[ast.ggn]

You guys have gone mad - These were the words of most people around us, when they heard of the plan.

Preview of things to come:


Note: BHPians are usually magicians with words and I struggle with words. Heck, even writing 2 paras takes a lot of effort. Kindly bear with the writing and enjoy the beauty of nature in this travelogue.

[ast.ggn]

Trip Planning

We have been celebrating Diwali with family (parents) from ages now, so decided to bunk the tradition in 2018. My office had planned leaves in such a way that I could get 9 days holidays on the trot. Leh was out of question as Rohtang had closed one week back, Spiti came up in discussions. I did a little research about itinerary on web, came up with a feasible one which could be done in 8 days, keeping one day as spare/ or for recovery after the trip. This included journey till Kaza (from Shimla side) and exploring the nearby places and return via same side (exiting from Manali side was also stopped by then).

Two of our friends were generous enough to give us their bikes for this trip, many thanks to them. (I had sold Thunderbird by then and taking RC on this trip would be disaster). Finally we ended up with a Duke 390 (BS4 model, 18000 kms done) and a brand new Himalayan (2018 model, 400 kms done).

Duke was recently serviced but front brake pads were almost worn out. I got the bike a day before the trip, so I could not get time to visit service center and get brake pads replaced. Internet came to our help and located a service center in Ambala where the task could be done.

Himalyan being a brand new bike, required it's first service and RE has a service center right on NH-1 in Ambala (KTM service center is also nearby, couple of kms off NH-1). So the final plan was to drop the Himalayan at RE for service and get the Duke brake pads replaced in parallel.

As all of this was being planned, another friend offered to tag along with us for this trip. He was coming from Rajasthan on a RC 390 (brave guy ) and would join us in Narkanda.

Preparation for the trip/ luggage:
Plan was to travel light, clothes were kept to a minimum, No fancy stuff.
First aid kit
Basic Medicines
Tubeless Puncture kit
Thermals and Inner layers
Meal Replacement Bars (lots of them)
Didn't carry a DSLR as Note 8 camera was good enough.
BSNL postpaid sim. It was a task to get it these days.

Route Maps:

[ast.ggn]

Day 1: Gurgaon to Kufri
(There were not much of pics on first day as ride on NH-1 is usually boring, a little story below on how things transpired.)

As is case with most people, I couldn't sleep properly the night before. Lot of time was spent in rearranging stuff, keeping things tight and to a bare minimum. We had planned to leave at 4:30 AM on Saturday morning, but as expected, could get to leave by 05:30 AM only.

Everything packed, ready to go.


Headed straight to fuel pump, got top ups done. NH-1 was uneventful, took a stop over for breakfast (staple parathas) after Karnal. Himalayan was under run in at least till first service and was a pain to ride on highways.

We reached Ambala RE service center at around 10 AM and were greeted well. Guys promptly took in the bike for the service and asked questions as to where we are headed etc. They were very courteous throughout. My previous experience with them during a 2016 trip was also excellent when a fellow biker had a breakdown and they helped him fix his bike in no time.

Meanwhile, took the Duke to KTM service center and boom. The center was closed for renovation till Diwali. I should have called and checked a day before. Spoke to service advisor, explained him my situation and requested him to help me. He agreed to help but informed that the mechanic has gone off somewhere and it will take one hour for him to arrive. Finally after a few calls and requests, the mechanic showed up and replaced pads and Clutch cable. Duke has really tightly clutch wire setup and it takes some struggle to replace the thing.



We got free around 12:30 in noon and were hungry by then. Himalayan got to free the legs a bit.

Grabbed a sub before Chandigarh.


Things were ok on under construction Himalayan expressway, but just before Solan :



Cursing the stars and fate etc., found out that a puncture repair guy is nearby half a km ahead. I asked my partner to bring him to the spot as a pillion with necessary tools. Gentleman flatly refused - Bike yahin le kar aao. I never imagined in my life that all these years of gym would be put to use like this one day. But it was not enough. Requested two passer-by to help push the 200+ kgs thing, which they gladly did after I offered them a green paper each in exchange for help. Puncture was fixed in one and half hour, by now it was almost 04:00 PM and our plans of reaching Narkanda looked dim.

Took a right for Kufri, from Kandaghat via Chail. Somewhere after Chail bypass:


It was getting dark and cold with clouds everywhere, visibility restricted quite a bit. I wish we had more time there to take photographs but passing through the hills, it was one amazing ride from Chail to Kufri, something which can only be experienced and photos won't be able to do justice.

Before approaching Kufri, it started raining cats and dogs. A small teashop owner was kind enough to light a small bonfire and offer us shelter. We had a cup of tea along with some snacks and ask him to make one more. He happily obliged. Kufri was 10 kms from here.


Finally it stopped raining at around 7:30 PM and we made a move towards Kufri. We were so tired by now, decided not to proceed towards Narkanda and stay overnight in Kufri. Found a okayish hotel and called it a day soon after hot shower and dinner.

[ast.ggn]

Day 2: Kufri to Kalpa

Morning view from Hotel. Temperature was under 5 degrees.


Duke was giving some problem in slotting into the first gear. Luckily, found a mechanic just outside Kufri, who agreed to look into it. The gear lever link had become loose. He adjusted it by putting some extra washers and it worked fine there after.

Some posing while the bike was attended to:


Our friend joined us in Narkanda, and soon after we were stuck in traffic for a short while.


First sighting of snow:


Somewhere mid way:


Duke 390 in full glory


Everyone knows this little tunnel, near Rampur.


Midway, cloud cover.


Getting closer to Kalpa.


Evening view at Kalpa.


It was almost dark by the time we reached Kalpa, checked into a hotel, had dinner and called it a day.

[ast.ggn]

Day 3: Kalpa to Tabo

Sunrise progression behind Kinnar Kailash Range in Kalpa.

Shot 1


Shot 2


And finally out.


Morning in Kalpa weaved a magic spell around us and we were excited about things to come.

Kalpa is off the main Spiti highway and you need to take a detour of 14 kms via Reckong Peo. Reckong Peo and Kalpa both have plenty of options for accommodation. You will find a fuel pump just before the diversion for Reckong or in Reckong itself. After that till Kaza, there is no legit fuel pump. Though you may find petrol at odd stores everywhere at a little premium.

Little butt break before Spello, the road is under construction.


Somewhere after Spello and before Pooh. Usual sim cards will stop working after this. Only BSNL postpaid worked from now on.


Under Khab bridge, the confluence of Spiti river and Sutlej river.


It was too cold and windy, actually..


A little away from Khab bridge.


Spiti river emerging from the mountains.


Snow starts again.


Some posing as the landscape starts to change.


Serpentine roads and barren landscape


Road was blocked due to some landslide, BRO was working to clear it. There was a group of bikers ahead of us, some of them fell on black ice a little while later. We met them later after Tabo and had a little chat. All of them young folks from around NCR on pulsars, apaches etc. Who says you need expensive bikes for adventure - That spirit is enough to keep you going.


And I got some time to fool around.


Inner child at work


Some more black ice. It was dangerous here and bikes were skidding.


Some discussion on how to tackle black ice.


A biker crashed at this U turn, got few scratches and was given first aid.


It was cold in the areas where there were no sunrays that water dripping from mountains had started to freeze.


More landscape. This was on our way back from Kaza. Same location as the previous pic. Himalayan is parked in the background.


Duke looks a little dirty, but smashing.


Braving slides and black ice, we started to speed up a bit as we were getting late and there was still a lot to catch up. Our plan was to reach Kaza on same day. As we ascended towards Nako, it started to get very cold. All of our thermal layers seemed ineffective. Thankfully, there is a lot of descent after Nako and temperature gets a bit better. Nako lake was nothing to talk about and it was a disappointment, a small pond.

On our return journey, at a break near Nako helipad. Cold enough to freeze your bones and you don't want to take off gear.


Panorama view. Feel free to view in landscape and zoom in. It was clicked from a humble Honor phone, turned out ok.


We reached Sumdo by 5 PM, it is mandatory to get yourself registered at the check post over there. Foreigners are not allowed beyond Sumdo, due to proximity to China border. Border is hardly few kms from there if I am not wrong. There is an army canteen at Sumdo, the guy makes samosa and jalebi (for the fellow foodies). We took a short break and stuffed ourselves.

Sun sets fast in these areas and it started to get dark soon. Our plan to reach Kaza looked bleak, but we still continued.

It got dark soon and we realize again that Duke's headlights are a disaster (first time it was before Kufri). There is short rubber mount behind the headlight which was faulty, leading to headlight being pointing upwards despite adjustment. There are numerous signs of landslides and road side were full of stones which had fallen during previous landslides. Administration has put up fencing to prevent them from falling towards the road and it feels like it will break anytime soon. It was pitch dark everywhere, not a single soul in sight for several kms. After crossing couple of small villages, we reached Tabo at 7:30 PM. We were too tired and decided to stay over at Tabo. We had a reference of a home stay and after a small negotiation, we were led to our rooms. Owners were hospitable and we were treated to good home cooked dinner. It was very cold during the night, several degrees below zero and we had to ask them all kinds of heaters, quilts and blankets to keep ourselves warm.

[ast.ggn]

Day 4: Tabo to Kaza and Nearby

Morning view from our room in Tabo


Our hosts at Tabo offered us generous breakfast. Owner's little daughter playing around in background.


Way to warmup the cups before pouring tea, otherwise the cups would crack.


Tea which is made of dried Sea Buckthorns. It was delicious.


Raw Material for Tea, they are commonly used in the area.


We bid them goodbye short while after. My gloves were not enough to shield the cold. I should have brought along inner layers. It was so cold that we couldn't feel our fingers within 10 minutes of ride. When nothing else worked, did a last attempt to keep fingers warm from engine heat, the bike was running for 45 mins already. Imagine doing this in plains. We kept doing this every 10 mins till we reached Kaza.


I will let the pictures speak now.









Panorama.


Spiti river started to freeze.


Icicles on the way.


Various shades of valley.


Finally arrived at Kaza, still could not get over the cold shock received in morning.


Kaza is an hour's ride from Tabo, good that we didn't travel during the night. There were several unmarked trails on the way. We reached Kaza early in the morning around 10. There is RE workshop right at the entry of the town (or that's what it looked to me). We spent half an hour searching for the home stay where we were supposed to put up. We located it finally, almost by the river side.

Took a short break and decided to venture a bit on the spiti river bed. It was an amazing view overall.

World is white and blue.


Near by, some furry friends.


We spent some time appreciating nature and took loads of pics. Still there was lot of time left in the day, we decided to explore Hikkim and Key Monastery.

On the way to Key Monastery.


Entry Gate


We spent some time with main monk at Key. He explained us what it meant to lead a monk's life, about history at Key and offered us tea over discussions. We thanked him for his gesture while leaving and had a look at various sections of the monastery.


Landscape on the way to Key. Notice different shades of the valley.






Poser me.


The diversion for Kunzum and Losar. Unfortunately it was closed due to snow and people were not allowed beyond a limit. Had this been open, we could have completed the round circuit and exited via Manali. We missed the cut for Mud village on our way to Kaza, took a note of it on our way back. It was also closed and covered with snow.


The bridge connecting the way to Manali.


Continued in next post

[ast.ggn]

Continued from above

On way to Hikkim, signboard indicating way to world's highest post office.


Duke started losing traction a little while later and we cannot just proceed any further. Wondering here what to do next.


Actually a candid shot, was discussing about the way forward.


Some behind the scenes hardwork.


Result.


After a short time spending clicking pics, we returned to Kaza by evening. It was starting to get serious cold again on Diwali eve.

Trip to hills isn't complete without Maggi.


Warm dining space at the homestay.


There was a room heater available in the homestay, or else I am not sure we could have survived there that night. It was around -18 degrees in the night as per google. Himalayan temperature gauge was indicating -10 in morning iirc, so -18 was definitely possible on that night.

We made some arrangements to cover our bikes with plastic sheets, started them once again late in the night so that they won't be dead in morning and placed them in between two cars to protect them from direct wind.

Close look at clear water stream of Spiti river:

https://youtu.be/CoNw4Ev9QJU

Day 5: Kaza to Reckong Peo

In morning, all of our plans failed, Duke and RC both failed to start. Himalayan started with a bit of effort. We arranged for few buckets of hot water and poured them over engine blocks and casings. Duke started after a while with some cranks, RC was still dead. Water wasn't able to reach engine casing properly due to fairings. We decided to try our luck with push start after some time, once sun came out. RC finally started with 4-5 pushes. All the 390 adv owners travelling to extremely cold places, please take care about next day in advance.

Next surprise:Petrol pump was closed due to Diwali. . Discussed with a few locals and made some calls to number given on the signboard. Got to know that the operating guy comes down daily all the way from Tabo and he won't be available before 09:30 AM. We waited for him all geared up at Petrol Pump and were the first customers when he arrived after a while.

Dreaded black ice again and a short clip of navigating on RC:

https://youtu.be/slz3lD9C-kA

Our journey back to Reckong Peo was event free and we reached there by 07:30 PM. It took us a while to find hotel because of entry restrictions on the Diwali.

Day 6: Reckong Peo to Chail

Left early from Reckong Peo as we were getting tired by now and itch to reach back home quickly was getting stronger. Ride was event less and swift, we were able to reach Chail just before dark.

Some fooling around in the midway, near Rampur Bushahr.


Hotel was decent enough, located on outskirts of Chail and we got a good deal when we booked on spot through some app. Some hot shower and good food to end the day.


Day 7: Chail to Gurgaon

7th day being Bhai Dooj and we were getting calls from family to reach home back on time for festivities. Checked out early from Chail around 8 AM and proceeded towards Delhi. After breathing clean and pure air for several days now, it was time for a reality check. Air quality started deteriorating after Karnal and we could feel burning sensation in eyes and windpipe. Finally reached back Gurgaon around 4 PM.

Total expenses incurred during the trip were under INR 25k all inclusive.

Parting Shot:.


Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to put in suggestions.

[vb-saan]

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

[deepcdc]

Well done. It's fun to see the usually populated Spiti so vacant. Must have been cold, but a good experience with lesser and lesser people on the road.

Happy Riding !

PS : Duke on ice is not something I've heard about a lot, was it behaving well ? In-fact, I've heard horrific stories of it misbehaving even on wet roads. Might be a misconception.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by deepcdc

Well done. It's fun to see the usually populated Spiti so vacant. Must have been cold, but a good experience with lesser and lesser people on the road.

Yes it was excellent experience. Very few people on road and in Kaza even most of the accommodations were closed for winters. My apologies, I missed to cover that in my post above.

PS : Duke on ice is not something I've heard about a lot, was it behaving well ? In-fact, I've heard horrific stories of it misbehaving even on wet roads. Might be a misconception.

My wife must have excellent riding skills, I was pretty much happy with Himalayan. Jokes apart, Duke was running Ralco in front and MRF at rear, still it was very difficult on ice. Slight twist of wrist and you can see the rear dance around. We had to tread very carefully, had a few close calls but survived.

However from my experience of owning a 390, wet tarmac is fine unless you are really pushing it. Mud, slush and gravel are a bigger problem with stock tyres.

[mh09ad5578]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

You guys have gone mad - BHPians are usually magicians with words and I struggle with words. Heck, even writing 2 paras takes a lot of effort. Kindly bear with the writing and enjoy the beauty of nature in this travelogue.

I did see magic in your words and in your travelogue! Kudos and thanks for sharing a beautiful and mesmerizing journey.

Brought back beautiful memories of my 10 day Spiti ride in August 2016 with my group. We did Mandi to Manali loop via Kunzum La including Chandratal. Words are not enough to describe the beauty of these places. But weather was pretty good and we had struggled in that weather.

Hats off in trying Spiti in winter, and without backup! Daring and fool hardy too. Well guess that brings the best adventure too.

Now I hunger for my Spiti winter adventure too! Rated 5 stars! You deserve it.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by ast.ggn

You guys have gone mad - These were the words of most people around us, when they heard of the plan.

Note: BHPians are usually magicians with words and I struggle with words. Heck, even writing 2 paras takes a lot of effort. Kindly bear with the writing and enjoy the beauty of nature in this travelogue.

Great travelogue man. Short and crisp.

I along with a friend did Spiti in first week of October couple of years back (Electra and Karizma). Exactly the same route + Chitkul. Spiti takes on a different hue in winters, it was so cold when we visited, I can just imagine the temperatures you would have witnessed. At the same time, the beauty and serenity in winters makes the tough ride more than worth it.

I remember seeing so many boards starting with ‘World’s highest’ - petrol pump, village, post office etc etc. Not all factually correct but the feeling is unparalleled.

And I really don’t know what’s up with these HP puncture guys. Stark contrast to the amazing people of HP.
An incident similar to yours happened with us on another trip. I and my friend were returning from Tirthan valley and his Karizma punctured around Bilaspur. Found a guy 2 km away and I had to practically stage a Dharna (and offer a 500 note) at his shop to make him come to the bike for the tyre fix. He was initially in no mood to leave his shop and wanted us pull the bike to where he was.

Never the less, so good to see your pics and thanks for sharing. Godspeed!

[Drkalgaonkar]

Thanks for rekindling the memories. And you are no novice with the words.

Those are really some nice pic even if clicked by a cellphone, particularly the one with the sunrise at kinnar Kailash. I had been to Spiti 4-5 years back and the Sunrise is mesmerizing... but I was there for a photography tour in an Innova...and in September. Went all the way to Chhitkul village.

Apart from the first gear engagement, did Duke give any other problems?

And warming your fingers with the engine heat is tricky as the fingers become numb with the cold you can get easily burn. It would have been better if you had worn some simple cotton gloves inside your riding gloves. Take care.

Nice write up. Thanks.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

I along with a friend did Spiti in first week of October couple of years back (Electra and Karizma). Exactly the same route + Chitkul. Spiti takes on a different hue in winters, it was so cold when we visited, I can just imagine the temperatures you would have witnessed. At the same time, the beauty and serenity in winters makes the tough ride more than worth it.

Thank you. It was really cold out there and not to sound dramatic, we were bit under prepared for this trip. My wife had a little fever in Kaza and had to be given paracetamol etc. It was worth a visit, given a chance we would like to do it again.

Originally Posted by Drkalgaonkar

Thanks for rekindling the memories. And you are no novice with the words.

Those are really some nice pic even if clicked by a cellphone, particularly the one with the sunrise at kinnar Kailash. I had been to Spiti 4-5 years back and the Sunrise is mesmerizing... but I was there for a photography tour in an Innova...and in September. Went all the way to Chhitkul village.

Apart from the first gear engagement, did Duke give any other problems?

And warming your fingers with the engine heat is tricky as the fingers become numb with the cold you can get easily burn. It would have been better if you had worn some simple cotton gloves inside your riding gloves. Take care.

Nice write up. Thanks.

Thanks for generous words. Duke went dead in Kaza and refused to start. We had to pour quite a bit of hot water on engine casing. I guess you missed couple of lines on Day 5 above.

And acually engine wasn't hot at all just enough to keep fingers a bit warm. But yes, I won't suggest anyone doing it straight away, first make sure engine isn't too hot. Honestly speaking, we were caught a bit off guard with cold. Once we reached Kaza, first thing we did was to buy a pair of fleece gloves so that they can be used in layers.

[yesyeswe]

By one of your replies you implied that your wife was riding the duke, is it true? You haven't mentioned that in the travelogue or maybe I missed it.

For a first travelogue it was really good, couldn't tell the difference, pictures were good too, and a guy was there on rc! that's very brave, that gives me hope of taking my RE gt 650 to mountains too.