My Upcoming Solo Travel to Himalaya mountains in India in 10 days but I am having mixed feeling
Dear steemians,
A Few days ago, I have confirmed my flight to India .And I want to share my upcoming travel and share with you guys the update.
Where I am going ?
Spiti Valley
The Spiti Valley is a cold desert mountain valley located high in the Himalaya mountains in the north-eastern part of the India .
The name " Spiti " mean middle land between India and Tibet.
Why spiti ?
I have always wanted to visit to Tibet. But it's really expensive to go there, the expense of getting there and permit and all those stuffs are just ridiculously expensive. So I have decided to visit Leh , a state in Kashmir. But there are still a lot of fights going on the region and but spiti valley is basically it's cheaper , require lesser duration and more accessible than Ladakha, Leh.
The Ki Monastery in Spiti Valley. Photo: Arjun Menon
Why I am having mixed feeling ?
Because the ticket wasn't the one that I intentionally bought.
This year in Feb, I bought my first trip ticket to India, but basically the airline charged two times and refuses to return the refund.It was my first time having problem buying online and it has been making me really frustrating whenever I have to deal with them.
Terrified of having altitude sickness
I have not been to a lot of very high altitude places, but I have been to two of them , and didn't have a very good experience. Also I will be traveling alone , but in order to avoid getting AMS I plan to move slow to places to places.
To give you rough idea of the places
Kaza :Elevation:3,800 m
Chandra lake :Surface elevation:4,250 m
Isolated locations
Okay, it doesn't look so far from the capital city but since it's very cold deserted mountainous areas, this place is only accessibly 3 or 4 months in a year due to snowfall, landslides. ok great.
( via google )
No proper road/information
I have read somewhere online that the buses leave from each village early in the morning 5 am or 6am once a day. I am not really worried of no proper road situations but it also mean no proper toilets. In order to help with Altitude sickness , you are required to drink more water to stay hydrated but that also means frequent going to the toilets ( additional on my need to going to toilet often). I also have a condition where I get dehydrated easily and had terrible headaches, doctors said it is normal but I don't think it is because I don't have these problems few years ago.
Then why still going?
It also means heaven .
Right now , I am a little having mixed feeling because I have to go alone , if I have a travel partner , I don't think I will worry that much.But I always tell one thing to myself, if I have waited until the day I have someone to go with me, I will never been to those places yet.
You might think I am ungrateful , or said people are dying to go those places and you are here complaining?
The fact is that I am also human, human have feelings, doubts and fear. And I think it's okay to feel those things without feeling guilty.
And
I know it's temporary . And This too shall pass.
If you have came so far reading , I really appreciate it .And I hope you get a great day . :)
Thank you for reading..Hope you enjoy it , remember to up-vote if you like it, resteem and leave a comment of what you think.
Follow me @aburmeseabroad
Don't worry about it. Just take a few days to get acclimatized to the altitude. Don't go high too quickly.
I came back from that area a month ago and it was awesome. It feels very remote and miles away from anything. The difficulty of getting there preserves the area as from tourism as much as possible.
Dont underestimate the road conditions going east from Manali, the worst road Ive ever ridden!
thanks a lot!
hi there,
Recently in second week of July, I had this wonderful experience of riding my 100 cc bike through the region you are planning to visit. Kinnaur and Spiti both are very beautiful. I don't do that much research about the area, because I am a local from Himachal Pradesh. I felt happy when I read your post, I think you should visit this place, and better if you could have visiting in the month of July, because now it is rain everywhere. Although Spiti is a kind of desert with very less rain, but still in order to reach Spiti you probably have to face the rain.
I am sharing my 4 days and nights in Kinnaur and spiti experience here on steemit through articles. I wrote the first part yesterday only. It was about Sangla valley and Chhitkul village in Kinnaur. Next I will share about Nako lake, Tabo monastery,Dhanker monastery, Kaaza, Kee monastery(you share one photo of it), Kibber village, Langja village, Komik Village and finally Chander taal lake. I sharing the names here so that you can remember the beautiful places which you must visit.
As you are planning to go to Ladakh also, I would suggest you do it in a group of people. Because you won't find much help on those lonely cold desert roads. You can read my first post here: Four Days and Nights in the Cold Himalayan Desert- Kinnaur and Spiti - part1. Sangla and Chhitkul
and if you read it, let me know if you like it.I will post about the other places I named above very soon. All the best.
and remember to take warm clothes. Altitude sickness is not a problem in Kaaza and Spiti. The highest elevation on the whole road is at Kunzum pass(4590 m), but you do not feel lack of oxygen until you are hiking. But if you are very new to elevation, then keep the pills, and take it one day prior to you visit to the the elevated place. Larger chances of this sickness happening are in the Ladakh region. Following you for your traveling experiences.
hi, Thank you for the explanation, I don't plan to visit too many places,( kaza, kibber and dhakahar) depending on public buses avablitlty . I will be starting at manali and end at manali, Do you think I should stay in manali a little longer to get used with high altitude ( I will have an overnight sleep in manali though). I am looking into public buses timing , going to one place another to those places. do you know any?
It is a good idea to stay at Manali, a beautiful place, and also good for acclimatization. I think buses are limited on that route, better if you can rent a bike if you are a good biker, but don't if you are not, because the road is very very bad. There are number of water streams that are up to 1 feet deep. Better to opt for bus. Buses run from Kullu via Manali, and only in this summer season, in winter the Rohtang pass connecting Spiti gets snow covered.
Generally buses run in the morning time, because the streams get swelled with the higher discharge in the noon due to sun heat and therefore melting.
I will call someone to know the exact bus timings, wait for my message, I hope you are not in a hurry to know this.
Thank you very much, not in a hurry, if you can confirm , I would like to know whether I need a permit to travel those places ( manali , kaza, dhakhar , kibber), the information I found online are mixed . the bus timing I need to know is kaza to dhakhar (both ways ) and same for kibber. so that I can budget the cost of private taxi or car just in case.
So here is the update for you.
The bus to Kibber goes from Kaza at 4:00 PM and after dropping the passengers at Kibber it reaches back at kaza in the same evening.
There are probably two buses from Kaza to Reckong Peo one in morning and one in afternoon, and this part of the road is pakka road. They go via Dhanker but reportedly from a trekking distance of about 2 kilometers, and a road distance of about 8 kilometers. If you can trek that much, that won't be a problem. Yet I am not sure it can be that the bus goes via this small alternative route that runs through Dhanker itself, in that case you can step out of the bus next the gate of the monastery.
oh wow, thank you for the informations.thanks a lot.
If you want to travel by the bus, then you don't need the permit. you need it only when you have your own private vehicle.
I am trying to get that other part of information about bus from Kaza to Kibber and Dhankar, once I get, I will let you know. Kibber is only about 10 kms from Kaza, but Dhankar is somewhere near to 40 km, but road is relatively good after Kaza.
I am curious, why you want to visit Kibber? It was famous because it was the highest motorable road, but now Komik(only about 9 km from Kaza) after getting connected has become highest motorable road in the world.
Langjha(another nearby village) is also a very good option. you can stay there overnight in homestay and they charge only 600-1000 rupees(including meals) per person.
no reason , and I m up for other options too , just a few places around with great views, I will read up on the places that you mentioned.
Maybe take the altitude sickness pill.
I was staying in the highest cities in South America, around 4000+ m, and the first 2 days were like hell for me. Good thing there's coca tea lol. Now I miss the altitude, ;)
Good luck on your trip, I'd be waiting for your post!
I am worried , again of the side effects from pill. May be it will be worse than actual AMS. haha. What is coca tea? oh it makes me more worried now that you have similar experience. :( Thank you.
Coca is a plant, native to South America - Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is used by the natives for the altitude sickness, and as a mild stimulant that suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue. Also used for other shamanic purposes lol .
But it is also abused by some countries in South America by turning it into unlawful chemical (coke), that becomes a cash crop and a major product being exported illegally to all parts of the world.
I was just feeling dizzy and like drunk walking around the town of Potosi in Bolivia one night lol. It will pass, it depends on how a person reacts to altitude. Don't worry, just don't underestimate it, so be prepared.
PS Speaking of altitude and coca leaves, you just gave me an idea for a post! ;)
so , coke come from coca,didn't know lol , although I know about those illegally drugs from south america, especially from the movie. if you eat the plant, does it make you high too?
I just tried chewing the leaves just like those truck drivers lol, because they are always on the road and need to stay awake.
But I hate chewing it so I guess I didn't feel the effect. But it is good as a tea! Almost all coffee shops have the coca tea in Cusco, Peru and also often offered instead of coffee when you are visiting the local people's houses.
Though, I didn't feel high when drinking the tea, it just makes me feel relaxed. Just like the other tea lol.
I got it , thanks for you explanation.
Travel butterflies is quite normal, especially when you solo travel. The 10 days are going to go by fast.
Yes, you are right, I am gonna start packing right now .
Good Luck !!! Solo Travel to Himalaya mountains in India
thanks a lot.
Thank you and nice post
thank you for reading.
Once you are there, all fears will go away!!
Thank you very much, indeed I would be
I've always wanted to Solo Travel, but have never gotten the confidence to do so. I do very much look forward to your travel blog.
Go for it girl, it isn't that bad, as long as you have planned well and know where you are going . May be I should write things that I normally do before my solo trip ? I am not one of those people that do pack ur bags and without a plan , just go . I do like to have everything planned out, it's just my preference. Thanks a lot.
Great post!
I was traveling overland from Nepal to Tibet, I love Himalayas.
Here is my post about that roadtrip. If you're interested, I'm glad that you check it out.
https://steemit.com/travel/@liflorence/from-the-southern-foot-of-the-himalayas-to-the-roof-of-the-world
thank you very much. but I am guessing you have a chinese passport? How about foreigners, especially when my passport sucks
Yes, I have a Chinese passport. For all the foreigners, can't travel free to Tibet, you have to make a Tibet permit in travel agencies, and must follow a group travel to there. It's a bit complicated.
yes, I have read about it. and going to india was much simple.
That's true. And Himalayas Indian part is amazing as well, there are also many Tibetan who live in Leh, which is also Tibetan culture.
Oh my god - that sounds terrifying and exciting at the same time! So excited for you. Have a great time, my friend.
yeah, especially when your friends keep telling you aren't you scared to get raped? lol.. Thanks a lot.
Oh god! Are they seriously saying that? That's too harsh.