Team-BHP - The Spiti Loop > done differently

Quote:

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001 (Post 1004128)

Jay
your travelogue made some wonderful reading since last few days.congrats.

But why you havnt used 4WD,did you feel 2WD adequate for the terrain that you have been through.

Please post in detail about this.

Thanks

Sunny. The routes that I did are doable in a Maruti 800 upto Lossar. In fact there are numerous Alto's used by locals on the same route.
Beyond that, I confidently say that it will be extremely challenging for a small car(Lossar - Gramphoo). Although there are numerous opportunities for 4 wheeling, i avoided it for 2 reasons.
1. No stepney tyre. 2. No backup, incase im stuck. (I didnt think it wise to stretch my already stretched luck)
I hope this information is adequate.
cheers:
regards,
J

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddy42 (Post 1004386)

Well i appreciate the effort you taken both for the trip and also keeping us engrossed in this travellogue. Only thing which comes to my mind is Next trip kab hai?
Well reminds me there is this movie coming called HEROS. You wrote the story for it or what?:D

Im presently planning my options for my next trip. All I can say that the plan is on the drawing board. Have posted a query in the route queries section. Any assistance from you is appreciated.
cheers:

Again my compliments of an excellent write up. Your narrative makes us go through the journey with you. And superb pictures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves (Post 1000139)

My dad particularly noted that - they(HP govt) should ban that road and shut it down. He was so upset. This stretch allows very little room for mistakes, if at all.

This route is the alternate to Kaza and remains more open that the other route through Kalpa. In fact for a few years after the Sutlej flood this was the only route to Kaza till the bridge was rebuilt.

I agree with your summary that this is actually a trail and not a road.

Lossar to Gramphoo in an Accent is very risky in an Accent due to low ground clearance. There are far too many opportuniites to badly damage the underbelly of a lowslung car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudheermenon (Post 1028442)

Jay, is this loop doable in Accent? especiall the stretch after lossar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudheermenon (Post 1028442)

Jay, is this loop doable in Accent? especiall the stretch after lossar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar (Post 1028893)

Some photos from my 2004 trip to Spiti in a Matiz.

And some (poor quality!) pics from my 2001 trip in a Fiat Uno Diesel:

The Spiti Loop > done differently - 7900kms-sep0616.jpg

The Spiti Loop > done differently - 7900kms-sep0619.jpg

In short: Of course it's a risky proposition, as Jay has said, but it has been done in practically all kinds of cars! Depends on how much adventure you are looking for!

Quote:

Originally Posted by anupmathur (Post 1028912)

pics from my 2001 trip in a Fiat Uno Diesel:

In short: Of course it's a risky proposition, as Jay has said, but it has been done in practically all kinds of cars! Depends on how much adventure you are looking for!

Well said, Anup!

Everyone depends on the driver and his appetite for such drives, what car you drive is not so material. If only my Matiz could talk about the kind of terrain it has been driven on! And in the worst stretches, we were busy battling the terrain to take photos.

Jay!! Nice Travelogue ,
Truly for me its like real Desi one. Covered many states, shown us as many as pics. Post is truly valued with 5 Star. I like the way you continued the narration as if nothing is happened to your car after that mishap. Few people only can do that. By the way you have nice pets jay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise (Post 1034096)

After reading first 3 pages, I could not resists and went directly into your photographs with beautiful narrations where ever its there. No wonder it has got the 5 star rating.

How many days it took in total for you?

The full trip took 3 weeks

Quote:

Originally Posted by potlaravi (Post 1039052)

The accident was truly sad. But then it was an accident that was not supposed to happen. What was done could not be undone. I felt it wasnt worth the time effort and space on this travelogue therefore I moved on with just a mention. And yes, nothing happened to the safari except for the bad expensive dent. If anything mechanical would have gone wrong, it would have been the end of my trip and my travelogue.
MY boys are truly nice. Thank you for the compliment and for taking the time to go through the long thread.

Hey Jay!!!

Great pics!! What I like best is that people usually click people or the landscape but you have clicked cross sections of real life. I love the compositions. I may have missed it in the post but i would love to know which camera and lens you were using...... Planning to upgrade.....

BTW I am an absolutely new driver and I was desperate to "try" driving in the mountains....... Obviously we wanted to pick something simple as it was our first time and our one and a half year old would be with us, but your posts and a couple of others saw us hit Chitkul from Chandigarh. The last day of the trip was a 16 hr marathon from Chitkul to Mohali (Parents dropped in unannounced!!) Obviously not a big deal for you guys but imagine the trip for a maiden drive!!!

Hi,
Glad you liked the pics. The 1st leg of the trip till orissa was shot on a borrowed Nikon D80 i had in Mumbai from my buddy which i returned to him in Orissa. All pics thereafter were shot on my Sony handycam DCR SR 300.
I am considering buying a good dslr though. Still into amateur photography so will have to do some research before I buy something I like.

Its fun driving in the hills. Its dangerous though since one tends to look at the spectacular scenery and looks away from the road. Im sure you must have loved Chitkul. I loved it. Will go there again for sure. 16 hr drive mostly in the mountains is tough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves (Post 997937)

Sarahan is another beautiful story that I havent been able to do sufficient photographic justic. Sitting on the top of the mountains in the middle of peaks you can look down upon a beautiful valley while you are amazed by cloud settled snowcapped peaks.
Another old temple i dont remember which one.
Attachment 54654

This is God Narsimsha's temple, i have'nt seen Narsimha temple anywhere except at this amazing place!

Nikon D 80..... I suspected it was a Nikon..... D80 is top of the line but I guess I wont be able to afford to even look at them. By the way what is your view on stills shot using handycams.... I was wondering if rather than investing heavily on DSLR how about picking up a good handycam and using it for stills too. But i wonder if the results are equally good. Even in your pics, the ones shot with the D80 has amazing color balance...

Yes we loved chitkul......
[IMG]D:\My Documents\My Pictures\Chitkul\DSC06283.jpg[/IMG]

Perhaps the most beautiful place I have seen till now....
[IMG]D:\My Documents\My Pictures\Chitkul\DSC06290 b.jpg[/IMG]

Yes.... the 16 hr marathon was tiring.... We started at 8.00 am and reached home at Mohali at 12.15 at night. Only two breaks of 15-20 min (84 mm of tobacco!!) during the day!!! Imagine our 1.5 yr old took it all with a smile.....