Spiti Valley

• Duration9 days
• Season1 Nov to 31 May
• Starts fromChandigarh
• AltitudeGoes from the plains at Chandigarh to Kaza (about 3,800 m) over four days, with day trips to about 4,400 m and above. Drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol for the first days, and tell your driver if you feel unwell.

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Open 1 Nov to 31 May

The full Spiti circuit from Chandigarh, at an easy pace: Narkanda, Sangla and Chitkul in Kinnaur, Nako and Tabo, three nights around Kaza for Key monastery, Chicham bridge, Langza, Hikkim and Komic, then Kalpa and Shimla on the way back.

Day by day

Spiti Valley Circuit - 9 days from Chandigarh 9 days, 8 nights

1. 1

   Day 1 Narkanda

   Pick-up in Chandigarh in the morning. Drive up into the hills past Shimla to Narkanda, a ridge-top town among apple orchards and cedar forest. If the road is clear of snow, go up to Hatu Peak and its temple for the view. Night in Narkanda.

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   Day 2 Sangla

   Drive down to the Sutlej river at Rampur and up into Kinnaur. Continue up the Baspa valley to Sangla, then on to Rakcham and Chitkul (about 3,400 m), the last village on the Baspa valley road. Night in Sangla.

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   Day 3 Tabo

   Follow the Sutlej to Khab, where the Spiti river joins it, and climb to Nako (about 3,660 m) and its small lake. Short detour to Gue to see the mummy of a monk believed to be more than 500 years old. Night in Tabo (about 3,050 m).

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   Day 4 Kaza

   Morning at Tabo monastery, founded in 996 AD, with its old wall paintings and meditation caves. Drive to Dhankar, whose monastery sits on a ridge above the meeting of the Spiti and Pin rivers, and into the Pin valley. Evening at Kaza (about 3,800 m). Night in Kaza or Rangrik.

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   Day 5 Kaza

   Visit Key monastery (about 4,166 m), the largest monastery in Spiti, then Kibber village and Chicham bridge (about 4,145 m) over its deep gorge. Afternoon free in Kaza market. Night in Kaza or Rangrik.

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   Day 6 Kaza

   Day trip to the high villages: Hikkim, with one of the highest post offices in the world (about 4,400 m); Komic and its monastery, one of the highest villages you can reach by road; and Langza, with its large Buddha statue and fossils in the hills around it. Night in Kaza or Rangrik.

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   Day 7 Kalpa

   A long drive back down the Spiti and Sutlej valleys, past Tabo and Nako, to Kalpa, which faces the Kinner Kailash range. Night in Kalpa.

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   Day 8 Shimla

   Morning walk in Kalpa village with the view of Kinner Kailash, then drive down the Sutlej valley to Shimla. Evening free on the Mall Road. Night in Shimla.

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   Day 9 Chandigarh

   Drive down from Shimla to Chandigarh, with drop in Chandigarh by the afternoon.

What is included