By Bindiya Murgai
We headed out from Delhi in the wee hours of the morning and made our way to the land that Kipling rightly called ‘A place where the Gods live’. Spiti, the world within a world. Literally meaning the middle country, Spiti is a high altitude cold desert dotted with numerous monasteries. It lies in the rain shadow area of rugged mountain ranges of Zanskar, and hardly gets any rainfall, but the snow is plenty. In the summer, the whole valley is painted in hues of purple, emerald, fuchsia and russet. The beauty of the forbidding Spiti is on show for only four months, from June to September. For the rest of the year it is hidden under a white veil of snow.
We reached Simla in time for breakfast. We made it a hurried affair, for even as the day began the chaos made it evident that the town that was once the “Queen Of The Hills", had long lost it’s glory. We broke for lunch at Rampur and reached the wonderful Banjara campsite at Sangla just in time for dinner. Set at the confluence of the Satluj and the Baspa rivers, the camp is a great place to chill out for a couple of days. Very picturesque, comfortable and child friendly too. Their comfy Swiss tents with attached toilets, friendly service and sumptuous meals were the last whiff of luxury we would find during this trip.
We headed for Spiti early next morning. There are only two routes to Spiti, and there is never a time when both are open. One is through the Rohtang Pass, via Manali and the other, via the foreboding death trap called Malling. We had no choice but to take the latter. A board there read, “Think of God. Only He Can Save You" and nothing could have summed up the experience better. Malling is like a steep pile of rubble, barely wide enough for the Scorpio to fit. With the glaciers melting, there is a stream of water from above making the track even more slippery. The only way to go is ahead, unless you have the misfortune of landing in the quick sand below. A constant landslide bumped a village postmaster off the mountain and an Armada literally had its engine knocked down to the floor. We were the second last vehicle to cross Malling after it was closed for the season. A little later, flash floods washed away almost the entire National Highway 22 shortly after we crossed it.
We drank hot chai to soothe our nerves and headed for the glorious land of Spiti. On route, overlooking the steep banks of the Spiti River and lying between high brown hills at the crossroads of two ancient trade routes is Tabo. The Tabo monastery is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the Spiti valley. The gompa, now a heritage sight, is well known for its beautiful murals and frescos and is often called the ‘Ajanta of the Himalayas’.
From here we headed for Pin Valley. As the day went by, more and more glaciers were melting and we had to negotiate through many huge nallahs before we reached our destination past Gulling to Kungri Gompa. This was the only guesthouse available at that time of the night.
The next morning we left for Sagnam village where we stayed in the Forest Guesthouse. This is the largest village (population: 320) in this area and is in a breathtaking valley surrounded by magnificent views of the Himalayas. The people here are wonderful, warm and friendly. Most are not very well off, but their hearts are larger than the surrounding mountains, and they happily share their salted butter tea, biscuits and roti with anyone who has a little time to spare.
From Sagnam, we headed for the Pin Valley National Park, known to be the home of the Snow Leopard and the Ibex. The altitude here varies from 3,600m to 6,630m and we got set to explore the park by foot, as there are no roads here. A visit is recommended only for those in a physically perfect condition. As there is no accommodation at the park, apart from a few bunkers in the lower ranges, we carried our camping equipment, food and supplies. Mules are seldom available, but we were lucky to find one. The trek is beautiful, though very exhausting on the lungs due to the rarefied air. After camping there for one night, we were told not to expect to see any wildlife unless we were ready to make it all the way up to the snow capped peaks and stay put there for a few weeks. Otherwise at best, we were likely to see an odd fox, a weasel or a golden eagle. Not having time on our side and unsure of our urban “subsidized" stamina, we decided to head back to Sagnam. We spent the evening fossil hunting with local kids before driving off to Kaza the next morning.
Kaza is the major transport centre of eastern Himachal. It is also the administrative centre of the sub–district of Spiti and is a good point to refuel. Incidentally, this Indian Oil petrol pump boasts of being the highest altitude pump in India. The old town is a maze of little shops, hotels and houses. The new town is a collection of government buildings. The wonderful little Sakya monastery is here, and is currently under renovation. The 2008 Kalchakra, one of Buddhism’s biggest pujas, will take place here.
Further along the valley of Kaza, we visited the picturesque Kye monastery. Built in the 14th century and located on a hilltop it looks like a cluster of white–roofed buildings similar to a fort. We climbed many steep steps to see the largest and arguably the oldest repository of Buddhist learning in the Western Himalayas. The monastery houses 300 monks, but few of them are in residence during the summer. The views from here are simply spectacular.
Before heading back to Delhi, we decided to pay a visit to Kibber, which officially is the highest permanently inhabited village in the world with a motorable road and electricity. However this title is now under dispute and may soon be bestowed to the nearby village of Komik. Kibber is also the starting point of a fabulous eight-day trek to Leh.
Seven days is too short a time for Spiti, but we had to get back home to fulfill our professional commitments. So even though Malling had shut and Kunzum Pass, via which one goes to Rohtang, had not yet opened. We decided to get together with Narain Singh, a local, and head out. We made our way through many more landslides, waiting patiently for bulldozers to make a path where there was none, working our way through walls of snow, 3 feet of water and perhaps only with the blessings of the very powerful Kunzum Devi. If you ever go this way, make sure to circumbulate at her temple and take her blessings. Apparently those who don’t, seldom make it to their destination. Yet again, we were the first two cars to get out from this route, even before it officially opened.
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