Best of Kinnaur and Spiti Travels | part 8 | Yoga at Chandra Taal Lake

Hi,

The story has reached almost its end. If you are new to my blog, let me give you a quick recap of this adventure. Himalayan hinterlands are a major tourist attraction, but due to the required permit and limited access period, many people are unable to experience this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, which I recently had. Therefore, I started to share my story and experience with you here, so that it is beneficial for you and me, and the community as a whole.

As told in my earliest post, my journey starts at Shri Khand Kailash Peak Trek, where I met 2 brothers, Naren and Rahul, who later became friends from this trip. On our first day, we visited Sangla and Chhitkul, the last Indian village.
On the second day, we took a long bike ride back from Sangla to Nako Lake.

The third day was spent reaching Tabo, and further visits to Dhankar monastery, Kaza, Kee, Kibber village, and Langza Village. On the 4th day, early morning, we visited Komik village- the highest motorable village in the whole world, and crossed the Kunzum Pass near to evening. This is where our story ended in the last part.

Reaching the Chandra-Taal

We were not sure if Batal would come first or the diversion to the lake. Descending from Kunzum Top was as easy as gravity; no fuel was burnt. However, this is not recommended as the brakes do not work on some vehicles with the key off. The road is wide, but dusty, and with curves and curves after every 50 metres. Have a look.

(zig-zag descent from Kunzum Top)

(Rahul and Naren on their Pulsar, Kunzum temple on left in the background)

I had heard about the crazy streams that we had to cross on the road leading to Chandra Taal lake, but we wouldn't know how crazy they were until we really crossed them. We rested for a few clicks at the diversion point. This is the point where the road again comes close to a river, not Spiti, but the Chenab River. Spiti River runs on the other side of the Kunzum pass, and we had left her behind.

(board showing the diversion from the Gramphu-Batal-Kaza road to Chandra-Taal, river below is Chenab)

(Look at the glacial erosion, the road diversion to the left)

The road is wide enough only for small vehicles, like cabs; moreover, one can topple over if one doesn't remain on the ruts formed with tyres. They were so deep, enough to get a jump if crossed from one to the other. The first major stream was only about a kilometer distance, made my shoes and pants wet. One has to be very careful while crossing the streams, look for the water level, and don't risk if it reaches 2 feet.

(Crossing the water stream)

Naren took these pictures, showing our adventure at its peak -- On the way to Chandra Taal Lake.

Stream flows a few metres down and merges with the Chenab River. A small valley is formed due to the river, and it is very beautiful. Total peace, wow! Have a look.

Booking a Tent for Night Camping at Chandra Taal Base Camp

After covering this 11-kilometer stretch,  we reached the base camp of the Chandra-Taal. Tents were pitched at various spots on this plane ground of not more than 150*150 square metres. A police man was on duty, after making our entry, he suggested one camp to us.

The price of the stay was 600 rupees per person, and night and morning meals were included. The toilet was combined for all, and totally a temporary arrangement. Some camps charged about 2000 rupees and had a separate toilet facility inside the tent itself. Also, electricity was available in those tents. We did not have to worry about the electricity as we carried a power bank, also stars are more beautiful without an electric bulb, anyway.

We booked the tent at around 4:30 PM, and we had enough time to visit the lake 2-3 kilometers further from the base camp. We put our heavy bags inside the tent and rode our bikes on a zig-zag road that ascended towards the Chandra Taal Lake.

 There were 10-12 vehicles at the stop. One has to walk about 300-500 metres from the vehicles' stop to the lake.

A board by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department at Chandra Taal reminds visitors of the lake’s sacredness and high-altitude location at 4,290 meters above sea level. Bathing or swimming is prohibited, and caution is advised—especially against roaming under the influence of alcohol—to preserve the sanctity and safety of this holy site

At Chandra-Taal, I tried Yoga!

This is how beautifully the Chandra Taal Lake, Spiti, Himachal, welcomed us.

Tourists at Chandra Taal Lake in the evening. 

As you see in the picture above, there were about 20 tourists, mostly Indians. The lake water appears blue, the same as the sky above.

We lay out our bodies flat at the lake bank and waited for people to disperse. Then a bird came near to me. He was fearless. I had never been so close to a bird in my life. I felt thankful to this bird. It graced me with its closeness and made me feel as if I was safe enough to be trusted. Feeling trusted by a strange bird was definitely a big compliment.

We observed that the number of people was not decreasing; a big group had arrived for filming a video for a song, perhaps.

Yoga at Chandel-Taal

I had this idea of doing Shirsha-asanaa, and wanted to be clicked at this beautiful place. It was once in lifetime opportunity. Also Naren is near to master of the Yoga, you won't believe me, what I am going to show you here. Few clicks were clicked at the place where we were lying, but the sun was setting in the same direction, so pics were not that good, except they would make wonderful silhouettes. Please don't try it for yourself at such places, because if you break you neck or back, there is not much of help available. So, make sure that you are confident about whatever you are doing.

(thanks to Naren, for clicking my yoga poses, see his yoga poses below)

We walked to the other side of the lake, so that we could click some pictures without other people. Now sun would be in the back of the cameraman.

Resting for a while and few more clicks.

Back to Base camp and Night

As the sun was moving down towards the mountain, temperature dropped further. One can not stand outside without a jacket. We tried to soak the last rays on the way down to the base camp.

A view of the base camp from higher vantage point on the road to lake.

A biker group looked amazing on that zig-zag road leading from lake to base camp down below.

Tents at the base camp.
We were offered simple rice and daal at dinner. It felt suicidal to get out of the tent at night, cold wind was furious. Sky was overcast with the clouds so no luck with the stars. We were given Kambal and Quilt, so night was quite comfortable inside the tent.

We started early in the morning at around 5:00 AM. Reason was that our next destination was to return back to our normal life, but this last stretch of about 40 kilometers from Batal to Rohtang would be the toughest among the whole trip. There would be numerous water streams to cross, and they swell up in the noon. Let's keep that part for the story for the next post.

Thanks for visiting.