Spiti Valley is considered one of the toughest offroad expeditions in India. With the COVID Restrictions relaxing in July 2021, I immediately planned this trip soon before any other waves plan to hit. I was going to transport my bike to Delhi by Train and from there ride it all the way up to the mountains. This would be my first Motorbike ride in the Himalayas!
Route that I ended up taking - 2000 Kms Day 1 - Delhi to Panipat
Day 2 - Panipat - Chandigarh - Shimla - Narkanda - Rampur Bushahar
Day 3 - Rampur - Nako - Tabo
Day 4 - Tabo - Kaza - Rest
Day 5 - Kaza - Langza - Hikkim - Komic - Kaza - Key - Chicham - Kaza - Dhankar - Kaza
Day 6 - Kaza - Losar - Kunzum - Batal - Gramphu - Manali
Day 7 - Manali - Jibhi - Jalori Pass - Shimla
Day 8 - Shimla - Chandigarh - Delhi
Bike transport in Train - Yeshwanthpur to Nizammuddin
The Bike can be transported through Indian Railways in 2 ways. Either you book it as Luggage in the same train you travel (or you need not travel, just have a Ticket) or you book it as a parcel. I had ample time before trip so I booked Parcel from Yeshwanthpur. There are many Bike packing vendors outside the parcel office who will pack the bike for you and drain off the petrol. Either you can take the Petrol back with you or donate it to packers for free. They charge around Rs 500 for packing and you can provide additional Rs 100 for 3 layer packaging. There is no standardized way of packing so be very particular and ask them to cover the whole bike as they will tend to be lethargic and skip certain key parts.
After packing, you push the bike and take it to the Parcel office along with Forms. Here you mention the Insurance amount based on which the Transport charges are determined. I declared the value of the Bike as Rs 10,000 and had to pay a total of Rs 2400 for Bangalore to Delhi. You will need to Tip the Loader Rs 100 / 200 so that he gives your bike the priority. So overall it costs about Rs 3000 and around 2 hours for the whole procedure. I went there early so all this got over by 9 am. The bike may take up to 2 weeks to be transported. Mine however, went in 4 days (thanks to the tip!). To unpack the Bike they charge Rs 200 in Delhi and you need to go there with the Keys, Original Parcel Booking receipt, Bike documents and ID proof. Be sure to carry some Petrol while receiving the bike. All this is a tedious task for the first time but once you know the procedure it becomes streamlined.
The Ride
Day 1 - Delhi to Panipat
As I landed in Delhi, I was in severe heat shock! My body just went from 18 Degrees in Bangalore to 40 Degrees in Delhi. To add to the problems, I had a heavy meal on the flight and in Delhi which caused a severe acid reflux. I knew these problems would sibside once I started riding so I carried on!
However my excitement was not enough to tackle the challenges up ahead. There was a huge Punjab Farmers Protest going on in Delhi which meant I could not ride above 20-30 Kmph. With such severe heat and traffic, I was sweating profousely and dehydrated. It was almost sunset when i reached Panipat where the protest finally ended on the highway. I was very dejected and thoughts of failure started creeping in my head! Overall on the first day, I was only able to cover 139 Kms in 4 hours while I lost litres of body fluid.
Day 2 - Panipat to Rampur
I had a good night's sleep and all my tiredness from the flight journey was gone. I was disciplined to wake up early and determined to cover up the distance lost yesterday. The weather was thankfully forgiving in the mornings and in no time, I reached Panchkula. The Luggage was a bit of a hassle as it kept sliding forward and putting weight on my lower back. I knew this would turn into a big issue if not addressed immediately. I used my Bunjee in a new way so that there was always a gap between me and the Bag.
Once I was in the 4 Lane Himalayan road, there was some new kind of Energy that erupted inside of me. I was jumping in joy and taking all the corners of the highway aggressively without having the need to worry about oncoming traffic. The Panchkula to Solan stretch is a dream 4 laned road for all bikers. My stomach was still not so great so I decided to stick to safest south Indian food at Sagar Ratna for breakfast
From Solan to Narkanda it was all foggy with very low visibility. I was enjoying the ride so much that I never looked at the kilometers I am covering. I passed through the magnificent Apple orchards of Narkanda. The whole drive is on top of a Ridge so you have cliffs on either sides with serene views of Satluj river.
All through the day it was very foggy but once I crossed Narkanda, it again started getting hot. I reached Rampur, my intended destination but it was only 3pm so decided to push ahead to reach Sangla. The sun sets at 7.45 in these parts so I had ample sunlight.
As I was gaining good momentum, the bike however had its limit for the day. 5 Kms after Rampur, my rear wheel got punctured.
It was a big nail and I realized that the FormulaX sealant was completely useless. I was carrying a spare tube and started searching for Puncture shops riding with the punctured tire. To my bad luck, it was a Sunday and all the Puncture shops in the area were closed. I took this as a universal sign telling me that its enough for the day. I took a room in Rampur and decided to postpone the problem tomorrow. I was surprised that I covered 400kms that day. It would be the longest distance I would cover in a day in this entire trip!
I wanted to see the puncture shops nearby, so decided to unload my luggage in the hotel and check the shops. Here is the story of this amazing chap who went out of way to help me. While I was walking and I asked for direction from this guy called Rakesh in the middle of road. He told me the Puncture shop is 2 kms away and he offered to drop me there. Then he remembered that he has only one helmet and police will check in the middle. Without any hesitation, he told me to wear that helmet and take his bike to the Puncture shop. For 2 mins I was in disbelief. I even checked with him thrice if he was serious. Finally I took his bike, met the puncture shop guy and came back. All through riding his bike I was thinking these guys trust so easily, I was wearing a mask, he has no idea who I am, no idea if I was lying and still gave me his bike. People are still inherently good as we move away from the cities
Day 3 - Rampur to Tabo
Rampur which was really hot yesterday was completely pouring thunders today. I couldve avoided all this rain if it was not for the Puncture. The rain was thundering down and immediately I saw many roadblocks and landslides in Kinnaur. There is a Hole cut in the mountain which is a significant milestone in the Spiti ride. This marks the entry into the Kinnaur valley which is carved high into the mountain slopes above satluj river.
The whole valley is lush green due to the rains. We have to be very careful here as one week before my trip there were severe landslides which can wipe out an entire mountain face. All the checkposts kept warning me of the shooting stones.
I faced several roadblocks due to landslides that day but there was one in particular that kept me waiting for hours! There was a Maruti 800 stuck and while a 4x4 car was trying to rescue it, it got stuck as well. we all tried to push and pull it with rope and it was just sinking more. Finally we had to call the earthmover which came after couple of hours
Satluj was just monsterous that day and it was the first time I started getting scared of water. I toned my speed and agression down and started proceeding with utmost caution in the mountains. It was finally at Pooh that the rain started coming down as I entered the rain shadow area
Once in the Cold desert, I got the first glimpse of Spiti Valley at Khab which is also called the Sangam - where the 2 rivers meet.
The landscapes of Spiti were completely different than Kinnaur. It was 200 shades of Brown with unique stone structures all over
Soon I reached a beautiful village called Nako. It was very tempting for me to stay there for the night, but it was at a high altitude and would be too much gain for me
Right next to Nako there was Moon-land like structures similar to Lamaiyuru.
Then I reached a place called Mailing Nala. This had almost knee deep water crossing. Since I was completely alone and water flow was fierce, there were thoughts which started my heartbeat racing. But I decided to take it slow and made it out without issues.
Right after Mailing Nala, there was a Landslide and I saw that an Earthmover was clearing the road. Since there was nobody I was waiting for him to clear and give me the go ahead. There was a state transport bus who came up behind me and started honking and telling me its a good to go! Under pressure, I started the bike and proceeded forward.
As I was moving, there was a huge boulder that started rolling down the cliff on my right. my immediate reaction was to take the bike fast out of its way. But with immediate twist of throttle, the Bike got switched off and there was this 2-3m Boulder crashing down at fast speed! Luckily as it was coming down, it bounced off a rock, turned direction and hit the Earth mover barely 10m ahead! there were smaller stones which came down crashing on my feet but luckily to no harm! I quickly started my bike and got the hell away from that place!
I realized that I needed some company to cross these streams and landslides or I will be in trouble. So in the Sumdo Checkpost, I tagged along with a biker who was doing Shimla to Dhankar! It was almost nightfall when I reached Tabo for the stay. Once in the hotel room, I was just thanking the mountains for keeping me alive today. It was one of the most dangerous days of my trip with so many landslides. With such high adrenaline, I was not able to get much sleep through the night!
Day 4 - Tabo to Kaza
It was a tiring, cold and sleepless night at Tabo which resulted in a Headache. I have had many signs earlier to know this is due to High altitude. Upon checking, I slept last night at Rampur which was 6000 ft and Tabo which was at 10,000 ft. Further, my target of Kaza today was at a altitude of 12,500 ft. So I decided that today would be all about acclimatizing than riding.
Overall I did only 40 kms this day from Tabo to Kaza. I met my friend Harsha in Kaza who gave me the idea to explore Jalori pass on my way back.
I stayed at Moustache hotel which was also a Royal Enfield service center with some really cool people running the place.
The whole of that day I was sitting in Himalayan Cafe and drinking gallons of water and peeing. The only mantra to beat Altitude sickness is to drink and pee.
Luckily the people running Moustache hostel were passionate offroaders so it was endless conversations with them. It was a beautiful sunset in Kaza and all the rest helped me sleep well at night
Day 5 - Kaza - Langza - Hikkim - Komic - Kaza - Key - Chicham - Kaza - Dhankar - Kaza
I was staying in Kaza for 2 nights, so I didnt have to travel with Luggage today. Thanks to all my efforts at acclimatizing and the wonderful sun that was shining, it was a Gorgeous day. I went to fill petrol at Kaza but the Station opens only at 9am. So I thought I will do the Langza loop having full confidence on Xpulse mileage.
I headed up to Langza in no time where I saw the magnificent Buddha statue overlooking the mountains. It was a serene and calm place between the mountains. The patch of green was like an Oasis in between the desert. I met a lovely chap called Deepak with his cafe called Spaceship in Langza. He gave me his special blend of Ginger, lime and Honey black tea which further helps in acclimatization. Since Langza was pretty high, he gave me good advice to head to Komic first and then to Hikkim to save some petrol and form a loop.
It was a complete Offroad day and I was not complaining at all! Without the bags, the bike was just so much easier to handle
Next stop was Komic which was the Highest motorable Village in the world
Third stop for the day was Hikkim which had the world's highest post office. Please make sure you remember the address of whom you want to post to as this place has no network and you wont be able to search for addresses.
I was running little low on fuel and Kaza pump opened only after 10am. So it was perfect time to head down back to Kaza, fill petrol and grab some lunch at Deyzor hotel. Although Deyzor hotel is is nice, the owner was not very friendly towards his customers and very judgemental.
Next stop was the famous Key Monastry. There is a photo spot where almost everyone walks ahead to take photos of the monastry. It is hands down the most serene monastry I have ever seen in my life!
After Key I decided to continue on the Kibber Chicham loop. There was lot of people staying in beautiful Kibber village
Next up was Chicham which was connected to Kibber through this Iconic high altitude bridge!
After Chicham, there was not a single vehicle or a soul seen on the road. there was just acres and acres of green grasslands which was a sight to behold. and finally I reached the most famous photo spot of spiti valley highlighting all its rock formations.
After the photo point, I descended down the Kyato bridge and came back on the Kaza Batal road. I was back at Kaza by 4.30pm and there was still some time. So I grabbed some food and decided to head back to Dhankar Monastry.
The sunset from Dhankar was one of the most spectacular ones!
Thanks to the rest and Acclimatization yesterday, I covered almost 200Kms Kaza to Kaza on this day covering some of the most beatiful destinations on earth!
Day 6 - Kaza - Gramphu - Manali
Of all the days in this trip, this was one that haunted me. as it was completely offroad. To make matters worse, today was overcast and cloudy with no sign of the sun. Knowing it will be a rainy day, I started early and reached Losar for Breakfast. Here, the Police told me about the E-Pass that I have to register to visit Chandrataal. Although you can take the pass on your mobile, but there is no network in the Chandrataal region so its better to do it at Losar. It was time to climb the Kunzum la pass and few kms before the Pass the offroad started.
On crossing Kunzum pass at 4550m, I thanked the mountain passes for letting us pass safely. The downhill from the pass was completely rocks, gravel along with rain. It was really challenging to get down given the slippery rocks.
I took the turn towards Chandrataal. I didnt expect the Chandrataal route to be so long and slow. It took me ages to climb up to the lake. It even had a 2 deep water crossings which I crossed slow and carefully. It was just taking hours and hours to reach Chandrataal. There were lots of thoughts in my head whether this rough terrain and water crossings are really worth it.
After I reached the Police checkpost, the cops told me that the E-Pass is not valid as it has to be acknowledged by the authorities. I was completely heartbroken as all my struggle to get here was going to waste.
I was not going to accept a no for an answer. After arguing for over 30 mins, he finally let me go. To my dismay, the route further kept climbing for 5-6 kms and bike was struggling for Oxygen. I somehow crawled to the Chandrataal parking only to realize that its another kilometer walk to reach the lake. As soon as I got off the bike, the weather became Sunny. Sun was glazing and at such high altitude and I was getting very dehydrated walking at a snails pace towards the lake with all these weather changes.
When things were not going in order, they became worse. from a distance I saw many people running back and I saw a lot of commotion in the lake. Upon enquiry, I found that a tourist from Manali had drowned to his death in the Lake. His friends rushed to me and asked me to inform the cops to call for rescue. So I cut short my trek, returned to my bike and went down to the check post to inform the cops to make the satellite phone call to retrieve the body.
There are many stories revolving around Chandrataal. They say you wont find a single leaf from tree floating on the lake. There are so many currents and tunnels beneath that it pulls down all the objects that fall on it. There are so many mystries in this lake and it is sacred to the locals. Once a Gold medalist swimmer dived in Chandrataal and he came out immediately within a few minutes stating that the water was pulling him from all directions and he put all his effort to swim outside.
Dejected by all these stories, I started my journey back from Chandrataal check post. With all the physical exertion, I crossed the first water crossing with a lot of struggle. However, while crossing the secong water crossing, I decided to gain some speed and hit a rock. The water was just too deep and I fell. I was almost drenched in cold water, there was nobody around to help and heart was racing fast helmet fogged up completely blind. Quickly gathered all my strength, picked up the bike and pushed it outside. I had no other option but to keep going by forcing myself to calm down.
I reached Batal by lunch. Batal is the base of Kunzum la Pass on the other side. From Batal, I rode on gravel, pebbles all through till Gramphu. I never got the courage to stop and click many pictures. I tagged along with another rider on the Himalayan and together we crossed several water crossings, slush, streams to finally reach Gramphu.
I had almost tears of joy on reaching Gramphu as it was good quality Tarmac road from there to Manali. I was able to cross Manali and booked myself a stay in a nice hotel after a tough day!
Day 7 - Manali - Jibhi - Jalori Pass - Shimla
This part of my plan was formed in Kaza when Harsha gave me the idea to go to Jalori pass. It was an alternate route back home. The roads were so narrow and buses were quite violent in this route that you have to be very careful. The Pass in itself had an amazing view and was well worth the effort to climb it. The descent was through a beautiful pine forest down to Shimla.
Day 8 Shimla - Delhi
This was the final day of my trip. The achievement of completing this ride and excitement of going home fueled me all the way with minimal breaks. After reaching Delhi I realized that Bikes cannot be transported from Indian railways back to Bangalore. For some weird reason, they can only be booked as a luggage but not Parcel. I took the easier way out and booked a Road transport through Gati. It took my Rs 5000 to transport but it was completely hassle free, door to door and no need to do any paperwork, petrol etc.
This solo trip across the Himalayas has given me immense confidence to organize and plan more of such trips. It was both an exploratory awakening as well as realization of what me, my skills and my bike is capable of. Exploring on a motorcycle is not only easier on the body but helps you cover more places faster and in a cost effective way!
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