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This is the story of my motorcycle ride to Spiti Valley HP India

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Ghaziabad

• This time Universe has chosen Spiti valley for me
• It 5 o’clock and the beautiful morning reminds me of famous quote “You see what you carry in your heart”

• Keeping the throttle below 70, owing to motorcycle’s engine break in limitation
• Taking more pauses to avoid stressing the new engine, clicking pictures here and there

• Its noon and i am riding in clouds towards Chail, bypassing Simla. Passing through plush greenery and intermittent showers

• Arrived at Chail palace, few minutes of pause before heading towards Kufri

• By the time i arrived in Kufri, it is raining cats of dogs and my free riding has turned into hide and seek
• Thinking about what if i miss my todays plan to reach Narkanda
• Its dark and i am completely drenched and shivering. My hands are numb and turned wrinkly
• After almost 3 hours of complete wetness, i reached outskirts of Narkanda. Billeted into a lodge at around 7 PM

Narkanda

• Next morning its still raining and no sign of sun. Stuck in hotel and thinking about how farthest i can go today. Plan is to reach Nako
• Finally i left hotel at around 11 AM and spent entire day riding at slow speed in intermittent rains

• Entered into Kinnaur, famous for its serenity and beauty of the lush green and rocky mountain scape
• This region has three rivers Satluj, Baspa and Spiti, snaking through it

• Passing through scenic cliff-hanging drive through the Baspa river in Sangla Valley

• This region has several hydro power plants. 300 MW capacity Baspa plant is located near village Karcham

Spillow (Khab and Leo)

• Arrived at Spillow by 7 PM. My planned destination Nako is one hour away from here
• There is a risky stone shooting zone immediately after Spillow, locals suggested to pass it during the day time
• Decided to stay at Spillow after talking to a gentleman, who later became a good friend of mine
• During the dinner had talks co-travelers. Received lot of respect after they recognized that i am a solo traveler
• Post the dinner the hotel owner offered me a local wine called Chulli, made of apricots
• Enjoyed every sip of Chulli with lots of loud laughs with restaurant staff before going to sleep
• Its 7 o’clock and i am back on road. Passed the risky shooting zone behind a military cavalcade
• Within 1 hour, arrived at Khab-Sangam, which is the confluence of Satluj and Spiti rivers
• A mettle bridge helps cross the rivers and ride into cliff-hanging narrow road

• The elevation starts from Khab-Sangam which goes towards Leo and Nako villages

• I decided not to go towards Leo, but clicked a picture of the village

Nako (Tabo, Sumdo, Geu and Dhankar)

• Arrived in Nako, which is famous for its thousand years old monestry

• After spending some time at the monestry and talking with a young monk about on meditation, i left for next destination
• During the way arrived the dreaded Malling Nala, which is notorious for its deadly water flow
• I am lucky to visit Spiti during October, water streams are at the lowest level during this time
• Stopped at the famous loops which are breathtaking. Took a pause there and kept starring the serene depth of nature

• While riding towards Tabo, arrived in village Chango. It has apple orchards and a monestry at some hight

• After spending some time in Chango and talking with local kids, headed towards Tabo village
• Tabo is famous for its monestry and a heliport. I clicked no pictures as its forbidden in Tabo monestry
• Took pause at Tabo bridge and ate fresh apples from nearby orchard after washing them in the water stream
• While munching the apple, realized how people in history use to feel when nature was the only source of food

• Immediately after passing the Tabo, come this long stretch, passing through the beautiful mountains
• Stopped again and while sitting on the road in state of complete thoughtlessness, realized about how small is my existence in front of the nature

• After stopping and clicking pictures, arrived at Dhankar monestry. Spend sometime in monestry, taking pictures and talking to fellow travelers

• Dhankar also has a heliport, enjoyed some time there and waved towards riders, heading towards the monestry

• Its almost evening now, next stop is Kaza, which is just half an hour away from here

Kaza (Langza, Komic, Hikkim, Key, Kibber and Chicham)

• City is packed with travelers. Found a home stay which is in front of famous Himalayan Cafe
• Next morning after refueling at the worlds highest fuel station, headed towards Langza

• Langza is famous for the tall Buddha statue, overlooking the valley

• From Langza headed towards Hikkim and Komik, which are the highest villages of world

• Komic is a high altitude village in Spiti. Komic is a heaven for nature and peace lovers

• Komic has a monastery known as Tangyud Monastery. The monastery is one of only two monasteries in Spiti, belonging to the Sakya sect
• Tangyud monastery is one of the highest and oldest monasteries in India

• After spending some time there and gazing the wast meadows for almost an hour, started descending towards Hikkim village

• Hikkim village has worlds highest post office. This entire valley is famous for fossils

• Spend a good time there, talking with a Lama (Buddhist spiritual person) in depth about their rituals and values
• It was nice to observe the fossils and imaging the historical value of the entire region

• Its sunny and sky is so clear which a city dweller like me will rarely experience
• Took a pause and sit there in peace while trying to think nothing
• Finally after spending a good amount there i am going towards Key monastery

• The route takes us back towards Kaza city and then we ascend towards Key, Kibber and Chicham villages
• Key monestry is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 13,668 ft
• It is the biggest monastery of Spiti Valley and a religious training center for Lamas
• It was some festival going on in monestry. A traditional ceremonies to take the blessings of religious leaders

• Next stop is Kibber village, Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary starts from Key and spawns up to the road to Chandartaal

• After crossing the entire Kibber village and riding for another 10 minutes, arrived at Chicham bridge
• Chicham Bridge is said to be the Asia’s seconds highest bridge from sea level at 13,244 ft. It connects Kibber village to Chicham village
• The bridge is situated above a deep gorge about 1000 feet high. Before this bridge the villagers of Chicham used a dangerous rope-way to cross

• After passing the bridge, another 5 minutes of ride takes to Chicham village

• Spend some time there talking to local people. Its getting dark so started riding towards Kaza
• Arrived near Kaza and stopped at this beautiful message made of waste plastic bottles, to highlight the significance of not using single use plastic

• Back to the home stay and now time to relax and enjoy the small town delicacies and culture
• Checked with locals about the Kaza-Manali route, which is one of the most difficult in entire region
• Locals suggested to start as early as possible, Its only 200 kilometers but its one the offroad heaven
• Road from Kaza to Manali is open only June to October. It can be closed anytime now because its already October
• Not expecting anyone to assist me in during tomorrows ride, so i am better prepared to pass it alone
• Bought a pair of long gum boots, helpful to cross the water streams. Also scrounged some bread and butter for tomorrows breakfast
• Went to bed at around 10 PM so that next days ride can be started early

Kaza to Manali (Rangrik, Losar, Kunzum, Batal, Chota Dara and Rohtang)

• Its 7 o’clock in the morning and today i will ride through worlds most treacherous and isolated region
• Almost 70% of my luggage is tools, spares and everything that is required to take me out of any hell
• Worn all my safety gears: polyester thermals, level 2 riding jacket and pant, kidney belt, hydration pack, warm gloves, balaclava and helmet
• Today is the day to test my physical and mental efficiency. With a larger then life attitude, i said to myself “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”

• Realizing the significance of a fine morning around me, while heading towards Losar from Rangrik

• Before Losar clicked picture of stones with message “Om Mani Padme Hum”. Entire Spiti and Laddakh region is full of such engraved stones

• Losar has a police check post, which requires verification before heading further towards Manali
• After riding for around 2 hours from Losar, reached at famous Kunzum pass and temple
• One of the highest pass famous for its altitude and difficult surroundings, spend sometime there and headed towards Batal

• Batal is nothing but few makeshift huts, which are shops run by famous gaddi people of this region
• Gaddi people run these shops for around 4 months a year and they are the only source of survival on this route

• Didn’t stopped at Batal and rather decided to reach Manali as soon as possible
• There is no sign of tarmac on this route, pebbles everywhere, which wont let you go beyond second or third gear
• From Batal starts the water crossings, which are very dangerous when you alone, as there is no one if you fall
• At one crossing, my tyre stuck into pebbles but came out after a careful utilization of physical strength along with the power of motorcycle

• Arrived at Chota Dara, which has some buildings but found no one there

• Reached Chatru at around 4 PM, which has some makeshift arrangements in tents for food and stay
• Took my lunch there and met some other fellow foreign origin riders, heading towards Kaza
• Also met a famous you tuber, later i was surprised to find that he published me in his video

• The dhaba owner discouraged me to go further. I laughed and offered him a ride to Kullu
• Arrived at Gramphu where this route merges into Manali-Leh highway. Feel relaxed after realizing that the difficult stretch is over
• The next stop is Rohtang Pass after a ride for almost an hour, which is another high altitude pass

• It was very cold at Rohtang, was barely able to click a picture. Its getting dark and i plan to pass Manali today

• Passed Rohtang and its notorious fog which is really dangerous, when its dark and you on motorcycle
• Reached Manali by 8 PM, took a pause at a small shop and devoured noodles, which i generally avoid
• I am thinking about riding as much as i can so that tomorrows ride can be shorter
• After riding for almost 2 hours, arrived at the outskirts of Kullu and found a decent hotel
• Realized that my entire ride today was around 14 hours and i have passed worlds most treacherous route

• With a peaceful heart, i went into a small session of meditation before a good night sleep

• Some of my favorite pictures from this ride