Blessed with a wonderful foothill, landscape, and an idiosyncratic cultural and cultural mix that changes gradually from Hindu to Tibetan Buddhism. On this trip, you will visit the land of mountain villages with slate-roofed temples, vast apple orchards, plunging gorges between towering snow-capped peaks, and hair-raising roads.
Sarahan (172 Km)
Sarahan is a former summer capital of the Bushahr realm. Extremely renowned for the Bhima Kali temples, Sarahan is erected in the old-style Kinnauri way, mainly from the coatings of stone and timber to engross the force of earthquakes. There are two towers here, one newly reconstructed after the 12th-century original collapsed, and one from the 1920s (on the left) containing a highly admired shrine to Bhimakali (the local version of Kali) underneath a lovely silver-filigree awning on its top floor. The curved, peaked roofs suggest the Tibetan influence on Kinnauri architecture, which becomes more marked as you move up the valley.
To the right of the two towers is the squat Lankra Vir Temple, where human sacrifices were carried out right up to the 18th century.
Sangla (94 Km)
Visit the Batseri Village where an old-fashioned bridge erected over the Baspa River leads you to Batseri and its cobble-stoned thoroughfares and the local temple of Badri Narayan. After this, visit the Kamru Fort – the five-storied tower-type fort rests on 55 square feet of stone stage and was constructed by Dev Puran. The elegantly complex statues of the wooden porches and minuscule temple are a view that will behold you in the amiable area.
Chitkul (26 Km)
Chitkul, which is the last Indian hamlet at the border has a population of roughly 700 people. Visit the Nila range where the greenish-blue Baspa River originates, adorns India on one side and Tibet on the other. Situated at an elevation of 3450m, Chitkul is the perfect place for nature lovers and photographers. With a few strolls visit the shrine of the local Goddess, ‘Mathi’, 500 years old-style architecture built by the unknown person. In the evening you are free to explore the town and the stay will be at the campsite followed by the dinner.
Kalpa (76 Km)
Move to Reckong Peo – the district capital of Kinnaur. It is a place where we will get a permit to enter Spiti Valley and once all formalities are done, we can head up higher on a 7-kilometer zigzagging road, to the old-fashioned village of Kalpa – a jewel with intriguingly splendid vistas of the Kinner Kailash and Jorkandan Peaks impending right above the village.
Here you can visit the outstanding Kinnauri-style shrines or the colorful Samdrup Choeling Gompa. Adjacent to the Kinner Kailash is the 79-foot high solitary pillar, which look like the Shivalinga, and is known for its color-changing possessions as the day attires on.
