Vinod Jaiswal & Mayursinh Jadeja’s Memorable Spiti trip with Thrillophilia

Vinod captured the breathtaking beauty of Spiti Valley, with its crystal-clear lake and rugged mountain landscapes

Thrillophilia Verified Booking
PNR: BKDBBOALMY3
Rating: ★★★★
Travellers: Vinod Jaiswal & Mayursinh Jadeja
Trip Duration: 9 Days | 8 Nights
Date of Travel: 20 Jul 2024 to 28 Jul 2024
Package Booked: Spiti from Chandigarh
Guest Experience Officer: Vidhi gurjar

Vinod Jaiswal and Mayursinh Jadeja did Spiti Valley on a group bike tour with Thrillophilia, and Vinod summed it up simply when he got back. "The trek was awesome; the guide and staff were so good; the food was also good." From someone who just spent nine days in the Himalayas, that covers the things that matter.

Let’s read about their review and how their trip unfolded.

Chandigarh to Chitkul

Vinod explored the striking mountain landscapes of Spiti Valley and captured the beauty of its hilltop monastery

They started in Chandigarh, where the group met their road captain, got briefed on the terrain, and settled in before the ride began. If you arrive early enough, Sukhna Lake and the Rock Garden are both worth a few hours before the mountains take over completely.

Day two was the ride to Narkanda, known as the apple capital of Himachal Pradesh, passing through Chail and the lower Himalayan range with apple and cherry trees lining the road and deodar firs filling the air with their particular scent. Hatu Peak, the highest point in Shimla district, was the recommended stop for the views.

Day three took them to Chitkul, the last inhabited village before the Indo-China border. The road follows the Baspa River from Karcham, climbing steadily through a valley that gets quieter and more dramatic the further you go. Chitkul's famous Hindustan ka Aakhri Dhaba, literally the last eatery in India, is the kind of lunch stop that you remember not because of the food but because of where you are eating it, the cold wind coming off the mountains and the border a few kilometres up the road.

Kalpa and the View of Kinnaur Kailash

Day four was the ride to Kalpa, overlooking the Kinnaur Kailash range. Kalpa is one of those villages where the mountains feel genuinely close, the snow-covered peaks filling the view from the hotel window and the evening light turning everything a shade of crimson before the sun disappears. A cup of pahadi chai in that light is the kind of simple thing that ends up being one of the most memorable moments of the trip.

Into Spiti Valley

Day five was the long ride to Kaza, entering Spiti Valley properly after crossing Sumdo. The route passed through Nako, a small village with a lake surrounded by snowy peaks, and made two stops that are difficult to skip. The 500-year-old mummy at Gue Village, a naturally preserved Buddhist monk whose hair and teeth are still intact, is the kind of thing you do not see anywhere else in the world. And Tabo Monastery, over a thousand years old and called the Ajanta of the Himalayas for the quality of its murals, is one of the most significant Buddhist sites in India.

Day six was a full day around Kaza, covering Key Gompa Monastery sitting in its bowl-shaped valley, Langza at 14,500 feet, Hikkim, and Chicham Bridge where the gorge drops a thousand feet below you. The free excursion to the world's highest motorable village was included in the package, and doing it by yak ride is the way to go.

Chandratal Lake

Vinod admired the breathtaking snow-capped mountains and misty peaks surrounded by lush alpine forests in Spiti

Day seven was the ride to Chandratal, the crescent-shaped Moon Lake sitting in the Lahaul and Spiti district. You park the bikes and trek two kilometres to reach the lake itself, and what is waiting at the end of that walk is a lake that changes colour through the day and glitters under the stars at night. Camping at Chandratal is the kind of overnight stay that people plan entire trips around, the lake a few hundred metres away and the Milky Way visible overhead without any light pollution to dilute it.

Day eight was the ride through the Atal Tunnel to Manali, the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet, and the transition from the stark plateau of Spiti back into the green valley of Manali was as dramatic as the one going in had been nine days earlier. Vinod stayed an extra night in Manali independently before the group headed back to Chandigarh on day nine.

How Thrillophilia Made it Better

Vinod kept his review brief and honest. The trek was awesome, the guide and staff were good, and the food was good. For a nine-day Spiti Valley bike tour, those three things are exactly the foundation the trip rests on.

A Spiti trip has a lot of logistics that are easy to get wrong. Inner line permits and Manali Green Tribunal permits need to be arranged in advance. A backup vehicle with a mechanic and spare parts needs to be on the road with the group at all times because breakdowns at altitude are not uncommon. First aid kits and oxygen cylinders are not optional at 14,000 feet. Breakfast and dinner across nine days of remote accommodation need to actually show up, which is less guaranteed in Spiti than it sounds. The road captain leading the group on his bike needs to know the terrain well enough to pace the days correctly and flag the stops worth making.

All of that was in place for Vinod and Mayursinh, and it made the difference between a trip that felt like an adventure and one that felt like a logistical challenge.

Nine days, two friends from Kutch, one crescent lake at 14,000 feet, a mummy that is five hundred years old, and a bridge with a thousand-foot drop. Spiti Valley in July is exactly as good as it sounds, and this trip did it properly.

Also Read: Avi Gupta’s Spiti Valley Journey with Thrillophilia