50 shades of brown

columbus · 15th December 2013, 00:00

Day 4

Manali - Kaza contd.

My partner wanted to do Chandratal before Kaza. However i knew that we were not properly acclimitised. Chandratal at 14K+ feet would have been like taking a risk. I was aware of my body's response at 14K+ thanks to a night at Sarchu during Ladakh trips. The nights were never comfortable.
However for my partner it was first experience at these altitudes.
I managed to convince him that we will do Chandratal on our way back, when we will be better acclimitised. It proved to be a good decision.

The river snakes through

My partners

The sound of water and wind can make you aware of many things about yourself. Standing here, listening to the river flow by, it felt wonderful.. something like therapy rejuvinating my soul.

Kunzum La in distance

Another feather in Maximus's cap. He was made for this stuff.

Where are we .. In no mans land

Tell tale signs that we are entering the Spiti valley.

columbus · 16th December 2013, 12:03

Day 4

Manali - Kaza contd.

The road improves a bit after Losar. You get to see patches of tar giving you a much needed relief. With the sun setting down the play of light and shadow made it hard not to stop.

This was an incredible place. The road enters a gorge and does a full circle inside and comes out on the other side. Not a good place to get trapped. While capturing this scene i was getting goose bumps just by thought of getting stuck here.

The boy deserves a photoshoot cause he is the one who stood the torture test

.

The last rays

We entered Kaza by sunset and settled down in Hotel Snow Lion. The rooms were decent, food was homely, the view from the room was good and rate was reasonable. Only cliche.. no electricity since last month. But who needs it when you have views like this from the balcony.

Kaza bathed in moonlight

columbus · 17th December 2013, 14:39

Day 5

Kaza - Ki- kibber - Kaza

We woke up to a beautiful morning with the first rays of the sun falling on Kaza monastry. I slept like a log but it was'nt the case with my partner. He had a restless night and woke up with a headache. Mild form of AMS hitting
him. We decided to take it easy today. After a fantastic breakfast of parathas and a bit of rest we started for Ki monastry. A pucca mettaled road takes you up to Ki.
We were greeted warmly by a Lama and were first offered tea and it was one best tea we had ever tasted. It was also interesting talking to the young Lama. The monastry offers brilliant views of the spiti valley. However abscence of clouds make the scene a bit uninteresting. The colurs of the monastry offer stark contrast to the bleak surroundings.
Had a mouthwatering lunch at Hotel Dezoyr. Had and afternoon seista and headed to catch Ki in evening light. Did some shopping in candle light and had dinner at Snow Lion.

Good morning Kaza

The Spiti river

The Ki monastry towering above

Geometry.. circles squares triangle..

Inside Ki

Brilliant colors

Kibber village

Spot the village contest

The last men standing. But fall they will

Bridge on the river

Just caught this in nick of time

Who ate my moon.

Pedaltothefloor · 17th December 2013, 15:29

Columbus - you could very well start a travel magazine. Very well captured pictures there buddy. We got married in Bhutan and it reminds me a lot of that. After reading your thread, I plan to cover Spiti by road. Cheers!

Lukeskywalker · 17th December 2013, 20:21

Fantastic pics Columbus, thanks for the visual treat, the Fortuner looks fabulous in that terrain, superb travelogue. Thanks for sharing.

girishglg · 17th December 2013, 20:57

Columbus, true to your handle your travels and visuals are just awe inspiring.

Some of the pics are just out of this world. Really makes one sit up and appreciate the beauty of nature and all the colors that it brings out in the day and in the night. Especially loved the night pic overseeing the settlement. Hope you have some more of those night sky ones captured in your hard drive.

Suggest you go on and put down your journey and then add on with all the beautiful random pics at the end of it. Just hooked on for now.

columbus · 18th December 2013, 08:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe M

Awesome travelogue, and superb pics, columbus. Well written.

Waiting for the rest of the set.

Thanks Joe

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyageur

Nice snaps !!!

Can you share the details of Lens that you have used for the trip ? The close ups of flowers suggest that you had a fixed focal length with you.

Thanks voyageur. The rose was shot with a canon 70-200 f4 L. Most of the pics are with 60D and canon 17-55 f2.8 IS combination. Some are with 350D and a Tokina 12-24 f4. And very few from a P&S canon sx30IS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

Columbus - you could very well start a travel magazine. Very well captured pictures there buddy. We got married in Bhutan and it reminds me a lot of that. After reading your thread, I plan to cover Spiti by road. Cheers!

Thanks pedaltothefloor. Bhutan is vey high in my priority list. May be next year. Now i know whom to contact for info !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Fantastic pics Columbus, thanks for the visual treat, the Fortuner looks fabulous in that terrain, superb travelogue. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by girishglg

Especially loved the night pic overseeing the settlement. Hope you have some more of those night sky ones captured in your hard drive.

Actually it was full moon period and the moon is so bright that it lights up the hole town like a big CFL. But since it was full moon we did'nt get to see stars.
I was hoping for a milkyway .. may be next time

.

columbus · 27th December 2013, 15:24

Day 6

Kaza - Pin Valley - Dhankar - Tabo - Kaza

Today we made an early start at 8:30 in the morning. Breakfast was good. We were the only guests at the hotel hence everything we ordered was served fast and made to our taste. Benefits of off season travelling. Our first destination for today was Pin Valley. This year Pin valley was cut off for a long time due to a major landslide which washed away the road and even altered the course of the river.

Some have the courage to do it on bikes. Lesser mortals like us prefer the comforts of our car !

Fall colors of Pin Valley

The river makes interesting patterns

Pin side is bit greener than Spiti

MUD. The point where the road ends in Pin valley. Beyond this lies the Pin valley national Park. Although a dirt track goes for another 4-5 kms. But due to landslide the it was closed. We turned back from here.

The road and the river are inseperable

Standing tall and mighty

Sometimes an oasis would come up

The small lake you see here is actually not. The whitish thing in the center is the huge slush slide of a nullah coming from left in the picture. It had washed the road and created a sort of dam leaving a very small space in the right for the river to flow through. Not a nice place to get stuck.

Day 6 to be contd.

nvldvr · 27th December 2013, 17:38

Wonderful photography. Went through your entire travelogues just to view all the pics more than anything else. cheers !

Nikhil_Kapil · 27th December 2013, 22:09

Read the whole thing in one go at work

. Columbus and Maximus were on fire, trail blaze'in the valley. I clearly remember the time when TRAI blocked chief's phone number due to a blunder someone made while on road and glad that he was still there to help and support us even though he was stuck with a personal crisis.

Waiting for more and quite impatiently!!!!

columbus · 28th December 2013, 09:08

Day 6 contd.

Kaza - Pin Valley - Dhankar - Tabo - Kaza

We had our packed lunch just after coming out of Pin valley and then proceeded to our next destination. Dhankar monastry perched high on a crumbling mountain is a heritage site. The scene gives a topography of a different planet. We did not contribute to its falling status by not going inside. A trek goes to Dhankar lake. Since we were short of time we left it for next time. There should be enough reasons to come back to Spiti

.

Dhankar ... the falling monastry

The wind carrying the prayers along with it

Dhankar is the place where you see the confluence of Pin and Spiti rivers.

The road to Tabo

If you insist the Lamas will show you all the prayer halls with beautiful paintings. However photography is prohibited inside the halls.

Tabo monastry complex

Caught this while returning to Kaza

We reached back in the evening and did some shopping from the market. One of the shops offered us pretty good discount as end of season sale. Had dinner at our hotel and packed. Tomorrow it was time to leave from here.

15th December 2013, 00:00	#16
columbus BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bhopal Posts: 300 Thanked: 478 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown Day 4 Manali - Kaza contd. My partner wanted to do Chandratal before Kaza. However i knew that we were not properly acclimitised. Chandratal at 14K+ feet would have been like taking a risk. I was aware of my body's response at 14K+ thanks to a night at Sarchu during Ladakh trips. The nights were never comfortable. However for my partner it was first experience at these altitudes. I managed to convince him that we will do Chandratal on our way back, when we will be better acclimitised. It proved to be a good decision. The river snakes through My partners The sound of water and wind can make you aware of many things about yourself. Standing here, listening to the river flow by, it felt wonderful.. something like therapy rejuvinating my soul. Kunzum La in distance Another feather in Maximus's cap. He was made for this stuff. Where are we .. In no mans land Tell tale signs that we are entering the Spiti valley. Last edited by columbus : 15th December 2013 at 00:03.
	(4) Thanks

16th December 2013, 12:03	#17
columbus BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bhopal Posts: 300 Thanked: 478 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown Day 4 Manali - Kaza contd. The road improves a bit after Losar. You get to see patches of tar giving you a much needed relief. With the sun setting down the play of light and shadow made it hard not to stop. This was an incredible place. The road enters a gorge and does a full circle inside and comes out on the other side. Not a good place to get trapped. While capturing this scene i was getting goose bumps just by thought of getting stuck here. The boy deserves a photoshoot cause he is the one who stood the torture test . The last rays We entered Kaza by sunset and settled down in Hotel Snow Lion. The rooms were decent, food was homely, the view from the room was good and rate was reasonable. Only cliche.. no electricity since last month. But who needs it when you have views like this from the balcony. Kaza bathed in moonlight
	(4) Thanks

17th December 2013, 14:39	#18
columbus BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bhopal Posts: 300 Thanked: 478 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown *Day 5* *Kaza - Ki- kibber - Kaza* We woke up to a beautiful morning with the first rays of the sun falling on Kaza monastry. I slept like a log but it was'nt the case with my partner. He had a restless night and woke up with a headache. Mild form of AMS hitting him. We decided to take it easy today. After a fantastic breakfast of parathas and a bit of rest we started for Ki monastry. A pucca mettaled road takes you up to Ki. We were greeted warmly by a Lama and were first offered tea and it was one best tea we had ever tasted. It was also interesting talking to the young Lama. The monastry offers brilliant views of the spiti valley. However abscence of clouds make the scene a bit uninteresting. The colurs of the monastry offer stark contrast to the bleak surroundings. Had a mouthwatering lunch at Hotel Dezoyr. Had and afternoon seista and headed to catch Ki in evening light. Did some shopping in candle light and had dinner at Snow Lion. Good morning Kaza The Spiti river The Ki monastry towering above Geometry.. circles squares triangle.. Inside Ki Brilliant colors Kibber village Spot the village contest The last men standing. But fall they will Bridge on the river Just caught this in nick of time Who ate my moon.
	(9) Thanks

17th December 2013, 15:29	#19
Pedaltothefloor BHPian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: India Posts: 610 Thanked: 618 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown Columbus - you could very well start a travel magazine. Very well captured pictures there buddy. We got married in Bhutan and it reminds me a lot of that. After reading your thread, I plan to cover Spiti by road. Cheers!
	() Thanks

17th December 2013, 20:21	#20
Lukeskywalker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,397 Thanked: 1,243 Times View My Garage	Re: 50 shades of brown Fantastic pics Columbus, thanks for the visual treat, the Fortuner looks fabulous in that terrain, superb travelogue. Thanks for sharing.
	() Thanks

17th December 2013, 20:57	#21
girishglg Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: KA-05 Posts: 1,164 Thanked: 559 Times View My Garage	Re: 50 shades of brown Columbus, true to your handle your travels and visuals are just awe inspiring. Some of the pics are just out of this world. Really makes one sit up and appreciate the beauty of nature and all the colors that it brings out in the day and in the night. Especially loved the night pic overseeing the settlement. Hope you have some more of those night sky ones captured in your hard drive. Suggest you go on and put down your journey and then add on with all the beautiful random pics at the end of it. Just hooked on for now.
	() Thanks

27th December 2013, 15:24	#23
columbus BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bhopal Posts: 300 Thanked: 478 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown *Day 6* *Kaza - Pin Valley - Dhankar - Tabo - Kaza* Today we made an early start at 8:30 in the morning. Breakfast was good. We were the only guests at the hotel hence everything we ordered was served fast and made to our taste. Benefits of off season travelling. Our first destination for today was Pin Valley. This year Pin valley was cut off for a long time due to a major landslide which washed away the road and even altered the course of the river. Some have the courage to do it on bikes. Lesser mortals like us prefer the comforts of our car ! Fall colors of Pin Valley The river makes interesting patterns Pin side is bit greener than Spiti MUD. The point where the road ends in Pin valley. Beyond this lies the Pin valley national Park. Although a dirt track goes for another 4-5 kms. But due to landslide the it was closed. We turned back from here. The road and the river are inseperable Standing tall and mighty Sometimes an oasis would come up The small lake you see here is actually not. The whitish thing in the center is the huge slush slide of a nullah coming from left in the picture. It had washed the road and created a sort of dam leaving a very small space in the right for the river to flow through. Not a nice place to get stuck. Day 6 to be contd.
	(1) Thanks

27th December 2013, 17:38	#24
nvldvr BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 599 Thanked: 770 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown Wonderful photography. Went through your entire travelogues just to view all the pics more than anything else. cheers !
	() Thanks

27th December 2013, 22:09	#25
Nikhil_Kapil Newbie Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: N.Delhi Posts: 16 Thanked: 7 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown Read the whole thing in one go at work . Columbus and Maximus were on fire, trail blaze'in the valley. I clearly remember the time when TRAI blocked chief's phone number due to a blunder someone made while on road and glad that he was still there to help and support us even though he was stuck with a personal crisis. Waiting for more and quite impatiently!!!!
	() Thanks

28th December 2013, 09:08	#26
columbus BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bhopal Posts: 300 Thanked: 478 Times	Re: 50 shades of brown *Day 6 contd.* Kaza - Pin Valley - Dhankar - Tabo - Kaza We had our packed lunch just after coming out of Pin valley and then proceeded to our next destination. Dhankar monastry perched high on a crumbling mountain is a heritage site. The scene gives a topography of a different planet. We did not contribute to its falling status by not going inside. A trek goes to Dhankar lake. Since we were short of time we left it for next time. There should be enough reasons to come back to Spiti . Dhankar ... the falling monastry The wind carrying the prayers along with it Dhankar is the place where you see the confluence of Pin and Spiti rivers. The road to Tabo If you insist the Lamas will show you all the prayer halls with beautiful paintings. However photography is prohibited inside the halls. Tabo monastry complex Caught this while returning to Kaza We reached back in the evening and did some shopping from the market. One of the shops offered us pretty good discount as end of season sale. Had dinner at our hotel and packed. Tomorrow it was time to leave from here.
	(2) Thanks