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CYCLING TOUR IN HIMACHAL PRADESH (14 nights 15 days)
A fascinating journey through the varying landscape of
Himachal Pradesh. The traveler is rendered speechless
moving from lush green landscape of Kinnaur region to
barren moonscape of the cold deserts of Lahaul and Spiti
to lush green valley of Manali. All along the route you
witness a beautiful blend of Hinduism and Buddhism.
| Kilometers covered on bike: |
803 kms |
| Maximum altitude: |
Kunzum La (4590M) |
| Grade: |
Strenuous |
| Best time to visit: |
End - May - September |
Day 01: Delhi - Chandigarh - Barot - Shimla (2100M) - 60 kms
Board the morning Shatabdi express train to Chandigarh.
Reach Chandigarh at 1100 hrs and Drive to Barot. Cycling
commences after lunch in Barot. Night stay in Shimla.
Day 02: Shimla - Thanedar (2348M) - 85 kms
80 kms from Shimla on the old Hindustan-Tibet road lays
Kotgarh, which enjoys a special place in Himachal history.
In 1916 Samuel Stokes, a social worker from Philadelphia
brought the first apple saplings to Kotgarh, the place he
adopted as his home. One can still see the 'Starking
Delicious' apple orchard that he planted there.
Night stay in Banjara Orchard Retreat.
Day 03: Thanedar - Sarahan (2165M) - 97 kms
Ride to Sarahan famous for the Himalayan views it offers
and the Bhimakali temple.
The Gods were generous when they gave Sarahan its
settings. Located halfway up a high mountainside, the
road to Sarahan winds past flowering pine trees that give
way to stately oaks. The fields and orchards that surround
the small villages with their slate roofed houses, compose
pictures of pastoral perfection. Above Sarahan, a many
deodar trees rides the slopes and higher still, encircling
the Bashal peak, are trees of smooth birch and variety of
wild flowers and rare medicinal herbs.
This sparsely populated tract is steeped in ancient
legends and here is the famous Bhimakali temple regarded
as one of the Fifty-One sacred Shaktipeeths. The temple's
unusual architecture and wealth of carvings have made it a
resplendent example of what is loosely called the
Indo-Tibetan style. The historical temple of Bheemakali is
a multistoried structured building, a fusion of Hindu and
Buddhist architecture. The tall tower like structure and
unusual roof of the temple dominate the complex. The
centuries old temple is now locked and in the newly built
temple, the goddess Bhimakali is portrayed as a maiden and
as a woman.
Night stay in a hotel.
Day 04: Sarahan - Sangla (2744M) - 92 kms
For six months every year, the Himalayan valleys of
Kinnaur and Spiti emerge from a thick cloak of snow to
reveal a different, secret world to man. Your discovery of
the lesser-known Himalayas can begins in the Sangla
Valley. At a height of 2,700 M, the Banjara Camp in Sangla
is surrounded by towering mountains on all sides and is
set on the banks of the Baspa River that surges through
the valley.
Night stay in Banjara Camp
Day 05: Sangla - Rest day
A well-deserved rest day in Sangla. You could walk to
Rakcham village (the signature walk of the valley) or ride
to Chitkul; the last border village (20 kms one way).
Day 06: Sangla - Kalpa (2670M) - 50 kms
Kalpa was known as Chini back in the days when it was the
regional capital, Kalpa has changed little in the last 500
years. It is said that as and when Lord Dalhousie wanted
to take a break from his hectic schedule in Shimla, he
would come here on his horseback.
The views of the Kinner Kailash range are some of the most
spectacular in the Himalayas. You get a complete panorama
from behind the Chorten (Tibetan Pagoda) at the top of the
hill. Another interesting place to see is the Narayan
Nagini Temple Complex, which has shrines of Hindu,
Buddhist and local deities. Kalpa is also home to the
“Chilgoja” (a kind of dry fruit) tree found in abundance
here. The tree belongs to the pine family and the fruit is
in about an inch long soft cover. Other than Kalpa,
“Chilgoja” grows only in Turkey and Iraq.
Night stay in hotel.
Day 07: Kalpa - Pooh (3662M) - 76 kms
A full day ride To Pooh. Pooh is a small village in Spiti
valley with a small cantonment. Camp overnight in Pooh.
Day 08: Pooh - Tabo (3500M) - 95 kms
We enter the Spiti valley today. The terrain will leave
you breathless and speechless. From lush green valley of
Kinnaur, we move to rock-hard cold desert mountains,
torrential rivers and icy cold winds that account for the
sparsely populated villages. At a height of 10,500 ft this
high altitude desert is home to the second most important
Buddhist monastery in the entire Himalayan region - the
Tabo Gompa. It is now 1008 years old and is rumored to be
the place the Dalai Lama will finally settle in.
Night stay in a guest house.
Day 09: Tabo - Kaza (3870M) - 47 kms
Kaza is the capital of Spiti Valley. Rudyard Kipling
describes Spiti in "Kim" in these words: "At last they
entered a world within a world - a valley of leagues where
the high hills were fashioned of the mere rubble and
refuse from off the knees of the mountains... Surely the
Gods live here.
Night stay in Banjara retreat.
Day 10: Rest day at Kaza
Visit the Ki monastery, Kibber and Gete village.
Ki Monastery is a Gelugpa sect monastery. Its hilltop
position points to a post-thirteenth century construction.
The three storied structure consists largely of storage
rooms at the bottom level while the middle floor houses
the Dukhang - the assembly hall - and the uppermost floor
has another temple and head Lama’s quarters on the one
side of an open terrace. The greatest wealth of Ki Gompa
lies in its collection of ‘Thangkas’ salvaged with
difficulty from the devastating raids of the Dogars and
the Sikhs in the 19th century.
From here a scenic drive takes you into the pasture
country of Kibber. From Kibber, the pastures are spread
over hundred of square kilometers. Kibber is small village
and is the take off point for the popular trek to Tso
Moriri in Ladakh. Further up six kilometers from Kibber,
we drive up to a still smaller village of Gete. Consisting
of just six houses, it boasts of being the highest village
in Asia connected by road.
Day 11: Kaza - Losar (4076M) - 65 kms
A long day in the cold desert of Spiti. Overnight camping
in Losar.
Day 12: Losar - Gramphoo (3200M) - 74 kms
We enter the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh after
crossing the 4500M high Kunzum La. Chandra and Bhaga
rivers confluence at Gramphoo to Chandrabhaga River. Camp
overnight in Gramphoo.
Day 13: Gramphoo - Manali (1926M) - 62 kms
Ride over the 3800M Rohtang pass and enter the Kullu
district of Himachal. Today we move from the barren
landscape of Lahaul to lush green landscape of Manali.
Night stay in hotel.
Day 14: Rest day in Manali
Day at leisure/sightseeing in and round Manali.
Day 15: Drive to Bhuntar airport and fly back to Delhi
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