Note, It is best to arrive in Manali about 3 days early to allow your body to acclimatize to the altitude.

• Himalayan Tours:

Spiti Valley. ~ 1st Sept to 14th Sept 2010. Cost € 1250

Our Bike Route

We begin our ride near Manali in the Kullu Valley and cross the Jalori pass into the Kinnur river valley. This is a quiet and beautiful 'mini' pass through forests reminiscent of Switzerland and the ride is a perfect way to get aquainted with the Enfield 'Bullet' bike!

The pass is surprisingly steep and its a 1st gear lugg up over it to the Kinnur Valley and the mighty Sutlej river. The Sutlej river flows out of Tibet into India cutting an impressive sheer sided canyon through the towering mountains of the Himalayas. The fabled Mt. Kinnur Kilas, the retreat of the god Shiva, is full frame in our lodge windows when we overnight in the village of Kalpa, about 1/2 way up Kinnur valley. Further upriver we climb to 4000 meters to stay in the village of Nako which is located high above the confluence of the Spiti and Sutlej rivers.

Next morning we descend to the Sutlej river, and enter the Spiti valley at its lowest end for the ride up to Tabo with its 1000 year old Tibetan Gompa. We explore the Spiti and Pin valleys over the next week, finally crossing the KunzumLa pass (4600 meters high) at the head of the Spiti valley and cross into the Lahul Valley. The Lahul valley has several large glaciers running into it and is the most rugged and challenging part of the entire journey! Finally we leave the Lahul valley and cross the Rohtang pass (4000 meters high) to ride down into the Kullu valley and the town of Manali.

Highlights.
Spiti valley was once called 'middle valley' and was part of the ancient Kingdom of Guge in western Tibet. It lies along todays' border between India and Tibet. There are several side valleys ,one of which is the beautiful Pin Valley, home of the famous Pin valley ponies and the Kungri Gompa with its ancient Ningmarpa temple. The Ningma order was founded after Padma Sambhava the magician and tantrika converted Tibet to Buddhism.

Kinnur Valley.
The mighty Sutlej river has its source in lake Mansarova at the base of Mt. Meru, (Mt. Kailas) in Tibet. After entering India from Tibet it carves its way throughout the Kinnur valley. This was the ancient Himalayan Trail into Tibet. There is a precarious road cut into the solid rock walls which follows the rivers path past the mystical mountain, Kinnur Kailas which is the seat of Shiva.

Donkar.
Situated high above the Spiti river is the ancient ruined capital of Spiti. It was largely destroyed by an earth quake 800 years ago! There is a short trek above Donkar to a high lake in the mountains for those of us who want to have a change from riding our bikes.

Comic Gopma.
This monastery lies at 4500 meters! The monks stay here all year round and it must be the highest working monastery in the world! The friendly monks do month long 'Pujas' (chanting and reading scriptures). The ride up here is stunning! Nearby on the Eastern border with Tibet is Lingti Valley, once part of the ocean floor before the mighty Himalayan mountains were created. It is still littered with fossils that are between 250 million and 500 million years old! We can approach the nearby Kibber national park which is a nature reserve for rare fauna and flora.

Tabo Monastery.
Over 1000 years old this is the oldest Tibetan Gompa in India and with its massive adobe walls looks as if it should be in New Mexico not Asia! It has a peace and power that is clearly palpable.

Pin Valley.
Famous for the Pin valley horses and on an important ancient trekking route which connects it to the Kullu valley. It also has several old and new Tibetan Monasteries.