[AnandB]

Day 14 & 15: Manali to Raipur + Final Thoughts

We left Manali around 10.30am. Got a much overdue car wash. There was lot of traffic on the way until we reached Punjab. Made small stops in-between for food and we reached Panchgaon to drop-off uncle at 2am. We never knew each other except 2 weeks before the trip and it turned out to be an amazing experience for all of us. We couldn't have had the Snow Leopard experience if not for him and similarly he felt he never had better companions with matching interests.

I decided to just head straight for home with some stops to rest/nap in between. Took exactly 24 hours to reach Raipur.

Closing Thoughts:

• I am glad how my Spiti trip turned out. Himachal has breath-taking locations. I covered most of the places i wanted to and each place is a unique experience.

• Clouds were ever present as expected but since I planned accordingly I was able to photograph as i wanted to. Can't wait to be back again and have another go.

• We got extremely lucky spotting a Snow Leopard in summer. But they are quite common sightings in winter months of Feb and March. So my next trip to Spiti will probably a winter one.

• Kodiaq passed with flying colours with even more off-roading than I did in Ladakh. I actually forgot to keep a puncture repair kit but I never needed it here. Not once had to change my tyres and used the space-saver or the additional tyre i brought with me.

• Roads of Himachal are very good with paved and wide roads almost everywhere. A few locations like Chitkul, Mud, Gue, were not properly paved but were mostly gravel and wide enough to easily traverse. No cars should have any issues exploring Spiti with the exception of some on Batal-Gramphu road. Like i saw in Ladakh there is constant road work going on and it would more easier down the years.

• Similarly there is complete network coverage except for a couple of places like Mud, Chandratal, and i think it won't be long till they have coverage too.

• Lot more food options overall compared to Ladakh where its mostly omelette or dal/rice at uncommon locations.

Thanks for reading

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[thirugata]

Well laid out blog and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.

[graaja]

Awesome write-up and pictures. The Milky way pictures and time lapses are just FANTASTIC!

[haisaikat]

What an adventurous drive and mind blowing photographs. That moving milkyway behind the clouds timelapse I will not forget in quite a long time. You have fulfilled the objective of your journey several folds as evident from the videos and photos. Did you have to engage AWD in your car anywhere on this route?

Rated well deserved 5 stars.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Well laid out blog and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by graaja

Awesome write-up and pictures. The Milky way pictures and time lapses are just FANTASTIC!

Originally Posted by haisaikat

What an adventurous drive and mind blowing photographs. That moving milkyway behind the clouds timelapse I will not forget in quite a long time. You have fulfilled the objective of your journey several folds as evident from the videos and photos. Did you have to engage AWD in your car anywhere on this route?

Thank you guys. @haisaikat It's on demand AWD and you can't control it manually. Only can turn traction control on or off.

[trippytragopan]

Originally Posted by AnandB

It was our last day in Spiti with a night stay at Chandratal. Last year I had dropped my plan to visit Chandratal at the end of our Ladakh trip so I was very excited to visit it this time. We woke up around 8am, had breakfast and checked out around 10.30am. We took the turn from Chicham that connects to Losar on NH-505 which meant we would be driving on the right side of the valley. 15kms out Gompo calls on my phone hurriedly asking how far we are out. I ask why and he says a Snow Leopard has been spotted and if we want to see it we need to immediately come back and it will require lot of hiking to reach the spot. What I jokingly said last night actually came true! I asked my companions and they resoundingly said yes. I called back Gompo who said to come back to the homestay where a guide and food will be ready. It took an hour to get back, pick up the guide and food, and be on the way.

You were lucky to spot the snow leopard in May. I couldn't spot then even in March when there was snow.

[UD17]

Mind blowing narration supported by some stunning piece of images. I would love to endure such trips just for a glimpse of the snow leopard. I guess you also felt fulfilled and thrilled by this rare sighting.

The landscapes and milky way are just amazing.

Mind sharing the list of complete kit you used?

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by UD17

Mind blowing narration supported by some stunning piece of images. I would love to endure such trips just for a glimpse of the snow leopard. I guess you also felt fulfilled and thrilled by this rare sighting.

The landscapes and milky way are just amazing.

Mind sharing the list of complete kit you used?

Thank you. Definitely, it was more than what i expected. I was only going for astrophotography.

Videos were all recorded from S21 Ultra. Edited with Davinci Resolve.

Pics were some from of S21 Ultra & most from Sony a7c full-frame mirrorless. Lens used were:
Sony 20mm f1.8G
Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 DG DN Contemporary
Tamron 70-300mm f4.5/6.3 Di III RXD

[TSIched'Out]

So finally you managed to post the much awaited TLog. Looks like you had awesome time. Basis our one to one interaction earlier. I am planning for something like yours in coming June. Will ping you closer to the date of travel. Keep revving.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by TSIched'Out

So finally you managed to post the much awaited TLog. Looks like you had awesome time. Basis our one to one interaction earlier. I am planning for something like yours in coming June. Will ping you closer to the date of travel. Keep revving.

Sure, will help anyway i can.

Made this off-road compilation of the trip:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lqyPNjkvHNk