Tour Diary -Trip to Spiti Valley-Day Two

Day Zero
Day One

One more night at the rest house and we were all charged up to move towards the Snow Deserts of the Spiti Valley. We all underestimated the natural beauty of the Spiti Valley and what unfolded in front of us was nothing less than a miracle, as we survived on that rough terrain on the bloody Maruti of ours. Actually taking a Maruti towards Kaza is inhuman, sadistic and brutal, for the vehicle obviously.

One more time, we found ourselves at Koksar, eating the Paranthas [परांठा] and stuffing our bags with chocolates, biscuits and water. Gramphu [ग्राम्फु] was the first place that looked like a village.

.Gramphu.

For the next 17 kilometers we kept looking at each other because things were complicated and difficult. JP decided to sit on the front seat with the driver and he became our permanent assistant. As the road was full of stones, he kept saying 'एक ऊपर , एक नीचे ', which none of us could understand, initially. All he wanted to say was to keep one side of the vehicle on the top of the stones and other on the safe side to keep things safe and smooth. However, maintaining 'एक ऊपर, एक नीचे' approach was very difficult and we kept fighting, abusing and scolding each other until we reached Chattru.

Just an example: I was driving, JP was sitting besides me and we saw a pile of stones on the road, he shouted 'ऊपर से, ऊपर से' and I took those stones directly below the vehicle. I thought he will praise me for it and he started scolding me because he meant to take the one side of car above them and not the central bisection of the stones. The car became a drum and we could hear the sonorous musical tone inside the car. :)

After 17 kilometers of swimming, pushing and walking [ there was little bit of driving too], we reached Chattru. We inquired about the road ahead and all people could do was look at our vehicle and tell us that road is OK. Next destination was Chota Dara [छोटा दड़ा] and road between Chota Dara and Chattru was horrible and it felt nothing less than sliding on pointed sharp stones in a cloth less form. We almost gave up after that, the car moved at a speed of 12KM per hour and it took 50 minutes to cover 10 kilometers. The sight of river Chandra on one side in the backdrop of the Great Himalayas was breathtaking. The word cold desert actually made sense there as all we could see was snow, water and stones. The sight of another village like place made us happy. The place was Batal [बातल] and it was going to become a semi-permanent residence for few of us in the next few days. The place had two Dhaba's [ढाबा] and both of them were nothing less than the best restaurants of the world.

Varun+Ujjwal+Snow+बेवकूफी

.Snow+Posers.

.Batal Dhaba+Aunty+Tarun.

.Snow Habitat.

After staying there for a while, we decided to go towards the Holy Chandratal Lake [चंद्रताल], birth place of the Chandra River. It was just 14 kilometers away from Batal and Kaza was still 88 kilometers away from there. We decided to see the Chandratal and halt for a day at the Batal Camps/Tents.

The road towards the lake was unexpectedly well and good, good is an understatement actually. However, we got to know that few MLA's of Himachal Pradesh were visiting that place and that was the main reason behind the good condition of that road.

Road to the lake was beyond the scope of our Maruti or any Maruti for that matter, so we decided to walk the remaining 5 kilometers. However, a group of tourists asked us to join them in their Tata Sumo and we were happy again. The lake was full of policemen and सरकारी बाबु and as it was about to rain, we decided to make it fast and straight.

.Men at Work.

.This is Road.

One of the MLA's happened to be our college senior and we were happy to meet him. Actually, he spotted us and asked us about our whereabouts. Considering our condition, we looked less like tourists and more like mentally challenged people thrwon into the snow deserts. [This is what a small car can do to you in that part of country] He must have thought of helping us but he was very Eco-friendly and he asked us to join the lunch party with him, which we did not refuse ;)

While coming back, we met a foreign couple on Bullets. The lady and his man, both were on their independent Bullets and it was then the Murphy Law struck. It struck badly and the life was never same again :X

.The Holy Chandratal Lake.

Coming Soon: Murphy Law and Snow and Lack of Money and Struggle