#3 of 79 · mountain
Shimla to Spiti
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh → Kaza, Spiti
420 km · Jun – Oct · Challenging
Apple orchards collapse into a canyon, then into a high desert. Kinnaur and Spiti is the other great Himalayan traverse — narrower, rawer, and more remote than Manali–Leh.
Viewpoints
Narkanda
The first real Himalayan ridge.
65 km
2,708 m
Kalpa
Kinnaur Kailash across the orchard.
240 km
2,760 m
Nako Lake
A high village on still water.
320 km
3,662 m
Kaza
The Spiti capital, and a breath.
420 km
3,800 m
- Road
- Single-lane in places, cliff-edge, and unfinished patches near Malling and Kunzum. Not for first-time mountain drivers in monsoon.
- Permits
- Inner Line / restricted-area rules can apply near the Tibet border. Carry passport-size photos and ID.
Tips
- 01
Fuel at Reckong Peo
Pumps get sparse after Kinnaur.
- 02
One-way traffic windows
Some stretches are timed. Ask locally that morning.
From the road
1 notes
Field reports from people who have driven this route.
Driven this road? Join as a driver to leave a note from the road.
Meera K.
Jul 2025
Nako at dusk is the photograph. The cliff road before it is not. One-way windows are real — ask that morning.
