Trip report on Kinnaur and lahaul spiti ,Himachal Pradesh India

Delhi

It's much better than expected , although too much trashes , I think I have never seen that amount of trash in my life, especially in the morning I went to the bus station!

Shimla

Pretty European style buildings in a hill top/cliff ,somehow similar to traditional French building but nothing much really to see, may be is because I didn't have time to see.

Rekong peo

The bus ride from shimla to rekong peo was my all Favourite drive, but trashes and pee smell kind of ruin it. i can't believe how huge and close the mountains are. The road was the worst I had travelled in the country too I think.And a beautiful place with big mountains around.

Kalpa

Such a chill place and more upclose with the snow capped mountains and , lots of Apple trees. But it's hard to commute as you always need to take a bus to go to rekong peo to get things/ take bus to go other places and the local buses might not be so convenient if you are in a hurry. I took 4 times during my stay and it was a fun ride with loud Hindi music playing.

Rekong peo to manali via rampur and mandi ( reroute due to permit not given)

I took an overnight bus so can't see much of the sights, but in the morning it wasn't very impressive but still beautiful view of mountains , it was kind of forestry with lots of trees , the bus was delayed and slept under pitch dark mountains for 7 hours as the mountain road was blocked by a big tree. And the bus driver drove with a fast and furious speed on high mountains blind curve/edge one way route, multiple times I fear for my life! And it ended with the terrifying journey from a creeper bus conductor alone infor almost two hours( more on that latter).

Mandi to manali

It was a surprised some stretch of mountains roads are very very beautiful along the river , I wasn't expecting that.

Manali

Manali was somehow favourite town I visited . It has chilled vibes, lots of shops, restaurants and tourist facilities . It feel like some kind of European towns, not exactly but it's kind of different from other India towns that I have been .

Manali to rohatang pass

Another Favourite drive, truly gorgeous! It is definitely world class mountain drive and view, you don't need to go European countries to enjoy this really. I couldn't get enough, and no trashes too!

Rotang to kuzum pass

Another beautiful drive , some areas has some water overflows hence lots of rocks , and snow capped mountains view

Spiti valley ( over view)

If I have to be honest, don't judge me. It's my only option . It's really beautiful place and drive, snow capped mountains sometimes, rugged lands and huge mountains and valley. But to be honest, I felt the views to be all look the same at some point, being a valley. It also has to do with I have seen such similar landscapes not Long ago in Iran ( they are very incredible and pretty diverse with landscapes changing but spiti is slightly feel much closer to mountains and I found them to be very similar. If you have never seen such landscapes, it will definitely be amazing. But it's fun to spot small villages, animals and people are incredibly welcoming. It's incredibly beautiful part of the world And dream do come true seeing Tibetan Buddhist monastery and people , but I think three days there is enough for me.
My travel routes are Delhi- shimala- rekong peo- kalpa- manali- spiti - manali- Delhi by public bus solo.

So if your question is spiti valley via shimla or manali ?, my answer will be if you have at least two weeks , do it via shimala, or else definitely manali route. I encountered with AMS( short of breathe, headache, nausea, can't breathe well, vomit and diherra) but u never know u will get the same traveling from shimla.and also I notice the route from shimla to have more prone to land slides/block, I encountered a few times , mostly around an hour to clear it .

The disadvantage of taking public transport , buses in himachal is that they are not air conditioned which for me isn't a big issue but you have to wake up everyday as early as 5 am , because the bus leaves once a day and you want to be there early to secure a seat.