In the last few years, the tourist outburst has left no place untouched Leh – Ladakh. The raw nature in Leh – Ladakh used to offer peace, excitement, and adventure, which travelers once cherished. The luxury resorts and high-end camps have started taking the charm out of the Leh Ladakh trip nowadays. As a result, more and more people have started looking for the other options of travel including the Spiti Valley trip.
Spiti Valley, also known as the middle land, has become a popular alternative as it offers the raw adventure and nature to those who are looking for such trips. There are a lot of common things between Spiti Valley and Ladakh, but I will talk about it on some other day. In this article today, I will talk about some common mistakes people commit while making a Spiti Valley trip.
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Enough stress has been put on the importance of acclimatization and AMS for making a memorable trip to Spiti Valley. BUT, still, many other factors drive people towards believing in its importance in real life. I will try to make you understand some of such common factors or mistakes for making a successful trip to Spiti Valley.
I have already talked about the 9 Mistakes People Commit on a Ladakh Trip. If you haven’t read this article yet, I will first advise you to read it and then come to this article. Well, 8 out of 9 mistakes mentioned in the linked article are equally applicable for a Spiti Valley trip except the one of Khardung La pass.
As a brief reminder in the Spiti valley context, here are these 8 tips to consider before you plan the Spiti valley trip.
I am not going to repeat the details of these common mistakes made for any high altitude place in this article again. You can refer them in the linked article with the context of Spiti Valley instead of Leh Ladakh. I will rather continue on these mistakes in this article from number 9 and share with you those specifically related to a Spiti Valley trip.
Well, it is OK to make a trip to Spiti Valley from Manali side, and I have also outlined the 5 Reasons to Travel Spiti Valley from Manali Route. But, in my honest opinion, it is not the right way to make the trip to Spiti Valley. You tend to gain very high altitude too quickly by making a trip to Kaza from Manali side.
In case, you are doing a full circuit from Manali – Kaza – Kinnaur – Shimla, it is always in the best interest of your health to start from Shimla side and end at Manali side after covering both Kinnaur and Spiti Valley. It helps you adjust to the high altitude because of a gradual increase in altitude. This route will help you enjoy your road trip to Spiti Valley in a much-relaxed manner.
It is pretty enticing to have such a wonder of nature called the Moonlake – Chandratal, just two days away from Delhi. I know anyone can get fooled into making such a three days trip to Chandratal from Delhi and in fact, I made the same mistake about ten years ago. However, it was that mistake only which gave birth to the Discover with Dheeraj Travel platform, including this website, so that I can help others not to make such mistakes. So, learn from the mistakes I did and enjoy your trips in a better manner.
Chandratal lake is located at an altitude of 14000 feet, which is termed as very high altitude, and no human body can get acclimatized to such an altitude in one night. Sleeping at Manali does not help in acclimatization. So you are pretty much trying to sleep at Chandratal Lake at 14000 feet without any acclimatization at all. Many people get away with it, some get sleepless nights, some with headaches, some in Kaza hospital and some canceling their trips further.
So, it is in your best interest to make a night stay at Chandratal lake while coming back to Manali after completing the Spiti Valley trip.
Well, guys, you may have done a Kashmir trip or Leh Ladakh trip in your hatchback or sedan. However, the road from Manali to Kaza, especially between Gramphu to Batal or Chandratal, is altogether a different ballgame.
The road from Gramphu to Batal is more like driving on a riverbed with multiple water crossings and some like Dorni Nalla, Chota Dhara, Bada Dhara, etc.. which can be very nasty on a given day. There are big rocks beneath them as well, which you need to negotiate in these water crossings. Be sure of the car you are taking and experience you have driving in such terrain; otherwise, opt for a local taxi.
You can get connected directly to some drivers in Himachal or Spiti Valley or Kinnaur Valley at the link List of Taxi Drivers for Spiti Valley & Kinnaur Valley. These local drivers can come and pick you up from Manali / Shimla / Delhi / Chandigarh too, of course with the price of the pickup as well.
The majority of people who make the trip to Spiti Valley don’t know more than Tabo, Kaza, Ki, Kibber, and Chandratal. However, one of the most picturesque circuits in Spiti Valley, in my opinion, is Langza – Hikkim – Komic.
This circuit very much resembles the views you are used to seeing in Leh Ladakh. However, the valleys are a bit narrow, and mountains may not be as daunting as they look in Ladakh. However, the views will not disappoint you a bit !! You can read more about them at Langza – Komic – Hikkim – Local Sightseeing in Kaza
Lahaul Valley is altogether a different region with different views than what Spiti Valley has to offer. Both Lahaul & Spiti Valley often termed together and most people get confused between them.
Technically speaking, Kunzum Pass connects Lahaul Valley with Spiti Valley and by jurisdiction wise, if I remember correctly, Spiti Valley is up to Chatru beyond which Lahaul administration starts. Both are tribal circuits, but Lahaul Valley can be distinguished by names like Keylong, Udaipur, Jispa, Baralacha La Pass, Surajtal Lake, Darcha, etc..
The majority of these places fall on Manali Leh Highway and hence, anyone who has made a trip to Manali – Leh Highway would have experienced them. The scenic beauty perspective is also different between Lahaul and Spiti where Lahaul Valley is more green and living while Spiti Valley is more barren and a cold desert.
Well, there are so many places in Spiti Valley that they deserve more than 4-5 days. Hence, it is best to make a trip to Spiti Valley when you have at least 9-10 days to make some sense of it. Otherwise, it is nothing more than ticking off a place from your bucket list rather than experiencing what Spiti Valley has to offer.
IF you are still short on time and want to make a trip to Spiti Valley in less number of days, you can refer my article on how to plan a Spiti valley trip in 5-6 days.
I hope this article will prove helpful to you in making your upcoming trip to Spiti Valley a memorable one. I am sure, now that you know about these commons mistakes people make on trips to trans Himalayas, you won’t be repeating them again.
Have a travel question?? You can subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment to ask your travel questions on traveling to the Himalayas.
In case you have any further doubts or questions, feel free to share it under the comments section of this article or reach me out on my Instagram account. We can always discuss more on your upcoming trip to Spiti Valley and other regions of the Himalayas 🙂
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