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HIDDEN HIMACHAL (9 nights 10 days)
Just 190 kms from Chandigarh, lies Thanedar, a small
orchard town tucked away 10 kms from Narkanda. This was the
birthplace of apples in India and affords a serene and
calm experience. For the activity oriented there are some
lovely walks as also a trek to a peak nearby.
From here your journey takes you into the unknown
Himalayas where you will see the Kinner Kailash in all its
majesty and the gurgling Baspa River famous for trout
fishing, at our camp at Sangla. Take nature walks through
the surrounding forests, trek up to the breathtaking
meadows, camp out in the open or simply laze by the riverbank. Continue your journey to the barren landscapes
untouched by time at Spiti valley.
In Tabo visit the 1008 years old monastery, check out the
serene Nako Lake in the middle of the village, go on to Kaza and visit the highest motorable village in the world
- Hikkim. Coming back from the unknown to the known, drive
through the 4551m Kunzum pass and 3978m high Rohtang pass
to reach Manali. This is where your journey ends with
umpteen memories to last a lifetime.
| Kilometers covered: |
1890 kms |
| Maximum altitude: |
Kunzum La (4531M) |
| Best time to visit: |
June- September |
Day 01: Delhi – Thanedar 440km/10-11hr
Leave Delhi
after an early breakfast. Spend the night in the Banjara
Retreat, Thanedar.
Day 02: Thanedar - Sangla 153km/6hr
After breakfast
leave for Sangla. Just across the camp, visit Batseri
village after lunch, the local Devta temple is a must see.
Enjoy the warmth of the bonfire by the riverside in the
evening. Night stay in Banjara camp, Sangla.
Day 03: Sangla Visit Chitkul (3,450mts)
20kms from the
camp. This is the last village on the old Indo-Tibetan
trade route. Lunch along the glacier fed mountain stream.
Day 04: Sangla
Walk up to the Sangla meadows to see the
Kinner Kailash range in all its majesty or take a walk to
the glacier point. Also available river
crossing, rappelling or angling for trout. Bonfire in the evening.
Day 05: Sangla – Kalpa - 57 kms/2.5 hrs
After breakfast, leave for Kalpa famous for its apple and chilgoza plantations. Kalpa offers the best panoramic view of the 6,000m high Kinner-Kailash range. Night stay in Kalpa.
Day 06: Kalpa – Kaza – 210 kms/7 hrs
After an early breakfast, we depart for Kaza, leaving behind verdant, forest clad mountains as we go over the tree line towards the Spiti region. En route you may take a short detour to visit the picturesque Nako Lake. The terrain will leave you breathless and speechless. Rock-hard Desert Mountains, torrential rivers and icy cold winds account for the sparsely populated villages. Reach Kaza, check into the Banjara Retreat and spend rest of the day at leisure.
Day 07: Kaza – Tabo – Dhankar – Kaza
After an early breakfast, drive down to Tabo and visit Tabo
Gompa, reputed to be the oldest (an inscription on a
wall here indicates, it was founded in AD 996)
continuously functioning Buddhist monastery in India and
the Himalayas, with its original decoration and
iconographic program intact. We then move on to see
Dhankar monastery. Dhankar, the traditional capital of
Spiti, sits pretty on a hilltop. The fort here overlooks
the Spiti valley and it was used as a jail in olden
days. Today, more than 160 lamas reside here. A statue
of Dhyan Budha where four complete figures of Buddha sit
back to back is the main attraction of this more than
seven-century old monastery.
Return back to retreat for lunch. Post lunch visit Ki
monastery and Kibber village. Ki Gompa 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 the head Lama’s quarters, on 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. The pastures are spread over hundreds
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 08: Kaza - Manali 201km/8hr
Drive to Manali via
4,551M high Kunzum Pass and the 3,978m high Rohtang Pass.
Check into Hotel Naggar Castle for overnight stay.
Day 09: Manali
Day of leisure and local sightseeing.
Day 10: Manali - Delhi 550km/16hr
After an early
breakfast, drive to Delhi via Chandigarh.
Please contact us for bookings and further details.
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