Day 1 · 29 Sep
Chandigarh → Shimla → Narkanda area
We collected the Himalayans in Chandigarh and climbed past Shimla. I missed a turn while riding at the back, then reached the Narkanda area in thick fog.
Still frame from TheLazyNick Spiti Valley by motorcycle travel film: Chandrataal, 2024. Watch the film
India / Spiti Valley / The filmed trip
Eight days to Chandrataal.
From Chandigarh through Kinnaur and Spiti on a Royal Enfield Himalayan. Three falls, a road closure, one crash—and the lake I came to see.
The day sequence and incidents come from the filmed 2024 ride. Map lines are a reconstruction from camera GPS, OpenStreetMap tracks and OSRM routing, so the distances are estimates rather than odometer readings. Stay names are withheld until confirmed. This is a trip account, not current road or permit advice.
The journey / 29 September–6 October 2024
The road nearly ended before the lake.
On day five in Kaza, our organisers said a motorsport rally had closed the route to Chandrataal. It was the place I had come to see. We pushed back, left when a narrow window opened, crossed Kunzum La and waited at Batal for the last rally bike. The next morning, we finally reached the shore.
There were three low-speed falls along the way. Later, after Chandrataal, a car struck my front tyre on the highway towards Manali and knocked me down. I was unhurt and covered in dust. The film tells the full story in my own footage and narration.
Tourism index / Phase 1 pilot
The reward and the reality.
Experience / 10
9.0Visitor friendliness / 10
3.5–6.5Provisional blend / 10
5.5–7.5Sustainability
UnratedTrip evidence missingExceptional landscapes and distinctive monasteries, with the lake objective achieved and active exploration documented.
Documented riding, vehicle and coordination problems lower the practical rating. Service quality and prices lack sufficient trip-specific evidence.
Current advisories: Current access unverified · 2024 riding and support issues recorded · Official status source ↗
Why a range? Evidence, safety context & sources
14 of 17 core criteria supported · 76% of Visitor friendliness weight supported. The range preserves the full weight of three unknown criteria: food/stay quality, local pricing and actual transport/package charges. No neutral score or assumed scam rate is inserted. These are editorial research estimates, not Nick’s confirmed personal ratings or a safety clearance.
Historical evidence: Riding incidents and vehicle/support problems are documented. The blog does not supply a complete assistance account for every place and leg; no P1 no-flag or owner-approved safety finding is asserted.
Current check: Official sources checked on 12 October 2026. The road-status page still displays a 14 May 2024 update and the advisory page has no route-specific dated notice. Current pass, lake approach and bus operations remain unverified; obtain a fresh local confirmation.
Checked 2026-10-12 · Recheck by 2026-10-12
Read the calculations, blog validation and all source notes.
The documentary
Watch the ride.
Opens the YouTube player only when you press Play. Watch on YouTube ↗
The 2024 route
The road we took.
Hover a stop for a preview. Click or choose a place to explore its reward, travel friction and evidence while the film plays.
Whole trip / 10Experience 9.0Visitor friendliness 3.5–6.5Blend 5.5–7.5Provisional research · current access unverifiedLoading the route map. The day-by-day text below is available without it.
Route reconstruction: own camera GPS, OSRM and OpenStreetMap data. Map tiles © OpenFreeMap; road data © OpenStreetMap contributors. The map is historical, not a live navigation route.
Copper markers have researched pointers. Other markers show route context.
2024 group trip / route overview
The reward and the reality.
Why it’s worth it
Exceptional landscapes and distinctive monasteries, with the lake objective achieved and active exploration documented.
What to plan around
Documented riding, vehicle and coordination problems lower the practical rating. Service quality and prices lack sufficient trip-specific evidence.
Read the eight-day account · Full research & sources
Evidence & limits
Place pointers use the dated trip account and cited research. Trip scores are route-wide; these markers do not represent numerical place ratings or exact incident locations.
Read all source notesDay by day
Eight days, from the film.
Day 2 · 30 Sep
Narkanda → Rampur → Sangla → Chitkul
The Kinnaur road narrowed above the Sutlej. After gravel and my first fall, we arrived at Chitkul in the dark.
Day 3 · 1 Oct
Chitkul → Karcham → Khab → Nako
Daylight revealed the Chitkul road we had ridden at night. We returned to the Sutlej, turned towards the Spiti River at Khab and reached Nako.
Day 4 · 2 Oct
Nako → Tabo → Dhankar → Kaza
A morning walk above Nako was followed by Tabo and Dhankar. In the sloping Kaza hotel parking area, the bike tipped onto my boot: fall two.
Day 5 · 3 Oct
Kaza → Langza → Hikkim → Key → Kaza
The organisers said a rally would block the way to Chandrataal. We pushed back and explored the villages above Kaza while the route was uncertain. I fell a third time near Hikkim.
Day 6 · 4 Oct
Kaza → Losar → Kunzum La → Batal
The call came to leave immediately. We crossed Kunzum La and reached the Chandrataal turn-off late, leaving the rough final track for morning.
Day 7 · 5 Oct
Batal → Chandrataal → Atal Tunnel → Manali
After waiting for the last rally bike, we finally reached Chandrataal. Later, on the highway towards Manali, a car hit my front tyre and knocked me down. I was unhurt but covered in dust.
Day 8 · 6 Oct
Manali → Kullu → Mandi → Chandigarh
We rode back to Chandigarh and returned the bikes.
Where we stopped
The overnight stops.
The locations and types below are from the trip record. Property names and booking links are omitted until confirmed.
| Night | Location and type |
|---|---|
| Night 1 | Resort in the Narkanda area; name unconfirmed |
| Night 2 | Swiss-tent camp near Chitkul; name unconfirmed |
| Night 3 | Guesthouse or hotel in Nako; name unconfirmed |
| Night 4 | Hotel in Kaza; name unconfirmed |
| Night 5 | Same hotel in Kaza; name unconfirmed |
| Night 6 | Batal area; exact stay unconfirmed |
| Night 7 | Hotel in Manali; name unconfirmed |
Planning notes
What this ride taught me.
- Give the Kinnaur and Chandrataal roads daylight. We reached Chitkul after dark and saw why that was a mistake the next morning.
- Check road closures and events before committing to dates. A rally nearly changed our destination.
- Plan fuel, cash, warm layers, and a group meeting point before remote stretches. Our party lost mobile coverage around Batal.
- Choose proper riding boots and park a heavy bike on level ground. One of my falls happened in a sloping hotel car park.
For a new trip, check Lahaul and Spiti district travel information and Himachal Tourism's Spiti guide for current access and permit guidance.
The long read
What happened between Kaza and the lake?
Read the full eight-day account, route context and questions answered from the ride.
Read the Spiti story ↗Explore each stop.
Open an individual place page for nearby places, amenity searches and visitor review links. These stops come from the dated 2024 journey.
- Chandigarh
- Shimla
- Narkanda area resort
- Narkanda
- Rampur
- Jeori
- Wangtu
- Karcham
- Sangla
- Rakchham
- Chitkul Swiss tents
- Chitkul
- Spillow
- Khab (Spiti–Sutlej confluence)
- Nako
- Nako sunrise hike point
- Sumdo
- Tabo Monastery
- Dhankar
- Kaza
- Langza
- Langza stargazing spot
- Hikkim
- Key Monastery
- Losar
- Kunzum La
- Batal / Chandra Dhaba (Chacha-Chachi)
- Chandrataal turn-off
- Chandrataal (Moon Lake)
- Gramphu
- Koksar
- Sissu
- Atal Tunnel
- Manali
From Nick’s editing desk
Field notes & behind the Spiti film
By Nikhil (Nick) · Editorial notes updated . First-person account from Nick's filmed 29 September–6 October 2024 motorcycle trip; current journey planning is separate.
I went to Spiti for Chandrataal. On day five in Kaza, the organisers told us a motorsport rally would close the route to the lake. That uncertainty became the centre of my film, because the destination I cared about most suddenly seemed out of reach. We waited for an opening, crossed Kunzum La, stopped in the Batal area and finally reached the shore the following morning. The itinerary on this site preserves that sequence instead of smoothing it into a perfect tour.
We rode from Chandigarh through Kinnaur on Royal Enfield Himalayans, returning by Manali between 29 September and 6 October 2024. The first day included a missed turn and thick fog near Narkanda. The second brought gravel, my first fall and a late arrival near Chitkul. Seeing that approach in daylight the next morning changed how I felt about having ridden it in darkness. Those moments are useful context for the guide: a modest-looking distance does not explain the attention a mountain day can demand.
The camera records more than the views I had hoped to bring home. The bike tipped onto my boot in the sloping Kaza hotel parking area, and I fell again near Hikkim. After Chandrataal, a car struck my front tyre on the road towards Manali and knocked me down. I was unhurt and covered in dust. I include those incidents because they belong to the actual journey, rather than presenting the landscape as if the travelling between the photographs were effortless.
For the map, the route has been reconstructed from camera GPS, OpenStreetMap tracks and routing between the stops. The roughly 1,173-kilometre total is an estimate, not an odometer reading. Some overnight property names remain unidentified, so the published account names the areas instead of attaching an uncertain booking link. I want someone watching the film to be able to follow the journey while still recognising which details the footage and records can establish and which they cannot.
My practical lesson is to leave room for the route to change. Check current roads, events, permits and local advice before planning a new trip, and agree how a group will regroup if people become separated. The conditions of our ride are a record of 2024, not a live road report. Read the longer trip story beside the film for the daily sequence, then use the separate planning guidance for your own dates and circumstances. Reaching the lake mattered to me; having time and options to get there mattered too.