Tribal circuit : By Road
Tribal circuit By Road
The tribal circuit is laid out on ansh.iped road route with its two ends at Shimla and manali on a perfect north-southb from each other. From delhi-to-delhi circuit should take between 10-15 days(pending on how many offshoots are exPiored. These are high-altitude roads nth of the route is over 3,000 m, at some Points over 4,000 m - with the kunzum pass at 4,551 m, the highest point on the route. Fuel is available at shimla narkanda, rampur, powari, kaza, tandi, manali.
Due to the steep gradients a 4-wheel drive vehicle is preferable and it is advis¬able to make altitude acclimatisation stops during the first two or three days. If travers¬ing the circuit from shimla, overnight stops for this could be at shimla (2,206 m), sangla (2,680 m), chitkul (3,450 m) and kalpa (2,960 m). The best season is from mid-june to mid-october after which the roads are snowbound. Shimla to kaza can be done at any time of the year. Food along the route basically comprises tibetan thukpas and mo-mos. Kaza has more options. The altitude tends to suppress thirst and appetite, so eat and drink water at regular intervals.
Starting from shimla, this is how the route progresses (figures in brackets are dis¬tances in km from shimla and those in italics are distances from the point of diversion): Shimla (000) - drive on nh 22 to sumdo in a north-easterly direction. From theog (032) an offshoot leads off to jubbal (65), hat-koti (85), rohru (96) and chirgaon. This sub-circuit is known as the pabbar trail. From theog head to narkanda (64) to sainj (94). From here you are driving along the sutlej river valley. Rampur (127) at 924 m, is the lowest point on the route. Subsequently the climb becomes more or less steady. At karchham is a diversion on the right for an excursion to the baspa/sangla valley to sangla (18) and chitkul (44) (1-2 days).
Karchham to powari (210) to marang (239). Turn right for thangi (10) which is the preferred starting point for the kinner
Kailash trek. Morang to jangi (241) to puh (261). At puh the sutlej gives way to the spiti river which goes almost all the way to the kunzum pass. Right turnoff (296) leads to nako (7) with a lake and rest house. This is above 3,500 m. Sumdo (319) is where you leave nh 22 which goes to kaurik on the tibet border.
Tabo (351) is the site of the famous mon¬astery. Right turn (376) is the branch off to the old fort at dhanker (7) and a little ahead, at attargo, is a left diversion across the river bridge into pin valley to guling (20) on the pin river. This is the land of ibexes and snow leopards and also the culmination point of treks coming out of parbati valley over the 5,319-m-high pin parbati pass and from kaf-nu over the 4,000 m bhawa pass.
Kaza (398) town comes after a long time. On a right offshoot nearby is kye monas¬tery (10) and kibber (21), a typical tribal vil¬lage. From kaza to the dizzy heights of the kunzum pass (474) where a half day trek branches northwards to chandratal lake, one of the sources of the chandra river and starting point of the 3- day trek to baralacha pass on nh 21 going to leh. Descend from kunzum pass to chhota dhara (491), above 3,000 m, and gramphoo (517). Join up nh 21 coming up from kullu valley and go to tandi (559) along the chandra river. You can divert at tandi into pangi valley with its interesting temples. Further on nh 21 is keylong (567) and jispa (585), the turnback point. You can trek from darcha, a village near jispa, to padam village in zanskar over shinkun la (an 8-day trek). Backtrack to gramphoo and drive over rohtang pass (528) to descend to manali (585) on nh 21.
