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Old 13th September 2010, 18:01   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BolBolero View Post
Tanveer, beautiful TL accompanied by some brilliant pics.
Having driven on this road recently, I would like to add a few points in bold to your TL. Hope you don't mind.
Thats why I like riding motorcycles to the mountains
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Old 13th September 2010, 18:12   #62
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To Spiti

We trudged on, and it was around 15:20 when we neared the end of the trail.
The walk back would take 15 minutes less, thanks to mostly downhill

Far away the path we came from
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996637454_pvqhfxl.jpg
The parking lot view
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996639649_ffc9axl.jpg
Zooming in
This is the only section where two vehicles can pass!
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996643397_mwbvaxl.jpg

We reached the camp and had some maggi and stuff(totally passable)
It was around few minutes after 4 we started the drive back.

The steed
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996408615_zjhsxxl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996566871_wfwtcxl.jpg

A drivers view. Right after this the "narrow" stretch started, and the entire 40 minutes remaining were spent praying "Please no other vehicles!"
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996416398_aav6yxl.jpg
thankfully nobody was coming, and quarter to 5 we were on the road to kunzum
Beyond Kunzum lies Spiti. Its the gateway between lahaul and spiti, and sometimes get heavy snowfall even in early september, thankfully, all we got was sunshine
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996645383_cwqzrxl.jpg

A rivulet on the way. Note the brown water. The mountain tops got heavy rain/snow in recent days

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996422446_gki7vxl.jpg


The first view of the spiti valley
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996416409_xvbidxl.jpg

It was getting dark, and Kaza was the target. From kunzum top it takes around 3 hours to kaza, and since it was already past 5 at kunzum, it was time to hurry

We took very few pics on the way
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996419557_ykrvaxl.jpg

Cloud formations
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996647541_m7wzsxl.jpg

The setting sun
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996652738_jfg4gxl.jpg


Darkness fell, and we crossed losar. Kaza was not far away, and thankfully, only one deep crossing, nothing we could not handle with ease


Finally around 8 in the night we reached our destination. unfortunately clouds were there, so no startscapes this time. Also there was not even a crescent moon to illuminate the landscape.

tomorrow, we will see whatever we can of spiti, and head back to lahaul. Talk about tough and go!

TO BE CONT.........
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Old 13th September 2010, 18:31   #63
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2000 years ago(or maybe more) there was a river called Yamuna.
It was big blue and had water which shone like diamonds.
The river smelled of life.
One fine day a man came.
He said, the water looks so clean. Let me take a bath in it.
IT was good. He was cleaned.
then came his village, and they also took a bath in the water.
They were cleaned.

Then came another man. His toilet was smelly, but here was a toilet so clean.
He decided to take a dump.
Then his entire village decided to take a dump.
The river was little dirty, but still clean.

Then came another man, who thought, my house is full of garbage.
Let me throw some in it.
And then his entire village threw garbage.

Hamlets became villages, villages became cities, and garbage dumps grew.
They all decided to dump it in the river.

And 2000 years later, there was no water, only a dirty nallah.

Please do not take bath in the Chandertal. Its still beautiful. I am hoping it stays this way 2000 years later too.[/quote]



Well said Bro.
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Old 13th September 2010, 18:47   #64
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Spiti!

Morning was young, and the sun was shining. Today we were to go back.
Chatted up with a honda city riding group, who asked me to return via kunzum only. they were also planning the same as the road after Tabo was horrendous.
Well little did they know what road after losar was like. Still I wished them luck, and cautioned them. Did they make it or not, I have no idea.

For us, it was time for some calls. Harsh did not pick up his phone, so it was a call to trance_nut who suggested we see Dhankar from the base, and then head to Kaumic and then back.

Hectic, eh?

Well first, the view of the Spiti Valley. ITs a baby ladakh kind of thingy
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996736446_rmvwsxl.jpg

Wide angle Dhankar
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996796176_wk7ymxl.jpg

Close up dhankar
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996801816_yjvtwxl.jpg

In hindsight, it was a slight waste of time!
More shots from Dhankar area
Valley view
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996734452_eynaexl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996731346_knnzhxl.jpg

Yaks and cows and buffaloes or whatever mixed
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996812087_xv7cdxl.jpg

Another view of the Dhankar
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996807292_g6jhtxl.jpg

A man made waterfall
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996761594_wejyoxl.jpg

The river spiti
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996750696_ydftuxl.jpg

The interesting thing we found was Rock formations. They are a lot more abundant here, than ladakh
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996751181_zxt4gxl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996759869_bdoxrxl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996798925_bq4ftxl.jpg

TO BE CONT........

Last edited by tsk1979 : 13th September 2010 at 18:48.
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Old 14th September 2010, 11:48   #65
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Spiti! - cont...

We continued on towards kaza.
A view of the river side, and dry cracks. Water had only recently receded from these levels. A month ago this whole area was in danger of flash flood
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996783314_8xtzwxl.jpg

Another thing which differentiates Spiti from Ladakh is the greenery. while ladakh is seeing a lot of recent greenification efforts, Spiti is very green naturally
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996763073_kg4kzxl.jpg

The road to Kaza
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996783255_qjtgnxl.jpg

Another shot of the valley
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996786045_dnlbdxl.jpg

Finally around 10:15am we were in Kaza. We decided that this was the right time to get fuel and food. After that we will go to Kaumic, and start our long journey back
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996789681_ixrr3xl.jpg

Unfortunately, there was no electricity. The pump guy told us to have breakfast and stuff, and if electricity still does not come, they will try using the hand pump, which was not functioning properly.
I did have 20 liters fuel in the jerrycan, but it would be cutting it too short.
So we decided to eat.

No electricity... so it was time to do some hand pumping, and I got around 20 liters of fuel. Did not get the tank full as I doubted the quality.
Incidently, at 3700m this is the highest IOC filling station, higher than Ladakh.

After that, post 11am, it was time to head to kaumic. A narrow steep rocky 20kms climb to 4400m above sea level!

TO BE CONT.........
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Old 14th September 2010, 12:09   #66
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@tsk: where did you stay the night before Kaza? Or, did you stay at Kaza itself for the night and go to Dhankar the next day and return?
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Old 14th September 2010, 12:13   #67
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We reached Kaza around 8pm, and stayed there for the night.
In the morning we made a short trip to the base of the Dhankar monastery(20kms odd)
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Old 14th September 2010, 12:31   #68
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Koumic - and the meadows

24kms from the main highway lies Koumic.
the climb up is steep narrow, and rocky. Nothing too major, but scary, because for almost 10kms you have sheer drops. You can see the entire valley as you climb up.
Midway you get a small village of Lingzi or langza , and then start the meadows with wildflowers.

We decided to do a non stop climb. No photography breaks, reach the top, and then slowly come down, enjoying the meadows.

It took us more than an hour to do those 22kms.

And finally little before noon, we were at Koumic

The meadows of Koumic
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996861797_xss7qxl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996864158_nt9yfxl.jpg

It was green, very green. Its odd to find so much green at 4500m above sea level. Infact, nowhere else, not even at Hanle have I seen so much green at this altitude.

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996866728_gwp6pxl.jpg


We continued downwards on the narrow track, slowly savouring the sights.
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996861560_9b4jlxl.jpg

The view
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996893693_dkl2nxl.jpg

the ride
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996878876_phpunxl.jpg

The engine note was rough as the turbo struggled to suck in air. A common phenomena at such altitudes.

Almost midway down lies the village of Langza
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996880567_q6mnuxl.jpg

There is a big buddha there
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-997013739_nf4jdxl.jpg

A close up of the village, with the typical Ladakhi/Spitian architectureThe lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996990997_8mxvdxl.jpg

Near Langza lies a meadow, and around the meadow goes the road.
However, if you are adventurous, you can take the shortcut, a dirt track cut through the meadow. Its steep and slippery, but nothing for the white elehant.
The crest of this meadow offers some amazing views

the village and the statue
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996994106_xk6bxxl.jpg

The meadow
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996886316_zgasrxl.jpg

In the foreground is the dirt track, and far away it merges with the main dirt road
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996891942_ygzyhxl.jpg

TO BE CONT.......
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Old 14th September 2010, 12:38   #69
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Super collection Tanvir. I love that 10th shot from the post above. Weather, for change is really looking good.
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Old 14th September 2010, 12:51   #70
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Did you explore the stay options at Kaumik?
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Old 14th September 2010, 15:43   #71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudra Sen View Post
Super collection Tanvir. I love that 10th shot from the post above. Weather, for change is really looking good.
Thanks Rudra! The weather indeed was pleasant!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wanderernomad View Post
Did you explore the stay options at Kaumik?
Nope, but I saw some sign boards for home stays and all.
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Old 14th September 2010, 16:27   #72
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Koumic - cont...

Picking up where I left off...
the meadow was very different. Two perfect tracks, with a center hump, and grass all around.

The white elephant, basking in the sun
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996895228_l9auoxl.jpg

The view
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996895321_qlktkxl.jpg

Look at the angle of descent, when we climbed the meadow, the climb was even steeper. But with a 4x4, all this is trivial
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996896065_2u4zuxl.jpg

From a different angle
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996904846_zecpzxl.jpg

Another safari pic
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-997000029_tsdwnxl.jpg

we drove down to the main road. Here is where the track joins the road
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996910291_amjffxl.jpg

A view of the high peaks
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-997047083_7cbe6xl.jpg
another zoom shot. This place was truly amazing, and we could have spent the whole day here
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-997016822_pbvv3xl.jpg

But Manali was waiting... Time to drive on. It was almost 1pm, and we still had 20-30 minutes drive to the main road left.
It meant we would start from Kaza around 1:15, have lunch at losar, and hit rohtang only as darkness fell. Not a happy though.

We decided to drive not and not stop.
But then.... few minutes later I see a sight truly out of this world


TO BE CONT.......
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Old 14th September 2010, 16:33   #73
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Tanvir bhai, breathtaking snaps as always .

This travelogue took me on a dreamland tour, miles to go before I sleep!
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Old 14th September 2010, 17:22   #74
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The flowers, the meadows -- And the valley view

Wildflowers. With lots of angry bees, well thats besides the point.
All I knew is that we had to stop and click, and stand and stare.
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996912370_frctxxl.jpg

The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996911352_ahwbdxl.jpg

The track through the heavenly meadow of flowers
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996912680_6r8tixl.jpg

After spending some time here, we moved forward, and got our first valley view
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996920077_yrhymxl.jpg

See something familiar? Look again
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996926303_rarpsxl.jpg

Those of you who are addicted to google satellite images will know what I mean, those who do not, just look up kaza on google earth
What you see above is the most recognizable triangle in Kaza. Its actually a boundary wall

The road to kaumic, which we were descending now
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996925651_zt8lwxl.jpg

Around 1:15pm and we were on the main road. We would cross kunzum shortly, and then Rohtang, and be in Manali by night.
For now it was drive and drive

The drive from Kaza to Losar and then to Gramphoo has some amazing sights, and one of those is the Kye monastery
A zoom shot with the panny
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-997043028_ch9ltxl.jpg

The rock formations
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996928047_8vuwdxl.jpg

Green brown and blue, its so spiti
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996929556_3fnvgxl.jpg

The road kept changing from bumpy to smooth, and we had a sense of urgency. We normally do not like whirlwind drives, but time was at a shortage. and after all it was a Chandertal trip. Spiti was a bonus

The road
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996939114_ybennxl.jpg

Kaza was left behind, and so were the amazing formations
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996939823_kbmxixl.jpg

Soon the rocky section started with cliffs and moonscapes
We were nearing Losar
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996972006_fubsjxl.jpg

A close look at the moonscape
The lake of the moon and the Spiti Sprint!-996945576_gmrcrxl.jpg

TO BE CONT........
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Old 14th September 2010, 17:29   #75
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Breathtaking travelogue mate. Thanks a ton. Took me back to 2007 when i went to Keylong for 3 days. Unfortunately i had gone on work so could not explore. Hope to do it soon.

And as they say in the media parlance, u have given a very teasing "Coming Up" ... waiting eagerly for the update.
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