Into the High Himalaya

Road at Lower reaches of Spiti Valley

Road cut into a cliff face

Having restocked and refreshed in Rekong Peo, and obtained an Inner Line Permit to visit the Spiti Valley - it runs very close to the Chinese Border - we set off up the valley. Very soon the valley narrows and the road starts to be cut into the sides of the valley, Incredibly they are currently in the process of widening this road to being two lanes wide, involving blasting and clearing thousands of tons of rock to make a wide enough platform for the road.
Following the river up the gorge narrows to a few 10's of metres in width and the road is completely cut into the face of vertical cliffs, often seeming to overhang the river below. Once clear of the gorge the road starts to climb up hairpin after hairpin, gaining some 1500m in height. This area of India is considered a desert, with infrequent, but often heavy rain causing major landslides of the scree slopes across the roads.

Oasis of Nako

Reaching Nako at just over 3000m is like finding an oasis in the desert. Here on a levellish piece of ground on the shoulder of the mountains a permanent stream flows enabling the villagers to irrigate their terraced fields for crops of vegetables and fruit. A small tourist hub has developed round the small lake, but village life seems to continue much as it has always done. The houses are more Tibetan in their style, and the locals dress in a more Tibetan fashion, lots of colourful woven woollen fabrics for the cold winters, with both men and women wearing a very characteristic felt hat.

Nako Traditional Houses

After Nako the gradient of the road lessens, but there are places with sheer drops of a thousand feet to one side of the single track road. The scenery changes with a flatter bottomed, more open valley surrounded by snow capped peaks pouring scree down onto the road. Teams of locals are employed to clear the rocks and stones from the road each day as the erosion is a continual process and scree can be seen sliding down.


Tabo Monastery

At this peak season the valley attracts adventure travellers with several 4x4 tour groups and a lot of motorcyclists from all over India taking up the challenge.

Ki Monastery

500 year old Mummified Monk

Spring Flowers in high pastures

Chichim suspension bridge

In addition to the fabulous scenery the Spiti Valley has many traditional villages, lots perched above 4000m (and approached by narrow twisting roads) where there are flatter, and more fertile lands for crops and grazing and several large monasteries have been founded in the valley, some dating back to the 11th century.

Towards the upper reaches of the valley these are often perched defensively on crags and rock buttresses to provide protection from the invaders, who have repeatedly swept through the valley in the past. Notable monasteries are found at Tabo - a mud brick construction with very dark chapels containing very old wall murals and statues, at Dankhar where high on a cliff above the valley monks initially carved chapels out of the rock, and later added some stone built chapels all approached by a very narrow, and easily defended track, and at Ki - the largest monastery in the valley with 350 monks, set on a hill above fertile agricultural land. each monastery has a very peaceful feeling of use over hundreds of years.
At Gue high up the side of the valley a mummified monk was discovered in 2008, and is now on display with a new temple being built nearby. An extraordinary discovery, with skin, fingernails and hair well preserved.

Wonderful Rock Formations

Fantastic rock formations add to the interest, with deep ravines such as the one at Chichim where a new suspension bridge across the gorge must have improved access to the village, which so far has been virtually untouched by tourism. Back down by the main river the eroded soft rocks have provided weird pillar like structures, capped by harder rock.

Driving to Chandrital lake from Kunzum La Pass

Our aim was to reach Chandrital Lake and discovering the4500m Kunsum La Pass was open we headed for the lake along an extraordinary rough road. Surrounding the lake are spectacular 6500m snow covered peaks, and our highest and coldest camp at 4200, since Tibet, but with a spectacular morning.
Despite the pass being open the road we planned to take north will not open for many days as 4kms is still blocked due to extra heavy snowfall over the winter and subsequent avalanches and landslides which still need to be cleared.

Our only option is to return back down the valley to Rekong Peo and make the 600km detour to the road north. the road is just as spectacular on the way back down.

6500m peaks around Chandrital lake

Camping near Chandrital Lake

At Rekong Peo we discovered we had a puncture and some side wall damage, and after trying to find a suitable inner tube were told we would only get one at Shimla.

fruit growing near Shimla - note hail protection nets

A lovely, but somewhat stressful drive through the fruit growing mountains enabled us to reach Shimla in time to get a tube fitted before closing for the weekend, and a torrential thunderstorm. So now we have driven north, reaching

Naggar Fort

Naggar and its beautiful 16th century wooden fort before heading on the road to the Kashmiri mountains.  
     

 

 

 

Rock Formations

 

 

Chandrital Lake

 

Climbing back to Kunsum La Pass

Yak - part of a herd

Roadside shrine, often on prominent rocks

Fabulous Spiti Valley

 

Traditional clothing of a villager

Sign on the roadside

Majestic Vulture

 

 

Return to India

Humayuns Tomb

After a refreshing 5 weeks back in the UK Spring weather and greeting the birth of our latest grandson Oliver, we returned to India, spending a few days in an incredibly hot Delhi. With temperatures reaching 45 degrees in the mid afternoons we spent a couple of mornings visiting some of the magnificent Mughal monuments in Delhi. First the beautiful Humayun's Tomb, a huge, and beautifully proportioned sandstone and marble mausoleum set on a plinth similar to the Taj Mahal, but constructed 40 years earlier.

Narrow alleys of Nazuraddin town

Qutub Minar

In the large area of parkland around the mausoleum are dozens of smaller Mughal tombs scattered amongst the trees, some beautifully decorated and lots of more modest structures - too many to visit on a hot day. Across the main road from these mausolea is one of the oldest muslim parts of Delhi consisting of narrow twisting alleys housing lots of small stores and workshops.


Collonade around ruined mosque

The other main site we visited was Qutub Minar - a spectacular masonry tower, constructed on a much older site of a 4th century iron pillar, to celebrate the founding of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Surrounding the tower are the remains of more Mughal tombs and a mosque with beautifully carved pillars. By early afternoon it was too hot to continue so we retired to the cool of our apartment.


Crossing to India

Warwick Estate

View to Indian Plains

Our return journey to the van, parked in Nepal took us back on the 12 hour train ride to Banbasa, and then via tuk tuk and local bus to Wild Trak Adventures, where the van was as we left it. With the weather now very hot John assured us the tigers in the park were regularly bathing in the rivers to cool off and there was a good chance of a sighting, so we joined him for one more walking safari, but an early thunderstorm cooled the air and once again we were tigerless.
With the monsoon heading north and the temperatures increasing we decided to head north west to the Himalaya, where the monsoon arrives later, and in the far north west of India the mountains lie in the rain shadow so are not affected by the rains.

Nainital Lake

Wandering Holy Man

Temple set in the mountains

Terraces prepared for the rainy season rice

Having cleared India bureaucracy at the border we first crossed the extremely narrow barrage across the Mahakali River to Banbasa and headed to the nearest hills, and the closest summer hill station to Delhi at Nainital. In fact it is so popular the police were stopping cars reaching the town as it was "full". An interesting family - Major Warwick - has an estate near Nainital and by happenstance we met a family who lived close to the estate and managed to organise a guide to take us there. It is a rambling, semi derelict building set on a hillside with magnificent views across the valley and was home to Major Warwick in the early 20th century. The Major was actually a woman who dressed as a man to claim his pension but performed well remembered charitable work amongst the locals.

Meandering road - a direct distance of 10 kms
can be 50kms by road

Maximising rural transport

Tiger Falls

Driving north and west from Nainital the mountains become progressively higher, with small towns built either in the deep valleys by a river crossing, or high on the hills where the land flattens out. Between are some fantastic twisting roads clinging to the mountainsides, passing through valleys dotted with farmsteads set amongst increasingly stoop terraced fields, used for rice in the wet season and wheat in the dry. The narrow twisting roads, climbing up and down the mountains restrict travel to around 25 km per hour but provide fantastic views. Uttarkahand province is home to beautiful scenery but also has some very holy Buddhist sites and holy men are frequently seen walking the roads with their few belongings heading for the next monastery.

Road cut into cliff face

Note the road on the left of the valley

Skirting to the north of Shimla, as it is school holidays and is also packed with tourists escaping the heat of Delhi. Heading to the Spiti valley loop a road near the Tibetan border through high peaks and described as one of the most challenging and beautiful roads in India the scenery becomes increasigny dramatic with the first sight of snow capped peaks. The people become more Tibetan in their appearance and clothing and the road frequently cut into the sheer cliffs faces of the steep valley sides. We have been told the 4500m Kunzum La pass at the northern end should be opened in a few days. here's hoping.

Spectacular camping

 

Temple and Ashram

 



Traditional house perched on mountainside

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nepal - Pokhra to Bardia and home.

Bandipur centre

Climbing from the plains round Chitwan we soon felt the relief of the cooler temperatures as we headed towards Pokhara. The main road follows a large river valley then joins the busy Kathmandu to Pokhara road. Bandipur high above this road offered an elevated location where we could camp, as well as the potential for views of Annapurna. Climbing up the steep road we had to stop for some major roadworks where they are widening the road. A digger was pushing spoil down onto the road, where it was being scooped into lorries. Every 20 minutes or so they stopped, roughly levelled the spoil on the road and let vehicles pass.

Sunset on Pokhara Lake

Bandipur village is being developed as a tourist destination and has a beautiful high street with stunning views in all directions and plenty of walks. Despite an overnight thunderstorm the morning broke cloudy with only brief glimpses of Annapurna and Manaslu. After a short drive to Pokhara we drove to the marked campsite right in the centre alongside the lake. Here a large field offers free camping and easy access to the shops as well as the beautiful lakeside walk where many bars have set up to enjoy the sunset.

Sunrise on Annapurna Range

Campsite with a view

We were up early to drive to the Sarangkot viewpoint for sunrise, but after winding up the narrow road found it was blocked, so joined several other visitors to watch sunrise from somewhat lower down. Still an awesome sight as the sun briefly caught the snow capped peaks around Annapurna. To get to Sarangkot viewpoint required a 30km detour along a road under construction with some serious muddy sections to be traversed. Not a problem for us, but some of the local cars and buses struggled. The mountains were still pretty clear with stunning panoramas from the peaks round to the plains.

Pokhara World Peace Stupa

Road south through the Himalaya foothills

Riverside campsite

Lumbini - the birthplace of Buddah

Pokhara offers a lot to see and do but we needed to be heading west so after visiting the World Peace stupa (one of 80 or so around the world) we headed south through the mountains, stopping at a beautiful camping location by a river before reaching Lumbini - the birthplace of Buddah. A huge tourist and spiritual site is being developed round the remains of the birthplace with a large canal and Buddhist temples and monasteries being constructed by Buddhist communities from countries all round the world including France and Austria as well as the expected South East Asian countries.

West of Lumbini the main road becomes pretty empty as it passes through hundreds of kms of the beautiful open Terai forest, dotted with small poor farming communities.


Terai Forest in Bardia NP

A few hours from the western border of Nepal lies the relatively undeveloped Bardia national park, home to 60 tigers as well as Rhino deer and numerous birds. We had been recommended to stay at Wild Trax Adventures a small "lodge" near the park entrance run by Johnny - a native of Yorkshire. 
Over a couple of days we went on a full day walking safari, followed by a full day jeep safari and saw rhino, 5 species of deer and many birds including the rare grey woodpecker, but sadly no tiger. While on safari our promised storage of the van in Delhi did not materialise and Johnny kindly offered to let the van stay there while we returned to the UK for 5 weeks.


Local Bus

So instead of driving to Delhi we had to make our way by public transport. First Johnny drove us to the main road where we caught a local bus for the 4 hour drive to the border. A tuk-tuk took us to the Nepalese border and on to the Indian side where we caught another tuk tuk into Banbasa, where we hoped to catch the aircon night bus, but it was not running. Instead we stayed overnight and caught the express train for the 12 hour (385km) journey to Delhi.


Train to Delhi

We had booked a flight with a 23 hour stopover in Dubai, where we stayed in the oldest hotel in the city and spent the afternoon exploring the spice and gold souk, and heading to see the Burj al Khalifa tower, before catching our "connecting" flight to London the next day.


Burj al Khalifa Tower

We have 5 weeks in the UK before returning to the van to continue our adventure.   

Gold Souk in Dubai

   
 

 

 

 

Deer in Bardia NP                                                                The rare Grey Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

 



         

Macaques                                                               Baby Langur

 

 

Village in west Nepal