[ssambyal1980]

This travelogue is regarding trip to Kinnaur which I did in October 2011. Was contemplating since long regarding sharing this travel experience on the forum but couldn't make up my mind. But it was after reading a beautiful Kinnaur travelogue by a fellow BHPian that I decided to go ahead. Moreover the travel stories never get old and can be shared anytime especially on the Team BHP forum of travel enthusiasts. The trip team comprised of four people, myself, brother and our two elderly friends, both of whom are retired defence officers. The vehicle for the trip was the people's car i.e Maruti 800.

Itinerary of the trip was:
Day 1: Chandigarh to Rampur.
Day 2: Rampur to Sarahan and then to Sangla.
Day 3: Sangla to Chitkul and then to Kalpa.
Day 4: Kalpa to Nako and back.
Day 5: Kalpa to Chandigarh.

Day 1: 16th October 2011
Journey: Chandigarh to Rampur
Total Distance Covered: 244 kms
Travel Time: 8 hrs

Started at 0800 hrs and stopped for breakfast enroute. Crossed Shimla by 1145 hrs and reached Narkanda at 1400 hrs. Had lunch at Narkanda. Finally reached our destination for the day Rampur at 1700 hrs.

Route Map Day 1



Shimla airport runway as seen from Chandigarh - Shimla Highway.



Hockey astro turf near Narkanda.





Had lunch at Narkanda.





River Satluj at Rampur.



Checked in at Hotel Satluj View Rampur.


Day 2: 17th October 2011
Journey: Rampur to Sarahan and then to Sangla
Total Distance Covered: 136 kms
Travel Time: 6 hrs

Route Maps Day 2





Before departing from Rampur we visited the residence of the royal family of the erstwhile state of Rampur Bushehar. The residence is known as 'Padam Palace' and is a major attraction of Rampur.

Some photographs of 'Padam Palace' Rampur.

















Views from the palace lawn.



A pagoda styled temple at the main square in Rampur.




The next stop was Sarahan which is famous for the ancient Bhimakali Temple.

Link to information about Sarahan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarahan (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Bhimakali Temple at Sarahan.









Also visited a royal mansion located near the temple built by the royal family of the erstwhile state of Rampur Bushehar.

Views of the royal mansion 'The Shrikhand View'.

[ssambyal1980]

Day 2: Continued...

After wrapping up the Sarahan visit we started again and entered Kinnaur district by 1335 hrs.

The famous 'Kinnaur Dwar' marks the entry to the district.



Upon entering Kinnaur District the highway gets narrower as it runs alongside the deep gorges which makes driving risky and scary.





The only thing which comforts is the presence of guard rails.











The Nathpa Jhakri Dam on River Satluj.





By 1600 hrs we reached Karcham, took a right turn and after crossing the Karcham Dam were on the Karcham-Sangla-Chitkul road. From here on the road up to Sangla was narrow and prone to landslides at some points and to add to the anxiety were the deep gorges all along the road.

Scary drive!!! Views along the Karcham-Sangla road.





Reached Sangla by 1730 hrs and checked into Hotel Prakash Regency.


Day 3: 18th October 2011
Journey: Sangla to Chitkul and then to Kalpa
Total Distance Covered: 102 kms
Travel Time: 5 hrs

Route Maps Day 3





Woke up to a bright sunny day. After breakfast headed for Chitkul. The Sangla-Chitkul road offers some of the most pristine views of the Himalayas with the road passing through the beautiful Baspa River Valley. The valley is widest at Raksham Village which is famous for apple orchards and camping sites along the river bank.

Beautiful views along the Sangla-Chitkul road.



Near Raksham Village.



Beautiful views of snow capped peaks.









The team near Chitkul Village.



Reached Chitkul Village by 0935 hrs.

At Chitkul Village.

[ssambyal1980]

Day 3: Continued...

More views around Chitkul Village.





Went around the village and visited a monastery.

Monastery at Chitkul.





Drove a kilometer further from the village till the road changed into a dirt track. Stopped by the river side and enjoyed the Himalayan panorama.







River Baspa flowing swiftly.



At Chitkul Helipad.



Started from Chitkul at 1130 hrs for the next destination of the day i.e Kalpa. On the way stopped at Raksham for sometime and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery around.

Approaching Raksham.



Towering peaks around.







Somewhere between Raksham and Sangla.



Reached Sangla at 1300 hrs.

Sangla



Peaks above Sangla.





Baspa Dam at Sangla.



Once again from Sangla onwards till Karcham, the drive was through a narrow road with deep gorge by the side. The most scariest point on the stretch was a narrow turn near a temple where barely two cars could pass.

Deep gorge on the Sangla-Karcham stretch.



By 1425 hrs reached Karcham where a dam is located at confluence point of River Satluj and its tributary River Baspa.

Karcham reservoir and dam.





From Karcham onwards till Powari the road was a dirt track with some landslide prone points on the way. Reached Powari by 1520 hrs and got the car refuelled. The only refuelling station in the entire Kinnaur District is located at Powari. The next one is 200 kms away at Kaza.

Refuelling at Powari.







After driving for a few kilometers took left a turn on the highway and headed towards Reckong Peo. Reached Reckong Peo which is the district headquarter town of Kinnaur District by 1600 hrs. Instead of scouting for accommodation at Reckong Peo it was decided to proceed further to Kalpa. So after a refreshing tea and snacks headed towards Kalpa Village which is located at a higher altitude, commanding the excellent views of the Kinner Kailash Range which lies on the opposite side. Our stay for the day was at Circuit House Kalpa.

[ssambyal1980]

Day 4: 19th October 2011
Journey: Kalpa to Nako and back
Total Distance Covered: 227 kms
Travel Time: 9 hrs

The itinerary for the day was to visit Nako Village which is the easternmost village of Kinnaur District located close to the Indo-Tibet border. The village is famous for a high altitude lake.

Link to information about Nako Lake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nako_Lake (Courtesy: Wikipedia)


The plan was to return back the same day as such started off early from Kalpa at 0715 hrs.

Route Map Day 4



Early morning view of Kinner Kailash Range from circuit house Kalpa.







Joined the Hindustan-Tibet road again at Powari and took left turn to head towards Nako. The stretch from Powari till Jangi was largely unmetalled and prone to landslides at many points on the way.

On Powari-Jangi stretch.



At Jangi all the travellers are required to report at the Police Post where their identity is verified and entry is made. Beyond Jangi only the BSNL mobile network functions.

Views along the Jangi-Puh stretch.









An avalanche prone point before Puh.



By 1145 hrs crossed Puh.

Approaching Puh.



The road to the famous Shipkila Pass located on the Indo-Tibet border bifurcates from the Puh-Khab stretch.



By 1210 hrs reached Khab which is the confluence point of River Satluj and its tributary River Spiti. The very first bridge on River Satluj is located at Khab as it enters the Indian territory.

View of the confluence point at Khab.



River Spiti is on the left and River Satluj is on the right.



River Satluj flowing into the Indian territory. The mountain range in the background acts as a demarcated border between India and Tibet and is called the Line of Actual Control (LAC).



From Khab onwards it is steep climb till Kah Village. The drive was mostly in first and second gear which resulted in boiling of the coolant as had added more water than coolant in the radiator reservoir which resulted in lowering of the boiling point.

Steep climb on the Khab-Kah stretch.



Maruti 800 letting off some steam.



The 800 heaved a sigh of relief after Kah village as from there on the road was as straight drive.

Some more rest for the 800 at Kah.





View of terraced fields at Yangthang Village.



Finally reached Nako Village at 1400 hrs. After having lunch went around the village and the lake.

Views of Nako Village and Lake.











After staying at Nako Village for an hour we started our return journey by 1500 hrs.

Some more photos from the return leg.











Reached Kalpa by 2000 hrs after an eventful journey through the stark and desolate landscape of Kinnaur District.

[ssambyal1980]

Day 5: 20th October 2011
Journey: Kalpa to Chandigarh
Total Distance Covered: 354 kms
Travel Time: 12 hrs

Route Map Day 5



As the fifth and the last day of the trip was going to be a long day on the road therefore we tried to start as early as possible but despite best efforts were able to roll out only by 0715 hrs.





Early morning views of Kinner Kailash Range were too captivating. The prominent peaks of the range are Kinnaur Kailash (Elv 6050 m) and Jorkanden (Elv 6473 m).







Before setting out for the day it was decided to have a round of Kalpa Village.

Views around Kalpa.







Finally got rolling by 0800 hrs. On the way continued with the customary photo shoots.







Had breakfast at Tapri and lunch at Rampur. After covering a few kilometers from Rampur had first puncture of the trip resulting in delay of one hour. Reached Narkanda by 1700 hrs and stopped for evening tea. Crossed Shimla by 1900 hrs and finally reached the base at 2245 hrs. That was the end of an eventful and adventurous trip.


Trip Log
Total Distance Covered: 1064 kms
Total Fuel Consumed: 64 ltrs
Mileage Achieved: 1064/66.5 = 16.62 kms/ltr

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ringoism]

Thanks for finally sharing, even if several years after the event. I drove a friend's white M800 over much of that same route to attend a wedding in Puh that same year:




A M800 is (apart from accident-unworthiness), just an amazing piece of machinery, and there's hardly remote corner of the nation where despite the worst of road conditions one cannot be found (the same could be said of the Bajaj Chetak, incidentally).

I've seen these running in deep snow atop Rohtang, plying the Tso-Moriri route in Ladakh and the infamous Gramphoo/Batal stretch in Spiti - and running as taxis out to the small villages in Mizoram, with gripper remolds on the front tyres to deal with the monsoon-slicked clay surfaces! Till very recently these were the #1 family vehicle of choice in Himachal, and you'll still find them parked way up the most unlikely link roads. Apart from Altos, these have only recently been superceded by (surprisingly) Nanos (which have a disturbing propensity to have their low-hanging silencers ripped off) or increasingly more elite machinery as the economy swings upwards.

The car would've been very much at home there during your travels, and it just goes to show - in light of recent SUV / adventure model / crossover trendiness, how little anyone actually requires to get out into the regions beyond... and to fully enjoy it. The longer I live and the more I see, the greater the appeal of minimalism.

-Eric

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by ringoism

Thanks for finally sharing, even if several years after the event. I drove a friend's white M800 over much of that same route to attend a wedding in Puh that same year. A M800 is (apart from accident-unworthiness), just an amazing piece of machinery, and there's hardly remote corner of the nation where despite the worst of road conditions one cannot be found (the same could be said of the Bajaj Chetak, incidentally).

I've seen these running in deep snow atop Rohtang, plying the Tso-Moriri route in Ladakh and the infamous Gramphoo/Batal stretch in Spiti - and running as taxis out to the small villages in Mizoram, with gripper remolds on the front tyres to deal with the monsoon-slicked clay surfaces! Till very recently these were the #1 family vehicle of choice in Himachal, and you'll still find them parked way up the most unlikely link roads. Apart from Altos, these have only recently been superceded by (surprisingly) Nanos (which have a disturbing propensity to have their low-hanging silencers ripped off) or increasingly more elite machinery as the economy swings upwards.

The car would've been very much at home there during your travels, and it just goes to show - in light of recent SUV / adventure model / crossover trendiness, how little anyone actually requires to get out into the regions beyond... and to fully enjoy it. The longer I live and the more I see, the greater the appeal of minimalism. -Eric

Thanks Sir. It's always a great joy to share travel experiences with like minded enthusiasts. I fully endorse your point of view that Maruti 800 is gem of a car. With a small yet powerful engine and absolutely zero maintenance, the 800 became an instant hit in the Indian car market. With its excellent ground clearance of 170mm coupled with a shorter wheelbase of 2175 mm the car performs pretty well in unmetalled and off road conditions, especially in the Himalayan region. You have aptly mentioned that 800 became an instant hit in the hill states and that was due to its above mentioned unique technical specifications. Not to forget it's shorter width of 1440 mm makes it very convenient to maneuver on narrow hill roads.

Maruti 800's engine is also a masterpiece delivering decent power and coupled with the car's light weight, gives it an excellent power to weight ratio. Its successor the Alto 800 is still carrying on the legacy with pride. During the last 15 years of ownership, have covered almost whole of Himachal in it from the Valleys of Kangra, Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul and have also driven it across the dizzy high passes of Rohtang and Jalori.

Have tested it on the rugged roads of Uttarakhand as well during trips to Yamunotri-Gangotri and Kedarnath-Badrinath. Have posted the travelogue of both the trips on this forum. Following are the links:

1. Uttarakhand calling: Trip to Yamunotri & Gangotri in a hatchback: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hatchback.html

2. Uttarakhand calling: Drive to Kedarnath & Badrinath in a Maruti 800: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...uti-800-a.html

I hope you being an ardent fan of Maruti 800 will enjoy reading them.

Apart from the drives in the Himalayan region have also driven it across the great northern plains from Jammu in north to Jhansi in central India and not even once the 800 has let us down. It would be needless to say that with its superb performance and sturdiness the 800 definitely gives the SUV's a run for their money. With Maruti 800 by your side you can always confidently say that 'Less is More'.

[jassi_jeeper]

Originally Posted by ringoism

A M800 is (apart from accident-unworthiness), just an amazing piece of machinery, and there's hardly remote corner of the nation where despite the worst of road conditions one cannot be found (the same could be said of the Bajaj Chetak, incidentally).

I've seen these running in deep snow atop Rohtang, plying the Tso-Moriri route in Ladakh and the infamous Gramphoo/Batal stretch in Spiti - and running as taxis out to the small villages in Mizoram, with gripper remolds on the front tyres to deal with the monsoon-slicked clay surfaces! Till very recently these were the #1 family vehicle of choice in Himachal, and you'll still find them parked way up the most unlikely link roads. Apart from Altos, these have only recently been superceded by (surprisingly) Nanos (which have a disturbing propensity to have their low-hanging silencers ripped off) or increasingly more elite machinery as the economy swings upwards.

The car would've been very much at home there during your travels, and it just goes to show - in light of recent SUV / adventure model / crossover trendiness, how little anyone actually requires to get out into the regions beyond... and to fully enjoy it. The longer I live and the more I see, the greater the appeal of minimalism.

-Eric

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Thanks Sir. It's always a great joy to share travel experiences with like minded enthusiasts. I fully endorse your point of view that Maruti 800 is gem of a car. With a small yet powerful engine and absolutely zero maintenance, the 800 became an instant hit in the Indian car market. With its excellent ground clearance of 170mm coupled with a shorter wheelbase of 2175 mm the car performs pretty well in unmetalled and off road conditions, especially in the Himalayan region. You have aptly mentioned that 800 became an instant hit in the hill states and that was due to its above mentioned unique technical specifications. Not to forget it's shorter width of 1440 mm makes it very convenient to maneuver on narrow hill roads.

Maruti 800's engine is also a masterpiece delivering decent power and coupled with the car's light weight, gives it an excellent power to weight ratio. Its successor the Alto 800 is still carrying on the legacy with pride. During the last 15 years of ownership, have covered almost whole of Himachal in it from the Valleys of Kangra, Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul and have also driven it across the dizzy high passes of Rohtang and Jalori.

Have tested it on the rugged roads of Uttarakhand as well during trips to Yamunotri-Gangotri and Kedarnath-Badrinath. Have posted the travelogue of both the trips on this forum. Following are the links:

1. Uttarakhand calling: Trip to Yamunotri & Gangotri in a hatchback: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hatchback.html

2. Uttarakhand calling: Drive to Kedarnath & Badrinath in a Maruti 800: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...uti-800-a.html

I hope you being an ardent fan of Maruti 800 will enjoy reading them.

Apart from the drives in the Himalayan region have also driven it across the great northern plains from Jammu in north to Jhansi in central India and not even once the 800 has let us down. It would be needless to say that with its superb performance and sturdiness the 800 definitely gives the SUV's a run for their money. With Maruti 800 by your side you can always confidently say that 'Less is More'.

Very recently I did Chandigarh-Chitkul-Kalpa on the elder cousin of the M800- The Zen. I have driven all sorts of cars on the hills including jeeps. Surely, the small marutis have no parallel on the hills.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by jassi_jeeper

Very recently I did Chandigarh-Chitkul-Kalpa on the elder cousin of the M800- The Zen. I have driven all sorts of cars on the hills including jeeps. Surely, the small marutis have no parallel on the hills.

That's great. If possible please do share more details and photographs from your trip. Zen is an excellent vehicle from Maruti's stable. Apart from having a powerful 998 cc engine, the overall make and design of the car is top notch and not to forget its ride quality and comfort, both of which are great in the hatch back segment. Despite being no longer in production its legacy continues. Have always heard loads of admiration for it from its owners.