Spitified – That’s how I got Spitified

Watch dreams to fulfill them. Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it. we see the world not as it is but as we want to see. Limitations that hold you from your dreams are self-imposed so this time I decided to expand my limits. That was September’2018 and it was heavily raining in Delhi so almost all of my near and dear one’s warned me to not to go to hills but my leaves were approved and everything was planned so I decided to move on. I tied Buddhist prayer flag on my bike and started my journey on 8th September’2018 towards the land of lama.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Journey comprise of 1846 odd km, Full of adventure and surprises at every curve. The kind of impression we had about Spiti was land comprise of Barren mountains but this unspoiled virgin valley has much more to explore and it’s still unexploited because of lack of connectivity with rest of the world.

Day1 – We (Me and my 2 Rider buddies) started off from Delhi at 05:00 hrs in the morning, Our target was to reach Narkanda (A hill city located 100 km away from Shimla). Though we met huge traffic jams in outskirts of Chandigarh and few miles before Shimla because of the weekend but our machines helped us to escape from jam quickly, that’s what I like most while traveling with two wheels. We managed to reach Narkanda by 1700 hrs. Post searching we found an amazing place to make that night memorable – Wild Himalaya Glamping Camp on the bank of Lake Tanujbber, Narkanda. This amazing well-maintained property is owned by a Rider buddy who is now a good friend of mine.

Day2 – We started riding at around 08:00 hrs in the morning and our target was to hit Chitkul (India’s last village) by evening. Post crossing Rampur, Karcham, Sangla and few small towns we managed to reach Chitkul by evening and there was no network coverage which eventually helped us to enjoy the nature immensely, We pitched our own tents in a private land of an under construction hotel and it started raining post installation of our tents, cold winds were blowing along with the shower of rain and it was dark in the lap of Himalayas. We were sleeping a few miles away from China, trust me that was one of the unique experience and words are too less to describe that experience.

Day3 – We woke up in excitement to have our breakfast at India’s last Dhaba (Roadside restaurant) in Chitkul. Dhaba is located on the bank of River Baspa where one can enjoy a cup of coffee and Breakfast with the breathtaking view of the valley, That cup of coffee is equivalent of buying happiness. Post having breakfast we started heading towards Barren mountains of Spiti valley. After crossing Karcham enroute we got mobile network and chance to see green valley for a while then post crossing few miles entire view was full of barren mountains with the clear sky and no mobile network so you can enjoy the valley without any obstacles. I was feeling like I am playing a video game rather than riding my motorbike. Then we visited crystal clear Nako Lake followed by the monastery in the evening and spent overnight in Nako while gazing the stars in pollution free clear sky.

Day4 – Post starting our ride from Nako in the morning we encountered a Helipad open for the public where we captured some memories (pics) then we entered Spiti Valley from a place called Sumdo. We had to show our identity to enter Spiti while foreigners require special permission to enter into Spiti district, Considering the security reasons of International border area photography is not permitted for 55 km post entering Sumdo. Then we moved towards Gue village where we had to travel 8 km off route but it was worth traveling since one can get to see only mummy identified in India so far of monk Sangha Tenzin located in Gue Village. Then we started heading towards destination for that night – Sagnam Village located in Pin valley where we stayed in a homestay where locals gave us warm welcome and offered accommodation and local food in their personal kitchen itself at a nominal cost.

Day5 – We were all set to head towards the hub and the major most town of Spiti valley – Kaza (Place where World’s highest Fuel station is located) and we even managed to reach there by afternoon. We dropped our luggage in the hotel at Kaza and decided to explore the city and near around places on our bikes. We explored Key monastery, Kibber, Gette, Tashigang Village during the day and ended our day with Gala dinner followed by Live music at Himalayan cafe based in Kaza market.

Day6 – We were all set for another mesmerizing day in Kaza. The plan was to cover – Hikkim Village (Place where World’s highest post office is located), Komic (Highest village in the world connected with the motorable road) and Langza (Place where a huge Buddha’s statue is located). We managed to cover all these places by early evening and decided to spend the rest of the evening at the same place – Himalayan cafe.

Day7 – Post having breakfast we checked out from our hotel in Kaza and started heading towards Chandertal Lake via Chicham Bridge (Asia’s highest bridge) and Kunzum Pass. It took us 5 hours to cover just 100 km then we checked into our Swiss tents by evening. The temperature was decreasing steadily and it went to (-7*C) in the night at the height of 14,100 feet. Considering the height this place is not recommended for persons who cannot accumulate with less oxygen.

Day8 – We found that our bikes are frozen with a layer of Ice on it. We went to visit Chandertal lake which requires foot trek of 1 km. Then our next destination was Manali and trust me that was one of the weirdest roads we encountered during the entire journey. Entire patch till Rohtang La was full of Big Stones, River Crossings, Slush and of course off roading but we were lucky enough since season’s first snowfall was waiting for us at Rohtang Pass where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and Maggi in snowfall. We were back from barren to the lap of green mountains again with mobile network and an adequate level of oxygen in our bodies. Then I had something in my mind to make our last evening special – We concluded the day in Sunshine cafe located at Old Manali where you will hardly find any Indian tourist, Yes it was full of Israeli tourists there we enjoyed Israeli snacks followed by Live music.

Day9 – We were all set to reach home but it was quite hectic since we had to cover 540 km in a single day. We started off at 0730 hrs and just took 3 major breaks at Mandi, Kiratpur and Ambala along with few minor breaks and managed to reach home by 2030 hrs with memories unlimited.

Always remember that you can either make excuses or you can make progress but you cannot do both.

Distance Travelled
Day1 Delhi-Narkanda 410 Kms
Day2 Narkanda-Chitkul 195 Kms
Day3 Chitkul-Nako 160 Kms
Day4 Nako-Pin Valley (Sagnam Village) 141 Kms
Day5 Pin Valley-Kaza Near around 101 Kms
Day6 Kaza Near around 65 Kms
Day7 Kaza-Chandertal 100 Kms
Day8 Chandertal-Manali 135 Kms
Day9 Manali-Delhi 539 Kms

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