Tabo, Himachal Pradesh.

It was one the most thrilling and beautiful day I will remember.  I was entering Spiti Valley, where riding was like a dream coming true. After spending a night at Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh I kicked off to Tabo. It is a small village located in Spiti Valley at an altitude of 3,280mts close to Tibet border, north of Sutlej river. Ride to Tabo was mesmerising, terrain was changing from green to deserted to mysterious. I was only accompanied by my Enfield and river flowing parallel by my side on these roads. I could clearly feel the lonliness and peace of the place, riding my Enfield was like meditating with its thump. I was getting closer to Spiti, but was stopped by a landslide somewhere closer to Nako, waited almost 2hrs to move. Nako village located near Indo-Tibet border in region of Kinnaur district and  is known for its lake and a monastery.

After spending an hour at Nako I continued to Tabo, but Gue is going to be my next stop. Gue is a small village which is famous for the mummified monk, Sangha Tenzin. I spent an hour at Gue exploring and  continued my ride towards Tabo. Tabo is merely few kilometers from Gue and ride was not much eventful apart from the scenic deserted land of Spiti Valley. It was 5pm  I touched Tabo around checked in to the hotel. There are plenty hotel and home stay accommodation at Tabo. Tabo is famous for oldest functioning Tabo Monastery in India and caves.  The Monastery was founded by the King of Guge Kingdom of Western-Tibet Yeshe Od and the great translator Raichen Zangpo and is famous for paintings, murals and sculptures. The Monastery is also called as Ajanta and Elora of Himalayas. I roamed around few hours in the campus of Tabo Monastery and headed to caves. They say monks used to meditate in caves which can be seen on the hills of Tabo. It was a good day spent on roads and the village, Tabo. Next day I continued my ride towards Kaza with lots of good memories from Tabo.

Somewhere closer to Nako.

Beast.

Mysterious land.

Roads after Kalpa.

Eyecatching sign boards can be seen.

This sign board was thrilling me.

Before Pooh at India Army Tea shop.

Kazigs.

Beautiful Nako Village.

Nako Lake.

Prayers engraved on stones around Nako Lake.

Spotted Yak on my way to Tabo.

Gue Monastery.

Mummified  monk Sangha Tenzin.

Tabo Monastery campus.

Prayer wheels at Tabo Monastery.

Tabo village.

Caves at Tabo.

Entrance of Tabo Monastery.

Chitkul Village, Himachal Pradesh.

On my way to Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, my next stop was Chitkul. It is a last village located on Indo-Tibet border and at a distance of 180kms from Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh. Riding to Chitkul was one of the best ride I had till now. Road offers the view of Sutlej river, the famous cliff-hanger roads of Kinnaur and the beautiful Sangla Valley on the way. 

My first stop was at Sutlej view point from where the view was beautiful and one can see the roaring Sutlej. After few snaps at view point I continued my ride and now I was riding along river, Sutlej. Riding in such terrain is always fun and breathtaking, but one should be cautious of incoming traffic. After riding few kilometers it was a cliff-hanger experience, now roads were narrower and I was bit slow. I parked my Enflied on the broadest point of the road, clicked few snaps and admired the beauty of the road. Cliff-hangers are considered to be one of the most dangerous roads around the world. These roads are narrow running parallel to river, with plenty of incoming traffic. Narrow roads continued to Sangla Valley where it gets wide opened.

Sangla is small village, with number of guest houses and hotel , at distance of 50kms from Chitkul. It was about to rain, so I decided not to take a break at Sangla and reach Chitkul asap. On the way one can find many camps for accommodation near Rakcham, a village at 14kms from Sangla. Road to Chitkul is un-tarred going through wooden slopes and streams without bridges. But again rough road offered beautiful view of Baspa Valley. There is a small army check point before 3kms of Chitkul where we have to provide identification and no permits are required for Indian citizen. It was 5:30pm when I finally made to Chitkul. There are few guest house at Chitkul which remain open in summers and shut down in winters due to heavy snow. After checking in to hotel, I wandered for an hour in Chitkul, talked with locals and came to know about Nagasthi. Nagasthi is at a trekking distance of 4kms from Chitkul, which is the last Indian outpost on Indo-Tibet border.

Next day I ventured for an hour in Chitkul and left for my next destination Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh.

Sutlej View point on the way to Chitkul.

Unknown village.

There are many water fall on the way.

Entering KinnaurValley.

Cliff-hanger.

Cliff-hanger.

Birdyyy..

Agriculture is the main source income for locals, Chitkul.

Hydro Power project.

Basapa Valley.

First glimpse of Chitkul, Himachal Pradesh.

Chitkul Village.

Store house.

View of my hotel.

Dense forest around Chitkul.

Basapa River.

Wheat.

Splash.

To be continued to Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh.......