[BeingCynical]

All,

Few of our friends are planning a self drive through Himachal. The date finalized are from 28th November to 6th December.

The rough plan is to reach Delhi, take a Zoom car from Terminal 3 and go for the trip. The schedule that we have come up with is below

29/11 - Delhi to Narkanda

30/11 - Narkanda to Dharamshala

01/12 - Dharamshala to Delhousie

02/12 - Delhousie to Keylong

03/12 - Keylong to Kaza

04/12 - Kaza to Shimla

05/12 - Shimla to Delhi

06/12 - Reserve Day

Now here are my queries

1. Is this schedule doable in the timeframe?

2. Since the drive would be in early December I don't think there would be any road blockade. But I want to be sure

3. What are the good stay options in places like Keylong and Kaza

Any help in clarifying my queries is appreciated.

Waiting for your valuable suggestion/s.

[tsk1979]

Keylong is inaccessible as Rohtang is closed

you can do spiti trip, though it will be very cold. No running water(bucket system). Few guest houses are open, you have to ask in market

Sample iternary

Delhi - Narkanda
Narkanda - Nako
Nako - Kaza
Kaza and around
Kaza - Pooh/Puh
Puh - Shimla
Shimla - Delhi

Kaza is lovely in winters, if you can brave the subzero

[BeingCynical]

Thanks Tanveer the inputs.

There is a slight problem with your itinerary. Friends who would be joining me in Delhi are insisting on a drive through Dharamshala and Delhouise. Could you please help me have a schedule with these two places?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by BeingCynical

Thanks Tanveer the inputs.

There is a slight problem with your itinerary. Friends who would be joining me in Delhi are insisting on a drive through Dharamshala and Delhouise. Could you please help me have a schedule with these two places?

yes, you can drive every day morning to night. And you can cover everything. If you can sleep in the car and drive 24/7 rotating drivers you can almost see entire Himachal.
Dalhousie and Dharamshala are in North Himachal. For Spiti you have to go to Narkanda which is South-eastish and then turn towards Spiti.

Just open a map and see where these places are located. Roads are not like highways and average speeds are often 30kmph in the hills

[fine69]

Originally Posted by BeingCynical

The rough plan is to reach Delhi, take a Zoom car from Terminal 3 and go for the trip. The schedule that we have come up with is below....

Is the plan only to drive throughout or also do some sightseeing?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

yes, you can drive every day morning to night. And you can cover everything. If you can sleep in the car and drive 24/7 rotating drivers you can almost see entire Himachal....

I see you edited your post.

@BeingCynical: As Tanveer suggested, please do open the HP map and narrow down your visit to a particular region. Also, while Spiti is beautiful in winters the stay might become a little uncomfortable for some with frozen water pipes etc.

[//M]

I second Tanveer's opinion. Makes sense to spend time in Spiti and discover it properly. You may include places like Sangla, Chitkul and Pin Valley if time permits as these places are only a small detour from the Narkanda - Kaza stretch.

Also include a visit to Komic, Hikkim, Langza, Kibber and Chicham, its better to cover entire Spiti properly rather than trying to rush through all places.

Remember the roads in Spiti are bad, some stretches can tax the car's suspension, its that bad. So do not expect to drive at higher speeds, at times driving 100 kms will take an entire day !

[BeingCynical]

Ok...

Let me convince my friends then. Basically, they stay out of India and want to cover as many places as possible. I have done entire Leh as a solo driver from Pune and I know what the roads can offer in that part of the world.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by BeingCynical

Ok...

Let me convince my friends then. Basically, they stay out of India and want to cover as many places as possible. I have done entire Leh as a solo driver from Pune and I know what the roads can offer in that part of the world.

With 8 days I'd rather restrict myself to Spiti. Instead of trying to get to Kaza spend a day each in Tabo (more peaceful and less commercial than Kaza), Dhankar (short trek to Dhankar lake is worth), maybe a night somewhere in Pin Valley (if Mud is closed then Sagnam) and do a day (or two-day) trips to Kaumik (Comik), Kye, Kibber, Tashigang, Gete.

Folks often do Spiti by gunning for Kaza on the first day, spending a day going to nearby villages and then turning back or onwards to Lahaul but they don't really "do" Spiti that way. If your group is also more of a touch-n-go kind then maybe include Sangla/Chitkul or Peo/Kalpa and by the end of 8 days you'd have enough places to list down from your trip.

However, there's the big problem of not finding any stay option in Dhankar, Tabo or Sagnam in December and you'd most likely only be able to stay in Kaza.

I had once decided to travel to Spiti in December-end (even posted about it here) but the two guys who run a guesthouse in Tabo & Dhankar each, confirmed that there weren't going to be any stay option anywhere except Kaza. That was 2-3 years back so things might have changed now but do your homework around staying and how you'd plan your day trips from Kaza for each day you'd be there.

I'd rather suggest you do Kinnaur (Chitkul, Kalpa, Nako, maybe even Sarahan) and spend two/three days in Kaza.

[//M]

Originally Posted by BeingCynical

Ok...

I have done entire Leh as a solo driver from Pune and I know what the roads can offer in that part of the world.

The roads in Spiti are much worse, speaking from my personal experience. I was in Spiti just the last month, and Ladakh few months earlier. You will also see "World's most treacherous road" signboards along the Powari - Puh route, the drive could be bone jarring !

But Spiti is a beautiful paradise, the small villages en route to Komic are breathtakingly stunning.

[wanderernomad]

If you want to cover Dharamshala, Dalhousie and yet want to have a feel of the cold desert I suggest you take the Dharamshala- Dalhousie-Chamba-Bharmour-Chamba-Killar axis and see the best of what the north west Himachal has to offer. I have repeatedly said that in Hills most routes are along river valleys and it doesnt make sense to go hopping from one to another in a short span of time and miss the very thing to see and experience, you are there in the first place for.

[Rehaan]

Do check out Khan_Sultan's thread from just last month : LINK

[joybhowmik]

Need some help with itinerary planning. We will be a convoy of families, in June attempting to complete the Spiti valley loop

Day 1: New Delhi to Narkanda
Day 2: Narkanda to Sangla
Day 3: Sangla to Kaza - stopping at Pooh & Nako lake
Day 4: Kaza to Komic return via Hikkim and Langza
Day 5: Kaza to Chicham on return visit Kibber & Key Monastery
Day 6: Kaza to Mud and back
Day 7: Kaza to Manali stopping at Chandratal on way
Day 8/9: Manali to New Delhi maybe with a stopover at Chandigarh.

Essentially we have a buffer day... which I suspect might be needed just in case. However, my query is about Days 3-7.

Given that this would be June, would roughly 4 days be sufficient time to cover major spots in this beautiful area?

From our route, is there any other easily accessible gateway into the Pin Valley National park?

[Dry Ice]

Day 3 and 7 look very tight to me. If you can, try to split these days to enjoy the journey and places enroute some more.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Need some help with itinerary planning. We will be a convoy of families, in June attempting to complete the Spiti valley loop

Day 1: New Delhi to Narkanda
Day 2: Narkanda to Sangla
Day 3: Sangla to Kaza - stopping at Pooh & Nako lake
Day 4: Kaza to Komic return via Hikkim and Langza
Day 5: Kaza to Chicham on return visit Kibber & Key Monastery
Day 6: Kaza to Mud and back
Day 7: Kaza to Manali stopping at Chandratal on way
Day 8/9: Manali to New Delhi maybe with a stopover at Chandigarh.

Essentially we have a buffer day... which I suspect might be needed just in case. However, my query is about Days 3-7.

Given that this would be June, would roughly 4 days be sufficient time to cover major spots in this beautiful area?

From our route, is there any other easily accessible gateway into the Pin Valley National park?

Looks reasonable enough. None that would take you into the real PIN valley reserve but for the hiking kind you can try the Rampur side entry but it all a hiking route so not suggested.

[kushalshah]

Hi Guys,

Need some help with my itinerary and feasibility. I will be doing a road trip from Delhi to Himachal and back in a self drive rental. Following is my itinerary starting Jan 28.


Day 1: Reach Delhi. Drive To Amritsar
Day 2: Amritsar
Day 3: Amritsar to Dalhousie
Day 4: Dalhousie and around (Khajjar)
day 5: Dalhousie to Dharamsha
Day 6,7: Dharamshala and around
Day 8: Dharamshala to Manali
Day 9, 10, 11: Manali and around
Day 12: Manali to Delhi
Day 13: Delhi Agra
Day 14: Delhi
Day 15: To Mumbai

I am looking for suggestions for each sectors for road. I will be taking either Duster or Ecosport as a self drive rental from Delhi for the trip from Revv mostly. Open to suggestions on car and provider both.

Considering I will be driving during fag end of the winter, I would like some estimations on weather, snow, road blocks etc basis experience. Also what is the difficulty level of drive in Himachal sectors.

As far as my experience, Couple of Mumbai rajasthan long trips under my belt but thats more of a highway drive.

Thanks in advance.