Some memories are to be cherished through out life and my trip to Spiti is definitely one of them.Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing and living these memories.
10th July – 6:30 pm. Our journey began from the Delhi to Manali after having nearly missed the bus .So the start was already adventurous.
11th July – Morning we reach the busy ,crowded mall road bus stand. One would immediately want to get out of there and so did we. Looked for a guesthouse to park ourselves for a day. We booked the next day’s sharing taxi to Kaza , Spiti
12th July – And it’s a TUESDAY, wondering so what? The govt blocks the roads that leads to Rotang pass for repairs. And hence roads would open only post 3 pm .But our enthusiastic and homesick driver tried his luck and we left Manali at 3 am ,But we weren’t surprised to return back to our hotels after waiting for half hour in the long queue of vehicles.Finally we left Manali at 4 pm and got through this time. But since we were traveling through the night we had to stop over at a place called Chatru (around 83 km from Manali),a basic dhaba type stopover place which had a single room with beds to crash at night for the travelers.
13th July – I woke up early morning and was surprised to know that the dhaba didn’t have a loo. Initially I refused to believe (my lack of trips to the remote villages) so i went hunting for one but didnt find any. And here was my first encounter with natural /open loos. Eat,sleep,drink and pee close to nature became the new mantra.
Finally we left for Kaza which was around 5 to 6 hours away. On our way I couldn’t resist but capture the barren beauty all around me (I had to request our driver to stop at regular intervals). After capturing a series of stunning landscapes we reached Kaza , the administrative town of Spiti. It’s a ten minute walk from one end of the town to the other, such is the size of the town but it is the busiest of all.
Staying in Mumbai, I never imagined that one day I would reach 12,000 feet above sea level. So my first day at Kaza was rest,rest and more rest. We finally woke up at 7 pm and by then it was time for dinner.We went to Maha Buddha , which later became one of my favourite restaurants’ in Kaza .Every ten steps we walked we would gasp for 5 mins and then start again.
14th July – DAY 2 at Kaza ,Spiti .We got up as early as 9 am (not early according to Spitian standards) and headed to Ecosphere’s (An active NGO in Kaza) office and decided to go to the Pin valley and meet the Head Buchen lama at Khar village . Sounds like a simple plan. But we had no idea what was coming our way or what our journey would be like. We took the 4pm Himachal state transport bus from Kaza and reached Sagnam village ,it was an adventurous 25 min walk from Sagnam to Khar crossing a man made bridge with wooden planks which kept swaying with the flow of the wind .So every step you take your heart skips a beat.Finally we reached Khar village and met Mr Chhewang Namgial’s (head of a buchen lama group) he started off by serving local tea and some biscuits. Then we went on chatting with Chhewang, who shared knowledge about the Tibetian culture , people and their practices and life in Pin valley. Though they hail from remotest villages where there aren’t proper roads and transportation , I was pleasantly surprised to know their views on the importance of education and its power to change people and society at large. And while we were busy with all the talking , Chhewang’s daughter merrily chewed on the Lindt chocolate we got for them.
After having a healthy home made dinner (Rajma rice and roti) we hit our basic yet cozy beds.
15th July – DAY 3 .The day began at 5 am where we woke up to leave for Kaza. What we knew that we had to walk down 20 mins to Sagnam bustand and cross the wobbly wooden bridge, but what we didn’t know that we had to walk another 5 mins and look for a natural loo encore .But this time I was mentally prepared , courtesy stay at Chatru. Finally after a tiring walk we boarded a share taxi and reached Kaza. Spend first half of the day sleeping and the latter half booking our return tickets, eating,chatting and whiling away time.
Well did I mention we moved into a cheaper guesthouse now that we had to extend our stay to be part of the Birthday Celebration of the head lama of Kungri Monastry of Pin Valley. And here comes the exciting part of the new place we shifted in. We thought we were part of some horror flick.It was 2 am and a stranger came knocking and mind you knocking hard and shouting “lamaji lamaji “ probably looking for a room. But the F$#& er didn’t realise that since no one was responding as everyone was fast asleep he should have buzzed off.But the stranger would not give up. He went on and on and this time it was another door.We started shiting bricks. Finally after several attempts as no one responded he disappeared in thin air. If I ever get my hands on him I would recommend RGV to sign him for his next horror film.
16th July – DAY 4– Today we were like the typical tourists .9 am at the taxi stand ,we geared up to visit Tabo monastery and Dhankar Monastry .Tabo approximately 1000 yrs old monastery and my first monastery visit. After visiting little rooms with Buddhist carving on the walls, we climbed up to an ancient cave and got a top view of the entire Tabo village .Later we headed towards Dhankar monastery which was almost in ruins, but thanks to Mr Kishore Thukral and his funders who are trying hard to restore it .Also at a distance was the new dhankar monastry ,which was under construction. But the highlight of the place was that one could see from the top of the monastery , the spiti – pin confluence.
17th July – DAY 5 , Kaza.A holiday within a holiday is what I would best describe this day. Breakfast and lunch at your favourite restaurant .Whiling away time. Connecting with civilization outside Himachal through the world wide web and changing my return date as I had to attend a premiere in Mumbai .But the dinner at Zambala restaurant is the most fun way to end the day .
Let me start with the look and feel one would get once he/she enters the restaurant or you can call it a Spitian dhaba with peppy dance numbers heard at shaadis and a few Punjabi , bob dylon and George Michael played once in a while. A showcase of weird characters . A French wagabond or ‘ a freeloader ’ as described by a veteran Spiti traveler who owns 14 bikes. A funny and generous waiter , 2 blondes and a few drunkards scattered here and there. And yah one friend who developed a fixation for opening beer bottles.All these under on roof. It so happened that after two bottles down,the waiter got a third one which was open already and when he was about to pour, my friend expressed his desire to open the bottle himself and then have the beer . Much to our surprise the waiter nonchalantly took the bottle back and said “ no problem sir main doosra la deta hoon , yeh wala mein pi leta hoon.” AAnd there was a burst of laughter.Later my friend shared another incident, while he was ordering food he asked the waiter “ yahan ka speciality kya hai’ .Our Mr cool waiter replied,” Sir yahan ka special menu card mein nahi hai. Lekar aaon ?” and guess what my friend ordered the dish Chicken roast and it tasted really good.SO the moral of the story - the best dishes are not in the menucard.
18th july - DAY 6 – Another touristy day . Like good boys and girls we got up early.Had parathas at the unforgettable Zambala restaurant (no weird characters early morning though) and reported at 9 am at the taxi stand .We left for Ki monastery,close to kaza. An enthusiastic monk took us around and explained about the various carvings and statues .
One of my friend noticed a lamp shade rotating and below it was a diya .he asked the monk as to how was the lamp rotating.i must say there came an impressive and obviously philosophical reply “ Bin kaaran sansar mein patta hile na ek” .He said it was as a result of the diya that’s underneath that the lamp rotated
Our next destination that day was Kiber, 2nd highest village in Asia (4200 metres above sea level). At one
Then After having lunch at a restaurant in Kiber we headed back to Kaza, took the himachal state bus to mudh village.oh did I mention that one definitely needs an iron butt if he/she is travelling in the state bust especially in the back seat. Mudh is known for its greenery and trekking .We reached Mudh around 7pm and the sun didn’t set yet , so thankfully got to see the landscape in daylight and capture a few on my Canon 60 D.
19th July – Day 7 – We caught to 6 am bus to Sagnam village so that we can travel to khar village to meet mr Chewang Namgial whose house we were planning to stay over.by now he knew us and treated us like family.Well most of the people there do. We had the local delicacy for Lunch ‘THUKPA’ but with a slight difference - pin valley style. After chatting with him we realized there isnt much left to do . So while Chhewang went to get his horse back from the hills, I saw a Monty python and the holy grail. When Chewang got back I did one of the rarest things – helped him cook ,since all the ladies of the house were busy preparing for a cultural programme organized for the celebration of the head Lama’s birthday.
20th july - Day 8 – Another early morning – We all left for Kungri monastery to witness the birthday celebration of head lama of the monastery, Mr Dorje. After speaking to a local there I learnt that the monastery was built by him, who was also born in the same valley and this year was the third year of his birthday celebration organized by the pin valley residents.The day started by paying a visit to him who gave every one a stole , red thread and a buddha photo .The birthday celebration was a magnificent showcase of the valley’s culture and tradition. Different villages performing their traditional dance .The highlight was, a traditional dance performed by four dancers from Sikkim. Young and old everyone participated in the cultural programme and expressed their best wishes.
The next day on 21st July we left for Manali early in the morning. We crossed the same places on our way to Kaza , but this time it was a day trip. So though the route was same the landscape looked different. I think the most beautiful part of the entire trip was the travel from Manali to kaza and back.
And this time we parked ourselves at old Manali which was any day a much better place to stay than the overcrowed and commercial Mall road.
This land of barren beauty, picturesque landscapes, green peas fields, thankas, prayer wheels ,monasteries , momos and thukpas is one of the hidden treasure our country has. And exploring that has given me a sense of pride and happiness. So if you want to reach great heights, Spiti is the place to be in India .
