Safari Lahaul Spiti Valley

Day 1: Arrive Delhi.

Meet and greet upon arrival in Delhi and transfer to the hotel for check in.

Day 2: Delhi – Chandigarh.

In the morning transfer to the railway station for Shatabdi Express to Chandigarh.

Depart at 0740Hrs &mbsp;&mbsp;&mbsp; Arrive at 11105Hrs.

Meet and greet upon arrival and transfer to the hotel for check in. In the afternoon we visit Rock Gardens and Rose Garden.

Rock Garden : Rock Garden was developed by a Govt employee Nek Chand Saini Chandigarh has the distinction of having a unique world-acclaimed Rock Garden. It consists of art objects, fashioned from industrial and urban waste. It is situated between the Capitol Complex and Sukhna Lake in Sector 1. It nestles amidst 20 acres of woods in the form of an open air exhibition hall, theatre trove and a miniature maze all rolled into one vast fantasy land of art and landscape. It is without doubt, a tourist spot that is a must on the itinerary of every visitor to Chandigarh.

An unpretentious entrance leads to a magnificent, almost surrealist arrangement of rocks, boulders, broken chinaware, discarded fluorescent tubes, broken and cast away glass bangles, building waste, coal and clay-all juxtaposed to create a dream folk world of palaces, soldiers, monkeys, village life, women and temples. The open air sculptures and concealed gateways separating them are at places enhanced by a waterfall, pools and an open air theatre with proper stage setting. Several prestigious performances have been staged in this small but very artistic and naturalistic open air theatre.

Rose Garden : Named after India’s former President, ZakirHussain, the garden was established in 1967 under the guidance of Chandigarh’s first Chief Commissioner late Dr M S Randhawa. The largest Rose Garden in Asia, it is spread over an area of 27 acres and has more than 17,000 plants representing some 1,600 varieties of roses as well as several fountains. Along with the roses emphasis was also given on the trees of medicinal value and some unique specimen trees to enhance the beauty of the garden The medicinal trees planted here are bel, bahera, harar, camphor and yellow gulmohar. This garden is the venue of the annual Festival of Gardens, an event listed on the national calendar of fairs and festivals. This is one of the main cultural events of the city and draws thousands of visitors. It was started in 1966.

Day 3: Chandigarh – Shimla.

After Breakfast drive to Shimla (Summer capital of India during British Raj) covering a distance of 100 Kilometers/ 04 Hours. Check in at the hotel upon arrival. Later visit District office for Innerline permit formalities. Rest day is at leisure to relax. Overnight is at the Hotel.

Day 4: Shimla.

In the morning after breakfast, tour of Shimla visiting Indian Institute Of Advanced Studies, SankatMochan Temple and Jakhu Temple. Evening free to stroll in the famous shopping place of Shimla town – The Mall &The Ridge. Overnight is at hotel.

JhakuTemple : Best seen in the soft morning sunlight. This temple is on an incline. It takes about 45 minutes of walking from Scandal Point to get here. Dedicated to the monkey God Hanuman, there are a few real monkeys too many out here, but leave them alone and don’t eat food around them, and you will be able to enjoy a spectacular view of the snow-bound mountains. The temple is believed to have the foot prints of Hanuman, and is located at a height of 2455 m and is the highest point of Simla Ridge.

ViceregalLodge : Housed in the Gothic splendor of the Viceregal Lodge is the Indian Institute of Advanced studies, India’s premier academy for higher research.

JakhooHill : The steep climb to Jakhoo Hill, Shimla’s highest point, is rewarding for superb views of the town and its surroundings. At the top is an old Hanuman temple.

Day 5: Shimla – Sarahan (1920 Mts. / 174 Km / 6 Hrs)

Drive to Sarahan, along the ridge up to Narkanda (3690Mts) and then decent into Baspa valley driving along the Sutluj river. En route stop at Rampur (135km), erstwhile capital of Baspa Kingdom and continue drive to Sarahan, which is a beautiful village surrounded by apple orchards and dominated by ShirkhandMahadev Peak (5155M) which resembles the “SHIVLING”, is famous for Bimikali temple where goddess idol is around 200 years old.

BhimkaliTemple : One of the finest examples of tower architecture in this region, Bhimakali has been the family deity of the Bushahar rulers. The temple is very sacred to both the Hindus and Buddhists. The Bhimakali goddess idol is around 200 years old. In olden days human sacrifice was prevalent here, but now only goats are sacrificed. The temple has a small but beautiful museum. From Sarahan one can view the ShrikhandMahadev Peak, known as the parental abode of Lakshmi the Goddess of prosperity.

Day 6: Sarahan – Sangla (3435 Mts. / 122 Km / 6 Hrs.)

After breakfast at the Hotel drive to Village Kamru and its fort which dominates the Sangla Valley landscape. Drive along the bank of the river till Karcham and then turn into Sangla Valley famous for Kamru Fort, where many Rajas of Kinnaur were reigned, now known as Kamakshi Temple. Sangla is built on a slope with houses rising one above the other. The gigantic KinnerKailash peak (6050M) dominates the background. Check in for dinner and overnight.

Sangla Valley : The breathtaking gorges of the Greater Himalayas in the Baspa Valley also known as the Sangla valley, the most beautiful valley of Himachal Pradesh, full of wooded slopes surrounded by green fields and high mountain peaks, stretch as as far as Chitkul, the last inhabited village in this valley. Chitkul is like a fairyland. The quaint little houses, temples, gompas and the people of Baspa Valley conjure up a perfect image of a Shangri- La. The bewitching scenery and the eternal snow view from here is an unforgettable sight.

Day 7: Excursion to Rakchan and Chitkul villages.

Drive to the fairy tale village of Chitkul (3450m /11315 ft), the highest & the last village on the Indo – Tibetan trade route. A 6 km walk gets us to Nagasthi the last Indian Outpost. Enjoy a picnic lunch at Nagasthi and trek back to Chitkul. Drive back to the camp enroute visiting Rakcham village (2900m) which is situated on the right bank of river Baspa. Its name has been derived from “Rak” a stone and “Chham” a bridge. The location of the village is striking. Evening at leisure. Overnight stay in tented campsite.

Day 8: Sangla – ReckongPeo – Kalpa (2960 Mts. / 80 Km).

Breakfast at the Hotel and drive to Kalpa. Looming in front of Kalpa is an impressive KinnerKailash (6050M). This mountain changes colors several times a day with change of weather conditions. KinnerKailash is the most famous peak in Himachal Pradesh. It is held in very high esteem by the people of Kinnaur. Devout people do a Parikrama, circuit pilgrimage of this peak. One can get breathtaking views of this range from Hotel KINNER KAILASH in Kalpa.

Day 9: Kalpa – Nako (3959Mt / 122 Km / 6 Hrs)

Drive to Kanam, which is 14 km from the Jangi check-post towards Nako. Kanum is an important monastery of Kinnaur, having as many as seven big and small temples scattered in and around, besides numerous quadrangular reliquaries. Kanum should have remained a prosperous village in the 11th century and it continues to be so even today. LotsabaRen-chen-bZang-po must have considered this village a most propitious place for building a centre for the scholastic study on Kangyur and not merely a place of worship. Today you experience Timberline, a line beyond which forests do not grow, the barren and rugged brown Mountains start from Jangi which get rugged and barren after Puh (2837Mt), you continue along the Sutlej till you reach Khab (2831Mt) the confluence of rivers Sutlej and Spiti. A direct climb up takes you to Nako. A walk through the village takes you to the Lotsaba-lha-khang, monasteries and Dungyur temples. Temples founded by Rin-chen-bZang-po. There is a rock bearing footprints of Padmasambhava the second incarnation of Lord Buddha. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 10: Nako – Tabo (84 Km / 6 Hrs).

Today you will enter Spiti Valley. Geologically and archaeologically, Spiti is a living museum. The mountains are devoid of any vegetation due to erosion by wind, sun and snow over thousands of years has laid bare the rocks. The rugged and rocky mountain slopes sweeps down to the riverbeds giving the landscape a moon like appearance.

Climb up to Tabo (3050 Mt.) Built around the year 996 AD the Choskhor monastery at Tabo is the largest monastery in Spiti. It is one of the few remaining examples of golden period of Buddhist Culture in the Himalayan region and it celebrated 1000 years in 1996. This is the only monastic complex with structural and cave types at one place. Overnight Camp.

CHOS KHOR MONASTRY TABO : The wall frescos of the monastery are comparable in their antiquity and quality to those of the Ajanta caves hence is called the Ajanta of the Himalayas. It houses more than 100 Lamas, large number of scriptures, pieces of art, wall paintings, and tankhas.

Day 11: Excursion to Pin Valley.

After breakfast full day tour of Pin valley. Drive to the worlds highest wildlife reserve the pin valley national park the land of Ibex, Snow Leopard and the Golden Eagles upto the Kungri village and Gompa it is amongsthe main monasteries of the Nyingmapa sect and is considered to be one of the oldest, founded by Guru Padmasambhava presently inhabited by 100 monks. In the evening return back to the Tabo. Overnight at Hotel.

KungriMonastery :The Kungrigompa was erected in the first half of the 14th century, around 1330 and consists of three separate rectangular blocks, all of which stand facing the eastern direction. Recently, Kungrigompaganied a lot of attention because of the foreign aid it received for its renovation work. However, despite renovation work, the gompa provides the strong impact of the tantric cult that held sway over the Pin valley in the bygone era. Within the gompa, attractions include silk paintings of various Buddhist deities on the inner walls, huge statues and over 300 volumes of the sacred Tibetan texts, Kenjur and Tenjur preserved carefully in white muslin.

Day 12: Tabo – Lhalung- Dhankar – Schiling – Kaza. (3520 Mt / 53 Km / 6 Hrs).

Drive to Lhalung which is 14 km from the main road in Lingthi valley. It is a magnificent village of 45 houses. In this village there is a second most interesting monastery of Spiti. The compound consists of five buildings. At some spots fragmentary remains of a wall encircling all the buildings are to be found. The local tradition that the monastic site of Lhalung once consisted of nine temples, together with the unusally rich interior of Lhalung’s main chapel and the fact that the building of the temples is also attributed to RinchenZangpo, may suggest that the temple site of Lhalung, like Tabo, was designed as a Choshorsite,a place for learning and debate as opposed to a simple chapel for worship by the local people. Drive to Dhankar the traditional “Capital of Spiti” it is a big village and erstwhile capital of Spiti King.

DankarGompa (3890 M) was built in the 12th century. This hill top fort still dominates the Spiti Landscape. It houses more than 160 Lamas. Buddhist scriptures in Bhoti language and a statue of Dhyan Buddha consisting of four complete figures seated back to back is the main attraction of this striking monastery.

Day 13: Kaza – Ki – Kibber – Kaza (3600 Mt / 45 Km / 2 Hrs).

Full day excursion to Ki and Kibbermoansteries. Return to Kaza for dinner and overnight stay.

Ki is the biggest monastery in Spiti Valley. Situated between Kaza and Kibber, it dominates the Ki village and the Spiti Valley. Ki Monastery (4116M) is a Gelugpa sect monastery. Its hilltop position points to a post-thirteenth century construction. The monks’ dwellings rise in a closely packed cluster up the south and east face to the summit, where the main temple building is situated. The greatest wealth of Ki Gompa lies in its collection of ‘Thangkas’ salvaged with difficulty from the devastating raids of the Dogras and the Sikhs in the 19th century. At 4270M and 4205M height, Gete and Kibber are the two highest villages in Asia connected by road.

From Ki, a scenic drive takes you to Kibber, a small village. From Kibber, the pastures are spread over hundred of square kilometers. Kibber is the take off point for the popular trek to Tso Moriri in Ladakh. Kibber also falls on the old route used over centuries by traders from trans-Himalayas to reach Spiti for an annual fair where traders from Spiti, Kinnaur, Ladakh and Tibet use to participate in.

Further up, six kilometers from Kibber, we drive up to a still smaller village of Gete. Consisting of just six houses, it boasts of being the highest village in Asia connected by road. The view from here of the whole Spiti valley is truly spectacular. There is also, for the willing and adventurous, a short–cut to Ki monastery that takes less than an hour (hiking)

Day 14: Kaza – Manali via Chandertal Lake (233 kms / 9 – 10 hrs)

Drive towards Manali over Kunzum La (4553m). On way way we take adiversion towards Chandertal Lake. After spending some time at the lake drive back to the Main road and finally onto Manali crossing Rohtang Pass. Dinner and overnight stay at Manali.

Day 15: Manali.

After breakfast leave for sightseeing of Manali visiting Hadimba temple, Manu Temple, Club House, Tibetan monastery and Nehru Kund. Evening is free at leisure to explore the mall road. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

HADIMBA TEMPLE:Manali has many attractions but the chief centre of interest, historically and archeologically, is undoubtedly the DHOONGRI TEMPLE dedicated to goddess Hadimba, the Bhim of Mahabharat fame. It has four-tiered Pagoda shaped roof and the doorway is carved with legendary figures and symbols. This temple located amidst wooden forest of deodar is about 2.5 kms. from the tourist office. It is a pleasant experience to stroll in the temple complex which was built in 1533 A.D. A large festival is held here in May.

MANU TEMPLE: 3 kms. from the main bazar in old Manali lies the temple of MANU RISHI. It is believed that this is the only temple of Manu in India, who was the creator of human race on the earth.

CLUB HOUSE: 2 kms. from the town, club house has indoor games facilities which has been located on the left bank of ManalsuNallah. There are some picnic spots near it.

Day 16: Manali – Kullu – Delhi

On time transfer to Bunter Airport for flight to Delhi.

Meet and greet upon arrival and transfer to the International airport for flight to Italy.