Markha Valley

 

 

 

Lahaul, Spiti & Kinnaur

Boasting scenery just as spectacular as the Manali-Leh Hway but with only a few Tatas a day, the Spiti Valley is a much less explored corner of the Himalaya. At an average elevation of 4,570m, above which 6,000m peaks and glaciers glint under a high-altitude indigo sky, the valley possesses some of the most important gompas in Buddhism. Most famous is the thousand year old monastery of Tabo, near the border with Tibet. Initially more demanding than Manali-Leh since little of the road is metalled between Gramphoo (at the base of Rohtang) and Kaza, 137km to the east, the awesome scenery and spectacularly situated gompas will easily compensate. Kinnaur, south of Spiti, is a narrow valley carved out by the Sutlej River as it flows west from its source on Mt Kailash in Tibet. The villages perch high up on the valley sides, gazed over by snowy 6,000m peaks such as Kinner Kailash, south of Recong Peo. During late August and September all three valleys will be a fruit-fest for the hungry cycle tourer – with fresh peas, apricots, apples and pears filling the trees and markets. With time to explore, the turquoise, mountain-fringed lake of Chandra Tal is only 10km from Kunzam La, and is a fantastic camping spot. Other detours include the scenic side valleys of Pin and Sangla, and the characterful stone-built villages of Kibber and Nako.

Time 3 weeks – 1 month, starting and finishing in Manali.
When to Go June – October.
Permits At present foreigners need an Inner Line Permit to travel between Tabo in eastern Spiti and Recong Peo in Kinnaur, though it looks like this may be unnecessary soon. The permit is valid for 7 days only, and can be organised in either Recong Peo or Kaza, depending on which direction you’re coming from. Either way, you’ll need 3 passport photos, and photocopies of the Indian visa and personal details pages of your passport. Set aside an afternoon for shuttling between the police station and the magistrates’ office. Checkpoints are at Sumdo, Chango and Jangri.
Road Conditions Road quality varies enormously, from an astonishingly bad stretch of boulders and river between Chhatru and Batal in Lahaul, to silky tarmac in Kinnaur.The roadcrews and their barrels of tar are inching their way westwards from Kaza, though it’s still a good 130km before the next decent stretch of road at Gramphoo. To the east of Kaza, the road quality is generally excellent.
During summer this entire region is prone to landslides which can close the roads for days and cut off entire valleys. While Tatas and motorbikes have no choice but to sit it out, cyclists can hop, skip and jump across the rocks and mud like the locals. A landslide swept away the road between Yangtang and the Nako turnoff back in 2001 – two years later, cycles and their riders must still whizz across the chasm on a crude pulley tray, not much bigger than a cat litter. Traffic in Lahaul and Spiti is more likely to have four feet than four wheels, though it’s heavier on the Hindustan-Tibet Hway in Kinnaur.
Direction From Delhi many cyclists catch the train up to Shimla then cycle east through Kinnaur up into Spiti. At Rohtang, you can either drop south to Manali, or continue northwest towards Keylong and Ladakh. Not only does this give you the chance to experience Shimla's toy train, one of India’s classic train journeys, it also allows you to build up altitude gently through Kinnaur, before tackling the Kunzum La at the far end of Spiti. The other choice is to catch a bus from Delhi to Manali (14hrs+), then immediately do the two big climbs (Rohtang and Kunzum La), after which it’s downhill all the way. That’s unless you want to loop back to Manali, in which case the Jalori Pass, just west of Rampur, is a shortcut back to the Kullu Valley.
Planning You can cycle Lahaul, Spiti & Kinnaur as a loop from Manali in just over 3 weeks, but if you want to visit Chandra Tal and investigate the side valleys of Spiti and the hill villages of Kinnaur, then allow for a full month.

 

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