Delhi / Spiti

The full circuit, eight days

Manali in, Shimla out. The hardest and best trip on this list.

Aditya

Day by day

1
Delhi to Manali
Overnight Volvo. Sleep on the bus, the next day is long.
2
Manali to Kaza
Twelve hours through Kunzum La. Brutal, spectacular, and the altitude hits in the last two hours.
Watch out
Do not attempt this the same day you arrive in Manali. Acclimatise for a night first.
3
Kaza, doing nothing
A full day at altitude before going higher. This is not a rest day, it is a safety day.
4
Key, Kibber, Chicham
The monastery at dawn, then the bridge. Short distances, thin air.
5
Langza, Hikkim, Komic
The fossil village, the world's highest post office, and a postcard nobody expects to receive.
6
Kaza to Tabo
Down the valley. Tabo monastery is a thousand years old and almost empty.
7
Tabo to Kalpa
Through Nako and the Sutlej gorge. The road is the attraction.
8
Kalpa to Shimla to Delhi
Long drive out, overnight bus home.

Manali to Shimla, not the reverse. You gain altitude gradually that way and it matters.
The road is only open roughly June to September. Outside that the circuit does not exist.
There is no reliable ATM after Manali. None in Kaza you can count on.

Two of us on rented Himalayans, no bookings past the first night. Fast, cold, and cheaper than it sounds.

Bus up, a day walk to Kheerganga, and not much else on purpose.

Gatimaan down, back the same night. Possible, and much better than the bus tours.

This page exists because Aditya took twenty minutes to write it down. The next person is looking for yours.