Hi,
Before i initiate, a big thanks to below bhpian whose travelogue became the inspiration and guide to plan the trip.
BlackPearl http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ndra-thar.html ssambyal1980 http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ure-sedan.html gearhead_mait http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...g-bonding.html
Since there is already a lot of information on routes, planning etc. available on team-bhp which i used to plan i will not repeat it. Instead i will focus more on presenting the beautiful landscape and providing a peek into what you can expect when you plan to do Spiti, in short less of talk more of pics
Last December i did Gujarat circuit(
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...tra-kutch.html, the first long trip in newly acquired Bluebird. Since then the next on cards was Himalayas, unsure where to go, but was quite sure that it is going to be somewhere in Himalayan Range. As the norm is, started out by going through Leh travelogues and somehow i found the opinion among people divided, some called it none of a kind experience while others who have traveled to Spiti, recalled Leh as more of a commercial tourist place. On enquiring i came to know for sure that most people knew about Leh (among non travel freaks) but there was a small percentage of that group that knew about spiti. Though it does not imply i will not plan a trip to Leh but at that moment, it for sure meant my first hill drive will be to Spiti. Yes, it was going to be my first mountain drive if i exclude the ghats around Mumbai.
Spiti was decided, next was what all places, the choice was determined by 2 factors, the number of days we had on hand and the time we want to spend at those places. After a lot of juggling below itinerary was finalized:
- D-1: Mumbai-Vadodara
- D-2: Vadodara-Jaipur
- D-3: Jaipur-Panchkula
- D-4: Panchkula-Chail-Shillaru
- D-5: Shillaru-Chitkul
- D-6: Chitkul- Ropa/Giabong-Nako
- D-7: Nako-Gue-Tabo-Dhankar-Kaza
- D-8: Kaza-Mudh
- D-9: Mudh-Langza-Hikkim-Komic-Demul-Kaza
- D-10: Kaza-Key-Tashigang-Kibber-Chicham-Kunzum Pass-Chandrataal
- D-11: Chandrataal-Losar
- D-12: Losar-Kalpa
- D-13: Kalpa-Panchkula
- D-14: Panchkula-Jaipur
- D-15: Jaipur-Ahmedabad
- D-16: Ahmedabad-Mumbai
Once the destination was decided, next was to finalize the co-passengers. My wife missed out on Gujarat trip so this time i had to be extra cautious to accommodate her work schedule else it might just be my last trip! We own 1.3 S-Cross, considering the engine power and luggage space we planned to have only one additional person else we planned to go as a couple. After some discussion my brother-in-law could secure the leaves and he planned to join from Gurgaon. So the dates were finalized from 25 May to 10 June.
I did not plan much for Gujarat trip considering it is a well habituated place and i can find help when in need, but spiti is different and i decided to prepare well.
Other than the regular stuff i bought the following, again special thanks to my travel guide,
team-bhp members:
- Puncture repair Kit
- Fuel Filter
- Engine Oil/Coolant
- Portable Oxygen cylinder
- Tow cable
- Hydraulic Jack
- Jerry Can
- DC to AC converter
- Wet Mseal
- FeviKwik
- Thermal Flask
- Flashlight
- Headgear light
- Air Pump
- Serrated Knife
- Wooden Plank
- Cable ties
I also packed other than the regular medicines, diamox and dexamethasone for complexity and lots of ORSL powder. The only thing i wanted to carry but could not due to budget was wide angle lens, alas, may be next time.
Got the bluebird serviced for 10K mark about a week before and no issues faced since then, so good to go !
I prefer to pre-book hotels, budget hotels in peaceful locations with parking at places of visit and budget hotels with parking near to next day route for overnight transit halts . Hotel details along with my feedback will follow.
Itinerary finalized, hotels booked, leaves secured, luggage packed, Bluebird is ready to leave.
D-1:Mumbai to Vadodara
Left around 2 pm from home, being afternoon not much of traffic and very soon we are cruising on the familiar NH 48. As most of us know its a delight specially when you have a long trip ahead since it allows to cover distance in a jiffy. Nothing much to write about this except we stopped at a couple of times, once at Sugar n Spice to have tea breaks and soak in the feeling that the long awaited trip has started.
Reached Vadodara around 9 pm and went straight to hotel where i stayed during Gujarat trip.
Some snaps Stay: Hotel 7Apple, Tariff: 1750, Nice clean hotel with inside parking, good for a night halt, did not had dinner there so cannot tell about the food, only complain is rooms are small.
D-2: Vadodara to Jaipur
Being a 700KM+ drive we started early, around 7 in the morning, took the Godhra-Udaipur-Rajsamand-Beawar-Ajmer route to Jaipur. Roads of Gujarat continue to amaze with added benefit of no toll. The roads of Rajasthan were also good but being NH, there was heavy truck traffic and lots of construction work making drive stressful. Being a tea addicted person, it was difficult to control myself in Gujarat where most of the places make wonderful tea.
Tale of overflowing tea cups:Gujarat
Generally on such routes i pre-decide pit-stops and time by which i should be there, it helps me in maintaining time discipline. The lunch pit-stop was Udaipur, and i plan my stops at city out skirts, it resolves the issue of parking and also generally such places will not have waiting times. So in accordance with this framed principle i stopped after crossing Udaipur before 'Udaipur tunnel' at hotel "Palace on the Way", the food was brilliant only that the service was little slow but the food filled up for it.
Hotel Palace on the Way
After a heartful lunch we lurched ahead crossing Rajsamand in a jiffy.
And the first ticket for Bluebird
, there was an interceptor after we crossed Rajsamand and we were doing around 100 while the speed limit was 80. Payed the fine and moved ahead, surprisingly the cop was well mannered and provided challan receipt as well the spots where next interceptor could be stationed !
Around this place i and bluebird got 1st ticket of life
No more anticlimax from then on, i tried to look for non-existent signs of speed limits and drove on. Reached Jaipur around 7 pm and straight went to the hotel and crashed.
Stay: Sarovar Portico, Tariff:2400, Nicely done spacious rooms
D-3: Jaipur to Panckula
The plan was to pickup my brother-in-law from Gurgaon and then proceed to Panchkula and have lunch in between at Amrik or Haveli. Reached Gurgaon around noon, picked him up and left for a Punjali meal, decided on Haveli since had been to Amrik previously. Well the experience to me was mixed, the food was brilliant but it was very crowdy and noisy. Took some snaps and moved ahead.
Haveli Happy Faces
There was heavy traffic from Gurgaon all the way till Ambala, before Chandigarh spotted this unusual place 'Sethi Dhaba' and decided to have a tea break. The decor of the place is very different with murals of funny quotes and figurines of famous personalities from Punjab like Milkha Singh and Sukhwinder Singh. Also the place had a wall where Mr. Sethi can be seen in presence of eminent personalities. The place was interesting and tea was kicker, required after heavy lunch at Haveli.
Sethi Dhaba Trying Unusual Selfie @ unusual dhaba
Reached Panchkula by 6 pm and since we had some time, went to nearby microbrewery 'The Escape'. Had a good time relaxing after 3 days of long drive. From tomorrow the hill journey will begin.
Stay:The Cove, Tariff: 3200, Nice spacious well d'cored room
D-4: Panchkula to Shillaru via Chail
We got up early and left for Shillaru. The plan was to go via Chail and visit the Chail palace. Before Kandaghat there is a diversion which goes to Chail. Its a very narrow road and it takes some time to adjust to it for a non-hill driver like me.
Enroute Chail Attachment 1788911 Wildfire Chail Palace Garden