Lahaul & Spiti Tour

Barren Splendour
Lahaul and Spiti are two remote Himalayan valleys of Himachal Pradesh lying on the Indo-Tibet border. Strange, exciting, primitive, these valleys are incomparable in mountain scape, in the rugged beauty of their rocky escapements and the splendor of their snow covered peaks.

Lahaul is marked by a central mass of uniformly high mountains, massive glaciers, passes, lakes and gushing rivers. The two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise on either side of the Baralacha La, flow through the narrow Chandra and Bhaga valleys. Lahaul is a land of fascinating Buddhist art and culture. Often called as the 'middle country', Spiti is a cold desert regarded as a "World within a world" and "Palace where the gods live". The monasteries of Lahaul-Spiti are rich repositories of ancient murals, thankas, woodcarving and golden images of Padmasambhava.

CITIES
Tandi:
Between Gondhla and Keylong is Tandi, where Chandrabagha or Chenab river meets the road. A legend says that there were two lovers, Chandra being the daughter of the Moon and Bhaga the son of the Sun god. To perform there eternal marriage, they decided to climb to the Baralacha La & from there they ran in opposite directions. Chandra being active and smart easily found her way & reached Tandi after covering the distance of 115-km. Soon Bhaga was found coming with great struggle through the narrow gorges to Tandi where consequently both met and the celestial marriage was performed. Bhaga covered about 60-km distance, which was very difficult.

Trilokinath:
Trilokinathmeans the Shiva. A Temple is situated in the village, which is about 4 kms short of Udaipur on the left bank of Chenab river. Devotees from far off places come to pay their respects at this unique temple. This Shiva temple was given a look of Buddhist shrine by Guru Padmasambhava by installing the 6 armed image of Avalokiteshvar. In August, a big festival named Pauri is held for three days when people including the sadhus and followers of various religious sects gather to receive the blessings of Lord Trilokinath.

Udaipur (2743m):
In olden times this village was known as Markul, derived from the name of the local goddess Markula Devi. The temple here is unique and famous for its wooden carving on its roof and ceiling. Later on, Raja Udai Singh of Chamba changed the name to Udaipur. This place is situated near the confluence of Chenab and Mayar Nallah, therefore, became a starting point for Mayar valley and further on to Zanskar and other peaks. This is a green area rather the whole Chenab valley is greener than the Lahaul valley.

Keylong (3340m):
Keylong is the district Headquarters of Lahaul Spiti on the main road to Leh over Rohtang. It is an oasis of green fields and willow trees, water streams surrounded with brown hills and snow capped peaks. There are hotels, tourist bungalows and rest houses to stay.

MONASTERIES
Kardang Monastery (3500m):
It is about 5-km from Keylong across Bhaga river, believed to be built in 12th century. The Monastery has a large library of Kangyur and Tangyur volumes of Buddhist scriptures in Bhoti. Kardang village was once the capital of Lahaul.

Shashur Monastery:
Situated on a hill about 3-km far from Keylong, towards north on the same slope. During June/July months, this monastery attracts lot of visitors when Lamas perform devil dance. It was founded in the 17th century A.D. and belongs to Red-Hat sect, located among the blue pines. The paintings over here represent the history of 84 Buddha's.

Kye Monastery:
It is situated 12-km north of Kaza and serves the western population of Spiti. Known as the oldest and biggest monastery of the valley, Kye Monastery is located at 4116m. above Kye village. It houses beautiful scriptures and paintings of Buddha and other goddesses. Many Lamas get religious training here such as dancing, singing and playing on pipes and horns. It has murals and books of high aesthetic value.

Thang Yug Gompa:
It is located 13-km above Kaza, serving the western part of central Spiti. Situated in a secluded place in the narrow gauge of Kaza Nallah, it generally has a Lama from Tibet. Above this there is a long plateau, which leads to Shilla peak.

Kungri Gompa:
It is situated in the Pin valley about 10-km from Attargo where Spiti river has to be crossed to enter Pin valley. It is serves the population of Pin valley.

Dhankar Monastery:
It is situated about 25-km east of Kaza and serves eastern part of central Spiti. Dhankar is a big village and erstwhile capital of Spiti Kingdom. On top of a hill there is a fort, which use to be the prison in olden times. The Monastery has about 100 Lamas and is in position of Buddhist scriptures in Bhoti language. Principal figure is a Statue of "Vairochana" or Dhayan Buddha, consisting of 4 complete figures seated back to back. It has relics in the shape of paintings and sculptures.

Road:
Lahaul is connected with road from all parts of the country. Manali is the point where buses from various stations come. From here, one can take bus/taxi to any destination in Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi & Leh during the months between June to November depending upon opening and closing of Rohtang pass, the gateway to this valley. National highway 21 passes through this valley enroute to Leh. Other two directions are from Shimla via the Spiti Valley, along the road, which runs up to the Tibetan border through Kinnaur and from Zanskar and Ladakh over the Shingo La and Baralacha La passes. The Shingo Lo gives access to Lahul from Zanskar while the Baralacha La is on the Leh-Manali road and provides access to Lahul from Ladakh.