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S P I T I means the land between Tibet and India. Its the third least populated district of India with lush green valleys, flaura fauna , high mountain passes , cold barren deserts with deep ravines and gorges making it a worth visiting destination. There is a rare blend of Hinduism and Buddhism typically influenced by Tibetan culture and food specialities such as noodle soup with sauce chutni ,Tibetan roti(fluffy), special spiti lemon tea (believed to retard the ageing process) . It is aptly tagged as” little Tibet” famous for ancient Buddhist monasteries and exciting spiti valley treks Keylong is the district H/q of Lahaul & spiti. Khoksar, 19 KM from Rohtang pass, is the gateway to Lahaul while Kunjum pass or kunjumLa is the gateway to the spiti valley. Kaurrik village is the highest village at 14000 Ft. Spiti river emanates from Losar, Khoksar, Morang mountains. At Tandi, confluence of Chandra and bhaga rivers forms the Chandrabaralacha la pass. Khaab is the confluence of the river spiti and sutlej. Losar is next to the Indo-Chinese border.At Sumdo, the road enters Kinnaur district & joins the NH5.

About LAHAUL & SPITI :The district is popularly called the Land of Lamas or Little Tibet or the Country of Gods. Two rivers Chandra& Bhaga combine to form the Chandrabhaga .One of the highest highways in the world passes through Lahaul and connects Manali with Leh. This crosses four high passes-the RohtangLA(3980 mts),BaralachaLa (4982 mts),LachlangLa (5066mts) & TanglangLa (5360mts).Khoksar is the first village of the valley. KEYLONG(3350mts) is a little town which is the headquarter of the administrative district of Lahaul & Spiti .Keylong lies above the river Bhaga and is 6KM from its confluence with waters of the Chandra river at Tandi .Keylong was the base of the Moravian missionaries who planted the Poplar trees still growing there. GuruGhantal Monastery (3020mts) is 8 KM,Kardang monastery is 5 KM and Tayul monastery is 6 km from Keylong. At Tayul ,the local legend maintains that the main prayer wheel rotates on its own on certain occasions. Sissu (3100mts) has an image of Lalauls patron deity, Gyephang. Sarsu is the last point of Himachal Pradesh on the route to Leh. Triloknath (2760mts) is worshipped by both Hindus & the Budhists .Distance of Manali to Keylong is 122km & Keylong to Kaza is 188km.

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Day 1 (30th September 2014): Kullu to Kaza.

At 0400 hrs , I boarded the HP roadways busfor Kaza passing through tourist attractions Manali, the infamously treacherous- Rohtang pass (which is on the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas), scenic Solang valley, Khoksar, Batal & Kunjum pass or KunjumLa at 4590 mtrs is one of the highest motorable passes of India serving as the Gateway to the spiti valley. It is also famous for the 15 KM trek to the Chandratal lake via Goddess kunjumdevi offering jaw-dropping vistas of Chandra bhaga range. Reached the highest township & the commercial center of spiti- kaza located along the spiti river. It was such a spectacular sight. It is divided into Old town – Kaza khas and new town as kaza Soma.A local resident, Mr Raptan Bodh offered me a room at his house at Kaza town, rested being tired after 14 hours of travel through bumpy mountaneous roads.

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Day 2 (01 October 2014): Visit to Kaza town, kibber village and kye monastery.

Mr. Raptan Bodh exhibited lots of hospitality by offering me to drive me in his own car on this visit. The visit of the ancient kye/key monastery was quite educating in terms of budh teachings and beliefs . Kibber at 14000ft is believed to be the highest village connecting motorable roads. Completed the Kaza visit at 1600hrs, took a bus and Jeep transport to reach Gieu village and took room offered by Mr Raptan Bodh’s relative. Quite warm welcome and delicious Tibetan food. Had a good nights sleep.

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Day 3 (02 October 2014): Visit to the sitting mummy in village Giu and Tabo Monastery.

In the morning after breakfast I went to pay a visit to the sitting Mummy. I felt excitedly curious on seeing the mummy of a lama which is supposed to be 500 years old. As was claimed, the mummy had some hair, long nails and some flesh on the body. After the thrilling encounter, I came back to the Guest house, packed my meagre belongings and set off to visit the Tabo monastery, built in 996AD, is over a thousand years old and considered the oldest monastery of the world. The caves are called the Ajanta Ellora caves of Himachal. Then caught the bus to Recong Pio, the district H/Q of kinnaur . Reached at 1800 hrs and took a hotel at Recong peo. At dusk, at the sun set I could make out the cliff of mt. kinner kailash(a 79mt high ShivLing) in the distance on the mountain. I took a photograph and made a note in my travel-diary. Took night halt at Recong Peo.

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Day 4 (3rd October 2014):

Travelled from Recong Peo to Simla and overnight to Chandigarh. Reached CDG at 10 Hrs.As my train to Jaipur was scheduled at 07pm in the evening, I visited the famous Rock Garden.

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Day 5 (4th October 2014):VISIT TO THE ROCK GARDEN, CHANDIGARH

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Chandigarh to Jaipur. After visiting the famous rock garden,Chandigarh took train to Jaipur which concluded the exciting and memorable tour of the spiti valley.

ROOPKUND LAKE TREK :

It was an amazing and unforgettable trekking experience of my life which demanded toughness and strong resolve to reach the destination-The Roopkund lake at 16,000 Ft, locally called the mystery lake or the skeleton lake. As per Hindu mythology, hundreds of pilgrims who went to Nanda devi shrine for pilgrimage died in a sudden violent hailstorm in the 9th century AD. around 300 skeletons were found in the lake and have intrigued the anthropologists, scientists and historians alike. That’s why it is called the mystery lake. It was a 5-days trek from Loharjung(Chamoli-Uttarakhand) from 5th June 2013 to 9th June 2013. I had reached Loharjung via Moradabad (I also visited my Polytechnic,Moradabad on 03/06/2013 after 33 yrs of completing my Electrical Engg. in 1980), Haldwani, Almora, Kausani & Baijnath on the 04-06-2013 for undertaking the covetted Himalayan Trek.

Day 1 (5th June 2013) –

Basecamp – Loharjung/Waan at 8000ft. msl

Started for Camp-1, Didina at 9,000 Ft after traversing the hilly terrain for 11 KMs and finally took rest in the camp preparing for the next camp.

Day 2 (6th June 2013) –

We set out from Didina for Bedini Bugyal climbing for 5 KM & then were fascinated by miles of astounding scenic beauty of the alpine meadows probably the most beautiful meadows of the world. Also, we crossed the virgin forest and our team of seven persons comprising of 4 trekkers, a guide, two luggage bearers along with two horses. Also there is a Bedini Kund here (There is a festival celebrated here every 12 years)with the gurgling brooks on the way. The cool breeze and the fresh cold water of the streams eased our tough steep climbs of the hills. The view of the Ali bugyal/meadows was breathtaking and mesmerizing experience.

Day 3 (7Th June 2013) 14,700Ft.

Started for Bhagwabasa via Kaluvinayak and Patar Nachuni and took shelter in the tents/sleeping bag it being very cold outside in Bhagwabasa. From here we could clearly see the peaks of Mt.Trishuli at 23,500ft & Nandaghunti (20,800 Ft).It was nice awesome feeling. I was feeling quite amazed viewing the enchanting panorama.

Day 4 (8th June 2013) : Final climb to the ROOPKUND LAKE :

Early morning we set out at 0330 hrs for Roopkund crossing the glaciers. At 0500 watched the sunrise over the Mt. Trishuli. We reached the destination Roopkund at 0800 hrs. The view of the kund was so very breathtaking that we could not afford to blink our eyes. We stood spellbound on viewing the amazing spectacle. At 16000 Ft, there was the lake partially filled with water and ice with many skeletons and skulls lying scattered in the lake and all around it. For a moment we couldn’t utter a word being spellbound. Then we offered prayers at the small shiv-parwati temple and proceeded to Junargali (16500 Ft) from where we could see the Mt. Trishuli very clearly and vividly. After having our fill of the magnificent sights, we started our backward journey to Loharjung/Waan.

Camp 4 – During our return journey we took night halt at the Patar Nachuni Camp.

Day 5 (9th June 2013) – We started the return journey from Patar Nachuni to Waan/Loharjung and reached at 1700 hrs. which marked the conclusion of our quite memorable & exciting Himalayan trek to-the mysterious Roopkund Lake.