KINNAUR OVERVIEW

Hello Friends,

When we speak of Himachal Pradesh, very prominent destinations like Shimla, Manali, Kullu, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kangra, Bir Billing etc. come to our minds. These are the most sought after green destinations with picturesque landscapes, lush green mountains, gushing rivers, enchanting valleys & adventure sports. Invariably, a visit to the Himachal Pradesh is characterized with a 7-8 days stay covering 2 or 3 of these destinations. They offer all sorts of options like Luxury/Budget hotels, adventure sports (paragliding, river rafting, valley crossing etc), sightseeing circuits, shopping options, multi-cuisine restaurants, mall roads to loiter around  etc. What would one need, but just immerse and pamper yourselves to the fullest with every facility at your fingertips to make the vacation a memorable experience.

The downside of these destinations is that they are mostly jampacked with hoards of tourists, flocked mall roads, queues of traffic and hustle bustle at most of the entertainment zones. The maddening noise of tourists, honking vehicles, flocked shopping areas mostly impart the typical urbanized feel, which you have in your hometown.

Usually, we take a break to move away from our routine & seek solace in the midst of mother nature. You may actually ponder whether, was it worth it all to take a break & land yourself into another urban world and still pay a hefty price for it??

Today, I am going to talk about one offbeat destinations in Himachal Pradesh, which has still retained their virginity, are not commercialized & in the reachable vicinity of Himachal Pradesh.

The KINNAUR VALLEY in the state of Himachal Pradesh has still retained its sanctity of being an unspoilt, pristine destination. Nestled between the magnificent Himalayan, Zanskar & the Dauladhar ranges on the ancient trade route between India & Tibet, KINNAUR is a paradise with well conserved culture, tradition & timeless rituals.  Over a period of centuries, the rivers – Sutlej, Spiti, Baspa & its tributaries have sculpted beautiful valleys and nurtured mountain dwellings in this wonderland. Once upon a time Kinnaur, a forbidden land due to its proximity to the Tibet on its east side, was thrown open to tourist in 1989. The old Hindustan-Tibet road passes through the Kinnaur valley along the banks of river Sutlej and finally enters Tibet at Shipki La Pass.

Kinnaur offers a platter of lush green valleys, meadows, towering snowcapped mountains, dense forests & orchards of apple & apricots. The towering Shivlinga peak of the Kinner Kailash Mountain is the main attraction of the Kinnaur Valley. Once you cross over the Karcham bridge & enter the Baspa / Sangla Valley, you are greeted with breathtaking greeneries of the Sangla Valley. The Baspa river accompanies you on your right side till Chitkul, the last village on the Indo-Tibet border. Chitkul is the most beautiful village with snowcapped peaks & jaw dropping vistas.

While some destinations are completely 

Kinner Kailash Range

commercialized & some are so remote that accessibility becomes an issue, KINNAUR strikes the right equilibrium between the two. Unlike Zanskar & Ladakh which would be offbeat & would take days to reach, Kinnaur would be relatively accessible & within a day’s reach from the nearest airport / railhead. What is more, Kinnaur is not as crowded or commercialized and one can soak in the raw beauty of nature

KINNAUR is one of the twelve administrative districts of Himachal Pradesh, its administrative headquarters being Reckong Peo. At a distance of 235 kms from Shimla, Kinnaur valley is divided into 2 parts, namely the Upper Kinnaur & the Lower Kinnaur. The lower Kinnaur covers KALPA, RECONG PEO, KARCHAM, SANGLA, RAKCHAM & CHITKUL whereas the upper KINNAUR covers NAKO, CHANGO, ROPA & HANGRANG.

Night sky at NAKO LAKE

LOWER KINNAUR

  • SHIMLA- 61 kms- NARKANDA-66 kms-RAMPUR-23 kms–JEORI-54 kms-KARCHAM-18 kms-SANGLA-15 kms- RAKCHAM-9 kms-CHITKUL (246 kms)
  • SHIMLA-61 kms-NARKANDA-66 kms-RAMPUR-23 kms–JEORI-54 kms-KARCHAM-22 kms- RECONG PEO-7 kms- KALPA (235 kms)

UPPER KINNAUR

  • SHIMLA-61 kms-NARKANDA-66 kms-RAMPUR-23 kms–JEORI-54 kms-KARCHAM-85 kms-KHAB BRIDGE-35 kms-NAKO-25 kms-CHANGO (349 kms)

GEOGRAPHY

KINNAUR is located at a distance of 235 kms from Shimla. The KINNAUR district is surrounded by the Zanskar range on the East, the Himalayan range from North West to South East & the Dauladhar range forming the southern most boundary. The rivers of Sutlej, Spiti, Baspa & its tributaries forms the valleys of Kinnaur with its slopes covered with thick woods, orchards, fields & hamlets.

The mountainous terrains of the KINNAUR valley ranges from 2,320 mtrs (7,611 feet) to 6,816 mtrs (22,362 feet), the highest peak being Reo Purgyil at 6816 mtrs. Kinnaur is one of the smallest districts in India by population.

CLIMATE

KINNAUR remains cold throughout the year with heavy snowfall during the winter season, lashing rains during the monsoon & a moderate bearable climate from April to July.

 

APRIL to JUNE :- Moderate Temperatures ranging from 12 deg.C to 25 deg.C. This is the peak season in which KINNAUR sees flocks of tourists. An ideal season to travel.

 

JULY to AUGUST :- Kinnaur experiences heavy rainfall during these months. The mountainous region of Kinnaur is extremely sensitive. Road blocks, landslides are common disrupting vehicle movement on the already fragile infrastructure. Not a very good period to travel.

 

SEPTEMBER to OCTOBER :- This is one great season to travel post monsoon and experience the mind soothing greenery. This is the season for harvesting apples. Road conditions improve making your travel seamless. 

 

NOVEMBER to FEBRUARY :- The weather starts becoming chilly and the area experiences heavy snowfall. Although the road remains open, but is ever unpredictable. In the event of a heavy snowfall, you could remain stuck in the area for an indefinite period. It may not be the best of the ideas to travel during this season.

HOW TO REACH KINNAUR

BY ROAD

KINNAUR is well connected to all the major cities by Road. It has mainly 3 access routes as per below.

ROUTE 1

  • DELHI-265 kms (via NH 44)-CHANDIGARH- 114 kms-SHIMLA-61 kms-NARKANDA-66 kms-RAMPUR-23 kms–JEORI-54 kms-KARCHAM-22 kms- RECONG PEO-7 kms- KALPA-81 kms-KHAB BRIDGE-

This is the shortest & a direct route connecting Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla. Enroute, you can take halt at Shimla / Narkanda / take a diversion at SARAHAN (17 kms from JEORI) to visit the Bhimkali Mandir. While returning from KALPA, you can cross over the bridge at KARCHAM dam to enter the Sangla / Baspa Valley & reach Chitkul (42 kms from Karcham)

ROUTE 2

  • MANALI-42 kms-KULLU-158 kms-(via JALORI pass)-RAMPUR-23 kms–JEORI-54 kms-KARCHAM-22 kms- RECONG PEO-7 kms-KALPA.

If you are approaching from the Manali side, this is the shortest route connecting Route 1 midway between Narkanda & Rampur. However, this route may not be accessible during the winter season (upto March), due to snow at Jalori Pass. Alternately, opt for the longer route connecting Shimla (250 kms from Manali) & then following Route 1.

ROUTE 3

  • MANALI-95 kms-BATAL (via ATAL Tunnel)-12 kms-KUNJAM LA-18 kms-LOSAR-57 kms-KAZA-48 kms-TABO-98 kms-KHAB BRIDGE-77 kms-RECONG PEO (407 kms).

In case you are approaching SPITI from the Manali side, you can connect Kinnaur via this route & exit from Route 1. This covers the entire circle route. Mostly, people doing KINNAUR & SPITI together start from Chandigarh / Shimla via Route 1 & exit at Manali via Route 3.

BY BUS

RECONG PEO in the Kinnaur Valley is well connected to Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kaza, Chitkul, Sangla etc with the state Transport Buses on a daily basis.

BY TAXIS

Taxis are available on hire from Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kaza etc for a round trip as well as complete circuit trips too. Charges per day for Taxis are in the range of Rs.3000/- to Rs.3500/- per day depending on the season.

  • Depending on your budget, you can either engage a taxi for the complete round trip from Chandigarh – Shimla / Narkanda / Sarahan – Kalpa – Nako – Chitkul-Shimla- Chandigarh (7-8 days).
  • OR, travel by the State Buses between the below destinations and engage a local taxi to visit the sight seeing places in the near vicinity.
  • Chandigarh to Shimla / Narkanda
  • Shimla / Narkanda to Sarahan
  • Sarahan – Recong Peo / Kalpa
  • Kalpa to Nako
  • Kalpa to Chitkul

BY AIR

KINNAUR valley is well connected by Air with Shimla being the nearest Airport from the Chandigarh / Shimla route. From the Manali side, Bhuntar Airport would be the next connectivity. Considering all practicalities, Chandigarh Airport would always be the best option, since there would be no direct flights to Shimla / Bhuntar from any part of India. The best option by Air would be to reach Chandigarh Airport which is directly connected to all part of India. Chandigarh has multiple options of hiring a taxi / engaging a private car for the whole route / direct connectivity by State Buses.

BY RAIL

The nearest railhead connecting KINNAUR valley is SHIMLA although KALKA & CHANDIGARH remains more practical options. KALKA / CHANDIGARH are directly connected to the major cities in India by trains. KALKA – SHIMLA narrow gauge train would be a take about 5 hours. However, if one has to experience the toy trail journey from KALKA to SHIMLA, I would highly recommend this journey. This journey takes you through 105 tunnels & offers the best panoramic views which a road travel cannot offer. A must experience for those who haven’t gone through it. Hence if you have time with you, I would suggest you to take this KALKA-SHIMLA rail journey experience, take a halt at Shimla & then proceed to KINNAUR.

But if you are short of time, it would be advisable to disembark at Chandigarh & take a taxi / bus to the next destination (SHIMLA / NARKANDA/ RAMPUR).

SELF DRIVE

Feast your eyes on the soul soothing greenery, white snowcapped mountains, landscapes with your hands maneuvering the steering wheel. Why more could someone ask for?

I would say, if one is a driving enthusiast, nothing can be better than being on the wheel himself. Apart from the freedom, it also gives you the privacy, comfort & flexibility. Needless to mention, you get an extra driver’s seat. The downside is parking your vehicle. In most of the commercialized hill stations, parking is a major issue as designated parking places are quite far away. But with Kinnaur valley, it would be relatively easier since these places are not commercialized.

The best part is that KINNAUR does not have any restrictions on self driven vehicles, unlike the Ladakh & Zanskar Valleys.

Of course, you don’t need a 2 / 4 wheel drive SUV for Kinnaur. The regular hatchbacks & sedans can manage it quite well. But the high ground clearance ones like NEXON, BREEZA, VENUE etc would be preferred, so that you do not have to slow down on some offroad patches to avoid hitting the under belly of the vehicle.

I would highly recommend RANA TRAVELS at Chandigarh, which would give you all flexible options of no restrictions on the total kms travelled during the day unlike the more prominent ZOOMCAR, REV & other options. The vehicles are new, procedure is simple with no deposits. I have personally taken their vehicle and driven the entire KINNAUR valley.