Description of Tour

Day 1 - Pick up from Chandigarh Railway station and go to Shimla, Overnight stay at Shimla.

Day 2 - After Breakfast check out from hotel and go to Saharan, overnight stay at Sarahan.

Day 3 - Morning after breakfast drive to Sangla, where you will check in at your accommodation. Evening go on a walk through Kamru and Sangla villages and visit the beautifully carve old temples and Buddhist monasteries. You will have plenty of opportunity to speak to the local people in these valleys, and our guide will be happy to interpret. The valley is also known as the BaspaSangla valley, after river Baspawhich flows through the valley and it is the part of Kinnaur valley. Overnight at Sangla.

Day 4 -This morning after breakfast drive to Chitkul which is the last village on Indian side on the Indo–Tibetan border. The village of Chitkul is like something from a fairy tale, and you will have a chance to walk slowly around it. The landscapes are stunning, and you will have plenty of time to enjoy them and talk to the local people. Later Journey start for Kalpa, Overnight at hotel at Kalpa. 

Day 5 - After breakfast walk to Kalpa village and the nearby Roghi village. These villages are covered with thick pine forests and are famous for apricots and apples & Kalpa Local Sightseering. Overnight stay at Kalpa

Day 6 - After early breakfast at the hotel you will be driving you to Tabo. It is not a day travelling but today we will be entering the beautiful Spiti valley which is also known as the cold desert of the Himalayas (as this area is cut from rest of the world due to heavy snow in the winters). En route we will be visiting Nako Lake and village with a famous monastery &Gue Village to visit the famous Mummy of Monk in meditation posture. Gue Village in Spiti Valley, about 40 km from the Tabo Monastery, has a mummified monk, Sangha Tenzin, who had given up his life while meditating and is more than 500 years. It is the only Buddhist Mummy in the world, that too, in a sitting position. There were other mummies also in Tibet which were buried by Tibetans just after the Chinese invasion. This mummy was discovered by the villagers in 1975 when an earthquake struck the region. Gue village is a restricted area and under the control of ITBP and very few people knew about the mummy until Anuj Singh (A freelance photographer) and his fellow biker ShahwarHussain (An auto and travel magazine writer) first photographed it way back in the 90’s. Gue Village in Spiti Valley, about 40 km from the Tabo Monastery, has a mummified monk, Sangha Tenzin, who had given up his life while meditating and is more than 500 years. It is the only Buddhist Mummy in the world, that too, in a sitting position. There were other mummies also in Tibet which were buried by Tibetans just after the Chinese invasion. This mummy was discovered by the villagers in 1975 when an earthquake struck the region. Gue village is a restricted area and under the control of ITBP and very few people knew about the mummy until Anuj Singh (A freelance photographer) and his fellow biker ShahwarHussain (An auto and travel magazine writer) first photographed it way back in the 90’s.
You will reach Tabo in late evening. Evening you may participate in Monastery prayer.
If time permits then visit Tabo Caves or visit next morning: Next to the main road, NH-22 in Tabo, on the northern side, just opposite to the village, there is a rising hill containing caves. These caves are easily accessible from the village by 15 minutes gradual ascent on the hills. These caves were carved out in the hills for the purpose of meditation by monks. It is believed to be used as abode for the Buddhist monks during the winters of the Himalayas. There was a big cave that was originally utilized as an assembly hall by the Buddhist monks. Most other caves were mainly used for the purpose of lodging and dwelling. Even in the modern times, the caves are still used, and the presence of flags signifies that monks are using the caves for the purpose of meditation. Overnight at hotel.

Day 7 - Morning visit Tabo monastery, which is oldest monastery in the whole Himalayas.Tabo monastery, founded in 996 AD, is one of the most pious, biggest and oldest surviving Buddhist establishment in the Trans-Himalayas with its original decoration and iconographic program intact. Tabo Monastery is also referred to as the Ajanta of the Himalayas with a complex that holds nine temples, 23 chortens, a monks’ chamber and an extension that houses the nuns chamber. The monastery’s importance can be judged from the fact that its significance is second only to the TholingGompa in Tibet in the entire Himalayan region.
The monastery’s complex has nine temples built between the late 10th and the 17th century. The monastery has temples of Tug-Lha-Khang (The Temple of the Enlightened Gods), Ser-Khang (The Golden Temple), Dkyil-Khor-Khang (The Mystic Mandala Temple) and Brom-stonLhakhang (The Temple of Dromton) are the few very important to name. Tabo is famous for its exquisite murals and stucco sculptures which bear a striking resemblance with the paintings and sculpture in the Ajanta caves. The monastery also treasures some centuries old paintings which are not allowed to be photographed. Above the monastery, there are a number of caves carved into the cliff face used by monks for meditation.

The unique beauty of its art and its pivotal historical role in the transmission of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and culture in the 10th and 11th century makes Tabo Monastery an historically significant site. The main temple preserves an extraordinary wealth of documentation of the history and culture of the period.

Later travel to Kaza en route visiting Dhankar monastery, Dhankar Village and Monastery situated at an elevation of 3,894 metres (12,774 feet) is at the perfect setting for any monument in this world. The monastery complex is built on a high spur overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and Pin Rivers – one of the world’s most spectacular settings for a gompa. The monastery was built approximately one thousand years ago and now belongs to the Gelugspa School of order since the 1450s. Prior to this, Dhankar Monastery is also known to have been Nyingma-pa, Sakya-pa and Kagyu-pa, depending upon the religious allegiance of the King’s family. One of the major attractions of Dhankar Monastery is statue of Vairochana (Dhayan Buddha), consisting of 4 figures seated back to back. It also houses a collection of various centuries old thankas. Dhankar was the traditional capital of the Spiti Valley Kingdom during the 17th century and has some features dating back to the 12th century. Dhang or dang means cliff, and kar or khar means fort. Hence, Dhankar means fort on a cliff. It was the place of the early ruler of Spiti, the Nonos, who has the right to promote the government lands nearby and were necessary to keep the fort in repair. They also gave justice to the people and were famous for their harsh penalties until the British replaced them. In recent years, due to the deterioration of the building, some sections of the gompa have been abandoned and a new gompa has been built further down. Meanwhile, the fort of Dhankar, destroyed by an earthquake in 1975, now lies in ruins, but is still a place worthy of a visit. From the remnants of the fort one can see vast expanses of the Spiti valley. Dhankar is also of art historical importance. Dhankar Monastery is recognized by the World Monuments Fund as one of the Hundred Most Endangered Sites in the world.
Continue drive to Kaza and make an excursion to visit Pin Valley (Mud) & later keeps on driving towards Kaza. On arrival check in at hotel. Overnight at hotel.

Day 8 - After breakfast make a excursion to Kye Monastery &Kibber Village.

Kye Monastery – The learning centre of Buddhism

Kye Monastery was established by a Buddha’s Disciple named Drompton in the 11th century and is one of the main training centres for lamas in this region. Situated at an altitude of 4115 metres and is also known as the ‘Little Tibet’. The Monastery specializes in certain specific subjects like sadhana, Buddha hood, Cosmology and Physiology and is the most frequented religious destinations for the Buddhists in the state along with the Tabo Monastery. The monastery is around 12 km north of Kaza in the Spiti valley above Kye village and you can also hike it easily.

Numerous invasions, natural calamities and patch-work as reconstruction has given it a box-like structures giving it a look of a fort with temples built on top of one another. There are low rooms and narrow corridors, not so well lit passages, difficult staircases and small doors lead to prayer rooms which themselves do not conform to a single design. There are three floors, the first one is mainly underground and used for storage. One room, called the Tangyur is richly painted with murals. The ground floor has the beautifully decorated Assembly Hall and cells for many monks.

Kye Monastery has Thangkas (a painted or embroidered Tibetan banner), valuable manuscripts of high aesthetic value, images, unique wind instruments and on the top of all this a collection of weapons which were probably made use of to defend the monastery from the attackers. The wind instruments are still put to use in summers during Chaam. Around the month of June and July, the Kye Monastery celebrates a festival wherein Chaam dances are followed by a procession that reaches the ritual ground below the monastery. Here, a large butter sculpture of a demon is set on fire.

Locals here also run an old age home for people looking for salvation in their old age.

After visiting this magnificent monastery will drive to Kibber Village.

At an altitude of 4000 m is a beautiful village known as Khibber which is a few kms ahead of Kye Monastery. Sometime back this village had an authority of being the highest motorable village in Asia before Komic took the crown. Khibber is also home to Snow Leopards and sighting have happened in the surrounding mountains. Khibber is also the starting point for some treks. One of them is through the ancient route between Spiti and Ladakh which is commonly known as the Parang La trek. Another one is Kanamo peak trek that starts from this village. Late make an excursion to Hikkim- Komic&Langza village. Komic monastery also known as the Tnagyud Monastery has the honor of being one of the world’s highest motorablemonastery at 4587 mts overlooking the Komic village and mountain peaks. As per the sacred ‘Gum Maro’ (Red Box) kept in the monastery, it was foretold in Tibet that a monastery would be built in Spiti in the backdrop of a mountain with the shape of a snow lion on the left and a beheaded eagle on the right hand side with 4 springs in the vicinity. The area in between these mountains was to be in the shape of the eye of a snow cock, which was foretold as the exact location where the Monastery would be built. On the basis of this, the area was to be named Komic (‘Ko’– Snow Cock, ‘Mic’– Eye). The monastery is known as the KomicLundupTsemoGompa and dates to the early 14th century built like a fortified castle with massive slanted mud walls and battlements with vertical red ochre and white vertical stripes. In Komic, there are only about a dozen houses with the total population being between 50-60 people. Other than this, there are the Lamas staying at the monastery throughout the year. The most interesting part is to imagine people living at such an altitude where mobile phones don’t work, the climate is harsh, there is no source of basic amenities and the village is completely cut- off from the rest of the world during the winters due to snow from November to March. The winter characterizes harsh winds and heavy snow where temperatures fall to -30 degrees Celcius.

Later visit Langza Village,, it is situated at an altitude of 4200 meters, is one of the most picturesque villages of Spiti located on the highland meadows with snow capped mountain ranges forming the backdrop. The village is adorned by a beautiful image of Buddha and an ancient temple more aptly called ‘Lang’ said to be the Abode of the Deities of the region and over 1000 years old. The beautiful peak of ChauChau Kang Nilda makes the view of this village even more beautiful.

Langza is also well known for its rich fossil reserves. Millions of years ago, Spiti lay submerged under the Tethys sea. Fossils of sea life can easily be found scattered close to the village. Regular fossil excursions are organized for a unique insight into the history of the Himalayas. Evening return back to Kaza, overnight at hotel.

Day 9 - After breakfast drive from Mudh to at another Spitian wonder – Chandratal Lake. The mystical and beautiful Chandratal Lake, which translates to Moon Lake, is located at a height of 14,100 feet. The Chandra Bhaga mountain range forms a striking backdrop for the lake, which changes appearance according to the pictures painted in the sky. With visuals of the stunning Chandratal Lake captured in minds and cameras, continue tracing your steps back, driving on the Kaza – Manali road and after a few hours of driving and some more stunning landscape, reach at Sisu and check into the hotel for overnight stay.

Day 10 - After breakfast cheakout from hotel and transfer to Manali, On the way visit Autal tunnel, Solang valley, over night stay at Manali.

Day 11 - After breakfast checkout from hotel & Drop at Chandigarh Railway station.