Frozen Spiti Backpacking Edition with Lingti Waterfall

Wake up to the cool mountain air as the bus nears Shimla early next morning.

Reach Shimla by morning, ready to start your Spiti Valley backpacking trip with fresh energy.

Continue your journey from Shimla towards Rampur, passing through misty pine forests, with the Sutlej River valley opening up below you.

You pass small hill villages, apple orchards and tea stalls where the driver often stops for a break.

Reach Rampur by afternoon, a busy old trading town set on the banks of the Sutlej River.

Check in to your hotel, rest a while, and get a short briefing on the route and days ahead.

Later, you may step out for a short walk by the river and explore the local market at your own pace.

Enjoy dinner and an overnight stay in Rampur.

Wake up early and have a hearty breakfast before the long drive into the cold desert begins.

On this Spiti Valley backpacking trip, you enter the region through Sumdo Border.

The road runs along a river gorge, with bare brown mountains rising sharp on both sides.

After a couple of hours, stop at Nako Lake, a small high-altitude lake ringed by willow and poplar trees.

You can witness the frozen lake due to extreme winter and spin the little prayer wheels lined along the path.

You can also peek into Nako village, with its narrow lanes, old mud houses and a small monastery worth a quick look.

Then continue towards the Ka Loops, a string of sharp hairpin bends cut right into the mountainside.

Further ahead, snow-dusted mountains and frozen streams frame the stark, rugged landscape of Spiti, with small villages scattered across the cold desert.

Reach Tabo by evening and check in to your homestay.

Spend the evening exploring the snow-lined village lanes and enjoy a warm dinner.

Overnight stay in Tabo.

Wake up early in Tabo and have breakfast then set off on this Spiti Valley backpacking trip leg.

Start with Tabo Monastery, built in 996 AD and one of the oldest working monasteries in the Himalayas.

Walk through the dim prayer rooms and look at clay statues and wall paintings that monks still use for daily prayers.

Then drive up to Dhankar village, once the royal capital of the old Spiti kingdom, with mud homes stacked on a steep slope.

Climb up to Dhankar Monastery, built on a rock spur 300 m above the valley, once used as a fort to watch over Spiti.

From the monastery courtyard, look down at the confluence of the Spiti and Pin rivers, frozen solid in winter months.

Next, stop at the Lingti waterfall, which freezes into thick ice columns and draws ice climbers from across India in winter.

Walk close to the ice formations, but watch your footing as the path near the fall gets slippery with packed snow.

Later, drive on to Kaza, the sub-divisional headquarters and largest town in Spiti Valley, and check in at your homestay.

Enjoy dinner and an overnight stay in Kaza.

After breakfast in Kaza, we set off on a full day of sightseeing on your winter Spiti trip.

First stop is Key Monastery, perched on a hill with white walls stacked up like a centuries-old fort.

Inside, you can see old murals, thangka paintings and a prayer hall where monks still chant.

Climb to the rooftop for wide views of the Spiti River valley and the brown hills around it.

Next, drive to Chicham Bridge, one of Asia's highest suspension bridges, hanging over a deep gorge.

Walk across for a good look down at the ravine, and get your photos with the snow-draped mountains behind you.

Then continue to Kibber village, a small settlement known for snow leopard sightings in winter.

Walk through the village lanes and get a chance to spot Himalayan blue sheep nearby.

By evening, drive back to Kaza for dinner.

Overnight stay in Kaza.

Have breakfast at your stay in Kaza, then start a short drive out to the villages on the plateau above town.

The road climbs to Langza, a small village at 4,400 m known for fossils of sea creatures found in the fields here.

Spot the giant golden Buddha statue in Langza, standing on a hill with white snow peaks behind it.

Walk around the fields where locals still find shells and fossils, proof this land was once under the sea.

Next, drive to Komic, one of the highest villages in the world linked by a motorable road, sitting at about 4,587 m.

Step into the old monastery at Komic, a small white and red building with prayer wheels and quiet rooms full of thangka paintings.

Then head to Hikkim, home to the world's highest post office, run out of a tiny room at over 4,400 m.

Send a postcard home from Hikkim and get it stamped here, a favourite thing for every Spiti Valley backpacking trip.

Drive back to Kaza by evening, with the hills turning gold as the sun drops behind the mountains.

Overnight stay in Kaza.

Have breakfast, check out and then begin the long drive out of Spiti towards Kalpa.

The road traces back along the Spiti River, past Tabo and the small villages you passed on the way in.

Then the route climbs through Pooh and the Kinnaur hills, with the valley turning greener as you lose height.

Watch the landscape change from snow-covered mountains to misty pine forests along the way.

Reach Kalpa by evening, a quiet village known for its apple orchards and close-up views of the Kinnaur Kailash peaks.

Step out at your stay to watch the last light turn the high peaks golden, a view locals say changes colour every few minutes.

Enjoy dinner at your stay and a comfortable overnight stay in Kalpa.

Have breakfast and take a last walk around Kalpa before checking out of your stay.

Board your transfer towards Shimla, winding down through the Kinnaur valley and pine forests.

Reach Shimla by evening, and explore the Mall Road area at your own pace, if time permits.

Board your overnight transport from Shimla towards Delhi, bringing your Spiti backpacking tour to a close.

We reach Delhi by around 08:00 AM, tired but full of memories from the trip.

From here, you head home, carrying stories from one of the best Spiti Valley road trips you will ever take.