Spiti Valley · Summer 2025
Summer Spiti Circuit — June 2025
The first full-circuit run of the season. Kunzum La opened five days before we rolled, so Chandratal was still ringed with old snow and the Batal stretch was pure meltwater. Eight days, twelve guests, four vehicles, no missed nights.
By the numbers.
- Distance driven
- 1,120 km
- Time behind the wheel
- 44 hours
- Highest point · Kunzum La
- 4,590 m
- Passes crossed
- 3
- Participants
- 12 guests
- Vehicles
- 4
- Crew on route
- 3
- Nationalities
- India, Netherlands
The line we drove.
Shimla → Sangla → Nako → Tabo → Kaza → Komic → Chandratal → Manali
- 01
Shimla (2,276 m)
- 02
Sangla (2,700 m)
- 03
Nako (3,662 m)
- 04
Tabo (3,280 m)
- 05
Kaza (3,800 m)
- 06
Komic (4,587 m)
- 07
Kunzum La (4,590 m)
- 08
Chandratal (4,300 m)
- 09
Manali (2,050 m)
Departure dates
- This report
What the mountain gave us.
Weather summary
Warm valley floors, freezing dawns above Kaza.
- Pre-monsoon showers between Rampur and Karcham on Day 1
- Clear skies from Nako onward — Spiti stayed in rain shadow all week
- Meltwater peaking daily between 13:00 and 17:00 near Batal
- Daytime range
- +16 to +26 °C
- Night range
- −1 to +8 °C
Everything that stopped us.
| Day | Location | Issue | Action taken | Downtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 06 | Batal water crossing | Second vehicle stalled mid-crossing at peak melt. | Snatch recovery from the far bank, air intake checked before restart. | 30 min |
| Day 07 | Gramphu–Manali road | Slow puncture on the support vehicle. | Plugged roadside, pressure monitored to Manali. | 20 min |
From the lead vehicle.
Logged by
Expedition Desk, Rohru
Lead vehicle & route control
- 01
Crossing Batal before noon is not a preference, it is the plan. By 15:00 the same channel is a foot deeper and twice as fast.
- 02
Nako is the right first high-altitude night. Guests who ask to push straight to Kaza always regret it.
- 03
The Komic–Hikkim–Langza loop is best done on the rest day, not tacked onto an arrival day.
- 04
Chandratal camps were still using generator heat this early in the season. Sleeping bags rated to −10°C were the correct call.
Frames from the log.
Kinnaur corridor, Day 02 
Batal crossing, Day 06 
Chandratal camp, Day 06
Watch the route
as it ran.
Footage shot on this departure by the crew and guests.
Summer Spiti Circuit — Expedition Film
What they said after.
Average 5 / 5 from 2 verified participants
First Spiti trip and I would do it again tomorrow
Everything was planned around altitude, which I did not appreciate until I saw other groups struggling at Kaza. The Batal crossing was the most fun I have had in a car.
Shreya Iyer · Pune ·
Genuinely local operation
The crew knows every dhaba, every mechanic and every shortcut. Chandratal in late June with snow still on the ridges was unforgettable.
Bram de Vries · Utrecht ·
Take the report
with you.
One page: route, distances, altitude, weather, recovery log and guide notes — formatted for printing or sharing with the people you are travelling with.
Other departures
we logged.
- Read the report
Spiti Valley · Winter 2026
Winter Spiti Expedition — February 2026
Nine days into the cold desert with Kunzum La shut and Kinnaur as the only way in. Coldest recorded night was −27°C at Langza. Two vehicles ran studded tyres, all six carried chains, and we used them on four separate stretches.
- Read the report
Ladakh & Zanskar · Summer 2025
Trans Himalayan Expedition — August 2025
Eleven days, six 4x4s and eighteen people from Manali to Hanle and back down through Tso Moriri. A dry August meant the Zanskar crossings were unusually kind, but the Shinku La approach still handed us two water crossings above knee depth and a full day of graded gravel.
- Read the report
Ladakh · Summer 2025
Chumathang Plateaus Expedition — July 2025
Six days on the eastern plateaus with the Indus for company. Wide, fast gravel, thin air the entire time and almost nothing between fuel stops. Two guests flew into Leh and needed a full extra acclimatisation day before we moved east.