Spiti Valley: Drive through World’s Most Beautiful Landscapes

Dear steemians,

I think a few of you might remember my recent solo travel to India region of himalayas.

Here is the a bit about of where I went

https://steemit.com/travel/@aburmeseabroad/my-upcoming-solo-travel-to-himalaya-mountains-in-india-in-10-days-but-i-am-having-mixed-feeling-201788t112225795z

And a short trip report also on here

https://steemit.com/travel/@aburmeseabroad/trip-report-on-kinnaur-and-lauhaul-spiti-himachal-pradesh-india

So I survived obviously , I also suffered from AMS , which I will write more on another post on how was the experience while I was traveling alone. But today I want to share some photos on the Incredible Road from Manali to Kaza in Spiti.

The actual distance between Manali to kaza is around 200km , but it took us around 10 hours with 2 break stops. The journey start from the dense forested hills of Manali, to the rocky deserted mountains . We traveled through water crossing and snow covered mountains.

I paid about 15 USD for a seat in a private car, I was glad I managed to find a shared car rather than the local bus. The road is only open on summer months, which are only a few months a year.

All these photos are taken from the car and I was able to capture some of the incredible beauty along the way.

The scenery starts, heading towards Rohtang Pass from Manali. Rohtang Pass is a high altitude area of almost 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) above sea level. It's by far one of the most beautiful road journey I have ever been.

Our first stop is around half way from Manali to Spiti. It's a popular rest stop with a number of tented huts that serve basic meals, tea and coffee. Unfortunately there was not any toilet facilities . Thanks god , I was able to hold until the next stop which was hours away.

The roads are narrow but the drivers here didn't drive recklessly which was a blessing. I was on the mountain roads for 10 days and many times I felt like I was gonna die. I thought Indian drivers honk so much on my first visit , but apparently drivers in Himachal do not like to use honk or slow down on blind curves.

This stretch of roads are very rocky and there are many signs to remind to drive slow. But I doubt it's even able to drive fast at all.

It's surprisingly common to find these animals along the remote road and the usual way of traffic jam in the mountains. The area is so isolated, you can't help wondering where did they come from and where are they going?

A local traveler from the same car said these mountains are very old .

The curves were never ending , but I was already pretty experienced while traveling through Himachal.

Aren't we all so tiny amongst these huge mountains ?

The car made a stop at Kunzum Pass, which is at 4,551 meters (14,931 feet).The driver made a drive around the temple and all the villager from the car went for prayers. I did a donation on one of the boxes and finally had my toilet break. The view up here is amazing with snow cap mountains.

Losar village is the first inhabited village in the Spiti Valley. We had our lunch here over looking the village. I had to register just before entering the village which was really easy .The driver collected my passport and returned back after a few minutes.

Finally , we arrived to Kaza , which is the main town and administrative center in the Spiti Valley.

Thank you for reading..I hope you enjoy it , I really appreciate the up-vote if you like it and resteem with your friends who might enjoy reading this.

Follow me @aburmeseabroad