Day 12 and Day 13 and Day 15 - GHNP and Raghupur Fort Sojha - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 12 - This day dawned misty so we decided to go to GHNP. GHNP is located at a 8km trek from Gushaini and no vehicles are allowed on this road. And it was a day for drizzle !!! We got wet pretty soon !! After 3 kms of this our baby had enough so she turned back and that was that !!! :) We did not mind - we saw some great views of the Tirthan River and did not really expect to make much head way on this route with our child. It was just too long a trek !

Day 13 - We had to take a chance and go to Jalori pass - view or no view. It was our last day !! So off we went at 7am since that seemed to be the best time to start with some clearing of mist happening around 9am to 10am !!!

Must do - Raghupur Fort that offers 360 view of the mountain ranges !!!

So we took a guide, our picnic lunch and off we set out. The trek starts from Jalori pass. It was misty and the trek is upward climbing ( obviously !!! ) so we went slowly !!! Took a break after 1 hour and then climbed again !! And then the mist lifted !!!! Magical !!!!!

The views were stunning !!! All around we were surrounded by mountains in a green pasture land !!! Awesome !!!

Raghupur Fort itself is a tumbled down fort with just some of the rocky walls remaining. We had picnic on one of them and feasted of the sights around us !!!

There is a temple here too and after spending some time just exploring the area and gazing around at the purple flowers and views we started back.

Took couple of snaps at Jalori pass and then headed back to the hotel. It marked the end of our fabulous trip !!!!

Day 15 - Uneventful. We started at 3 am since Delhi is far ( 564 kms ) and more importantly the rains could cause a problem ( traffic jams, small landslides ). Reached Delhi at 4pm and took the flight back to Pune !!

Sojha Valley in the mist

Tirthan Valley River

Sojha Valley

View from Raghupur Fort

View of valley from Raghupur Fort

Pasture land at Raghupur Fort

Day 11 and Day 12 - Chandratal to Manali - Manali to Sojha - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 11 - We started early from Chandratal towards Manali. A short heated altercation with the "Terrible Driver of DL 1Y V 8465 INNOVA" left a very bad taste in the mouth. He actually threatened to leave us stranded at a bifurcation of the road from Chandratal if we did not do as he said !!!! This was too much !!!

My hubby rarely loses his cool but this argument decided it for him. We would have to replace this good-for-nothing driver !!!!

River crossings were tough. The camp guide Bishan was with us and it helped quite a bit to have him !!! He was taking a lift till Manali.

The drive to Rohtang was misty and beautiful until we reached the pass itself ! It was jammed with vehicles and the pass was slippery with mud !!! We had a 3 hour wait here for the pass to be cleared for vehicles going into Manali. We halted in Manali.

We called Banjara about the driver's antics and they promptly replaced him in 30 min !!! Phew !! Thank God !!! We were so disgusted with his attitude and behavior. God knows why he had come on this journey if all he wanted to do was stay in Delhi !!! Ugh !!!

I did not think Banjara's would change the driver. I expected them to ask us to adjust for the remaining 4 days of the journey which would be typical of any other travel operator. But they did not !!! That definitely raised my opinion of them.

Tips

• Start early. The Rani Nala and one more stream ( forgot the name ) get full as the day passes with ice water melting in the sun. So crossing is very tough.

Day 12 - We headed out to Sojha just 3 hours from Manali. The route was typical green hill station ... green , verdant and misty !! :) Lovely .... We pass a tunnel that is 2.5 kms cut into a mountain enroute.

About Banjara at Sojha
The Sojha property is lovely although it is set amidst other private lands too. So you can hear other families around unlike Sangla !! :) There are many steps to go down [ or climb up !! ] to reach the retreat so
The staff at the retreat is courteous and good. We enjoyed our stay over there. The view from the rooms is wonderful !!! On a good misty day it is like being in the clouds and when it clears -one can see the entire valley and top part of ranges of mountains ... just gorgeous !!

We just relaxed on this day since the day was misty and going to any place would not have yielded us any views. We explored the area around the retreat.

Tips

• May-June is the best season for Sojha. The views are fabulous and not obstructed by the mist.
• Do check out Raghupur fort. The trek is of medium difficulty but well worth the 360 views of the ranges and ranges of mountains. Take a picnic basket !!!
• GHNP is located 8 kms by walk/trek from Gushaini. And this is to the entrance of GHNP. No vehicle is allowed on this route. Plan accordingly. The walk is not very difficult.

Rohtang pass in the mist

Slushy mud - Rohtang pass

Traffic jams are very common on this route

Steps leading down to Sojha Banjara Retreat

View

It was a misty day

View from our room

Day 10 - Chandratal - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 10 - The drive from Kaza to Chandratal took us around 4 hours with the last 1.5 hours spent on the dirt track to Chandratal. So far the route from Nako had been treacherous but in my opinion this road was the most scary of all !!! Very very narrow road  jutting out of the mountain, steep sides , loose gravel and rocks - I felt at times it was a wonder the vehicle stayed on the road on what was an excuse for a road !!!

We stayed at a camp that was arranged via Banjara. The camp was organized by Bishan Thakur  from Himalayan Trails while Banjara made all the provisions for food !! I must say the arrangements are wonderful. It feels like 5 star camping !! At night along with the sleeping bags we got a yak shawl each ( wonderfully warm ) along with a hot water bottle. Mmmmmm... very comfy !!!!

We took the scenic trek route to Chandratal and ... the place is just out of this world !!! :) The water of this lake is astonishingly clear and looks very green and blue too !!!

We had quite a bit of rainfall in the night and that worried me ... !!! One landslide and we would be stuck here .. literally in the middle of nowhere !!! But we were lucky ... the rain did not end up in any blockage !!

Tips -

• Don't take this route if you are scared of ramshackle roads !!! :) This can give even a seasoned traveller some misgivings !!!
• Do try to arrive early at the camp. The lake changes hues with the day light changes and it is heavenly to see.
• Do take the scenic and tougher trek route to the lake. The views are fabulous. You might get a bit of altitude sickness with this so do the ascent slowly.
• It is chilly here even in day time and the month of July !! The windchill factor adds to the cold. Pack accordingly.

Camping is at some distance from the lake



Scenic trek to Chandratal



Scenic route to Chandratal



Scenic trek route to Chandratal



Pasture at Chandratal ! :)



Chandratal

Day 10 - Kaza to Kunzum pass & Lahaul Valley - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 10 - To repeat again - the drive from Kaza to Kunzum pass via the Lahaul valley is a treat to the eyes and something that I will be inked in my mind !!!! It is an almost out of the world journey and no words can describe it. Neither do the snaps do any justice... but ... I did try !!! :)

Village on hillside

Scenic Road

Scenic Road

Scenic Road

Scenic Road

Landscape changes closer to Kunzum pass

Pink and yellow flowers in the desert

Day 9 & 10 - Kaza - Kunzum pass - Spiti Valley Tour 2010

Day 9 - We were refreshed at ready to go out and explore Kaza !! :) On this day we went to Kibber and Ki Monasteries. The snaps speak it all !!! Ethereal !!

Day 10 - We went to Dhankar Monastery and then headed out of the Spiti Valley towards Kunzum pass and Lahaul valley. This stretch is the most surreal of all the drives - heavenly !!!! We took hundreds of snaps and yet do not feel we did justice to that place !!!!

Tips -

• Diesel is always an issue here !!! So plan accordingly.
• Power shutdown is common too !!! :)
• Altitude sickness is a possibility ( we did not have issues though )
• Consider going to Komic village - they are on a higher altitude

About Banjara Retreat , Kaza

We were pleased to find that the people over here were very friendly and nice. They were enthusiastic about our arrival and keen on us seeing places too !!! The camping would be organized by these people and they were very happy that we had made it to Kaza with minimal problems !!!!

I consider the fact that they were able to keep us happy in-spite of the the power shutdown [ we had no power the entire duration of our stay ] ... an achievement.  Mr. Om Prakash of this place is a very enthusiastic trekker himself and helped us decide which places to go considering our diesel situation. They also arranged for diesel at Batal ( after Chandratal camping ) but were unable to do so at Kaza itself.

So we eliminated Pin Valley drive from our agenda. We had already lost seeing the 1000 yr Gompa at Tabo due to the delay at Nako. We perhaps could have stayed couple of days longer in Kaza .. but since we had booked the Chandratal camping ( which had been already organized for that day ) our options were tight.

I still feel they could have arranged for a postponement of the camping but as it turns out ..... we were very lucky we headed out the day we did !!! We missed the Leh cloudburst by one day !!!!!

Terrible Driver of DL 1Y V 8465 INNOVA - I was getting a little annoyed with our driver ( make that very very annoyed ) who had not been keen on us waiting at Nako.  He had wanted us to head back. But we persisted.  Low level whining from drivers we always expect but this guy had started to become very very tedious. Inspite of the Retreat people trying to talk to him !!!!! He was now begrudging going to Dhankar Monastery too !!! Looks like he was trying to welsh out of taking us anywhere  ....... and was only cribbing once he knew we were cut off from civilization !!! I mean even if we were to replace him .. it would not be easy at this point in the trip na ?

Our sore point was that .. the diesel situation did not look good. With the trucks being stuck in Nako for days the Kaza fuel station did not have diesel so we had to carefully plan our outings .. while rationing the fuel consumption !! It seemed ironic to me ... we had arrived where we wanted to .. and we could still be done in by ----- diesel ??? :)

Luckily and after prodding - he got diesel in the evening of the first day. So we felt more comfortable with the drive to Dhankar Monastery and Lahaul Valley.

Spiti Valley view from Ki Monastery

Enroute Ki Monastery

Enroute Dhankar Monastery which is on one of the mud spires - Rain must be a scary thought here !!

Can you see the sheep crossing over the mountains ?

Eroded mud spires on the journey to Kaza

Day 8 - Nako to Kaza - Spiti Valley Tour 2010

Day 8 - Finally the road was cleared and we could go ahead !! Or so we thought. This was a day of delays and delays but we were lucky enough to reach Kaza ..... the way things were going we thought we may end up getting stuck somewhere between Nako and Kaza ... or may be return to Nako for a night halt again !!! Ouch ! :))

Aah ..... the rains ... !!!! Frankly rains are scary here !!!! Mud roads become treacherous and slippery !!! And there is the danger of rock slides, landslides and the ever present streams .. either blocking the road or forming a waterfall ..... which may be strong enough not to venture underneath it !!!!

Then there are flash floods .. one such flash flood had skewed one of the bridges that we had to cross over - the Losar bridge. Phew !!! I was amazed at the destruction that a little bit of rain could havoc !!!

We had 3 delays -
First there was a big rock that blocked the road that had slid down the mountain just the previous day due to rains. - 3 hour wait. Which was only due to the rock being "Kaccha" .. so they could drill it .. dynamite it and blast it out of the way !!!! :)

Second there was a place where part of the bridge had fallen .. so the relevant area was being smoothed / covered and strengthened over by mud - 1 hour delay.

Third - part of the road had clean fallen into the river ... so BRO/GREF was hacking a road in the hillside !!! It took them the whole day .. but we reached that place around 3 pm so had to wait for 3 hours .... !!

Finally we reached Sumdo around 5 pm !!! We had travelled 35 kms in the entire day !!! :) 

After reaching Sumdo - most vehicles flew toward Tabo like bats out of hell. Since we had already lost 2 days we headed straight to Kaza Banjara Retreat.

Heading out on the 3rd day .... towards Tabo and Kaza

The huge rock blocking our way

Views ...

Road is clear - small rocks do not count ! :)

Golden hued sand vies with black ... lovely

Road has clear fallen into the river !!!!

Road to Kaza

Day 6 & 7 - At Nako - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 6 - From Kalpa we reached Nako around 1 pm and went off to see the Nako lake. It was a huge disappointment !!! The snap we have taken surprised us .. it is very deceptive. The lake does not live up to its reputation and looks more like a pond behind a village. We were dismayed to say the least.

However after seeing the lake we got to know that the road ahead to Tabo was blocked due to a landslide and huge rocks that were obstructing the road. So we had a choice - go back or wait for a day since this was the estimated time to clear the road.

We decided to wait. 

Day 7 - The next day too the road was blocked so we had to wait for another night. But we decided to go ahead and not turn back. Scores of people left the next day so Nako suddenly looked empty !! However we only had a 2 day wait. There were people who had waited for 5 days ! So we counted ourselves lucky !!!

Tips -

• Avoid stopping for this lake if possible. It is so not worth stopping for !!!!
• If you do need to stay over - don't bother to go to Hotel Lovon. They don't care for Indian customers. They prefer foreigners and don't treat Indians well. Even though ironically the foreign customers are more bargain savvy here !!! :)
• Seems homestay is not uncommon so if you don't get hotel accomodation - can check this out. We did not know this when we stayed there.
• Power is a problem - so camera batteries , phones ... will be an issue.
• Here one is cut off from civilization. One STD booth - not working. BSNL .. sometimes works sometimes does not !!!
• Later we came to know there is a satellite phone in this village. Can check it out if required.
• The shawl make of yak wool is amazingly warm. Can definitely buy it here.
• Take books if you like to read !!! :)

Things to do -

• Check out the monastery in Nako. It is very serene.
• Go to the other end of the village via the road. The views are lovely !!!!
• STAR GAZE !!!! With power being a problem - the entire night sky is amazingly clear and one can see millions of stars ..... and it is a treat to city-light-hazed eyes !!! :)

Nako Lake - looks deceptively lovely

Trucks waiting for the road to clear

Solar powered street lights in Nako

Day 6 - Road to Nako - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 6 - Drive from Kalpa to Nako

On this day we were to go see Nako lake and then go ahead to Tabo for the night halt. The scenery slowly changed from green to barren. The road to Nako is lovely and enchanting. The tar roads disappear though. The terrain is more rocky and the road gets more dangerous. Falling rocks, landslides, rocky streams now form part of the drive.

In this post I will mainly include the snaps of the road to Nako.

Mud roads

Just after the bridge the road is cut into the rock

Vista when the horizon opens up !!

Scenic ....

That stream is part of the road ..... so got to cross it ....

The hint of green on the mountains is captivating

Rocky terrain ....

Small water stream which will splash on the vehicle while passing ....

Day 5 - Kalpa - Kinnaur Valley - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 5 - We drove from Sangla to Kalpa in the morning. Reached Kalpa in 3 hours. We had booked in Kinner Kailash Hotel and we found it easily.

Must do - Walk to Roghi

Our room had a view of the Kinner Kailash range although the mist was playing hide and seek with the mountains so we were able to catch glimpses of the peaks and then it would disappear behind the mists again !

After lunch - we took a walk to the village of Roghi. This is a easy walk on a tar road that juts out of the rocky mountain side. Around 4 kms. We can view far away the river Sutlej and enjoy the steep sides of the mountain. There are many apricot trees and apple trees along the way too.

We were strolling near a small stream when we came across this plant that stung badly. The leaves , the leaf stalk, the underside of the leaf everything has thorns !!! So keep away from this plant !! :)

It drizzled very lightly as we walked and we were rewarded by a beautiful rainbow that spanned the entire valley. What a serendipity ! :) Lucky us !!!

One can either walk back from Roghi to Kalpa or take the HRTC ( comes at 5 pm in the evening not sure of the other timings ) or use your private vehicle.

The stinging plant !!!

Kinner Kailash Views

Kinner Kailash Views

View of the Valley on the walk to Roghi - far away is the Sutlej river

Road cut into the rocky face of the mountain - Roghi

Rainbow that spanned the valley - look closely you can see both ends - even though left side is faint