A ride through frozen Spiti
The descent made, we again began the uphill ride to Maling, which was as treacherous as before. cothing had changed; the incline was steep and the gravel was intact. Oxygen is low and it is not uncommon for vehicles to stall, which becomes a bit risky if one is following a vehicle too losely. The gradient pulls the bike backward and the ground offers little grip to the feet. During rains, motorcyclists sparingly cross Maling, preferring to stay put at Nako or Tabo depending on which side of the pass one is making the ascent.
The customary details forwarded to the police post at Samdo (the gateway to Spiti if one is travelling from Shimla), we headed for our onward journey, reaching the small village of Tabo. Foreigners need a permit for travel in Spiti. The region lies close to Tibet (China).
Tabo, at 10,700-odd feet, is home to a 1,000-year-old clay monastery – considered the oldest functioning in India and the Himalayas. The inner doors are locked to visitors and a new monastery and hostel for the monks now stand adjacent to the ancient structure.
But Tabo was not as bustling as I had seen it three years ago. The few hotels in the village were closed and some of the eatery ownershad still not returned. The famed momos of Tabo will have to wait this time, I told myself. Thankfully, the PWD guesthouse was open and the manager graciously allowed us for the night. There were no foreigners and no Indian tourists either. A group from Maharashtra did join us at Tabo a day later, but they had travelled in the comfort of an MUV and had not braved the gravel, slush and the biting cold on a bike. We were the first motorcyclists of the season, and felt proud of the fact.
There were a few monks and we saw little girls and boys trotting with their bags to the village school, the next morning.
Next on our itinerary was Kaza, the district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, and Langza. Pin Valley was closed too.
It is actually on the onward journey from Tabo to Kunzum La (a further 75 kms from Kaza) that the natural beauty of the valley unfolds.
During my previous trip to the valley; the sky had taken an azure hue, the Spiti river turquoise, and the earth brown with a sliver of snow sparkling through the crevices. This time though, the landscape aid not offer akaleidoscope of colours. All that was visible to the eye was the clear blue sky, the now-covered mountains, the white farmlands and the frozen Spiti river, with the blue water trickling in from places where the ice had thawed. The only other colours conspicuous in the snow were the buddhist prayer flags on the gompas and chortens fluttering in the chilly winds, carrying the prayers to the heavens above.
The thump of the motorcycle engine – in this case my trusted Royal Enfield – was the only sign of life in that barren and icy land. Many of the villages seemed deserted. No farming,no cattle-rearing; people were just waiting for the snow to melt.
Kaza was enveloped in snow. Some of the arterial roads in the hill town were snowbound and not open even to pedestrians, leave alone motorists. Minitrucks made round trips with loads of snow and dumped them in the lower reaches.
Route
Day 1- Delhi to Narkanda
Day 2-Narkanda to Kalpa
Day 3:Kalpa to Tabo (via Nako, Maling and Sumdo)
Day 4- Tabo to Kaza and back to Tabo
Day 5- Tabo to Sangla
Day 6- Sangla to Chitkul and back to Sangla
Day 7- Sangla to Shimla
Day 8- Shimla to Delhi
Even the main monastery in town was closed and going inside for a photoshoot proved a treacherous task because of a fine layer of black (clear) ice near the gate. The petrol pump was operational and borkers were busy clearing the snow from the bay area. The petrol pump at Kaza proudly displays a board, “Welcome to the world’s highest retail outlet (3,740 mts above sea level)”.
Langza, a further 15 kilometres uphill was open to motorists, but not advisable for motorcyclists, the locals told us, and it remained out of our itinerary. Kunzum La, at 4,590 mts above sea level, was out if bounds, too. Even the 1,000-year-old Kye Monastery by the side of the Spiti river that witnessed many invasions by the Mongols, the Dogras and the Sikhs, would have to wait.
The weather had turned cold and the sky dark and, the town became deserted. The residents had started going into their homes anticipating bad weather. Our plans for a Maggimeal over a bonfire on the frozen ground went for a toss. Tabo was 50 km away and snowflakes drifted through the chilly haze as we rode back to our refuge for the night.
The return trip from Tabo to Delhi was unexpected as well. We finally learnt that the road to Sangla and Chitkul had opened and finally managed to visit Chitkul.
Area: 13,833 km² (Lahaul and Spiti district)
Population: 31,528 (2011 census for Lahaul and Spiti district)
Location: Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh
Climate: Temperature in summer (Juneto September) can touch 25 degrees witha minimum of 3-4 degrees depending onthe place. The temperature can go down to -30 degrees in late December and
January.
Best time to visit: May to October Significance: The name Spiti means The Middle Land, i.e. the land between Tibet and India.
Languages spoken: Bhot (boti) is the main language spoken. Hindi and English.
All the images are copyright of the author, Sutirtha Sanyal. Photo credit: Sutirtha Sanyal
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