It might sound outlandish to visit the Spiti valley in the winter months but this part of Zanskar & Great Himalayas is a soulful retreat for a Himalayan lover. The beauty of winter in the Himalayas lies in no crowd, snow-covered terrains, no electricity and no internet — absolute peace.
Winter in Spiti Valley
Winter is the best time to understand how the indigenous people live during the harsh winter period and the challenge to survive the sub-zero temperatures can be experienced up close. No running tap water, dry toilets, and limited room heating makes it more difficult for common city folks to spend even a couple of days during the unforgiving winter months. However, visiting the Spiti valley in winter can be one of the most rewarding trips you will ever take. Here are the reasons.
4 reasons for visiting Spiti in winter
Less to no crowd: You can admire the pure scenery of the white desert mountainscape. Experience the sound of silence and slow pace of mountain life in sync with snowflakes falling softly on the ground.
Experience the Spitian lifestyle: Learn how people of Spiti survive and thrive in bone-chilling temperature and hostile environs. Stay in Spitian homestays offer a taste of local cuisine and essential skills for surviving the mountains.
Travel on a shoestring budget: Accommodation and food will be cheaper than the peak season of July-September.
Whitescapes of Spiti valley: Winter landscape of the Himalayan mountains is one of the best enlightening experience one can have. Experiencing live snowfall for the first time should be on #1 on your bucket list.
How To Reach Spiti Valley in Winters?
Chandigarh to Shimla: Drive on National Highway 5 ( Chandigarh - Kalka - Solan - Shimla) Distance 115km
Shimla to Narkanda: Around 2 hours drive. Distance 55km
Narkanda - Rampur Bushahr: 2 hours Drive. Distance 66kms on NH5
Rampur Bushahr - Powari: Distance 88 km on NH5( A road diverges from Powari to Reckong Peo & Kalpa)
Powari - Nako: Around 3 h drive (100 km) via NH505
Nako - Tabo monastery: Around 2 hours drive (63.0 km) via NH505
Tabo - Kaza: Around 1-hour drive: Distance 50km via NH505.
Winter drive to Spiti valley
It gets really cold (-20°C to - 30°C) out there. Starting a diesel vehicle gets really taxing especially in the morning when the temperature is low. Sometimes you need to keep the engine running the whole night long. Make sure your fuel tank is full or at least more than half and carry a backup battery with you.
The following are helpful tips for driving on the icy Kinnaur-Spiti roads.
Drive slowly. Always adjust your speed down to account for lower traction when driving on snow or ice.
Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Apply the gas slowly to regain traction and avoid skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry and take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
Keep distance. The increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed and reaction time if you have to stop.
Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads will just make your wheels spin. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill slowly.
Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.