[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

In the third week of September 2015, ie a month before your trip, I and my wife had driven from Ahmedabad to Spiti and back in a Dzire of the older kind. We drove through Chandigarh to Chail, Narkanda, Rampur, Chitkul, Kalpa, Kaza, Losar, Chandratal and on to Manali. We did not have any underbody hits, but after Chatru, on the last water crossing before Gramphoo, all four engine mounting bolts sheared off and we could barely limp on to the Manali Leh highway. The car was stranded on the Leh side of Rohtang pass, but a passing Team Bhpian in a Thar towed us all the way to Manli, which took 8 hours. Such is the bonding of the Team BhP fraternity. In Manali, a roadside mechanic repaired the car in a day and a half, taking the trouble to get a timing gear from Delhi by the overnight bus. It is a treacherous route, but one that never leaves your mind about the beauty of the place. Since then, I have sold off the Dzire and bought a AWD Duster and look forward to a repeat of this wonderful car drive. Next time you should visit Chandratal lake which is amazingly beautiful and worth all the trouble of this journey. You are fortunate to be in Chandigarh and can undertake this journey at short notice.

Thanks Sir for sharing your valuable experience. Sad to know about your ordeal on the Kaza-Manali highway. Couldn't agree more with you that though being the most treacherous route to drive on, its also the one with the most beautiful sights all through. Its also heartening to know about the bonhomie and cooperation which the BHPians share with each other. During our trip too we suffered three minor under body hits and were lucky enough to sail through without much hassles as the trip was undertaken in late October with the most of the river crossings being dry owing to approaching winter. But nonetheless its highly recommended to wrap up the Spiti trip by late September itself as the chances of getting stuck en route due to heavy snowfall in the month of October cannot be ruled out. To conclude from my driving experience on the route, I would like to say that the Kaza-Manali highway is strictly not recommended for sedans/hatchbacks. Infact after returning from a trip to Leh in Swift Dzire recently, I found the Manali-Leh highway much easier and pleasurable to drive on. Would be sharing the travelogue regarding the same.

[(Alok)]

Hi ssambyal1980
Thanks for a well written and informative travelogue. A 5 star rating.

As of now your travelogue is latest on spiti valley and the important thing is that the traversing is closed.

It will be always good to enter spiti circuit from Shimla side and progress from smaller difficulty to greater difficulty.


Some simple questions-
1. How to decide further route on these types of junctions, where there is no signboard?

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

The road winds up like a snake from Kah to Nako.

2. Why you did not consider Nako lake and Chandratal Lake?

[Shwet]

Amazing Travelogue, one of the very best I have read so far. Wonderful journey in the desolate wilderness. Also it's amazing that the Dzire was able to make this trip without any major hiccup.

I guess petrol maruti's are quite underrated but punch way above their weight.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

Hi ssambyal1980
Thanks for a well written and informative travelogue. A 5 star rating.

As of now your travelogue is latest on spiti valley and the important thing is that the traversing is closed.

It will be always good to enter spiti circuit from Shimla side and progress from smaller difficulty to greater difficulty.


Some simple questions-
1. How to decide further route on these types of junctions, where there is no signboard?


2. Why you did not consider Nako lake and Chandratal Lake?

Thanks In your first query you have very well pointed that it is pretty confusing to make out the correct route on road junctions, which don't have signboards to guide the driver. In such a scenario it is quite wise to enquire regarding the route ahead from local inhabitants, whenever you come across them. This is exactly what we did in our case.

We skipped the visit to Nako Lake as we had already been there in our previous trip, which we undertook in a Maruti 800 some years back.
Here is the link to the travelogue regarding that trip: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...uti-800-a.html).

As regards Chandertal Lake is concerned, we didn't find it wise to take the risk of deviating from the planned route as it was the fag end of the season, with the chances of roads getting blocked due to heavy snowfall anytime.

Originally Posted by Shwet

Amazing Travelogue, one of the very best I have read so far. Wonderful journey in the desolate wilderness. Also it's amazing that the Dzire was able to make this trip without any major hiccup.

I guess petrol maruti's are quite underrated but punch way above their weight.

Thanks Absolutely the Dzire performed really well in the treacherous Himalayan terrain and we were amazed by the performance of its K12 petrol engine. The secret behind the power packed performance by petrol marutis is their excellent power to weight ratio.

[iceman7]

Your Travelogue brought memories rushing back. We undertook our trip to Spiti in 2014. The 4 of us rented a Sumo from Manali and drove all through the Spiti valley.

One picture you posted here has special memories for me. It's the picture of Chhota Dara. On our way from Manali to Kaza, our Sumo broke down while crossing a stream. Luckily we were 500 meters away from the state guest house where you took the picture at. Our guide/driver had to go back to Manali to get new parts, so we ended up spending the full night in Chota Dara. No electricity, no cell phone network, pitch dark, and only the sound of the raging river to keep us company. I will never forget those 24 hours.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Your Travelogue brought memories rushing back. We undertook our trip to Spiti in 2014. The 4 of us rented a Sumo from Manali and drove all through the Spiti valley.

One picture you posted here has special memories for me. It's the picture of Chhota Dara. On our way from Manali to Kaza, our Sumo broke down while crossing a stream. Luckily we were 500 meters away from the state guest house where you took the picture at. Our guide/driver had to go back to Manali to get new parts, so we ended up spending the full night in Chota Dara. No electricity, no cell phone network, pitch dark, and only the sound of the raging river to keep us company. I will never forget those 24 hours.

Thanks Nice to know about your thrilling experience of travelling from Manali to Kaza. The Gramphoo-Chhota Dara-Batal-Kunzum Pass stretch of this route is the most desolate and treacherous one, which virtually gets on to the nerves of the traveller.