Itinerary for Road Trip from Delhi to Spiti Valley within Budget
There is a phrase “Sometimes it is the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination” and this phrase stands very true for this fascinating place.
Himachal Pradesh, hearing the name creates many depictions of lush green mountains, beautiful landscapes, rivers and many more. But there is a place in Himachal that is opposite to all this depiction and that is Spiti Valley. It is by far the most beautiful and breathtaking district in Himachal Pradesh. Initially, when we are planning this trip I was not sure of going there because I’ve been to so many hilly areas throughout my life that now I wanted to explore something different. But now after visiting this mesmerizing place I found that love and connect with mountains again. I want to visit this wonderful place time and again to admire the beauty of nature. If you have visited Ladakh then you must feel that connect with this place as it is a cold desert very similar to Ladakh and the journey to Spiti is something that you are going to cherish for the rest of your life. It is located at the border of India and Tibet and for this reason; you will find a unique combination of both these cultures.
So here in this blog, I’m going to share the details of my trip to Spiti Valley. There are two routes which you can explore; one is from Shimla and the other is from Manali. We took the route via Shimla as the route from Manali is not open at times due to snowfall and landslides. The route from Shimla is accessible throughout the year whereas from Manali it is accessible only in summers. If you are travelling there make sure not to plan your visit in monsoons as there are chances of landslides. For this reason, we planned our journey in June which the perfect time to visit Spiti Valley.
Before going further I’m sharing some basic details which might be important for your road trip to Spiti and also help you to understand it better.
Duration: 7 Nights 8 Days
Trip Cost: INR 13000/- to 15000/- per head approx
Inclusion: Accommodation, meals and rented car.
In terms of expenses, I found this place reasonable and budget-friendly, while travelling to Spiti you will find many options for night stay like homestays, zostels, hotels etc.
Listed below is the entire detail for our 9-Days Spiti Valley Trip:
The whole journey to Spiti Valley was magical; there were huge mountains and breathtaking landscapes all around. It seems that they are sharing their age-old history with you.
Day 1-: Overnight journey from Delhi to Narkanda:
We booked an Innova car and started our journey from Delhi; we are a group of six friends and we drove to Narkanda from Delhi over the night, making halts for refreshments and some quick rest. At about 3 PM we reached our destination, we had already booked a homestay named Snow Abode in Narkanda. It was my first ever experience in homestay and I must say that it started pretty well. Their hospitality is too good and the food is amazing, we booked a whole top floor and the view was eye-catching. The place is surrounded by apple orchids and lush green mountains.
HomeStay: Snow Abode | Food and service were excellent | Clean rooms and Bathrooms | Beddings was neat and clean
Day 2: Narkanda to Sangla
In the morning we all headed towards Sangla and it took us about 9 hours to reach our destination. On our way, we make some halts and admire the beauty of nature. Again we had already booked our homestay in Negi Cottage. We had some snacks and start exploring the place. Our homestay was surrounded by mesmerizing mountains and beautiful landscapes. The rooms were clean and cosy, food quality was good. The overall experience was good, if you are planning to stay in Sangla do visit this homestay.
HomeStay: Negi Cottage | Food and service were excellent | Clean rooms and Bathrooms | Neat and clean beddings.
Day 3: Sangla to Chitkul and Kalpa
The next morning we all left for Chitkul Valley, it is the last village of India located at 11320 ft. This place is heaven on earth. The view of this place mesmerised my mind and captive my soul. One cannot pen down the beauty of this place. To move further we have to say bye to this piece of heaven and started our journey further to Kalpa. In the evening we reach there and again we had booked our homestay already, so we directly headed to that place and left our baggage over there and started exploring the town. I must say the place was amazing and the view of Kinnaur Kailash is the cherry on the cake. Our homestay was next to the Lochawa La Khang Monastery that makes it amazing to stay.
HomeStay: Fort View Home Stay | Food was average| Service was really bad |Clean rooms and Bathrooms | Neat and clean beddings.
I would recommend staying at this place only if you don’t have any choice because the basic amenities like power backup, hot water etc is missing.
Day 4: Kalpa to Mud Village
We left Kalpa at about 4:30 in the morning because on the way the construction of the roads are taking place so there is a small stretch between Recongpio to Pin Valley where blasts are taking place to widen the roads. It is better to make it before the blasting takes place; the timing of blasting is 11:00 am – 2:30 pm. So we cross that stretch without any delay and make our journey towards Mud Village. While going to Mud Village we cover the most beautiful villages of Spiti Valley and that is Naco and Tabo Village. The sightseeing from the monastery of Naco village is splendid. Though the Monastery was closed so we headed towards the Naco Lake and that too is very beautiful. After covering Naco we move towards Tabo Village where we visited one of the oldest Monasteries in Spiti Valley. Tabo Monastery was established in the year 996, it is the calmest, quiet and pious place. After visiting these two villages we start our trip to Mud Village and I must say that it is the coldest place that we find on our whole trip, the landscapes and glaciers were splendid the place is filled with so much beauty that cannot be expressed in words. This place is situated at the altitude of 3500-6000meters, so you might find some difficulty in breathing, don’t worry just hydrate yourself as much as possible.
Home Stay: Tara Home Stay | Food and service were excellent |Clean rooms and Bathrooms | Neat and clean beddings.
Day 5: Mud Village to Kaza
The next day morning after having breakfast we left Mud Village and start our journey to Kaza. While going to Kaza we cover many destinations that are on the way Dankar, Hikkim, Komic and Langza. Like Tabo the monastery in Dankar Village is 1040 years old, the architecture of that time is commendable. After that, we headed to our next destination and which is Hikkim, which is popular for the highest post office in the world. Where we purchase some postcards and write messages on them and send them to our loved ones by post. The next stop is Komic and after spending some time in Hikkim we start our travel to Komic, which is the second-highest village in Asia. In Komic there was a gompa and in that the lamas were chanting some mantras and the vibration of those mantras was something else, that was very mesmerizing to hear. Make sure that in Komic monastery females can’t enter after a certain point.
The next destination in our Spiti Trip was Langza, the statue of Buddha with the huge mountains is the perfect spectacle. It seems that Buddha is watching the whole valley from there; the view was so captivating with snow-capped mountains. After that, we reached our final destination Kaza, and we booked our hotel for two nights and start exploring the place. We had our dinner at The Travellers Shed, they serve us amazing food and apart from that the place was lively and cosy filled with tourists.
Day 6: Kaza to Kee and Kibber
On day 6 we have only two destinations to cover so first we started with Kee Monastery. It is the most iconic place to visit in Spiti Valley. The view of Kee Monastery is marvellous; it is the largest Monastery in Spiti Valley. This monastery is situated at the height of 4116 meters. The walls of the monastery are covered with paintings and mural. It was developed in the 14th century. Later than we headed to Kibber Village, in this village you will witness the highest bridge in Asia known as Chicham Bridge. The height of the bridge is 13596 ft and it connects the two villages Chicham and Kibber. After visiting these mesmerizing places we left for Kaza and now we have enough time to explore the market and cafes of Kaza. I must say that it is the liveliest place filled with tourists, the market is not that big but you can find everything here.
Hotel: Sodnam | Food and service were excellent |Clean rooms and Bathrooms | Neat and clean beddings.
Day 7: Kaza to Narkanda
It was the most hectic day of our Spiti valley trip, as our journey ended and we drove almost 12hrs to reach back to Narkanda. We missed our visit to Chandartal Lake because the roads were blocked due to snow and landslide. So we have to cut short our trip and move back to where we started. We stayed at a homestay for the night and the next day early in the morning we left for Delhi.
If you love to travel and want to explore new places then Spiti Valley trip is a must you should visit once in a lifetime. You will find the mesmerizing view of mountains capped with snow, landslides, rivers, glaciers etc. Every place that we visited on our trip has its beauty and significance. Feel free to give your feedback in the comment section
