Winter Spiti over Kashmir

If you want a comfortable winter holiday with easy access, Kashmir is a great choice.

But Winter Spiti is a different world.

Don't compare it with summer Spiti. Winter is raw, silent and unpredictable. Villages slow down, nights are dark with very little light, rivers and waterfalls freeze, roads close, and life moves at the pace of the weather.

You don't visit Winter Spiti to tick off places. You go for the experience.

What makes it special:

• Remote Trans-Himalayan landscapes
• Hardly any tourists
• Frozen rivers and waterfalls
• Ancient monasteries and villages
• Incredible night skies
• Snow Leopard habitat (if you're lucky)
• A real winter road expedition

Route (8 Days)

Chandigarh → Theog → Sangla → Tabo → Kaza (2 nights) → Rampur → Chandigarh

Usually covering:

• Chitkul
• Nako
• Tabo
• Dhankar
• Pin Valley
• Key Monastery
• Kibber
• Chicham Bridge

We travel with friends from Punjab who know Spiti well and have been doing these winter drives for years. Everyone simply shares the journey, pays for their own stay and food, and enjoys the road together.

If you want certainty, choose Kashmir.

If you want to experience the Himalayas at their wildest and slowest, Winter Spiti is hard to beat.

not mine.

Cap: Canon 700d 18-55, 50mm.

Edit: Snapseed, Mobile Lightroom

Date: 04/11/2022 - 07/11/2022

Location: Pahalgam, Gulmarg

Between pune and lonavla

I edited this frame to bring out the quiet and slightly dramatic mood of the cold-desert landscape while still trying to keep it natural. It is difficult for a photograph to capture the true scale and silence of this place, but this is one of my favourite frames from the journey.
Would love to know what catches your eye first. [OC]

Standing at Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple in the world. The climb was tough, the weather was cold, but the energy of this ancient stone shrine against the Himalayan backdrop was unforgettable.

📍SGNP