Spiti Valley on Cycle

The song from movie PK,  ख्वाबों का मुसाफिर  (Traveller of Dreams), sung by Ankit Tiwari, kept playing in mind for the entire trip. The 10 days we spent in and around Spiti Valley felt like a dream!

The idea of travelling in the Spiti Valley on cycle completely self supported germinated in my mind during my Manali to Leh cycle ride, when I saw a Commercial Aircraft pilot and an Italian guy doing it all alone carrying their load. 

As a first step, I purchased a touring bike in Feb 2017. And started training the body to get to a level where I will not struggle. Low oxygen terrains are challenge on its own and carrying load on top of it would mean fitness levels have to be really up there.

Needed a company, so I messaged my "Partner in Crime" Stefan and discussed the idea with him. He took in total of one millisecond to sign up for this crazy thing. We started detailed planning in January 2018 for a trip to be executed in June end. 
Below were our discussion points over few months - 

• Final Dates
• Packing List (This was some 80 items long. Leave a comment with your contact details if you want to see the details)
• Routes
• Places of Interests
• Racks and Panniers
• Talking to people who have frequented Spiti Valley
• Talking to Travel Agents for Stefan's Inner line Permit
• Deciding whether we will start from Shimla or Manali

Out of the above, Day by day Route/Ride plan took most of the time. As we wanted to cover important places and at the same time didn't want to ride to death. We finalised dates and air tickets were booked, which meant coconut breaking part was done and there was no looking back! One important decision we took was to start the ride from Reckong Peo rather than Shimla to spend more time in the Valley rather than trying to reach the valley. The months before the ride were spent on fine tuning the plan and buying stuff like spares, racks, panniers, sleeping bag etc.

Finally the day arrived, Stefan started from Stockholm and myself from Bangalore. We met at Delhi Airport and made a short visit to my Sisters Place in Gurgaon. Got treated with Beer, Food and Mangoes! We left items which were not required for ride there. If you are wondering what then, panniers were packed in a Rucksack for easy handling in flight. So the rucksack was left in Gurgaon. Same with Stefan he left his one big soft bag along with the extra civilian (non-cycling) clothes.

We had booked ourselves in a Bus from Delhi to Shimla and then from Shimla to Reckong Peo. It so happened that when we reached Shimla we could not trace where the Bus to Reckong Peo, in which we were booked, was. But there was another bus going to Reckong Peo so we boarded that. We had to pull the bike boxes to the roof career of the bus. It was quite an effort by Stefan and me to put two 20+ KGs of boxes on the roof. 

The bus ride to Reckong Peo took 10 hours and we reached at 5.30. Bringing the boxes down was only a little easier than pushing them up. I asked Stefan to wait at the bus stand while I went to finalise a hotel near the bus stand. I found a hotel nearby charging us Rs 800 for the night. It had little open space in front which would later become the place where we would assemble the bikes. We got help from hotel staff and a porter at Bus Stand who carried our boxes to the hotel which was probably 200 meters away. After dumping the luggage in the room I went and fetched some beers because mechanics need beer when they work!

While assembling the bikes Stefan realised that few bolts of his disc brakes were missing! We decided to look for similar bolts in the market  next day morning while the permit for Stefan is being processed. We assembled the bikes and took a test ride. This was first picture I had taken from the bus stand. 

After the test we had dinner and crashed to the bed as we were tired after a 20+ hours of bus journey and handling bike box through the journey was also not easy.

Next day morning we got ready and loaded our bikes with panniers and was ready to go to the market to get the permit, the bolts and a BSNL sim for Stefan (I was already carrying one for myself). The curious hotel guys saw us off!

As soon as we started, I couldn't resist myself from taking the below picture, as it would happen many times in the trip that we will stop at will to enjoy the surroundings and take photos.

We went down to the market where the DC office was and completed the work related to Inner Line Permit, the bolts for the Disc Brakes and BSNL SIM card for Stefan. It took lot of time to get the BSNL SIM as it would require network, which was down for some reason. We finally started for Pooh around 1 PM and embarked on our journey to The Spiti Valley. Pooh is around 60 kms from Reckong Peo and its a slow climb all the way with 3 - 4 kms of steep climb in the end towards the town from NH 5. We realised we are going to average only 10 KMPH and we needed to reach by 7.30 PM before it becomes dark. Most parts of the roads were under construction and that slowed us down too. 

The Inner Line Check Post was just 21 kms from Reckong Peo and we crossed that without any hassle after entering Stefan's details there. Some other pics that we we took during the day 1 ride.

We managed to reach Pooh by 7.15 PM after that tough climb from the NH 5 and checked into the first hotel we saw. We showered and settled down. The hotel had a nice open seating area where we started to have beer. Yes we abstained from alcohol in Manali to Leh ride but now we were on our own, so we decided to indulge. Little later a gentleman who was sitting behind us, started chatting with us. He had seen our cycles and was curious to know the details of our ride. We had long conversation with him and met his wife and two cute daughters as well. A very loving family. We understood that his name was Nakul and he was a office bearer in the national executive council of the ruling national party.

Next days ride was around 45 kms climb to Nako village from Pooh. We were expecting it to be very tough and steep climb before we descent in the Spiti Valley on Day 3.

After breakfast we took the customary picture and started our ride.

For some reason Stefan was struggling that day. He is stronger than me. Maybe he had not fully recovered from his sub 9 hours, 300 km race (yes its not a typo) which he did just a week before he landed in Delhi. Nevertheless, we kept riding. Took some pictures as well. At Khab the NH 5 becomes NH 505 and it became very very steep! Nakul and his family in their car crossed us soon after Khab.

Khab - Confluence of Rivers Spiti and Sutlej

The climb after Khab. Hairpin bends!

Beyond khab the terrain also changed and because of the climb we were stopping at frequent intervals. Stefan's struggle was very evident after 25 kms of ride. There was something seriously wrong. At around 30 kms mark a vehicle (Bolero Camper) stopped in front of us and it had a cycle tucked in the luggage area. Stefan's asked them for a lift till Nako and they readily agreed to help. Taking advantage of the situation I also sent my panniers with Stefan and then started riding 20 KGs lighter. They stopped for Lunch few KMs before Nako where I got to know from Stefan that he had vomited out the entire lunch that we have had earlier that day. It meant he was suffering from serious food poisoning and it explained the fact why he was struggling. I left that place before them and they overtook me before the climb to Nako from the highway. By the time I reached Nako they were returning after having a view of the Lake to the main crossing. I told Stefan that I will also comeback after having a look at the Lake. It was a very small lake, which could have been a village pond. Not worth going if you don't plan to stay at Nako.

When I returned, Stefan asked me whether I had 4 bags? I said yes and went to check for a homestay quickly as he was not looking good physically. I found a homestay next to lake and came back to fetch the stuff and Stefan. When I was putting the panniers back on cycle I realised one pannier was missing! I had counted two joint panniers as one and said yes to Stefan that I had four! So the one pannier was still in the camper. They had already left and there was no way to contact them. They would also not know about the pannier until they reach their destination. We first went to the homestay and kept our stuff there. Then I remembered Nakul telling me that he will be staying in Nako and thought if I could find him he may be knowing some local people who can help. I shouted his name from the road and fortunately his wife heard! I told him the situation and he immediately asked for help from his local friend. Who in turn called the Inner Line Checkpost at Sumdo, which was 40 kms away from Nako and asked them to stop the Camper and unload my pannier. I was only hoping that they had not crossed that Checkpost by then. Around 40 mins later I got a call from the Checkpost that they had identified the vehicle and have unloaded my pannier. That was a big relief!! Could not thank Nakul and his friend enough.


We booked a Bolero Camper for Stefan to take him to our next destination, Tabo. As he was extremely weak after the food poisoning. He had not eaten anything since having lunch the previous day.

I also sent my panniers with him and started riding a much lighter bike. The initial part was climb till Maling which was to top most point on eastern side of the Valley.  And as I descended into the valley, the terrain became more and more beautiful.

This was the view from the top most point in Maling

I called Stefan to check whether he could pick my pannier from the Sumdo check post and he said yes without any issue. Nakul again was there in the Checkpost for any help required. What a guy!

When I reached Tabo, Stefan had already checked into a nice homestay. I was feeling hungry and asked the family to for some food. The lady said there was no one to cook at that point so asked me to make Maggi for myself. I made Maggi for myself and Stefan. That was the first solid food he ate in more than 24 hours. But it also meant he was recovering! 

After that we went to check out the Tabo monastery, which is one of the oldest monastery in the world. Saw paintings and other things from 10th Century inside the monastery. There were caves in the mountains where monks used to meditate, we gave that a pass and went down to the river for some peaceful moments.

We had a nice dinner in the night and met a couple who were traveling from the opposite direction. They gave us good insights and contacts too to book tents in Chandrataal. Next day morning when we were getting ready to leave for Kaza, Stefan was still not sure of riding. As it would happen the son of the homestay family said he has a car, he wants to go to Kaza to see his pregnant wife but had just learned driving and is not confident. I jumped at the opportunity and told him Stefan can drive you to Kaza! After some discussion about how to fit the cycle (which I knew is the easiest thing) and whether Stefan can drive (he actually gave a test drive) they agreed. Again I left for Kaza on my cycle without Panniers and Stefan with Tenzin in car!


Now that we were in the valley, the route was all the way beside Spiti river and extremely scenic. Riding till Kaza was fun. There was around 3 kms climb before Kaza which was little tough. 

Once I reached Kaza I called Stefan and he said he has checked in Dawa Homestay. The access to the place was little bad but the room was extremely nice. I had reached there around 2 PM and had lunch on the way but was forced to have lunch again by the lady of the house. After settling down we decided to take a stroll in the town and also check for a post office from where we can send some of our stuff as parcel back to Bangalore. That was Stefan's brilliant idea to lighten our load. The city was very very commercial, unlike most of the place we had been earlier. We had coffee in the German bakery and managed to figure out the postoffice. They said they can take the parcel and that was indeed a good news for us. We had dinner at Taste of Spiti which was a very touristy place and both me and Stefan don't like these kind of places where people are generally showing off! Anyway we had planned to book a cab to go around the circuit of Langza-Komic-Hikkim and then to Kibber, Chicham Bridge and Kee Monastery. The lady of the house spoke to one of her relatives who had a car to take us around. 

Next day morning we went on this car trip and what we saw was spectacular!

The Langza Village, Komic Monatery and Hikkim (Worlds Highest Postoffice) was a trip worth the hype!

Langza Village 

Giant Buddha of Langza looking over the valley

Komic Monastery 

View of Kaza Town while coming from Hikkim.

After the three village tour we headed off to Kibber. We had lunch there, it was also a very old village with some very old style mud houses. From there we went to see the Chicham bridge which was inaugurated very recently. Before that the natives of Chicham village would struggle to cross the steep valley between two mountains to go towards Kibber or Kaza.  

On the way back to Kaza we stopped at Kee Monastery. The usual picture you see when you search Spiti on internet!

Kee Monastery

We reached back Kaza by 5 PM and Went to market to get Packing Tape to pack our stuff to parcel them to Bangalore next day before starting the ride.

We had dinner at the Punjabi Dhaba, which was pretty good and went back to homestay. We requested the owner to help us to drop our packages to post office next day morning. He readily agreed and also offered us local alcohol, which I must admit tasted as good as anything worth its name made in India! In fact, me and Stefan polished off almost an entire bottle! 

Next day morning we parcelled the packages (Two 8 KG Packages) costed only Rs 281 each! Indian Post Rocks!

The ride from Kaza to Losar was very good only for 10 Kms. After that road became bad, very bad! It was a struggle to ride on those roads. The route is a slow climb all the way and it was very very windy too. Luggage on the bike was making it difficult to ride in the wind. . We stopped at a small village for Lunch and then carried on. Stefan, had recovered almost fully and was riding ahead of me almost all the time. We reached Losar around 4 PM and checked into Tara Homestay which was little off the main highway. It was a nice little village on banks of the Spiti river. We spent sometime of the evening on the roof enjoying the surroundings but soon went inside as it was also getting cold. 

Next days ride to Chandrataal was going to be tough one as we would be climbing Kujum Pass and roads were in pathetic condition. We knew we will probably not get any place to eat lunch so we asked the homestay owner to pack some food for us.

We stopped at a shop just after touching the highway to buy water. And the person who sold us the water was Tenzin (I think 50% men are named Tenzin in Spiti), who was part of the support crew, when me and Stefan did Manali to Leh on cycle. What a coincidence it was! He was the one who initially recognised us.

Met Tenzin - sheer coincidence!

As expected it was a tough climb to the Kunjum top but we enjoyed every moment and had the lunch at the top!

Don't miss the popeyeish calf muscles 

After the lunch we headed towards Chandrataal. The roads were so bad that we were averaging 5 KMPH on downhills. To reach Chandratal you need to take a detour from the highway. Its around 12 kms from the highway. On that road we had a huge stream to cross! Stefan went first and successfully crossed it. Its not easy to cross streams on cycle because of big round stones. When I tried I could not cleat on time and had to put my foot down halfway through the stream!! Both my shoes were completely wet and needless to say the water was ice cold!

After crossing this stream we still had some 8 kms to go before we reached our camp site. We unloaded our stuff in the tent, had Maggi and tea before we went to see Chandrataal. It was a 3.5 kms climb from the camp site to the Car Parking area and another kilometre walk from there before the lake is visible. The Campsite owner dropped us and our cycles to the car park area in a Bolero Camper. There was one more stream on the way which we will have to cross when we return on cycle. 

The first view of the lake was breathtaking!

There are some people also in this photo!

It was indeed a beautiful lake with different color hues. We spent couple of peaceful hours there and then headed back to campsite. 

This time Stefan fell while crossing the stream. Having seen that I just opened my shoes and crossed the stream on foot. We crossed few streams during Manali to Leh ride without much trouble but in these streams the stones were little difficult to cycle on. We reached the campsite and now Stefan's both pair of shoes were wet. Things don't dry up easily in cold weather but since it was very windy we had hope.

It was very cold night at Chandrataal, below zero, we had good warm blankets in the tent so it was not much of an issue. We decided we will not not cycle anymore as people coming from Manali side told horror stories about the road conditions from Chatru to Gramphu. Also, there was no proper stay arrangements in those places. 

We took a vehicle to Batal and from Chacha-Chachi ka Dhaba in Batal we got a shared cab to Manali. We tied the cycle on the top. While in cab we realised it was very wise decision not to cycle as roads were really bad and there were many streams to cross on the way. Also it was raining heavily on Rohtang Pass which created deep slush and would have been impossible to ride on.

We reached Manali by 5 PM and then checked into a hotel, had shower and went out to make arrangements for boxing the bike and have dinner.The Himalayan Bike Bar (shop in the main market) guy agreed to box our bike next day morning. We had dinner in the popular Chinese restaurant where food was just amazing. It was raining in Manali and place felt very shitty, specially after spending 8 days in the serene Spiti valley. We booked bus tickets for next day and cancelled the original ticket which was for day after tomorrow. The online service of HP Road Transport Corporation works like a charm. However the Volvo bus stand was the worst bus stand I have ever seen. It was all mud, slush and filth due to rains.

Next day morning when we reached Himalayan Bike Bar it was closed. We called the guy to learn that he had to leave urgently but he has left couple of bike boxes outside the shop for us. That was so nice of him. We disassembled and boxed our bikes ourselves and went for lunch to the same Chinese place. This time we had Trout and it was equally delicious!

After Lunch when we checked in the bus stand and we were told that the Volvo bus stand a kilometre further down the road. One taxi guy helped us to bring the bike box from the Himalayan Bike bar and then he dropped us to the Volvo bus stand which I mentioned was a horrible place. We somehow put our bike boxes in luggage area but could not save them from getting wet in rain. 

We reached Delhi and then to my Sisters home in Gurgaon next day morning, which basically marked end of a memorable ride!

Our packages arrived in Bangalore almost 20 days later!!

This parcel was worth lot of money as it had my Tripod and Sleeping Bag!!