Spiti Valley – Saach Pass Motorbike Tour

On arrival check in at hotel. This day bike acclimatizes tour around Shimla. Overnight stay at hotel.

After breakfast, drive to Sarahan. The former Capital of Bushahar Empire, Sarahan is a wonderful little village located amidst lush green and beautiful surroundings of Deodar forests. Visit the historical Bhimakali temple, having an unusual architecture and wealth of carvings, a fine example of Hindu-Buddhist architecture. Deep down in the alley flows the river Sutlej and across lies the scenic snow-clad Shrikhand Peak. O/N Hotel

After breakfast, we move on from Sarahan, delving deeper into the breath-taking, secret world of the Kinnaur and Spiti Valleys. Ride on to Wangtu and further to Karchham and move down to right to Sangla, a picturesque little village with a small population, famous for its trout fishing possibilities. Situated on the slope with houses rising one above the other, and the Kinner-Kailash Peak towering behind, Sangla is also known for the impressive and historical Kamru Fort, which has now been dedicated to the Kamakshi Temple. O/N Hotel

The Sangla or Baspa valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in Himachal Here we visit the beautiful village of Baspa Valley such as Chitkul (3450 mts) – the route in this stretch is very narrow and steep till Chitkul, the last and highest village in Baspa Valley. It is situated on the Right Bank of Baspa Valley; there is a temple dedicated to local Goddess, Mathi, which is said to have been constructed some 500 years ago. The location of Rackcham – another village in Baspa Valley is striking as rocky cliffs of granite rocks and forests surround it. One can visit Kamru Temple and fort in Kamru Village, situated on a top of Sangla Village. The whole day is spending visiting all these beautiful villages and meeting their beautiful inhabitants. We drive Kalpa via Recongpeo. Kalpa provides the best view of the Kinner Kailash peak. . Enjoy a spectacular view of the mighty Kinnaur Kailash Mountain Ranges from anywhere up the road. Located at an altitude of 2,670m, Kalpa is also famous for good quality Chilgoza.. O/N Hotel

After an early morning breakfast, start riding on Sutlej Bed and in the surrounding lush green forest. Drive 18 km from Powari to Ribba. This region is also known for the famous Kinnaur apples, grapes and the alcohol distilled from grapes. There are a number of bridges you will cross en-route. Then drive to Ribba to Puh (40Km) while riding on the paved road on the Bank of the Sutlej River, known as the Indo-Tibetan road. In northwest direction one can distinctly see some snow-covered peaks in the Pin Valley Range (subject to clear weather). After crossing the cantonment of the Puh, come out of the Gorge of Khab (another 11 Km). Khab is the point where two rivers, Tabo and Sutlej merge, producing the resounding sound. Navigate the hairpin bends and ride ahead for 24 km on paved road till Yangthang. Descend to Yangthang, considered as the ideal entry point in the Land of Lamas. From Yangthang the road condition also deteriorates to unpaved in between some loose mud and mountain river crossing till Chango (3,658 m). From Chango drive another 8 Km in arid landscape till Sumdo. Another 9 Km drive in the plateau area, takes you to Hurling and from here 24 Km ride ends up in Tabo. Visit Tabo Gompa (temple). Founded in 996 AD, the Gompa has some of the best-preserved examples of Indo-Tibetan art remaining in the world. Dinner and O/N Hotel Day

DHANKAR (3890 mts) – About 30 km from Tabo through steep hillside along a dusty road slowly winds its way up to the village Dhankar, located at a height of 3890 mts. There situated in the middle of Ridge in a striking location, a 6th Century Gompa, though not well preserved still has some magnificent original Thankas tucked away in dark. There are some beautiful murals. Unfortunately a part of monastery was destroyed during severe winter of 1989.

PIN:- Cross the Spiti River by a solid concrete bridge and following the Pin River, one of the major tributaries of Spiti River. The Valley is famous for wild life – Ibex, Snow Leopard. There is also a Monastery called Kungri Monastery, which is believed to be founded by Guru Padmasambhava. The Monastery must have remained an ancient monastic site of the Padmasambhava days.

Lalung –This small village in the beautiful Lingthi Valley consists of a cluster of 50 to 60 houses with a population over 300. The Gompa is situated on the top of the village, is invisible from the road. The main temple is decorated with unique Mandalas and statues with main statue of Bodhisatva in the center. A small but very attractive temple depicts the philosophy which originated in Western Tibet about 800 years ago. The monastery is over shadowed by a huge Fig tree. There is another small temple to the left of the main building, which houses a four headed clay idol of Buddha looking in to four different directions.

These Villages are situated over 4000 Mts. With striking locations and house some of the most interesting terrains in the Spiti Valley. Abundance of fossils, takes one 50 million years back when Indian subcontinent drifting northwards across the Ocean of Tethys on its tectonic plate slammed into the stationary mass of Asia and gave birth to the mighty Himalayas. Monastery of Hikkim is also known as the Tangyug gompa. This is one of the two Sakya Pa monasteries. The second one is at Kaza. These monasteries were responsible for the revision or propagation of Tantra teachings during the 14th Century Overnight in Home Stay

Ki MONASTERY – 8 Km from Kaza is situated Ki Monastery at an elevation of(3969 Mts.). The Monastery Consists of large irregular heap of low ceilinged Rooms and narrow corridors, interconnected by dark Passages and tortuousstaircases, built on what must have been a crater of an extinct volcano. This is One of the biggest and the oldest monasteries belonging to the Ge- Lug – PaSect in Spiti. It dates Back to around 14thCentury and is famous for its murals,Valuable books and fabulous collection of Thankas. The instrument here deserves mention. There are two trumpets, two or three small brass Instruments, a pair of large cyabals, a big deep voiced drum, and pair ofSmaller ones. The trumpet, Which is about three meters in ength, rests on a triangular block of wood, placed on the ground, and Rises in a longsweeping curve to the mouth of the player, who remains standing and blows Into it with all his might. The sound produced by this magnificent instrument issurprisingly feeble
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We drive back to Kunzum pass then take another narrow track to Chandertal Chandra tal – The first sight of this wondrous lake takes ones breaths away, with its shores ringed with meadows carpeted with hundreds of varieties of alpine flowers. An excellent campsite surrounded by the massive mountain tops O/N Fixed Camp

Enjoy an early morning ride up to Kunzum Pass (4,551 m) & then proceed to visit the picturesquely beautiful Chandratal Lake (4,270m), about 12 Km from the Pass. Spend some time and enjoy the spectacular beauty of the surroundings around the lake. Thereafter, drive to Batal- Chatru – Gramphoo and then to Tandi. Have your lunch en-route. Later, proceed to Keylong. Dinner and overnight in the hotel at Keylong. O/N Hotel

Another exciting day. The ride from Keylong to Urgus is nothing short of Spectacular. The road is a combination of metalled and un-metalled. From Keylong we retrace the road back to Tandi Bridge and from here take the link road on your right for Triloknath and Udaipur. Udaipur is about 50kms form Keylong. The first few kilometre is somewhat metalled with potholes, but a few kilometres on we touch smooth tarmac. Riding along this 20km stretch of smooth road is nothing but perfect. The villages along the way are charming and you can see the locals working in their fields. 10kms before Udaipur a road on your right takes you to Triloknath. Here you can visit the Triloknath Temple, which is an ancient Shiva Temple. After paying homage to the deity here we will retrace back to the main road and head for Udaipur. Just as we enter Udaipur we take right after crossing a bridge and enter Miyar Valley.
Urgus is about 24kms from here. The entire route has patches of metalled and unmetalled surface. You might have to cross a few streams on the way too. Some stretches of this route are just magnificent and you will be tempted to stop to take it all in.

Urgus: Urgus is the second last village of the valley. Khanjar, lying in the horizon to the north being the last and the start point to many interesting treks. Urgus is a quaint little village perched on the slope of the hill while the bottom of the hill, which is much flatter is used for agriculture. The village has some amazing fresh water supply networks. There are numerous networks of pipes zig- zagging across the village. At the top of the village is little Shrine dedicated to the Deity of the village- “The Kusurdh Naag”. O/N Hotel/ Guest house

After a hearty breakfast we will retrace our route back to Udaipur. We will briefly stop at Udaipur to visit the Mrikula Mata Temple. As soon as we leave Udaipur we bid Goodbye to Tarmac. The entire 80kms from Udaipur to Killar is un-metalled. The entire route is very challenging, there are large stretches of bull dust, rocky surface or scree and keeping the bike stable takes every effort. All along the way there is atleast 100-150m drop and rocky over hangs. Once again the landscape just keeps getting better and better. Although the distance isn’t much but the road doesn’t allow you to ride too fast and thus we arrive in Killar in the late afternoon. Infact, when you finally touch tarmac in Killar you feel like getting off the bike and kissing this beautiful, smooth and kind your bum tarmac. O/N Hotel/ Guest house

Today, we will have an easy start. We will have a rest day in Killar itself and so around to see some villages. In August and September, Pangi is a beautiful place to visit. Many of its forest are covered in birch trees and during autumn as the season is changing the colours on these trees present an enchanting view to the visitors. We will visit Hudhaan village today and if time permits, we will also visit Suraal Valley. Both of these are the two of the only four Buddhist villages in the Pangi Valley.
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After having breakfast and then bidding farewell to the support staff we will set forth for the Sacch Pass. The entire road to the pass and about 18kms after the pass is un-metalled and requires 100% concentration. After leaving Killar we cross the bridge over Chenab River and start going uphill. This stretch of the road is lined with the famous Wild Hazelnut trees of Pangi. We will cross quite a few streams some big some small. About 10-15kms before the pass we come to some make shift tea stall, this place is known as Bagotu; we will stop here for some hot Chai and snacks. This place is quite amazing, as you get closer to Bagotu you come face on with a wall of mountain- it looks something out of ‘The Lord of the Rings’.
As we get closer to the pass the terrain gets rockier and rockier. At the very top is a small temple dedicated to ‘Jog Wali Mata’. As we come around the pass the valley suddenly just opens up and we can enjoy the full landscape of Chamba valley. We stop at Satrundi do get our ID’s checked and then we ride non- stop to Chamba. O/N Hotel

After breakfast we will visit the Lakshmi Narayan temples and then start our journey for Dharamshala. We will take the scenic route taking us through Khajjiar and Dalhousie. Khajjiar is about 20kms from Chamba, it is famous as Mini Switzerland of India. We will stop here for lunch and then move forward to our destination. We have 24kms of uphill to get to Dalhousie and after this the entire journey is downhill followed by never ending flats. We will reach Dharamshala in the evening. O/N Hotel

After a leisurely breakfast we will go for a sight-seeing tour of Dharamshala. Dharamsala is the centre of the Tibetan exile world in India. The Presence of the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan population has made Dharamshala a popular destination for Indian and Foreign tourists, including students studying Tibet. We will visit the monastery of H.H. the Dalai Lama and then go to Norbulingka Institute. If you are up for it we can also visit the monastery of the 17th Karmapa. Remainder of the evening would be free for you to explore McLeod Ganj. O/N Hotel

This day drive to Mannali from Dharamshala via Palampur Mandi. Check into hotel. O/n hotel
End of the tour