All routes
Cold desert and monasteries

Spiti circuit

Kunzum La into Kaza, then the Sutlej road out through Tabo, Nako and Kalpa. Fewer permits, no less remote.

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Distance
750 km
Recommended
9 days
Highest point
4,551 m
Best time
Jun–Oct
Difficulty
Challenging

The ride

Spiti is the quieter cousin of Ladakh: a high cold desert of mud-brick villages and thousand-year-old monasteries. The circuit leaves Manali over Kunzum La, with a detour to the crescent lake at Chandratal.

From Kaza the road follows the Spiti river down past Dhankar and Tabo to Nako, then joins the Sutlej through Kinnaur's apple country to Kalpa. The Kinnaur road is cut into cliffs in places — ride it in daylight.

Ride the loop clockwise so you gain altitude slowly, or reverse it when the Kunzum side is still snowed in early in the season.

Destinations on the way

  1. 1

    Manali

    2,050 m

    Start and finish of the loop.

  2. 2

    Kaza

    3,800 m · 2 nights

    Spiti's main town and the base for its high villages.

  3. 3

    Tabo

    3,280 m · 1 night

    A monastery founded in 996 AD.

  4. 4

    Nako

    3,660 m · 1 night

    A stone village around a small lake.

  5. 5

    Kalpa

    2,960 m · 1 night

    Apple orchards facing the Kinnaur Kailash range.

Popular attractions

Kunzum La

4,551 m

The gateway pass from Lahaul into Spiti.

Chandratal

4,300 m

The crescent "moon lake" just off the road.

Key Monastery

4,166 m

Spiti's largest monastery, stacked on a hill.

Dhankar

3,890 m

A cliff-top fort and monastery above the river.