Ever since being bitten by the travel bug, I have been fortunate enough to explore destinations of some significance or history. However, visiting the last inhabited village on the Indo-China border–Chitkul– had been the most memorable one so far. After all, the Indian road ends here.
Being the last inhabited village, it is also the last point in India one can travel to without a permit. Now, a selfprofessed traveler could not have resisted such an offer!
As we were starting our journey from Delhi, we decided to pick Thanedar (at an altitude of 2350 meters in Himachal Pradesh), 16 km from Narkanda, as a layover point. The view from here unfolds a magnificent panorama of mountains–snow cloaked, deodar draped or veiled in a soft blue haze. You could also find apple and cherry orchids peaking in the valley. The cool breeze and scenic beauty rejuvenated us and relieved us from the travel fatigue. We had an overdose of apple, enjoying it in varied forms–apple chutney, apple chips, jam, and of course, juice.
Next morning, we started for Sangla. The road from Thanedar to Rampur, where we rejoined the NH22 via Bhutti was a very narrow road with a steep gradient. You can see a distant Satluj River with naked eyes flowing in the gorge. The altitude descends to 1021 meters when we reached Rampur and experienced warmth in the air. Further down, came the wonderful welcome sign to the Kinnaur district. Here onwards, the roads became narrower, with marvelous rock cut roads moving along the flowing Satluj River.
We came across the Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant over Satluj, along with many reservoirs en-route. Due to such ongoing developmental projects, we had to take many detours over makeshift roads.
As we were gaining altitude, we came closer to Karcham, which forks towards fascinating destinations like Kalpa, Tabo and Kaza. However, we took a right turn towards Sangla (on the old Indo-Tibet road).
We crossed the town of Sangla, which itself is a concrete town with small shops, hotels and restaurants. But the attraction of Sangla lies in Baspa River, flowing down the town. That’s why we decided to halt at Banjara Camps in Batseri (6 kms from Sangla). The camp is set on the banks of river Baspa that surges through the valley and is surrounded by towering mountains on all sides. We enjoyed the refreshing long walks to explore the flora and fauna of the breathtaking valley and did some adventure activities like river crossing.
The next day, we headed towards our final destination–the last village on the Indo-Tibet road on the Indian side–Chitkul. The road to Chitkul is a narrow, gravel-spread path, going through little streams and waterfalls, with mesmerising scenic views on the way. One can enjoy the meandering Baspa River flowing along side. You can also camp overnight (for the more adventurous ones) at the Mastrang forest, a lovely little stretch of woods, or stop here on the way back from Chitkul for picnic lunch....
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