Spiti Homestays in the Left Bank Villages

The village of Lhalung 

The village of Lhalung (3800 metres)  is now connected to the district headquarters of Spiti, Kaza, by a motorable road but is also possible to walk to Lhalung from Komic and Demul. We stayed at Khabrick Homestay in Lhalung run by Tashi Khabrik and his charming wife Dolma.  Tashi is extremely knowledgeable about the region and also works as a trekking guide in summer for treks across Parang La  to Tso Moriri and other areas in Spiti. He can be contacted at tashi.bodh@yahoo.co.in and +91 9418962704. Lhalung has a splendid monastery on top of the hill and for tourists visiting Dhangkar, a visit to Lhalung just an hours drive away is strongly recommended. Alternatively, the Spiti left bank trek starting from Lhangza passes through Komic, Demul, Lhalung and then onto Dhangkar.

Tashi , Dolma and their little girl outside their homestay

 In the village of Komic , we stayed at the Kunga Homestay at an altitude of 4500 metres. Kunga Chorden, a young lad of 23 years who runs the home stay with his wife provides very comfortable accommodation with good food. Kunga later accompanied us on our three day trek from Komic to Dhangkar. His phone nos are 01906 200050 and +91 9459981295. He can be also contacted through Mr Ramesh Lotay of Spiti Holiday  Adventures in Kaza at +91 9418439247/ +91 1906 222711. Ramesh Lotay is also on e mail loteykaza@yahoo.co.in 

A sunny room at Kunga Homestay, Komic

The village of Komic

For more information on Spiti and the Spiti Left Bank trek please do visit  http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2012/05/spiti-left-bank-trek-outlook-traveller.html

Himalayan Faces

 Watching from the ruins of her home - Kaule Village - Nepal after the earthquake April 2015

On my treks over many years in the Himalaya, I have been fortunate enough to photograph the people living in these remote locations and villages. Some of the interesting faces of the Himalaya are in this post.

At Tashiding monastery Sikkim - March 1987 

Porter in the Solu Khumbu April 2011

Boys from Photoksur village - Zanskar September 2007

Leh Ladakh September 2008

Samagaon - Manaslu region April 2017

Watching masked dances at Tabo, Spiti October 2011

For more photographs from the Himalaya please do visit www.sujoydas.com

The Himalayan Seasons II: Lahaul & Spiti

On the trail between Komic and Demul  in Spiti  at an altitude around 4500 metres

This is the second part of an eight part essay on the seasons in the Himalayas one part every week. This part covers Lahaul and Spiti.

December to March
It is peak winter and temperatures in Kaza can be down to -20C on some nights!  The road from Simla to Kaza along the Sutlej is kept open despite snowfall which can block the road from time to time. Some hotels and guest houses in Tabo, Nako and Kaza continue to function. For winter photography this is the time! Be prepared for delays due to snowfall and road closure.

April and May
In the valleys spring would begin in April. The apple blossoms would come into bloom especially near Tabo and o along the drive between Nako to Kaza.  From Mid April the weather is suitable for jeep safaris as the warmer days would melt some of the snow and make the passes feasible. The weather would still be cold and expect freak snow storms even in May!  

June to September
These four months are the peak season in Lahaul and Spiti. The days can be hot and sunny and temperatures can rise to 25-28C! The Kunzum la pass would be probably open in mid June and remain open until mid October depending on snowfall. It is possible at this time to make a full circuit route starting from Simla going upto to Tabo and Kaza in Spiti then across the Kunzum la into Lahaul and then down to Manali. The more intrepid can continue the circuit by following the road from Manali to Leh (two days) and finally exiting Leh either by flight or carrying on down to Srinagar making it a trip of a lifetime but you need a lot of time for this! The valleys are green in June-Aug becoming brown with the approaching autumn in Sept. Late Aug to mid Sept is  a wonderful trekking  time and good for the high pass crossings  like Kibber to  Tso Moriri across Parang La.

October and November
 There are not many tourists at this time. The tourist traffic remains until Kunzum la pass is open. Once it closes the traffic also dwindles. The first two weeks of October can be interesting as the autumn colours are quite spectacular! The road from Simla remains open and it is possible to do a journey into Spiti and return the same way.

Photography Locations
Here are some of the good photography locations:

• The monastery complex of Tabo in the early morning
• Old Dhangkar monastery and fort
• Chandratal Lake
• The village of Komic located at 4500 metres
• The drive from Kaza to Kibber via Ki

For an overview of the region please do visit my photo galleries.

The Spiti Left Bank Trek: Outlook Traveller May 2012

This is the page wise photo essay on the Spiti Left Bank trek published in Outlook Traveller in May 2012. For the full essay please do visit http://travel.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?280841 or my web site The Spiti Left Bank Trek 

Himalayas: People

Some photographs of the people of the Himalayas. For more photos please do visit my web site www.sujoydas.com

Himalayan Homestays: Spiti Lhalung Village

The village of Lhalung (3800 metres)  is now connected to the district headquarters of Spiti, Kaza, by a motorable road but is also possible to walk to Lhalung from Komic and Demul. We stayed at Khabrick Homestay in Lhalung run by Tashi Khabrik and his charming wife Dolma.  Tashi is extremely knowledgeable about the region and also works as a trekking guide in summer for treks across Parang La  to Tso Moriri and other areas in Spiti. He can be contacted at tashi.bodh@yahoo.co.in and +91 9418962704. Lhalung has a splendid monastery on top of the hill and for tourists visiting Dhangkar, a visit to Lhalung just an hours drive away is strongly recommended. Alternatively, the Spiti left bank trek starting from Lhangza passes through Komic, Demul, Lhalung and then onto Dhangkar.

The village of Lhalung 

The Serkong monastery above Lhalung village -  a hidden gem!

Tashi, Dolma and their little girl outside Khabrick Homestay

Spiti Homestays: Komic Village

On a recent trek in Spiti in October 2011, I had the pleasure to stay in some very pleasant home stays. One of them was called Kunga Homestay in Komic village at an altitude of 4500 metres. Kunga Chorden, a young lad of 23 years who runs the home stay with his wife provides very comfortable accommodation with good food. Kunga later accompanied us on our three day trek from Komic to Dhangkar. His phone nos are 01906 200050 and +91 9459981295. He can be also contacted through Mr Ramesh Lotay of Spiti Holiday  Adventures in Kaza at +91 9418439247/ +91 1906 222711. Ramesh Lotay is also on e mail loteykaza@yahoo.co.in

The village of Komic 

Our room at Kunga Homestay 

Kunga Chorden who runs the Kunga Homestay and also guides treks in the region 

Spiti Images

This is my second instalment of Spiti images in black and white. For more photographs of Spiti please do visit my web site www.sujoydas.com/spiti.

Komic village

High pass between Langza and Komic - peak of Chau Chau Kang Nilda 

Lhalung village

Monk at Kye monastery

Dhangkar - the new monstery complex

Spiti Photographs

This is a small collection of black and white photographs from Spiti. For more photos please do visit my web site www.sujoydas.com/spiti.

Komic village

Rooftop at Tabo

Ki monastery

From the Dhangkar monastery looking at the Spiti river

Spiti valley below Ki monastery

The Spars Lodge at Simla

On my recent visit to the Spiti valley I stayed for two days in Simla at the very comfortable Spars Lodge, located near the Museum and above the Hotel Oberoi Cecil. The lodge was built by Arindam Joshi in 1996 and has eight  bright and sunny rooms with a  beautiful view of the Simla hills and the valley below. The lodge is extremely quiet but yet not far from the heart of Simla. The very pleasant walk from the lodge to the Simla Mall would take around twenty minutes.

The dining and sitting area of the lodge 

Arindam is a gourmet cook himself and his menu has all sorts of delicacies which are usually not available at a hill station. We had poached trout for dinner, deliciously cooked with apple pie and ice cream for dessert!

Arindam Joshi who runs the Spars Lodge in Simla

Rooms start at Rs 700 for singles and go upto Rs 2200 for large suites.
For a stay at Spars please do contact Arindam Joshi at joshiarindam@yahoo.com or 0177-2657908 /98163-72323.
Highly recommended folks!