Heading to the Spiti Valley on our Royal Enfield Bullet

Well, it has been a while but finally here is a piece about our trip around the Spiti and Kinnaur Valleys on our Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle...

The Rohtang Pass had long lost its snow on the road and there was just a thin covering on the north side of the pass.  The weather for the end of October was looking stable but cold with an exception that  on the first day we would get a bit of snow, so as long as we were ahead of the final weather front we should be fine and so off we went to the Spiti Valley.

As we headed through the Lahaul Valley we stopped at a Dhaba in Chattru for a quick cup of hot, sweet chai.  We also found out that this was his final day which would mean we definitely needed to get over the Kunzum La Pass before the snow arrived.

We found the same thing at the last Dhaba in Batal just before the Pass.

So again after another hot and this time very sweet chai we set off for the pass.

The view in front of us was looking favourable and it was only when I looked over my shoulder did I see the dark ominous clouds gradually catching up with us!

By the time we crossed the Kunzum La we knew we were now safe and with the clouds being stopped by the 4590m high pass. What we had now was deep blue skies and a fierce sun that was trying to fry your face. 

The valley floor lies at an altitude of 3800m and the first nights basic hotel in Losar was pretty hard going, the temperature plummeted below zero and I was suffering a bit from the lack of oxygen.

By the time we got to Kaza I was much better and the village was a little warmer.  Our hotel was styled more like a hostal in South America and it really did bring back some memories of Cusco, Arequipa and La Paz.

We also headed up to a remote Buddhist Monastery near Comicc where they were having a festival.

All the local villages came to watch and take part in the ceremony to exorcise the demons from the area!

We had seen similar festivals on tv but to experience it first hand was something else.  The villagers also fed us and we were made really welcome.

We climbed up onto the flat roof of the Monastery to get a great view of the proceedings.

At the end of the ceremony we headed back down to Kaza and prepared for our ride through the rest of the valley.

We caught a few glimpses of the river and of course the geology of the Spiti Valley is something else

The final gorge has no road and so after gaining over 1000 vertical metres by riding countless numbers of switch backs, we got amazing views of mountain tops covered with hanging glaciers.

We had met Jochum and Martina, a German couple who had driven their Mercedes van all the way from North Germany, through countries like Turkey, Iran and Pakistan just to get here.  As there was hardly any traffic on the roads because it was very late in the season it was good to stay together and to share the experience - even if Jochum did have problems understanding my Tiroler dialekt!!

After heading back down to the river we got stuck at exit of the valley due to Border Roads Organisation trying to make the road wider by blasting into the cliff wall.

The Spiti Valley did not disappoint!  We had tried to get here on Enfield's years ago but the snow arrived early and the Kunzum La Pass was closed for 10 days as they had over 2 metres of snow.

Next was the Kinnaur Valley and one of the most exposed and unstable roads on the planet….

…then try again!!

Chamba and the River Ravi

After the early snowfall in the Lahaul Valley we decided to head further West from Manali and over to the Chamba Valley.  The journey was an eye opener in itself, the green Himalayan foothills provide some stunning scenery but it is the endless valleys and ridges you have to go in and out, up and over with the faint chance to getting some tarmac to sooth the body!

As we approached the last pass of the day, we took a lunch break to find this sign close to the restaurant.  It made us laugh….

A vegetarian Thali is such a wonderful lunch, especially when you are on the road!  This dhaba (restaurant) had a great set up.

We arrived in Chamba and found a stereotypical HPTC accommodation on the edge of town.  The next day saw us head up the Chamba valley in search of whitewater.  

The road was pretty sketchy in a few parts and of course the buses of Himachal do not take any prisoners when it comes to getting in their path!

We headed a fair way up the valley and it was soon becoming apparent that the dam companies had really got hold of the Chamba Valley and have raped it of its water. They have diverted everything through tunnels in the mountainside.  This may sound good to some people but for the locals this could really be the start of something quite sad and also terrifying!  We have seen first hand what the same system of dams has done to the Kinnaur Valley where whole mountainsides have slid forcing roads to be built high into the mountains and villagers wondering whether their homes will be next to disappear!

We finally found some whitewater to run, well we thought we did but we had to wait for one of the dams to open for us to finally get some action!  It felt as though we were waiting for hours for the dam to open up and the river to start to rise.  Everyone passing bye was asking whether we had permission and who was allowing us to kayak the river!

Finally the river started to rise and within 40 minutes we were kayaking the River Ravi and encountered some sweet whitewater.  The Ravi itself has good volume and you definitely have the feel you are on a Himalayan River.

Some pushy, long rapids with classic BIG holes that you wanted to avoid.  The top part of the section was steep and in the town of Chamba itself came the crux rapid.  The longer you took to scout the line the more people started to stop whatever they were doing and watch the live action down on the river!!

I do not think Ute has paddled with such a big audience before but she styled the rapid.  The cheers were coming from pretty much everywhere, from the bridge, peoples houses and of course down by the riverside!

After letting a few locals have a try at kayaking in a huge eddy at the bottom of the main rapid we continued on down. 

The rapids were now getting bigger but the pools were also getting longer so we could easily get our breath back, especially when I dropped Ute into a hole that I was getting worked in!  Luckily my boat put Ute onto the perfect line and pushed her out of the hole, then after a few more cartwheels I popped out, rolled up and we paddled on!

There were still a few more rapids left before the river flowed into the huge lake caused by the biggest dam on the river below Chamba.  The water was a fantastic colour and the sun was shining, what could be better!?

At the take-out, Vipin was waiting for us with the engine running just incase we had any problems but no-one seemed to care!  The Police were not around and the locals just look at you in bewilderment that you would actually want to go voluntarily into the river!!!

We had to take a photo of the signs that are in the Chamba Valley.  Luckily we were not punished but actually rewarded with a great day section of whitewater in the far West of Himachal Pradesh.

The journey back to Manali did not disappoint and it was a highlight to go back to Chamba after our first visit years ago on an Enfield Bullet.  That time we came over from Lahaul via the Saj Pass, I am glad we were heading towards Dharamsala staying in the warmth of the Himalayan foothills and lets not forget the views - absolutely stunning is all I can say!

Erstens kommt es anders, zweitens als man denkt….

Gut angekommen in Manali freuten wir uns auf einen Monat kajaken, ausrasten und mit unserer Enfield Bullet die Gegend zu erkunden.
Unser "Basecamp" war natürlich wieder das Tourist Hotel - sozusagen unser Zuhause hier in Manali. Die Blumen standen in voller Blühte und um unsere Terrasse herum war ein Farbenmeer aus gelb, rot und orange. Die Familie Thakur hatte sich wieder einmal übertroffen und einen wundervollen, einladenden, bunten Garten erschaffen. 

Nach ein paar Tagen Ruhe, hatten wir uns auf ein Ziel zum Kajaken geeinigt. Wir wollten ins Lahaul Tal, um die Flüsse Chandra und Chenab zu paddeln. Doch während wir unsere Ausrüstung zusammen packten, Essen und Benzin für die mehrtägige Expedition kauften, änderte sich das Wetter schlagartig und eine Front von Pakistan brachte Regen und kältere Temperaturen. Am nächsten Morgen zeigten sich die Berge mit einer frischen weissen Schneedecke. Doch schon am Weg zum berüchtigten Rohtang Pass lichteten sich die Wolken und ein atemberaubendes Panorama zeigte sich im Sonnenlicht.

Wir kamen an einer Gruppe Strassenarbeiter vorbei, welche kurz die Arbeit unterbrachen, um auch die ersten Sonnenstrahlen zu geniessen.

Die Strasse fahrbar zu halten ist eine schier unendliche Arbeit, da jedes Jahr Teile davon wieder durch die Schneeschmelze oder den Monsunregen zerstört werden. Dieser Jahr war ersteres dafür verantwortlich, da der Monsun in Himachal Pradesh relativ schwach ausgefallen war.

Nicht alle Arbeiter vertrauten auf die Wärme der Sonne, eine Gruppe Frauen hielt sich lieber durch die Arbeit warm - hier wird Schotter von Hand mittels Hammer erzeugt!

Wenn man in Europa Häftlinge dieselbe Arbeit machen liesse, würde dies gegen die Menschenrechte verstossen! Hier in Indien ist es der normale Alltag für viele!!

Und wenn die Menschen nicht bereit wären, diese extrem harte Arbeit zu verrichten, wären zahlreiche Orte speziell im Norden Indiens nicht zu erreichen. 

Die Frauen hatten Recht, den die Sonne blieb uns nicht lange erhalten. Schnell änderte sich das Wetter wieder, die Wolken zogen weiter ins Tal und die Temperatur bewegte sich auch wieder nach unten. Im Nebel fuhren wir über dann Pass und nach ein paar Kehren Richtung Lahaul gab ein kleines Wolkenfenster den Blick ins Tal frei. Was wir sahen gefiel uns nicht, da auf dieser Seite der Schnee bis zum Talboden liegen geblieben war! Nach 2 weiteren Kehren entschlossen wir uns den Rückweg anzutreten. Es hatte wohl wenig Sinn, hier zu versuchen gegen die Kälte zu kämpfen, wenn man diese schönen Füße doch mit Spass paddeln möchte. Ausserdem hat Himachal Pradesh ja auch noch anderes Wildwasser zu bieten - auch mit wärmerem Klima!

Unsere Entscheidung wurde bald als die Richtige bestätigt! Während wir über den Pass fuhren begann es schon wieder zu schneien. Die Indischen Touristen aus dem Süden freuten sich sehr darüber - die meisten hatten noch nie Schnee gesehen und schon gar keinen Schneefall!!!

Uns interessierte dies recht wenig. Wir wollten nur an dem ganzen Chaos von geparkten Autos, und dem Verkehr mit Autos, Yaks, Schafen, Ziegen, Pferden,… vorbei und zurück nach Manali, um einen neuen Plan in die Tat umzusetzen!

 Plan B wurde der Fluss Ravi im Chamba Tal…...

If at first you do not succeed….

We arrived in Manali looking forward to a month of kayaking, chilling and of course riding our Enfield Bullet around the valley.

We were back in the Tourist Hotel, our home from home you could say!  The flowers were out and our terrace was an array of red, orange and yellow.  The Thakur family put a huge effort into making the garden really warm and welcoming.

However, it was not long until we had made a plan to head into the Lahaul Valley to kayak the Chenab and Chandra Rivers.  However, within a day of getting our kit ready, buying our food and petrol for the expedition the weather quickly changed and a front came in from the West in Pakistan dropping the temperature and also a lot of rain.  The next morning we were greeted with fresh snowfall up in the mountains.  As we were driving up the notorious Rohtang Pass the clouds broke and the sun started to burn through.  The views were unbelievable...

We passed a crew trying to keep the road open until the end of the season.  Every year there is substantial damage to the road either from the Spring snow melt or from the monsoon rains.  This year it was the former as the monsoon had been particularly weak in Himachal Pradesh.

The snow had reached the road maintenance crew during the early hours but it seemed the best way for the women to stay warm was to break more stones to secure the road wall to stop it collapsing altogether.  Back in Europe if you had convicts breaking stones to build roads it would be against their human rights, in India it is a job!!!!

Take nothing away from these road builders their job is horrendous but they are a huge integral part of the machine that keeps India's northern roads open for all sorts of traffic into some of the most extreme terrain you would find on the planet.

As we headed further up to the pass the weather started to change for the worst.  The clouds were coming in and the temperature again started to drop.  We crossed the pass with very little visibility, it was only as we started to drop height that we finally saw the whole of the Lahaul Valley in a blanket of snow.  It took roughly two hairpin bends later for us to decide that this was not a good idea.  With snow all the way down to the river and the next cold front pretty much above us we realized that it would be more of a fight against the extreme cold than kayaking a sweet river and as there is no need to go boating in the snow especially when in another part of Himachal there will be sun, warm temperatures and whitewater.

We crossed back over the pass and our decision was looking at becoming the right one!  

While the Indian tourists from the plains were playing in the snow for what was most likely the first time they had ever encountered snow and also now snowfall...

……we were trying to get past the parked cars, traffic both which includes yaks, goats, sheep and everything that is the circus of the Rohtang Pass!

The snow was falling and we wanted to get back to Manali and hatch a new plan.

 That plan was the River Ravi and the Chamba Valley…...