakcham village This is the signature walk of the valley. Drive back from Rakcham. Overnight in our retreat.

After breakfast, leave for Kalpa famous for its apple and chilgoza plantations. Kalpa offers the best panoramic view of the 6,000m high Kinner-Kailash range. Night stay in Kalpa. .

After an early breakfast, we depart for Kaza, leaving behind verdant, forest clad mountains as we go over the tree line towards the Spiti region. En route you may take a short detour to visit the picturesque Nako Lake. The terrain will leave you breathless and speechless. Rock-hard Desert Mountains, torrential rivers and icy cold winds account for the sparsely populated villages. Reach Kaza, check into the Retreat and spend rest of the day at leisure.

After an early breakfast, drive down to Tabo and visit Tabo Gompa, reputed to be the oldest (an inscription on a wall here indicates, it was founded in AD 996) continuously functioning Buddhist monastery in India and the Himalayas, with its original decoration and iconographic program intact. We then move on to see Dhankar monastery. Dhankar, the traditional capital of Spiti, sits pretty on a hilltop. The fort here overlooks the Spiti valley and it was used as a jail in olden days. A statue of Dhyan Buddha is the main attraction of this more than seven-century old monastery. Drive back to reach the retreat.

After breakfast visit Ki monastery and Kibber village. Ki gompa is a Gelugpa sect monastery. Its hilltop position points to a post-thirteenth century construction. The three storied structure consists largely of storage rooms at the bottom level, while the middle level houses the Dukhang- the assembly hall- and the uppermost levl has another temple and the head Lama’s quarters, on one side of an open terrace. The greatest wealth of Ki Gompa lies in its collection of ‘Thangkas’. From here a scenic drive takes you into the pasture country of Kibber. The pastures are spread over hundreds of square kilometers. Kibber is small village and is the take o point for the popular trek to Tso Moriri in Ladakh. Further up six kilometers from Kibber, we drive up to a still smaller village of Gete. Consisting of just six houses, it boasts of being the highest village in Asia connected by road. Drive back to the retreat for lunch and spend rest of the day at leisure – preferably resting.

Early morning post breakfast, depart from Kaza and drive over Kunzum La (4553m) to reach Manali. Enroute visit to a spectacular high altitude lake of Chandratal. Overnight stay in hotel in Manali.

Drive to Sojha visiting Naggar castle and Roerich art gallery en route. Check into the retreat on arrival. Evening at leisure.

Day at leisure/ Hike to Raghupur Fort or Serolser lake. Overnight stay at the Retreat.

Tour ends….