Read More Below:

Manali, February 4, 2012

The entire upper Manali area experienced a fresh spell of snowfall today, renewing cold wave conditions in the region. Snowflakes also greeted tourists in Manali town this afternoon.

Tourists were thrilled to see the upper Manali region donning a white mantle. Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists rushed to the Solang valley to experience the fresh snowfall.

Vehicular traffic in the upper Manali region was disrupted and motorists had a tough time in the afternoon due to the fresh snowfall on the road between Nehru Kund and Solang valley.

The famous ski slopes of the Solang valley also experienced a fresh spell of snowfall today. It brought smiles on the faces of winter sports lovers who had come from different parts of the country to participate in the Alpine Premier League.

The 14,000-ft-high Bhrigu ski slopes and the 12,000-ft-high Hamta slopes, famous for helicopter-skiing, also experienced heavy snowfall.

The higher reaches in the Kullu valley, including the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti valley, Pir Panjal range, Marhi, Gulaba, Kothi, Dhundi and the Chanderkhani Pass, also received moderate to heavy snowfall today.

Icy winds, which lashed the upper Manali areas throughout the day, further brought down the day temperature. The severe cold forced local people to remain indoors.

External Source: Fresh snowfall in upper Manali

Conclusion

I hope you find the above list of hotels or accommodation options in Nubra Valley – Ladakh useful for your upcoming Leh – Ladakh trip. If you happen to know any updated contact numbers or missing contact numbers of these hotels or any other nice, cheap or moderate budget but good option of stay in Nubra Valley – Ladakh, kindly leave a comment as it will be helpful to others fellow travelers as well. If you have ever stayed at any of these hotels, please share your experience with us too.

In the end, again these hotels or guest houses are not for people who are looking for ultra luxury and comfort. In most cases, these hotels or guest houses will be suitable for a family as well and hence, they may be worth to look out…

I have started from Srinagar side because it gives at least two benefits, if not more. First, the body gets better acclimatized due to gradual ascent by the time you reach Leh and when you return via Manali – Leh Highway, hence less chances of getting stuck with Acute Mountain Sickness (more info on AMS here) and more enjoyment of views on Manali – Leh Highway. If you start via Manali – Leh Highway then most of the terrain runs over 4000 Mtrs of altitude and by the time you reach such altitude your body is not properly acclimatized. Hence, many people fall sick on Manali – Leh Highway despite covering in 25:75 ratio (Manali – Keylong, Keylong – Leh) in terms of distance. Secondly, you save one day as Tso Moriri and Tso Kar Lakes can be adjusted once you start towards Manali from Leh. This way you are not required to return to Leh from Tso Moriri to go towards Kargil or Srinagar. For now, these two reasons are good enough to start your journey from Srinagar side …

14 Days Itinerary for Leh – Ladakh

Day 1 | Delhi – Jammu / Patnitop

Conclusion

I hope this plan of itinerary for Leh – Ladakh will be useful for travelers planning their journey at least for the first time. I will look forward for any queries or doubts or valuable suggestions and inputs you have and would love to discuss about your custom plan as well in comments section.

In this second article of the series – Preferred Hotels or Accommodation options in Leh – Ladakh, I am enlisting down some of the preferred places to stay in Leh – Ladakh which are moderate budget (Rs 600 – 1500) types accommodation. So, if you are looking for a decent, clean and comfortable but moderate budget options of stay in Leh – Ladakh then you can refer the list of below guest houses or hotels compiled after reading various resources/reviews of many people over Internet mainly IndiaMike and BCMT forums (of course, I cannot stay in all of them ).

Most of these places are ideal to stay with family as well because they offer decent comfort and facilities which a family may require but looking out for moderate range budget accommodation options. However, if you are looking for an exceptional in-room service, finest linen, luxuroious and ultra comfortable rooms in a hotel and that too for a price range of Rs 1000 – 1500 then perhaps this list may not be for you. Well, you may find one or two such services too in the below guest houses but no certainty.

Moderate Budget Hotels or Accommodation options in Leh, Ladakh

Conclusion

I hope you find the above list of moderate budget hotels or accommodation options useful for your upcoming Leh – Ladakh trip. If you happen to know any updated contact numbers or missing contact numbers of these hotels or any other nice, moderate budget option of stay in Leh town, kindly leave a comment as it will be helpful to others as well. If you have ever stayed at any of these hotels, please share your experience with us too.

In the end, again these hotels or guest houses are not for people who are looking for ultra luxury and comfort. In most cases, these hotels or guest houses will be suitable for a family as well and hence, they may

In this first article of the series – Preferred Hotels or Accommodation options in Leh – Ladakh, I am enlisting down some of the preferred places to stay in Leh – Ladakh which are cheap and very economic. If you are looking for a decent, clean and comfortable but cheap or very economic options of stay in Leh – Ladakh then you can refer the list of below guest houses or hotels compiled after reading various resources/reviews of many people over Internet mainly reading IndiaMike and BCMT forums (of course, I cannot stay in all of them ).

Most of these places are ideal to stay even for long time, say months and people indeed have stayed for months in many of them. However, if you are looking for an exceptional in-room service, finest linen, satellite TVs, Internet facilities etc. in a hotel and that too for a price range of Rs 200 – 500 then you must be kidding me, am I right … Well, you may find one or two such services too in the below guest houses but no certainty.

You can check the location of these guest houses which are near by each other at the wikimapia link here.

Cheap Budget Hotels or Accommodation options in Leh, Ladakh

Conclusion

I hope you find the above list of cheap or economic hotels or accommodation options useful for your upcoming Leh – Ladakh trip. If you happen to know any updated contact numbers or missing contact numbers of these hotels or any other nice, cheap option of stay in or around Leh town, kindly leave a comment as it will be helpful to others as well. If you have ever stayed at any of these hotels, please share your experience with us too.

In the end, again these hotels or guest houses are not for people who are looking for luxury and ultra comfort and in case may be not even suitable for family as well. However, for bachelors or backpackers or others who want cheap/economic options of stay for longer duration in around Leh Ladakh, these hotels may be worth to look out …

Read More Below:

Shimla, January 7, 2012: Life has been thrown out of gear due to heavy snowfall in many parts of the state since last night as the Meteorological Department today issued a warning of a blizzard likely to hit many parts of Shimla and Kullu districts and a heavy thunder storm in lower parts of Una, Bilapsur, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan districts.

Life has been paralysed with power and vehicular traffic being disrupted in various parts of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and Shimla districts since last night. With an induced cyclonic circulation prevailing over Punjab and Himachal, the Meteorological Department has indicated that the present weather conditions would continue for the next 36 hours. There has been a sharp decline in the minimum as well as maximum temperatures by almost 2°C.

Highlights:

• n Several warm areas like, Jwalamukhi and Chintpurni in Una district experienced snow after decades
• n Kangra got snowfall after 67 years
• n Upper areas of Dharamsala, including McLeodganj and Dharamkot, received about 4 to 5 ft snow
• n Nurpur has witnessed snowfall after 47 years
• n Vehicular traffic disrupted in various parts of the state

Vehicular traffic to upper parts of Shimla district has been disrupted as none of the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses bound for Rohru, Jubbal, Kotkhai and Theog could ply today. Traffic to Rampur and Kinnuar has been diverted via Basantpur. Icy cold winds have been sweeping most parts of the state with the mountain ranges in Chamba and Kangra experiencing fresh spells of snow.

Traffic within the state capital has also been affected with only a handful of HRTC and private buses plying since morning. Power supply to many localities in the town has also been affected due to snow and intermittent rain and sleet since last night.

The minimum temperature in the town dipped further to minus 0.7 °C today from 1.1°C recorded yesterday. The minimum temperature recorded in other parts of the town was Sundernagar – 4.7°C, Bhuntar – 2.2 °C, Kalpa – minus 4.6°C, Dharamsala – 3.5°C, Una- 4.7°C, Nahan – 6.9°C, Mandi – 4.6°C, Keylong – minus6.1°C, Palampur – 3.0°C, Solan – 2.6°C and Manali – minus 2°C. The lower parts of the state have been experiencing rainfall since yesterday, brining cheer to the farmers.

“The satellite imagery shows chances of heavy snowfall in the higher reaches and heavy squall in the lower parts of the state,” said Manmohan Singh, Director, local Meteorological Centre.

Kinnaur DC Sunil Chaudhary said efforts had been made to keep supply of continuous power by making local arrangement from a power project which had ensured supply to Kalpa and Pooh areas.

Heavy snowfall in Dharamsala

Dharamsala: It was like return of the cold wave to Kangra district today. Many areas of the district in the Nurpur subdivision that is located at a distance of about 60 km from Dharamsala and is relatively a warm area adjoining Punjab, received snow after about 50 years.

Many other areas which are otherwise considered very warm, including Kangra, Jwalamukhi and Chintpurni in Una district also received 3 to 4 inches snow after many decades. Snow in the said areas was unprecedented and surprised many regarding the unusual weather phenomena.

An octogenarian from Shahpur, an area located at distance of 20 km from here, said she had witnessed snow in the area after a period of about 45 years. Before that there were reports of snow in the area in 1927.

Snowflakes started falling in lower Dharamsala town early in the morning at about 8 am. The people, who saw snow falling in lower Dharamsala after about 10 years, came out of their houses. After about half an hour, the snowfall stopped and it was replaced by rain.

However, this short break was just like lull before the storm. At about 9.30 pm the clouds once again converged in the entire area and the day was converted into darkness. This started a spell of heavy snowfall that lower Dharamsala had not witnessed in many decades. In about one hour, about 6 inch of snow was deposited everywhere. Snowflakes fell with increasing velocity. The entire traffic in Dharamsala town got choked as snow deposited on roads.

Heavy snowfall continued in the lower Dharamsala for about four hours and as per the official estimates, the area received about 2 feet snow. Due to deposition of snow many tree branches broke and fell on roads disrupting the traffic. The electricity wires also got snapped at many places.

The upper areas of Dharamsala, including McLeodganj and Dharamkot, received about 4 to 5 feet snow. The basic amenities like water supply and power were disrupted. This was coupled by influx of tourists from adjoining states who rushed to the area receiving reports of heavy snowfall.

Kangra DC RS Gupta said six JCB machines had been deployed to remove snow from roads in Dharamsala.

Nurpur gets snow after 47 years

Nurpur: Nurpur and its surrounding areas today witnessed the second snowfall after a gap of about 47 years. It was followed by heavy rain.

According to local senior citizens, this area had once experienced mild snowfall in 1964-65. The snowfall started early this morning and lasted till 9.30 am. Rural areas experienced more snowfall about 4 to 5 inches in comparison with urban areas where it reported about 2 inch. Children and youngsters came on streets and enjoyed the snowfall. The normal life in rural areas remained disrupted as people were not habitual to move on roads covered with a white blanket. The power and telecommunication network was also hit due to heavy rain and snowfall.

Meanwhile, after a prolonged dry spell the incessant rain since yesterday has brought cheers to farmers who are about to sow the wheat crop.

According to agriculture experts, this rain will prove a boon for the farming community. In some parts of the area, mango and amla trees were hit with heavy snow. SS Rana, Associate Director, Regional Horticulture Research Station, Jachh, claimed that this melting snowfall would not harm fruit trees and advised growers to cut damaged tree branches from the bottom as they would originate in the near future.

Dispelling their apprehensions, he said growers were not to worry as this snowfall would eliminate the chances of frost in the area, which was harmful for fruit trees. The incessant rain and snowfall has brought down the day temperature to 3°C on Saturday.

Palampur has first snow

PALAMPUR: Palampur town today witnessed the first snowfall of the season. Even lower areas like Bhawarna, Nagrota Bagwan, Baijnath Paprola also had snow after a gap of 15 years. The entire Palampur region is in the grip of severe cold wave. Besides, heavy rain was also reported in several parts of the region.

Upper reaches of the Kangra valley, Dhauladhar ranges and Chhotta Bara Bhangal experienced heavy snowfall in the past 24 hours disrupting normal life. Power supply and road transport were the worst affected. Entire Chhotta Bara Bhangal areas have been cut off from the rest of the country.

All roads leading to Multhan, Kothi Kohar and Kothi Swar were closed because of heavy snow at different points. Twelve buses and over 150 passengers were reportedly trapped at Multhan as the road between Ghatshani and Multhan had 1 ft snow.

Because of heavy snow and rain, restoration of roads could not be taken up till this afternoon. A spokesman of HP PWD said if whether permitted only then JCB and other snow-clearing equipment would be pressed into service.

He said there were heavy landslide on roads because of uprooting of trees.

An agriculture scientist of HP Agriculture University while briefing mediapersons here said rain and snow was beneficial for the crop. Besides, it would boost the sowing of wheat in non-irrigated areas of the Changer valley.

Snow cuts off Lahaul-Spiti

MANDI: Tribal belt of Lahaul-Spiti was cut off from the outside world as the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass experienced heavy snowfall, while over nine bus routes leading from the district headquaters into Gohar and Karsog sub-divisions in Mandi and Ani sub-division in Kullu were blocked for traffic due to the snow in the area.

According to official reports, the traffic was blocked on the Karsog Rawanda road beyond Sukibai, cutting off the Karsog sub-division from Mandi. The 3-inch-deep snow made the road slippery, stranding passengers or forcing them to take return journey as it continued raining and snowing in the higher reaches.

Similarly, all routes to Janjheli in Seraj remained blocked due to snow. The lakes of Kamru Nag, Prashar and Shikari Devi experienced moderate snowfall. The Ani sub-division in Kullu district was cut off from the district headquarters due to heavy snowfall at the Jalori Pass.

Life thrown out of gear in Manali

MANALI: Normal life in most parts of the upper Manali areas remained disrupted as fresh spell of snow accompanied by high-velocity winds continued to lash the region. Manali and its adjoining areas were lashed with snowstorm last evening and this afternoon.

The vehicular traffic in the upper Manali region was disrupted due to thick layer of snow on the road. Tourists and local residents had a difficult time today on the Manali-Kullu road and Manali-Naggar (left bank road), which had a fresh spell of snow since last evening.

The traffic on the Manali-Kullu road was disrupted at several places beyond Aloo ground, about 5 km from here, today. All the local and long-route buses also suspended their journey at Aloo ground. The bus services also remained suspended between the Manali-Solang and Kothi village.

The power supply in many parts of the upper Manali region was also disrupted.

The 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to the Lahaul-Spiti valley, including the entire higher reaches, also experienced the heaviest snowfall of the season. The Solang ski slopes of the Solang valley also experienced heavy snow.

Kangra has snow after 67 years

KANGRA: Kangra town experienced snowfall after 67 years. It was in 1945 when Kangra had witnessed such a snowfall. Residents of the town came out of their houses when the flakes of snow started falling and it continued for more than two hours.

Roads witnessed a deserted look and most people remained indoors. The snowfall was reported from all over the subdivision.

Prem Kalra, a 90-year-old woman of the Hoshiyarpur road, said she was married in this temple town in 1951 and had never witnessed such a snowfall. She said her elders had being saying that there was a snowfall in this town in 1945.

Kumar Sahil, a singer came along with his friends to the tehsil chowk of this town and sang melodious songs amid snowfall. Heavy snowfall was reported from Nagrota Bagwan, Baba Baroh, Dehra, Daliara, Barwani, Kahbli and Chintpurni.

Inputs by Pratibha Chauhan, Lalit Mohan, Rajiv Mahajan, Ravinder Sood, MC Thakur and Ashok Raina.

External Source:Rain, snow may continue for 2 more days

A Teaser… Burning colors of Spiti Valley…

Day 4 – 8th October, 2011 | Kaza – Kinnaur Valley – Shimla – Delhi

We woke up around 6.30 AM, soon packed up bags, got ready and by 7.15 AM we were at the restaurant’s table for the breakfast. I was feeling well today and AMS symptoms seemed to have resided by now along with headache. In the restaurant, a family was sitting aside us abusing the people who flocked the hotel yesterday for all sough of nuisance they created. The guy was with National Geographic and appeared pretty knowledgeable about the terrain. Meanwhile, our breakfast got ready he told us that they will be heading Keylong today via Kunzam Pass as the roads were still clear despite last night snowfall. Considering this in between, we were also discussing the possibilities of going via Kunzam Pass to Manali. Some arguments here and there about why we returned and finally there were two options out of which one to choose. We go Manali via Kunzam Pass and stay overnight at Manali with comfortable ride to Delhi day after OR we go via Kinnaur – Shimla today and with a non-stop drive, reach Delhi in the morning tomorrow …

After quite fight of 15 minute including all if’s and but’s by 8.00 AM were back on road to Tabo – Kinnaur from Kaza. I was pretty excited for this challenge, as driving one of the most adventurous roads in India, that too non stop to Delhi all the way from Kaza, is quite a tough ask. Generally, people cover it in three days … But, the challenge was well accepted and the idea was simple, no stops up to Rampur where we will have meal for the day. We drive through the beautiful burning colors of Spiti Valley looked so mesmerizing that there are no words to express them…

Morning views of Kaza…

Beautiful burning colors of Spiti Valley…

Beautiful burning and reflecting colors of Spiti Valley…

Spiti River flows with color of purity…

Spiti River flows with color of purity…

Wide view of Kaza Valley…

A road so narrow…

Soil eroded sculptures of Spiti Valley…

Dark clouds surround Tabo village as we leave…

We made good progress and soon we hit Tabo where we inquired about buying the Spitian apples as they were super delicious. People told us that we cannot get them as all the orchards are now under the control of contractors or agents and they export them directly. They asked us to come back by mid-September next year as by that time villagers have control over the crop and can give us at that time. Bargaining with contractors meant rocket high prices, so after asking one of them who quoted 4500 for 28 KGs we though coming back next year will be a better idea … The beauty was never lasting and every curve around I forced myself to stop and click but we had a mammoth task ahead of non-stop drive to Delhi which I never thought in my life … By 11.00 AM we reached Sumdo ITBP checkpost where we registered our names again along with vehicle’s registration and bid adieus to Spiti Valley for the year 2011.

Running all the way…

How about measuring the path…

After Sumdo, Kinnaur Valley started and the roads started to deteriorate towards Chango. Ahead of Chango, we drive through the steep ascent towards Malling Nalla and the views started to turn beautiful and beautiful as well kept ascending. Again heart beats rise as we came close to Malling Nalla, a 24X7X365 landslide prone zone on Hindustan – Tibet Highway. This time it was pretty easy and with little direction suggestions from outside we were able to go through it without any glitch …

Some facts on NH – 22 and Hindustan – Tibet Highway (read IM thread here for more info):

As we left Spiti Valley behind at Sumdo…

Shialkhar Village between Chango and Sumdo…

A lonely house just ahead of Chango…

BRO Creates, Connects and Cares… So, true…

Curving its way up towards deadly Malling Nalla…

What a view just before Malling Nalla…

By 12.15 PM, we crossed Nako village which was again a beautiful sight to cross, though of stopping by for the lunch but decided against it as none of us felt hungry at that time. We kept running almost alone on the road upto now with one or two bike / pick-ups here and there. Ka – Loops were again a pleasure to drive and we soon hit the Khab bridge without any trouble at all. We decided to buy some eatables from Puh General store but as we reached Puh we found it closed. Some highly influential person of Kinnaur region had passed-away that day in Reckong Peo and most things were closed including taxis to pay condolence to the great soul, as told by one of the locals. Nevertheless, we kept running and as we reached towards Akpa bridge after registering ourselves at Jangi ITBP post, the weather had started to turn harsh with dark clouds all over the place and extremely strong wind gushing through the roads.

Prayers on stones at Nako Village…

Driving in Kinnaur Valley in bad weather is generally something you should always avoid but perhaps we never had the choice. It appeared snow was falling al over the Kinner Kailash range and soon it started to drizzle on the highway too. The road conditions between Akpa and Powari were in horrible state as we knew but we kept driving. After a while on the rough roads, with slight drizzle pouring down and strong wind blowing dust from the mountains, we saw a person standing and watching something up towards the hills. It appeared some casual thing to me, but as I passed by him there was a big rock right in the middle of the road and as soon as I realized the mountain aside is sliding down … PANIC SET IN… I couldn’t put reverse gear and there was no going forward too , but eventually, the reversed gear got in and in one go I reversed the car to safety location. The man standing in the middle immediately stopped two foreigners riding their cycles and hurried to push the rock in the middle of road down into the river. He asked us to leave immediately as the mountain may come down any time in this bad weather and we knew no one will come to clear the road as everything was shutdown today. In one go, I pushed the throttle and zoomed passed the landslide prone region, soon followed by that taxi driver and two foreigners. We thanked him and move ahead. One scary experience finally …

Ahh… Glad to find green color after long time..

A stream flowing down into Satluj River…

Dark clouds as we near Reckong Peo…

Somewhere in Kinnaur Valley…

The incident meant we need to keep running even in this bad weather and I obliged by maintain some good speed no matter how the road condition was. Petrol Pump at Powari was also closed but we had enough to reach Rampur where we eventually refueled. The drizzle became heavy as we reached Jeori where I gave a pain killer to my cousin Dhruv who was having severe pain in the ear and we bought some wafers and cold drinks to help us. It was dark but we finally reached Rampur at 7.45 PM after 12 Hrs of non-stop drive from Kaza. We were happy with the progress considering lot of photography breaks which we took in between. It meant we will reach Delhi after driving overnight by about 9 AM next day. This time we stopped at other HPTDC property, Bushahar Regency at Rampur for our dinner. Dinner was good that day or perhaps we were hungry too much, ate well, had a cup of tea and on the road we were by 9 PM.

Twilight of Dusk near Jeori…

It was still raining with loud thunderstorm and lighting. At first it looked threatening but I like driving in hills at night because it is much easier owing to least traffic as well as you can see the headlight around the corner. Of course, you should try this if you have earlier experience of driving in hills at night and you are not interested in the beautiful views on offer. After offering prayers to Lord Hanuman at Rampur we were cruising alone on the road… Every one was asleep by the time we reached Narkanda but I managed to hold on. The night was cold and between Narkanda and Shimla the road conditions were bad but we need to continue. There came Theog from where till 2 KMs ahead of Kufri the road conditions were too pathetic and I had trouble descending the car near Kufri. Somehow managed without any skid and we ran by-passing Shimla in the hope to find some tea-stall open for a cup of tea. But, everything was closed. Now, I was feeling sleepy too but by that time Neeraj woke up and I asked him to drive. My sleep was short-lived as we were stopped by police near a checkpost at Shogi just ahead of Shimla for verification of  documents and licenses. Well, I asked why this checking at night the police guy told 6-7 cars have been stolen from Shimla in last 3 days and I said OK. Meanwhile, he asked us from where we were coming, I said Kaza. The guys writing there and the one who asked, repeated together “Aaj kahan se aa rahe ho?? (We are asking from where are you coming, today??)”… I replied again “Kaza” and we are going to Delhi .. They immediately said OK go but take care while driving and if possible stay overnight at some hotel …

Jai Jai Jai Bajrang Bali…

Theog town at night…

I couldn’t not fall asleep again and soon we encountered some rash strange vehicles running into us without speeding down, 3-4 headlights blinding us… Passed one, passed two, passed three and nothing was visible due to smoke they emitted. I realized that those were gypsies or participants of one of the major Himalayan rally which was about to start in few days. I perhaps thought I was wrong in admiring these chaps. (I wrote a detailed account on such spoiling sport here at: Motor Rallies | A Gimmick, Cursing Himalayan Nature) … Anyhow, after the smoke settled we moved after offering some helping verbs for them. The drive was pretty easy and soon we crossed Kalka, Zirakpur, Ambala to join NH –1 leading all the way to New Delhi. Our last stop of the trip was our usual, Neelkanth Resorts and Restaurant right after Karnal, 10-15 minutes after passing Savoy Greens. We reached there at 5.30 AM types and had a good, tasty breakfast. We started ahead towards home and after a drive for 15-20 odd KMs getting back to main road from one of the many diversions went tricky at high speed due to which I bumped the rear left wheel into a pot hole. Result was flat tyre and moreover a bent wheel rim … Thank god axle didn’t broke as the pot hole was deep and car was around 90 KMPH when it bumped into it. At first I though ale has all gone for money but god was with us. In a matter of few minutes there were three more cars getting down in similar fashion. I guess it was a known trouble point because within 5 minutes each car was offered helped by some locals for changing the tyre or getting new one etc etc. … But for us, it was moment of frustration and matter of changing the spare tyre … I was disappointed as I could have saved it by driving slow or not taking last second shift from the diversion. But, nevertheless it had to happen, so it did. As we reached, Delhi Border at 8.00 AM types I was feeling too much sleepy and asked Neeraj again to drive us home from there. Finally, we all reached back home after 1.30 Hrs of traffic loaded driving within Delhi and eventually the dream non-stop 26 Hrs drive from Kaza – Kinnaur Valley – Delhi was a reality for me and my friends.

I hope you enjoyed this short Spiti Sprint with such long descriptive parts and I hope I didn’t let you feel any boredom

End of this travel tale!!!

A Teaser… Narrow roads with deep gorges, The truth of Sach Pass

Moksha’s Solo Bike Tour to Pangi Valley & Sach Pass

When I look back, I really don’t think so I could do it alone but then things just happen in life, without any planning or expectations.

I, normally, prefer to take a mechanic with me when I am touring any unknown territory especially high mountain region. But this time, it wasn’t meant to be like that. I wanted to tour Pangi valley so that I could design a different itinerary for my clients and I did hear that it was a beautiful, very challenging and adventurous route. I had been trying to check this route since last year but somehow I couldn’t make it.

I was determined to go for it this year so that I could put my new itinerary on my website. I did talk with my mechanic about that and he did agree to go along with me but he wanted me to postponed the tour till end of Sept. It so happened that I had two clients from Israel and they were to do a motor-biking tour to Leh and they were taking a mechanic and back up vehicle till Rohtang Pass which was supposed to be very tough with deep mud for more than ten kilometers. I got ready with them as I didn’t want to miss my recce tour. We all left on 7th Sept. early morning. Rohtang pass was again a big pain and it took us three hours to cross it. Luckily, there was no rain at that point of time.

All alone with my beautiful bike

We all went together till Tandi which was nearly 105km from Manali. It was the first and only petrol station in the entire area. I got my bike and two five liter cans filled up and from there I turned towards Udaipur which was 45km further. The road was good but single all the way with many beautiful streams and waterfalls . The valley was very deep and steep with river Chandra Bhaga flowing along. I couldn’t get much information about this entire route. I only knew that it was going to be a hard trip. On the way I could see small villages and all with beautiful and massive houses. I got the impression that they might be guest houses but when I asked a young woman on the way, she informed me that they were all personal homes. I was amazed to see those big and beautiful buildings. I reached Udaipur at 7.30pm and it was already dark. I was told that there were only govt. guest houses available. I was tired by this time and after locating a PWD guest house, I parked my bike inside and sat there waiting for the caretaker to come whom I couldn’t find at the outset. Thank God I didn’t have to wait for a long time. He was reluctant to give me any room without a proper reservation. Somehow, I could manage to get one. The guest house was huge and rooms were comfortable and properly maintained. There was no provision for food and I was informed that I could go to a nearby dhaba. There were two more young guys staying in that guest house and both were from HCL. They were going to check the nearby restaurant. I requested them to get some food for me and they were happy to do that for me. Later, we sat together and had a lot of discussions and a good dinner.

My beautiful bike… my best companion, never fails me anywhere

My next destination was Killar, a comparatively big town and a sub-division. The other towns on the way were Tindi and Shore. The road to Killar was all gravel and dusty with a lot of waterfalls to cross. One particular waterfall was too deep with a lot of small stones. Thank God there were a few young boys around and one of them helped me pushing my bike out of that waterfall. I had lunch on the way and everywhere people were tremendously amazed at me, seeing a woman riding alone in high mountains. I was stopped by a young woman near Shore and she thought I was a man riding a bike. She asked me for a lift and when she realized I was a woman, she laughed a lot. She was very sweet and offered me two fresh apples which she was carrying. Later, again a Nepali young boy stopped me for a lift. He was very nice and when we approached Killar, the main town was up 3km from the main road, he guided me straight into PWD rest house. The best thing I like in travelling is..getting a chance to meet wonderful and different people. I was able to get a room without much hassle. Killar was a beautiful place with nature all around. Local people were very helpful and interesting. I had plans to stay just for a night there but next day the weather was not clear so I decided to spend another day . I rode around the city in search of a mechanic shop but there was none. My bike was full of mud so I did the washing myself, checked engine oil, put more petrol in the tank, cleaned the plug, making my bike ready for a next day’s rough and tough ride. Next day, I started early morning towards sach pass which was around 50km. I just can’t put into words how the ride was. Practically no road, full of big stones, deep gorges, thick forests, snow peaked mountains, massive waterfalls, everything offering mammoth challenges, riding in that area was more of a spiritual experience.

I ride a 350cc electra bike and I have travelled everywhere on this bike, carrying my bags on it and I never had any problem. But this time I felt that riding a 500cc might have been a better idea on tough roads as there was a point where my bike got struck into big stones on uphill side and I was not able to push it. I could see a few laborers’ tents at a distance. I blew the horn again and again and one man came out of a tent and he could understand that I was asking for help. He came and pushed my bike. Later I stopped near their tents and they offered tea to me which was extremely good. Looking around, I found that the laborer’s tents were in very depleted conditions. I was wondering how they must be living under those conditions.

Killar a big town in Pangi Valley

Before Sach pass, there was a check post. When I stopped there, I young guy walked towards me and started talking in broken English. I smiled and asked him in Hindi if he was thinking that I was a foreigner. He was so surprised that he was speechless for sometimes. There was a big tent and inside was the check post. I was asked to show my identification. There were nearly 10-12 men and they were all looking at me and one of them commented that he was so happy to see an Indian woman doing something different. I had a cup of tea there and by the time I started my journey again, it had started raining already. The road was all muddy but somehow I could control my bike. I had to ride my bike on first gear all the way to sach pass. There I could see a few vehicle stranded due to landslide. I had to stop there. I could have made my way out of this but there were a bus and a jeep parked in such a way that even a bike couldn’t pass. I had no option but to wait for the machine to come and clear the road which eventually came after two hours waiting. By this time, the rain was heavy and while riding the bike, I got fully drenched even though I was wearing my rain gears, I was feeling too cold and just wanted to stop some place where I could at least warm up my hands which were freezing and making me pretty uncomfortable.

Beautiful view from the road to Tissa

The ride from sach pass to the next check post was extremely tough in heavy rain. The road was coming down and it was very steep with sharp curves. Thank God it stopped raining when I reached the next check post. There was a very strict security and a policeman was taking video pictures of each and every vehicle and traveler. I got the same reaction from all of them…big surprise..a woman..on the bike..riding alone. I got down from my bike and entered a nearby tea shop, taking off my wet gloves. My hands were so cold that I requested a young police person to rub them. He helped me very happily. This time I realized that I was starved also as I started my journey without a breakfast. I had a hot tea with two boiled eggs. The head of this post informed me that I was the first woman in the world to cross sach pass alone on a bike. I was delighted to know that and I said,’ That’s record now’. They were all very nice and hospitable. I checked the further route with them and started my ride again. To my amazement, just after half a kilometer from this post, there were massive water falls on the road. The scene was breathtaking. I could see the force of water and big stones on the road. I wasn’t sure I could cross it without a help. Slowly, I tried to control the balance of my bike making my way in this waterfall. I had to stop my bike in the middle of it. I put it on side stand and took a few pictures, waited for some help to come by but I couldn’t see anybody coming left or right. I cleared a few stones ahead of my bike and loudly asked God to help me because if I had lost my balance and the bike would have gone down in the water and then I couldn’t have lifted it with a lot of baggage on it. I started my bike, putting my both feet firmly on the ground, lightly holding my front wheel break and slowly pushing my bike ahead. I had a big sigh of relief when I came out of that waterfall. By now, the sun was out and my wet clothes were not bothering me much. The next a few kilometers were very beautiful, lush green valley in which clouds were moving like a white feather in the air. The scenery was awesome. I was supposed to stay at Tissa, a small town on the way to Chamba. But i topped at Bairagarh which was a small village with a beautiful PWD rest house. It had also a small Dhaba, running by an incredible local lady and the food was very delicious. I had a good rest at this place.

The biggest and longest water crossing after Sach Pass

Next day, I had breakfast at the same Dhaba and started towards Chamba which was 100km from this village. Tarmac single road starts from here. It took only 4 hours for me to reach Chamba which was a big city. I had never been there so I went around the place on my bike. Here also I checked into Circuit house which was an old palace, very beautiful but poorly maintained. The caretaker of this guest house was a funny guy. Manali was nearly 400km from Chamba. Next day, I started from Chamba and came via Jot, Nurpur, Palampur, Mandi, Kullu, straight to Manali, ridding my bike for 12 hours.

River Raavi in Chamba Valley

It was a wonderful and a lifetime experience for me. Thanks to my dearest bike which didn’t fail me anywhere and of course God was always with me and sent me help as and when it was needed. Yes, it feels just incredible.