I was planning to visit Himalayas for a long time and almost decided to go to Ladakh; but the last moment I changed my plan and decided to visit Lahaul & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, which wasn’t a popular destination like Ladakh. I was pretty much impressed with the landscape images which I have seen in web. Since the month of July, the Monsoon was already at the peak in South India and I haven’t gone for a trip for a long time. Probably this would be the first time I have planned a trip only for landscape photography.
I flew to Delhi and from Delhi to Manali overnight journey by bus. We were a group of 16 members and we met in Manali by noon and the plan was to start our journey next day from Manali -> Lahaul -> Spiti. I was bit worried about the acclimation since I wasn’t familiar with the high range places over 10000 feet from sea level.
We started our journey from Manali early morning on the next day. I wanted to sleep as much as possible while travelling because I was really concerned about the acclimation. But I couldn’t do that; the journey was that beautiful; where ever you watch you can find the Snow mountains, valleys with mountain flowers, cascades, cliffs. It was just fantastic! We passed Rohtang Pass and Kunzum Pass and on the way we stopped some places and took few interesting shots.
There wasn’t a proper road to Spiti. It was broken and in some places the road was washed out because of the water streams. In most of the gaps the roads were narrow and in some areas there wasn’t enough space for two vehicles to cross pass. Even in some areas it was even deadly, just one vehicle can go with difficulty. Only experienced drivers can drive like that. But to be very frank I never enjoyed a road trip like this. It was one of the most beautiful experience.
Here some of the Himalayan peaks on the way. Most of them shot from the vehicle, handheld while driving…
That night we stayed a place called Kaza. The stay and food was comfortable there but I couldn’t sleep properly because of bad headache. I took some time to adjust with the new environment; I was fine with the climate; but the acclimation was making me weaker initially.
Next day we have visited Key monastery which was a beautiful place. The monastery was enclosed with peaks and the magnificent Spiti River Valley on one side. The view from the monastery was incredible. I heard that there was a time when Buddhist Monks used to come to this place walking all the way. What could be adventurous than this? When we visited the place, for our luck, the light beam was falling on the monastery, which gave a different feel to the picture. We climbed a height of around 100 feet to get a clear view of the monastery and the area. It was too tough for us because of oxygen deficiency.
Next day we went to scenic Langza Village and stayed with the villagers at a homestay. I was really tired because of acclimation and I couldn’t roam around there much as I was off for one day. There was a statue of Lord Buddha and a small temple. Unfortunately I couldn’t go there and this was the only place I missed.
The next day’s plan was to visit a lake, Dhankar; but unfortunately the road was closes and we could go there. So as an alternative we visited the highest village of Asia – Komic. Here we visited two Buddhist monasteries and the place was surrounded by the beautiful peaks which made it really special.
The journey from Komic to Chndratal was really adventurous. The road were broken and the people worked together to make it drive-able. Chandratal was the best place (in photographic perspective) in this trip. The reflection of the mountain in the lake; it was an amazing sight. we have reached around 5.00 evening there. The lake wasn’t calm. I was composing all the possible ways in my mind. After 7.00 it became so calm without any waves in the water; the best for photographing the reflection. There wasn’t much details in the sky; otherwise it could have been more dramatic.
In the night by 10 we have tried photographing the star trails. This was the first time I was trying to shoot stars and luckily I came really good. I have never seen such herd of stars with clear sky and the milky-way; My goodness, I never seen such a night in my entire life. It was the first time I am watching this much stars together!!!
We decided to visit the lake in early morning again; and that time the sky was bluish; it gave a different dimension to the snaps. The lake was calm and clear which gave a perfect reflection in the water. No words to explain – heaven of earth!!!
We came back to Manali with lot of good images and lot of beautiful memories…
I always feel that I am not able to capture the beauty in to my camera and this time I was pretty sure that I couldn’t even recreate 1% of it. But still this was one of the best trip I ever had and I am pretty sure I am going to carry forward this memories safe in my heart for a long time 🙂
You can see the images from this trip, Here
I genuinely appreciate your piece of work, Great post.