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Spiti Valley: A complete Travel Guide
You must have heard about the deserts and Mountains but what if I said let’s explore desert mountains this time? Yes, desert mountains do exist and Spiti valley is one of them. Spiti valley is one of the coldest desert mountains in the northern region of Himachal Pradesh and in this blog I’ll tell you How to reach Spiti Valley by different modes of transportation.
The name Spiti means The Middle Name, as Spiti valley separates India from Tibet. Spiti is the coldest place in the country, this less populated place is a paradise for Adventure Lovers and Bikers all across the country.
Travel to Spiti Means: Fewer Buses, Prolonged Journeys, No comfortable Roads, Sometimes no seat in the Buses.
Life at Spiti Means: Delayed Newspaper, Delayed posts, No Cinema, No Shopping Malls, No Flipkart, No Zomato.
but but but the experience, the adventure, the landscapes the life at Spiti will worth your Hard and rough travel experience.
How to visit Spiti Valley: Starting From Delhi
This beautiful valley isn’t so far away in terms of distance, but the road conditions and less availability of public transports to reach this place make travelers think twice if they do not have their personal convenience. And this is the reason why its not possible to reach Spiti easily and quickly.
There is no direct route for Spiti Valley from New Delhi. The nearest points where all types of transportation are available: Shimla which is 414km and Manali which is around 200km away. Let’s see how one can visit this valley by taking different modes of transportations.
How to reach Lahaul Spiti by Bus via Shimla-Kinnaur Route:
One can easily find a Bus at Kashmiri Gate Bus Terminal. All kinds of AC, Non AC, and ordinary busses are available. You can also book an online ticket. Additionally, I wanted to tell you to be aware of Tout, who will try to sell you tickets and maybe sometimes misguide you.
You can buy a ticket to Shimla or I would recommend you to take a Bus for Rampur Bushahr, Himachal Pradesh which is around 126Km above Shimla. Also, you can take a Bus directly for the Reckong Peo. If you want to inquire about any HRTC buses running from Kashmiri Gate ISBT you can contact on this number: Ph. 011-23868694
Kashmiri Gate ISBT to Lahaul Spiti- Full Guide
It is around 13 hours of Journey which covers in total 474kms from Kashmiri Gate ISBT to Rampur Bushahr. Again at Rampur Bus stand you will not get direct transportation to Spiti Valley. From Rampur Bus stand you can take a bus to Reckong Peo which is around 100kms away from Rampur and it will take 5-6 hours to reach Reckong Peo.
You can Night stay at Reckong Peo because Kaza is around 200Kms away from Reckong Peo and let me tell you the travel time to cover this distance is much more than what you think. It will take at least 10 hours to reach Kaza from Reckong Peo because of the Hilly Terrain. So it will be better to Stay at Reckong Peo and take a bus at 5:30 AM to Kaza.
There is only one Bus to Kaza every day. I will recommend you to book your tickets online at hrtchp.com because these busses are coming from Shimla and the availability of seats is uncertain.
Halt at Reckong Peo
Reckong Peo is also called Peo by the locals. You can enjoy the view of Kinner Kailash mountains covered with snow from Peo. You can easily get accommodation here which will cost you around RS. 600-700. If you have time you can also visit Buddhist Monasteries here. The temperature is pleasant.
Reckong Peo to Kaza
The Bus from Peo to Kaza will cost you around Rs.337 and one important thing I would like to share is once you enter Himachal Pradesh there is a 25% concession on the fare for ladies. So you can redeem this while traveling in Himachal Pradesh.
This 10-11 hour of journey from Peo to Kaza will be tough because there are no proper roads and if you are traveling on the HRTC bus then there will be a probability that you will not get a seat. The bus is could be crowded because of the limited transportation from Peo onwards.
Reached Kaza in Spiti
Once you reach Kaza we recommend you to take a rest and feel the beauty of this place. If you had already visited Leh-Ladakh you will definitely relate to this place. The landscapes are as beautiful as you can see in Leh-Ladakh. For some reason, the Spiti valley is not so popular as Leh-Ladakh but I must say this will definitely give you a feel of visiting Ladakh.
At Kaza, you will find the Highest petrol pump situated at an altitude of 3,740 metres (12,270 ft) above mean sea level. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. did it best to provide their services at this height.
World's Highest Petrol Pump and Retail Outlet. The Indian Oil Corporation Limited run petrol pump is situated at an…
Posted by Arun Singh Dhaliwal on Saturday, March 16, 2019
You can also find a Decathalon store at Kaza. The temperature at this height will be insane cold. Especially at nights so be prepared for that and if not then Decathalon will be there to help you.
We will recommend you carry some extra cash because there are ATMs at Kaza but most of the time they are short on cash. Also, there are no cards and Paytm services available at the top.
From Kaza, you can book a taxi or rent a bike for a better experience. There are the must-visit small villages, Landscapes, Monasteries, Langza Buddha statue, Highest Postoffice, etc which will definitely make your trip worth, and give you some good pictures for Instagram too. And I bet you, you will feel closest to nature, the real planet at these places. So please don’t take this opportunity from yourself.
You can travel to these villages to cover almost all parts of this beautiful remote valley.
How to reach Spiti Valley by Bus via Manali-Rohtang Pass Route:
Alternatively, you can take the Manali-Rohtang route to reach Kaza, which is also the shortest route among the two. But this route is open only between the months of June-October. Another drawback of traveling Spiti via the Manali route is the Altitude.
If you have a high altitude sickness problem then let me let you while traveling via Shimla route the altitude increases gradually and you do not feel sick or have a mild headache. But this problem you can face via traveling to the Manali route.
There are two buses each day plying between Manali and Spiti. These go via the Rohtang Pass, Kunzum Pass, and then to Kaza. The ticket for an HRTC bus cost approximately Rs. 250 and needs to be purchased 1-2 days before your journey and you need to board the bus from the main Manali Bus Station.
How to reach Spiti Valley by Bike:
You can take a Bus from New Delhi to either for Shimla or for Manali. From these points, you can rent a Bike for Spiti. But please make sure you have all the travel gears, Jackets, accessories required for Traveling with Bike. If you want to rent a Bike in Spiti only then you can reach Kaza via Bus or traveler and can rent a Bike at Kaza. You will get a Bike for Rs.800-1500 approx. per day.
How to reach Spiti Valley by Air:
You can take a flight to Kullu airport also known as Bhuntar Airport. This Airport is 10 km away from Kullu. You can take cabs to reach the main city and then take a Bus or Rent a Car or Bike to Travel Spiti.
How to reach Spiti Valley by Train:
If you are in Delhi then you can take a train to Kalka, and after reaching Kalka you can board a Kalka Shimla Joy train to reach Shimla. Another way is to Reach Chandigarh via Train and then take a bus to either Shimla or Manali.
How to reach Spiti Valley by Traveller:
You can either directly Book a traveler from Delhi- Delhi or You can easily book it from Shimla or Manali.
Along all these routes, you will experience some tough life experiences and some beautiful Landscapes for sure. And if you are taking the Manali route then it will be a life-changing and life remembering Experience for you. Full of Adventure and Fun.
This is All about how you can reach the beautiful desert mountains in India i.e Spiti Valley. In the next blog, I’ll tell you more about Spiti, Things to do. Places to Visit, what you eat, Where to stay, and the Best time to visit Spiti valley. So that you can have a lifetime experience of visiting the Place. Until then Bye takes care.
