6-Day Itinerary for Kalpa, Sangla, Chhitkul
If you’re looking for dramatic Himalayan landscapes, charming villages, apple orchards, and some of India’s most scenic mountain roads, the Kinnaur Valley should be on your list. During our six-day road trip, we explored Narkanda, Kalpa, Sangla, Chhitkul, and Shimla, witnessing breathtaking views of the Kinnaur Kailash range and experiencing life in some of Himachal Pradesh’s most beautiful villages.
Before you travel
The one important point to remember is to carry an Airtel or a Jio sim. Vodafone/VI does not work in the region while Airtel and Jio have good connectivity.
Our Itinerary as follows:
Day 1: Drive from Chandigarh to Narkanda. Overnight at Narkanda
Day 2: Drive from Narkanda to Kalpa. Overnight stay at Kalpa
Day 3: Sightseeing in Kalpa followed by drive from Kalpa to Sangla. Overnight stay at Sangla
Day 4: Day trip to Chitkul and Rakchham village. Overnight stay at Sangla
Day 5: Drive from Sangla to Shimla. Overnight stay at Shimla
Day 6: Spend day in Shimla followed by drive back to Chandigarh
Day 1: Drive from Chandigarh to Narkanda. Overnight at Narkanda
We set off from Chandigarh for a seven hour drive towards Narkanda. This would be via Shimla though we took a route which bypassed the main city of Shimla. We hired a car for the full trip for 6 days costing us 28,000. The car owner Mr Sahil Sharma who also owned the travel agency Maa Narmada Travels was somewhat known to me as he drove me back from Dharamshala to Amritsar a few years back.
We checked into Hostellier Narkanda. It is a great place to stay for travelers like us. Just that one has to remember that it does not provide some of the services of a regular hotel, most important thing to note is that there is no lift. So we needed to climb to the third floor with all the luggage. Since the place mostly hosted backpackers, one was expected to carry their own luggage to their rooms. However, seeing us as more orthodox travelers with suitcases, the hotel staff generously helped us with the luggage to our room. We booked a room with a gorgeous view of the mountains.
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Day 2: Drive from Narkanda to Kalpa. Overnight stay at Kalpa
Today was the big day where we undertook the six hour drive to Kalpa in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. As we went ahead, the snow-capped mountains appeared from time to time. And then the most significant part of the drive once you enter the Kinnaur valley through the iconic Kinnaur Gate, immortalized by a giant natural arch formed by the mountain. The road which follows is supposedly one of the most dangerous ones as per social media narrative but it was far from so. The road was smooth, well maintained and quite safe. If you look on your left one can see a deep gorge, an arial view of which makes it look dangerous.
As we approach Kalpa via Rekong Peo, one can see the gorgeous Kinnaur Kailash range all around acting as the mighty guardian like all Himalayan ranges do. We reached Kalpa right on time for a golden sunset. We checked in at the Zostel Kalpa. Luckily this time we had to only climb one floor. The Zostel is a bit far from the marketplace. So we just walked around a bit and retired for the day.
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Day 3: Sightseeing in Kalpa followed by drive from Kalpa to Sangla. Overnight stay at Sangla
Our plan today was to checkout of the Zostel, visit the Kalpa marketplace and head off to Sangla in the afternoon. We started off with a walk to the market. Just a little ahead of our hotel, there was a trail of steps which would take is to the market place down the slope. The trail had homes of the locals on either side and we were happy to bump into quite a few of them. There were homestays on and of course had the most gorgeous views of the Kinnaur Kailash range.
The marketplace is most famous for the Buddhist monastery and the Narayan Nagin Maata temple, along with some great cafes. Some of the prominent cafes are the Negi Sisters Cafe and Cafe Kalpa. However we settled ourselves at the Manirang Cafe and treated ourselves to some heavenly mutton momos.
We set off for Sangla at around 3:30 PM. Sahil picked us up from the market place. This would be normally a two-hour journey. However as we progressed into the journey climbing up the hill, we encountered a major blockage. This was no traffic jam but traffic stopped due to scheduled roadworks. The roads were being patched up so traffic was stopped for a scheduled one hour slot starting at 4:30 PM. With nothing else to do we enjoyed the wait basking in the great views of the valley. The weather cooled down due to the sun hiding behind the mountains with a gentle breeze blowing. We resumed our journey and reached Sangla at around 7 PM, with the evening just setting in. We checked in at the Zostel Sangla and were greeted to the first rains of the trip. The evening was spent in the Zostel common area having tea, pakoda and chatting with fellow travelers each on a diverse mission. One couple biked all the way from Delhi, another couple come for trekking and conquering peaks. A group of working girls from Bengaluru just on a girls trip. Each group discussing plans for the next day. We got our desired inputs for Chhitkul, which we planned to visit the next day, from the biker couple who had just been there during the day. The Bengaluru girl group asked us if they could join us for Chhitkul. However, we had to politely decline as we would not be having space in our car for three extra persons.
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Watch our Experience in Narkanda and Kalpa
Day 4: Day trip to Chhitkul and Rakchham village. Overnight stay at Sangla
Chhitkul is called the last village of India. Or one can even say its the first village of India. Its basically the last village on the Himachal – China border in the region. Sahil had told us the evening before that we needed to start early. The road condition is not the best and a late start might result in getting stuck in traffic. We thought we would have a quick breakfast and start off. However, this was no hotel. As we came down from our room, we saw the kitchen locked up and no staff in sight. We learnt that the kitchen opens only at 8:30 AM. Just as we were about to leave it did open enabling us to grab a coffee and start off.
The road was slow and bumpy as expected. We were travelling from an altitude of 8,600 feet to 11,000 feet. These are landslide prone areas and definitely not ideal to drive during the monsoon, which was thankfully still a month away. The drive took us two hours as we were welcomed by the board “I love Chhitkul” with the Baspa river flowing down below. We drove past Chhitkul towards the last check-post of the Indian Army. The road was now at its best as we were now in the jurisdiction of the Border Roads Organization (BRO). We reached the last check-post. We were allowed to travel a further 4-5 Kms by registering ourselves but we decided against it. We returned to Chhitkul and settled for a brunch at what was called the last dhaba of India or Hindustan ka Aakhri Dhaba. After a kadi chawal meal we set-off for our return journey back to Sangla.
However, on the way we planned to stop at the beautiful Rakchham village, with its beautiful meadows. We visited the Escape Adventure meadows which was a campsite and had a cafe too. The meadow looked beautiful with a brook flowing by and a wooden bridge to cross it and walk over to the other side. One could go for long hikes on these meadows with snow capped visible all around. After spending an hour there and a bit of time on the Baspa riverside we made it back to Sangla.
We went to the market place in the evening. There were some interesting shops from where we purchased some shawls but the highlight was the Kasho Bakery. It is a must visit in Sangla. It has some extremely tasty bakery items like patties, pizza and pastries. And I loved the cream roll.
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Day 5: Drive from Sangla to Shimla. Overnight stay at Shimla
It was time for our return journey now, a seven hour drive to Shimla. We started off early as instructed by Sahil. We drove through the hills, Kinnaur gate and finally reached Shimla well before sunset at around 4:30 PM. We booked ourselves at the Hotel Willow Banks. After all Zostels, we were finally at a proper hotel so we thought it would be a smooth ride as we would just drive in and get pampered by the hotel staff. However, this was on mall road where no cars are allowed. We got off at the car park near the tourist lift, hired a porter and walked to the hotel. The hotel was indeed top class having a colonial charm having its own brewery. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset and after enjoying a high tea we set-off for a walk in the iconic mall road.
The mall road resembled a festival, such was the massive crowd. It seems all of India had arrived in Shimla for the weekend. The weather was totally un-Shimla like and most were in t-shirts. The old world charm was still unparalleled.
Day 6: Spend day in Shimla followed by drive back to Chandigarh
Plan for the day is to spend the day in Shimla and head off to Chandigarh in the evening. We woke early and went for a walk to mall road, right up to the church and back. The place provided a different feel minus the crowd. We intended to have breakfast at one of the cafes. However, none were open so early so we had to have the breakfast at the hotel on return.
We went for another round of walk this time with the crowd in the afternoon. Shimla has had a bad name over the past few years because of being crowded but mall road still maintained its charm thanks to cars staying away. We loved the walks and definitely would be game to return here during the autumn or winter.
We started for Chandigarh at around 4 PM and in three hours we reached our hotel, thus ending a memorable trip to the hills. We released Sahil and would be on our own the next day before we board our late evening flight to Pune.
If you’re planning your first trip to Kinnaur Valley, Kalpa, Sangla, and Chhitkul offer the perfect combination of breathtaking scenery, peaceful villages, and unforgettable Himalayan roads. We’d happily return, especially during autumn when the valley turns golden or in winter when snow transforms the landscape.
