Adventure Trek n
Tours
The compelling fascination with the
highest mountain range on Earth, the
Himalayas, draws thousands of climbers
and trekkers from around the world each
year.
Discover Treks offer an 18 day jeep
safari through Himachal Pradesh
including the remote areas of Spiti.
This trip is comfortable camping at its
best. The group, limited to a maximum of
12 people, travels in 2200 cc Peugeot
engine Armada jeeps; sleeps in base
camps with deluxe 12' tents with real
beds (or in special 16mm fiber tents
with foam carry mats and in rest houses
where there are no base camps) and is
served first class meals of Indian,
Chinese or Continental cuisine. A jeep
support vehicle with staff and supplies
accompanies the group.
Discover Himalayan Gallery
Shimla: The 'summer capital' of British
India sprawls along a crescent-shaped
ridge at an altitude of over 2100 metres
in southern Himachal Pradesh. This was
the most important hill station in India
before Independence. The famous main
street, The Mall, runs along the crest
of the ridge and is lined with stately
English-looking houses, Christ Church,
Gorton Castle and the fortress-like
former Viceroyal Lodge. Along the narrow
streets which fall steeply away from the
ridge are colourful local bazaars.
There's an interesting walk to Jakhu
Temple, dedicated to the monkey god
Hanuman. It's located near the highest
point of the ridge and offers fine views
of the town, surrounding valley and
snow-capped peaks and literally hundreds
of monkeys.
Lake Nako : Lake Nako and the village, at
2950m, with it's beautifully sculpted
terraced fields, grand views and gallant
efforts at forestation, could be reason
enough to call this unique location the
Crown of Kinnaur. It also has it's own
monastery commemorating the sojourn of
Padmasambhava, the first disciple of
Buddha to Tibet, A check post at Sumdo,
only 20 kms from the Chinese border, is
the official entry to Spiti.
Kaza: Kaza is the administrative centre
of Spiti and its busiest market-place.
People are friendly and curious, their
hardiness sometimes an unintended
mockery of foreign tourists suffering
for the first time the effects of high
altitude and the intense dryness of the
air and environment. Hospitality is
built into the tenuous condition of life
and any request for assistance is
generally met with humour and sympathy.
Ki Gompa (11km. from Kaza) : A side road
from Kaza leads up to Ki (11kms) and
Kibber (18kms) monasteries, and
continues to Gete, the highest
electrified village in the world. From
there it is possible to walk down a very
steep path back to Ki. This monastery is
dramatically situated on the steep
slopes of a rocky outcrop. The monks are
most welcoming and busily engaged in
construction maintenance, toward which
any donation is gratefully accepted.
Kullu Valley : The fertile Kullu Valley
in northern Himachal Pradesh rises
northward from Mandi and Aut and heads
toward the 3978-metre-high Rohtang Pass.
In the south, the valley is little more
than a narrow, precipitous gorge, but
further north it widens into a beautiful
region of stone-fruit and apple
orchards, and terraced rice and wheat
fields. This idyllic scene is dwarfed by
huge deodar forests and the snow-crowned
rocky peaks of the Parvati and
Barabhangal ranges. The valley is home
to friendly, devout and hard-working
hill people, and to Tibetan refugees and
nomadic shepherds.
Shimla to Spiti : From Shimla, the route
descends sharply down to the Sutlej
River and the ancient Hindustan-Tibet
Road. Another 70 kms of increasingly
winding road perched above the Sutlej
river and we reach the confluence with
the Baspa river at Karcham. We follow
the Baspa, first narrow and steep for
18kms, then widening at Sangla village
in a forested and cultivated valley of
several villages. Orchards of apple and
apricot are in full bloom and many
households are still spinning and
weaving woolen blankets with intricately
designed borders on primitive wooden
looms. The fortress temple of Kamru,
with it's beautifully carved wooden
portals, clings precariously to the
mountainside above Sangla watching over
the peaceful activity of the valley.
Continuing up the Hindustan-Tibet road,
one passes, Rekong Peo and Kalpa, the
administrative capital of Kinnaur.
Taking the side road up to these towns,
an indescribable panorama of mountains
emerges to the East. The centrepiece is
the holy Kinner- Kailash, one of the
seven holy Kailash peaks spread across
the Himalayas. At the confluence of the
Sutlej and the Spiti rivers, the valley
narrows alarmingly into the Dobling
gorge and the road winds upward to the
border of Spiti district.
Spiti : Spiti is a high altitude desert
and home to the endangered snow leopard
presently under study in the adjacent
Pin Valley National Park. The Spiti
river flows south-east for 150 kms
originating in the glaciers above
KumzumLa, the 4900m. high pass leading
to the district of Lahaul. From Sumdo
the valley widens and recent efforts at
forestation provide patches of soft
green in an otherwise harshly eroded
landscape. About 30 kms. upstream, the
important monastery town of Tabo is a
suprise in its simplicity. The
single-storied sandstone and mud
buildings of this 1000 year old
monastery houses a most valuable
collection of Tibetan Buddhist religious
art. In the eleventh century, the Spiti
area was called The Kingdom of Guge and
was a part of Tibet. In July and August
1996, celebrations took place in Tabo at
which the Dalai Lama performed the
Kalachakra Initiation Ceremony. The next
monastery of historical importance is
Dankar. Impressive from a distance and
providing an excellent view up the Pin
River Valley; ufortunately, close-up
view shows the buildings are in a state
of disrepair.
Manali : Manali is the main tourist
center and a favored haunt of Indian
honeymooners. The area around Manali is
still one of the most beautiful in the
valley, with hot springs, waterfalls,
temples and pretty villages.
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