Cyling tour Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti

Hello All

I’m hoping for some advice and information regarding a cycling tour my mate and I are doing this July and August from Shimla –Kinnaur – Spiti – Manali – Leh. I have most of the information I need for Spiti and Manali-Leh, but I’m looking for some answers to the following questions covering the Shimla – Kinnaur –Spiti section…

1)Is the Hindustan-Tibet road from Shimla a busy road in terms of traffic? If so is it possible to avoid it by riding backroads to Rekong-Peo? I would like to ride back roads in this area regardless, but not if I lose too much time doing so because I only have a limited time to complete my route.

2)I hear this area is subject to landslides and as I’m going during monsoon (I have no choice) I’m a bit concerned that I may not even be able to get through to Rekong and on to Spiti – can somebody put my mind at rest on this please? What are the conditions of the roads now? Are they open?

3)Can anyone recommend any backroads which are worth cycling and don’t detour from the route too much in the whole of the Shimla – Kinnaur – Spiti region?

4)Which maps do you recommend – I have Nelles North India and a Himachal Pradesh map – both are not great

Note: We are traveling on tough touring MTBs with camping and cooking equipment.

Any advice /tips/info on the whole of the route will be appreciated

Thanks
Andypolls

2) Sorry, your fears are spot on. I had to abort this route in 2005. Cyclists were being choppered out by the military after being trapped between destroyed bridges and washed out sections of road.

Kinnaur roads can be nerve-wracking due to landslides even in the dry season--it's not the place to go at the height of the monsoon. You would probably enjoy the cycling more if you spent most of your time in drier Ladakh and Zanskar, perhaps starting in Manali and heading north to Leh via Rohtang Pass (or fly to Leh and cycle to Manali). You could make a sidetrip to Spiti from the north side of the Rohtang Pass--very pretty scenery all the way and worth doing in both directions. From Leh you can make lots of exciting rides, such as Dha village, Zanskar, Nubra Valley, and Pangong Tso.

Your maps are probably as good as it gets, though you can check bookshops in New Delhi and Manali.

On my ride in the region, I never felt the need for cooking gear as I was able to get at least one hot meal each day from restaurants. Tents and sleeping gear are worth taking for convenience and safety. I rode nearly three months in the region and still ran out of time--it's a fantastic place to travel in for both culture and mountain scenery. My story is at http://www.arizonahandbook.com/India_H1.htm</a>

In answer to some of your questions. We rode this route in June (monsoon) July last year. There was one road closure but a detour was in place- this was around Narkanda.

1) Yes the road from Shimla to Recong Peo is very busy. From Theog to Rampur there is a back road, which adds distance but is quiter- it is the road that passes clos to Utter Pradesh. I will dig out our maps (just moved house) and try and give you some more specific detail. It's worth it to cycle along the Sutlej- it is stunning! Around Tabo there is a big military camp- we (and others) were escorted through this area my the army- they were freindly and no hostility was shown at all. Spiti is again stunning and a lovely ride.

2) Not sure of current conditions but these roads were open last year. See above. I am not sure how open these roads are now however we were given advice of who to talk to in Shimla to get current road conditions- these were correct. My advice to you would be to talk to the locals and be prepared that you may have to change your plans when there.

3) See above.

4) Try and get hold of the old US Army maps- they are out of print but worth looking for even though they are a little dated. We had the Nelles maps you have got and we also had another map- again I need to dig it out to find the name of it- they were expensive (from memory £28 per sheet) and had to be ordered.

Thanks everyone for the info. Obsidian, please do provide details of the backroad - much appreciated - do you have a local contact in Shimla I could email? I have thought about a different route quite a lot, but this route seems the best for acclimatization, considering I haven't rode at this sort of altitude before and I'm intruigued by the changing landscapes from Kinnaur to Spiti, however I may have to consider changing route....

I rode the Hindustan/tibet road as far as the bottom of the Jalori Pass in July 2005 and thought the traffic was pretty light. The Jalori had some pretty serious landslides - we got through OK, but it wasn't for the feint hearted. Apparently further along the Tibet road the landslides were a lot worse, but the road was being rebuilt higher up the side of the valley which should reduce problems.

I got some pretty useful advice on and India-specific site whose name escapes me at the moment. Something like IndiaMike? Will post again if I remember it.

The Nelles map is the best I found, but I added detail to it from my reading about the region. It may not show massive amounts of detail, but it's pretty accurate as far as it goes. Bear in mind that there are few roads so navigation is never difficult.

As for acclimatisation, it's something I struggle with but I managed OK. I did Jalori/Rohtang/Baralachla and then on to Leh and was OK until the Baralachla.

Cheers PQ - you're correct - the site is Indiamike and I posted there already....

http://www.indiamike.com/india/showthread.php?t=34216<BR><BR>