[ashish.uno]

SHANKY11

What a timely travelogue and superbly detailed too!. Many thanks!

The reason i am so happy seeing your write up is because i am also taking the same route from 23rd onwards With such details and amazing pics, you have calmed my initial jitters!
I am traveling with a 2 years old and taking the shimla kalpa route to better acclimatise the gang. I have a couple of queries, hoping that you could throw some light on them.

1. What would be the travel duration between Kalpa and Kazo. I am planning to cover the distance in a day but can add a stop over to Tabo, if necessary.
2. What was the travel range of Scorpio on a full tank? I have a vehicle that gives 9-9.5 Km/Litre on a 65 Litre tank. Do you see the need to carry extra fuel?

Thanks !

[hothatchaway]

Wonderful pictures and nice narration. Brought back memories of my solo ride to Spiti from Bangalore last year. Had to skip the lake of the moon as AMS struck.

The Batal-Chhatru-Gramphu stretch is indeed the most challenging circuit in India currently. The Xtreme category of Raid De Himalaya is conducted here.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by ashish.uno

SHANKY11


I am traveling with a 2 years old and taking the shimla kalpa route to better acclimatise the gang. I have a couple of queries, hoping that you could throw some light on them.

1. What would be the travel duration between Kalpa and Kazo. I am planning to cover the distance in a day but can add a stop over to Tabo, if necessary.


Thanks !

I would strongly advise that you break journey for the night between Kalpa and Kaza, especially with a child that small. You will be gaining double the altitude in a tiring day's drive on very challenging terrain. Do stop over at Tabo and enjoy the experience!

Mods - I had posted once and then saw this post by Ashish after my original post was captured. Could not figure out a way to edit and merge the quoted part from this post. Pls help

[ashish.uno]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

I would strongly advise that you break journey for the night between Kalpa and Kaza, especially with a child that small. You will be gaining double the altitude in a tiring day's drive on very challenging terrain. Do stop over at Tabo and enjoy the experience!

I am also having the same point of view and was looking to break my journey at Tabo. Incidentally when I made my plans I went by the ETA from google maps.
Thanks for confirming!

[prithm]

SHANKY11

Let me thank you for writing a wonderfully crafted travelogue with lot of patience and detailed descriptions.

It made me teleport myself to those spots which you visited. Loved this read.

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by Cool_leo_guy

Awesome photographs. If you are on a learning curve, you sure are getting there.
Please share to details of photography gear you use.
Amazing vistas, sure ignite a wanderlust in us plain wallahs

Thanks for your kind words. Mine is a humble Canon EOS 600D with the 18-55 mm kit lens and another 50-200 mm zoom lens. Have been using this setup to enhance my skills. Will be adding more lenses to the gear soon.

Originally Posted by ashish.uno

SHANKY11

What a timely travelogue and superbly detailed too!. Many thanks!

The reason i am so happy seeing your write up is because i am also taking the same route from 23rd onwards With such details and amazing pics, you have calmed my initial jitters!
I am traveling with a 2 years old and taking the shimla kalpa route to better acclimatise the gang. I have a couple of queries, hoping that you could throw some light on them.

1. What would be the travel duration between Kalpa and Kazo. I am planning to cover the distance in a day but can add a stop over to Tabo, if necessary.
2. What was the travel range of Scorpio on a full tank? I have a vehicle that gives 9-9.5 Km/Litre on a 65 Litre tank. Do you see the need to carry extra fuel?

Thanks !

Thanks a lot, ashish.uno. And good luck for your trip. Do share your experience and the road status once you are back.

Even though Kalpa to Kaza is doable in a day, I would strongly advise against it. As hothatchaway rightly pointed out, its a very challenging route and especially with a toddler, its not a good idea. Moreover, you will miss out on a lot of opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery since you will be in a rush to reach Kaza by evening.

As far as fuel capacity goes, I cannot give you the exact figures from my journey since this was a rental car and I was a little confused about the mileage it gave. However, the Scorpio with a 60 litre fuel tank was sufficient to let us reach Kaza from Kalpa in one full tank, including a 50-60 km drive inside Pin valley also. Considering that, your 65 litre fuel tank shall be sufficient. But, as a precaution, if its not too much of trouble for you, you can carry some extra fuel in a jerrycan (10 litres should be good enough) since this is a very unpredictable region and you never know what challenges one might face here. As you might have read, my fuel calculation went haywire due to all those back and forth trips to Nako village.

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Wonderful pictures and nice narration. Brought back memories of my solo ride to Spiti from Bangalore last year. Had to skip the lake of the moon as AMS struck.

The Batal-Chhatru-Gramphu stretch is indeed the most challenging circuit in India currently. The Xtreme category of Raid De Himalaya is conducted here.

Thanks a lot, hothatchaway. I am sorry to hear that you could not see the lake. But, there is always a next time. And hats off to you for that solo ride. Its a big accomplishment.
The Batal- Gramphu stretch came as a surprise to me since mine was a very random plan and I had no clue about this circuit while I was finalizing my itinerary. Now when I look back, I realize that this drive was no small feat by any means.
A bike trip to Spiti is on the cards soon.. Hope to see more of this beautiful region this time.

[Cool_leo_guy]

Originally Posted by SHANKY11

Thanks for your kind words. Mine is a humble Canon EOS 600D with the 18-55 mm kit lens and another 50-200 mm zoom lens. Have been using this setup to enhance my skills. Will be adding more lenses.
A bike trip to Spiti is on the cards soon.. Hope to see more of this beautiful region this time.

EOS 600D is a very good camera to start out and practice your photography skills.
You can add any number of lenses but I suggest you add the 50 mm ASAP. It will add a whole new dimension to your people and street photography and is very affordable.
Looking forward to you bike trip. Do share your experience with us. Keep traveling.

[ramgkulkarni]

Shanky11 - Incredible travelogue mate. Makes me jealous looking at how beautiful the place is. Its quite evident the amount of time you have put in to pen down the beauty of this wonderful place. With Zoomcar and other rental vendors now available I really cant justify how I wont be able to make it from Bangalore.

And btw you are the only guy who I have seen wash a rental car. Kudos to you for taking care of a car because that's the sensible thing to do.

I hope to do this circuit soon at least before I have kids of my own. Thank you for the story telling.

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by Cool_leo_guy

EOS 600D is a very good camera to start out and practice your photography skills.
You can add any number of lenses but I suggest you add the 50 mm ASAP. It will add a whole new dimension to your people and street photography and is very affordable.
Looking forward to you bike trip. Do share your experience with us. Keep traveling.

Thanks for the suggestion mate. A 50 mm lens was already on the cards. I am also looking for a wide angle lens. Any suggestions for that?
Will definitely post another travelogue for the bike trip. Before that, a Ladakh TL will also come out this year.

Originally Posted by ramgkulkarni

Shanky11 - Incredible travelogue mate. Makes me jealous looking at how beautiful the place is. Its quite evident the amount of time you have put in to pen down the beauty of this wonderful place. With Zoomcar and other rental vendors now available I really cant justify how I wont be able to make it from Bangalore.

And btw you are the only guy who I have seen wash a rental car. Kudos to you for taking care of a car because that's the sensible thing to do.

I hope to do this circuit soon at least before I have kids of my own. Thank you for the story telling.

Thanks a lot, buddy. Appreciation like this gives me the confidence to write more. I will definitely devote more time to this.

For the entire 8 days that the car was with me, I always treated it as my own and made sure that it doesn't suffer any abuse on the rough terrain. Maybe that is the reason we did not encounter any sort of trouble with it. Call me crazy, but I do love the sight of a mud- caked car after a long roadtrip. At the same time, the satisfaction of watching all of it being washed in front of you is just orgasmic.

And yes, you must plan to do this circuit. While I was at Chandrataal, I met a guy from Bangalore, who was travelling solo in the region, with his own tent etc. but without a vehicle- he was doing a combination of public transport and hitchhiking wherever possible. He was one of the most commendable travelers I have met in my life. Hats off to the guy.

[Cool_leo_guy]

Originally Posted by SHANKY11

Thanks for the suggestion mate. A 50 mm lens was already on the cards. I am also looking for a wide angle lens. Any suggestions for that?
Will definitely post another travelogue for the bike trip. Before that, a Ladakh TL will also come out this year.

Canon Ef-S 10-18 mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens is a decent affordable wide-angle zoom for Canon cropped sensor bodies. All other wide-angle lenses are a bit on higher side. If you are planning to stick to cropped sensor bodies( 600d, 80D, 7D mk II etc), then it is an excellent choice. If you are planning to upgrade to full frame soon then look for ef lenses but they are a lot pricier.

Looking forward to account of your escapades in Ladakh. Happy shooting.

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by Cool_leo_guy

Canon Ef-S 10-18 mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM lens is a decent affordable wide-angle zoom for Canon cropped sensor bodies. All other wide-angle lenses are a bit on higher side. If you are planning to stick to cropped sensor bodies( 600d, 80D, 7D mk II etc), then it is an excellent choice. If you are planning to upgrade to full frame soon then look for ef lenses but they are a lot pricier.

Looking forward to account of your escapades in Ladakh. Happy shooting.

Thanks buddy.. Will consider it for sure.

[shivaru]

Thats a wonderful review ! I especially liked the way you finished the post with a message- Do not litter carry your garbage ! You are a hero !

[Shivanshu]

Beautiful you revived my memories for Spiti Valley. Some very beautiful pics and very nice narration. I read your log in one go, thank you so much for sharing. Keep driving to these lovely and beautiful places and keep sharing.

[divyankar]

Hey Shanky- Awesome travelogue buddy. you have captured some beautiful pictures and your narration was perfect.
Also, it will be helpful if you can give us a ballpark of total expenditure during the trip (Zoomcar + hotel + food).

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by shivaru

Thats a wonderful review ! I especially liked the way you finished the post with a message- Do not litter carry your garbage ! You are a hero !

Thanks a lot, Shivaru. Just trying to do my bit for the environment. It really hurts when I see such beautiful places ravaged by morons, who just litter everywhere without giving a second thought.

Originally Posted by Shivanshu

Beautiful you revived my memories for Spiti Valley. Some very beautiful pics and very nice narration. I read your log in one go, thank you so much for sharing. Keep driving to these lovely and beautiful places and keep sharing.

Thanks a lot for your kind words, Shivanshu.

Originally Posted by divyankar

Hey Shanky- Awesome travelogue buddy. you have captured some beautiful pictures and your narration was perfect.
Also, it will be helpful if you can give us a ballpark of total expenditure during the trip (Zoomcar + hotel + food).

Thanks a lot, Divyankar. If we talk about a ballpark figure, then around 80k is what we spent. This includes cost of the zoomcar, food and accommodation for 8 days for 5 people.