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Himachal Pradesh - A Trip to the last Indian village Chitkul

posted October 20, 2008 - 11:53am
Himachal Pradesh - A Trip to the last Indian village Chitkul

ChitkulChitkul

The trip to Himachal Pradesh started from Chandigarh by car. The route taken was via Shimla - Kufri - Narkanda - Sangla and Chitkul - Kalpa - Sarahan and back to Shimla and Chandigarh. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. The whole route was amidst scenic beauty of the majestic mountain ranges of Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh.

We drove along the Sutlej River for most part till a place called Karcham where the Sutlej river conjoins with the Baspa river. We then followed the Baspa river to Sangla. Sangla is a town based in the valley along the Baspa river in the lap of the Himalayan mountain ranges.

Snow top Himalayan Mountain ranges ChitkulSnow top Himalayan Mountain ranges Chitkul

About 28Km from the Sangla Valley is located the highest and the last Indian village in the Indo-Tibetan Border called Chitkul. It is also the last point you can travel to without a permit. This beautiful village is surrounded by the Himalayan mountain ranges on all sides and is covered totally in snow during the winters. We saw that the top of mountain ranges were still covered in snow due to a fresh snowfall in the month of September. The sight of the majestic mountains is absolutely breathtaking and awesome.

Chitkul VillageChitkul Village

The village has a population of about 700 people and rests at an altitude of about 3,435m. The mountains lead to Tibet on one side and to Uttarkhand on the other. The local people still cross the mountains on foot during the summers carrying their deity to the temple on the other side. The Indo-Tibetan Border Patrol has its presence in the village and also along the Tibetan Border in the mountains. We also got to see the Yak on the way to the Chitkul village. See Picture.

YakYak

We saw the last Indian Dhaba that boasts of serving Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. It was closed! I wondered if it ever functioned?

Last Indian Dhaba ChitkulLast Indian Dhaba Chitkul

For more info and photos on Chitkul you can visit these links:

http://www.indiatravelclub.com/trekking-in-chitkul-kinnor-valley.html
http://www.masterlyinactivity.com/spiti/chitkul.html
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/North/Himachal_Pradesh/Chitkul/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitkul

Other related articles on the road trip to Himachal Pradesh:

http://www.xomba.com/himachal_pradesh_trip_narkanda
http://www.xomba.com/himachal_pradesh_trip_sangla
http://www.xomba.com/himachal_pradesh_trip_kalpa
http://www.xomba.com/himachal_pradesh_trip_sarahan_valley_flowers

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Author: rawnak
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Comments

Road Trip to the Himalayas

rawnak - Tue, 2008-21-10 12:18 am
this was definitely a very thrilling experience. Thanks mamamia and Kukku for your comments. Yes, the roads were indeed very narrow and treacherous at most places and we were on the edge of our seats for most part of the trip. To add to all this, there were many landslides all through the route which made driving very risky as the road and the debris had not been repaired yet. The recent rainfall had created a lot of damage. The only road that was good to drive on was between Narkanda and Rampur. That was not the only thing, there was also a shortage of petrol on the way and we were given only petrol for Rs 200/-. We luckily managed to fill our tanks in Rampur, the last place to get petrol before Sangla. It had been advised to carry a 20Ltr can of petrol for emergencies, but, we had no place in the car for that! We were fortunate that nothing happened in between. We drove in my father's car, a Matiz, and it served us well all throughout. It was very cold all the way as we were driving at a high altitude for most part, and we had carried winter clothes with us. It also rained some on the first day after leaving Narkanda. Will be posting more on Narkanda, Sangla and Kalpa separately with more exciting pictures. So Look out for them.

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Nice PIcs

kukku - Mon, 2008-20-10 2:36 pm
Nice pictures there, rawnak. Welcome back. Must have been cold there! DO the Write Thing & Get Paid Here

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Amazing Himalaya Exp.

mamamia07 - Mon, 2008-20-10 1:39 pm
Looks like an amazing exp. Thanks for sharing it. Arent the roads a bit dangerous to do self driving? I remember taking the Shimla Chandigarh route (by tourist bus) many years back and the drivers seemed to be racing on those narrow mountain roads. Welcome back here! My writings here My profile here My Xomba blog

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