Leave Shimla by 07:30 to clear the Theog–Narkanda choke point before lunch traffic. The road climbs through deodar forest to Narkanda (2,708m) — stop at the HPTDC tea stall for breakfast aloo parathas (₹120). Beyond Narkanda the road descends sharply to Rampur Bushahr on the Sutlej; fill fuel at the HP-COCO pump on the bypass (last reliable 91-octane until Reckong Peo, 90 km on). Lunch at Hotel Bushahar Regency in Rampur — siddu and rajma-chawal thali, ₹250. From Rampur the highway becomes NH-5 proper, hugging the Sutlej canyon. The 60 km from Jeori to Sarahan is a slow climb of switchbacks; budget 2.5 hours. Reach Sarahan (2,165m) by 16:30 to walk the Bhimakali Temple complex before evening aarti at 19:00 — the 800-year-old wooden tower and silver doors are best photographed in slanting light. Stay HPTDC Hotel Srikhand (₹3,090–3,600/night Deluxe) right beside the temple, or Hotel Trehan (₹1,800/night) on the bus-stand road for budget. Hazard: the Jeori–Sarahan stretch is landslide-prone in monsoon; if travelling July–early September, leave Shimla at 06:00 to clear it before afternoon rain. Altitude is mild today but stay hydrated — tomorrow climbs another 800m. Don't drink alcohol tonight.

Slow morning — temple opens at 06:00, do darshan and the Bhimakali heritage walk before breakfast at HPTDC. Leave Sarahan by 09:30. The road descends to Jeori then resumes along the Sutlej on NH-5. Karcham (the dam) is your halfway marker; the road is in fair shape but expect 4-6 BRO-controlled gates between 11:00–17:00 where one-way traffic alternates every 30 minutes. Stop at Wangtu for chai and pakoras (Khanna Dhaba, ₹80), then push to Reckong Peo by 13:30. This is your last reliable fuel pump (HP-COCO and IOC, both diesel + petrol) before the Spiti circuit — top off completely. Lunch at Little Chef Cafe in Reckong Peo (Tibetan thukpa ₹180, momos ₹120). The 11 km uphill to Kalpa from Peo is steep — first gear most of the way. Arrive Kalpa (2,960m) by 16:00. Walk to Roghi village viewpoint for the first big Kinner Kailash reveal at golden hour. Stay Hotel Kinner Villa (₹2,760/night, valley-facing balcony), Apple Pie Bed & Breakfast (₹2,200), or Grand Shangri-La (₹4,500 luxury). Order trout from the Sutlej for dinner. Hazard: AMS starts here for some — headache at 2,960m is normal, severe nausea is not. Hydrate, paracetamol, descend to Peo (2,290m) if symptoms worsen. Do NOT shower with very hot water — vasodilation worsens altitude headaches.

Wake at 05:30 for the Kinner Kailash sunrise from your balcony — first light hits the 6,050m Shivling at 05:55 in summer, around 06:40 in late September. Breakfast at the hotel, leave by 09:00. Backtrack to Karcham and turn left into the Sangla Valley — the road becomes a single-lane shelf cut into the Baspa gorge for the next 18 km. This is the most exposed driving of the circuit; honk before every blind hairpin. Stop at Kamru Fort (5 km before Sangla, 200m uphill walk, ₹20 entry) — the Bushahr royal seat, 800 years old. Lunch at Sangla — Banjara Camps' day-restaurant (₹450 thali) or roadside Hotel Mount Kailash. From Sangla the road improves; the 23 km to Chitkul is pure cinema — Baspa river on your right, terraced wheat fields, traditional kath-kuni timber houses. Chitkul (3,450m) is India's last village before the McMahon-line Tibet border; you cannot drive beyond the ITBP checkpost. Visit the 'Hindustan ka Aakhri Dhaba' for chai (₹40) and the wooden Mathi Temple. Stay Banjara Camps & Retreat Sangla (₹4,450–6,000/night, the gold standard, in Sangla not Chitkul itself), Kinner Camps Chitkul (₹3,500), or Zostel Plus Chitkul (₹1,800 dorm, ₹3,500 private). Hazard: Sangla–Chitkul road has zero guardrails on the gorge side and active rockfall zones; never drive after 17:00 or in rain. Network is BSNL only beyond Sangla.

Today's the longest driving day — leave Chitkul by 08:00. Backtrack the Baspa shelf to Karcham, turn left onto NH-5 toward Pooh. The road from Karcham to Pooh is in patchy condition with active road-widening; expect dust, BRO halts, and 25-30 kmph average. Stop at Akpa for chai (₹30) and to use the last clean toilet for 4 hours. Spillow has a small dhaba run by an army veteran — the rajma-chawal is genuine Pahari (₹150). At Khab the Sutlej meets the Spiti river — there's a single-pillar Bailey bridge and a dramatic confluence viewpoint; pull over for 10 minutes. From Khab the road climbs viciously up the 'Ka' loops — 20+ hairpins gaining 1,200m. The next 30 km to Nako traverses cold-desert moonscape; carry your own water, vehicles overheat here in summer (radiator boil-overs common — keep a 5L jerry of water for the engine, not just drinking). Reach Nako (3,662m) by 16:00. Walk the medieval village: Nako Lake, the 11th-century Nako Monastery (Ajanta-style murals, free entry), the willow groves. Stay Reo Purguil Hotel (₹1,100–1,800/night, near the lake), Kharba Villa (₹3,500 boutique), or any of the homestays clustered around the monastery (Tashi Homestay, ₹650/person with dinner). Hazard: 3,662m is your first real altitude test — sleep with your head elevated, no alcohol, light dinner only (skip the rajma tonight, eat thukpa). If you wake up with a pounding headache, take ibuprofen and descend if it doesn't lift in 2 hours.

Short driving day — use it to acclimatise, not to rush. Wake at 06:00 for Nako Lake reflections (best 30 minutes after sunrise). Breakfast of buckwheat pancakes and butter tea at your homestay. Leave by 10:00. The road descends from Nako to Yangthang (3,140m), passes the Maling landslide zone — the most notorious 2 km of the entire circuit. BRO has stabilised it but in monsoon it still shifts; never stop in this stretch, drive through in one continuous push. At Sumdo you cross from Kinnaur into Lahaul-Spiti district; police checkpost will record your vehicle number (keep RC and DL ready). Hurling has a small chai stop — the apricot jam from local self-help groups is worth the ₹250 jar. Reach Tabo (3,280m) by 12:30. Lunch at Cafe Kunzum Top or the Tabo Monastery guesthouse mess (₹200 thali, Buddhist-vegetarian). Spend the afternoon inside the 996 CE Tabo Monastery — the nine temples house 1,000-year-old clay statues and murals that survived the Cultural Revolution that destroyed most equivalents in Tibet. Photography is forbidden inside the assembly halls; no flash anywhere. Caves above the village (15-min uphill walk) were used by monks for solitary retreat — still in use, do not enter the closed ones. Stay Maitreya Regency (₹2,000–2,800/night, en-suite, walking distance to monastery), Dewachen Retreat (₹3,500 boutique), or the Tabo Monastery Guesthouse itself (₹1,200 with monks' meal, book via monastery office). Evening: chant attendance at 18:00 in the main gompa, all welcome, sit silently along the back wall. Altitude has dropped slightly today — use the night to sleep deep before tomorrow's climb.

Early start — leave Tabo by 08:30. The 30 km to Sichling is paved and easy. Turn off at Sichling for the 8 km uphill spur to Dhankar Monastery (3,894m), perched on a fortress crag where the Spiti and Pin rivers meet — the most photographed monastery in Spiti for good reason. Walk up to old Dhankar (the 12th-century original, ruined but accessible, 20-min uphill from the new gompa) and continue another 45 minutes to Dhankar Lake at 4,140m if your acclimatisation is going well. Skip the lake hike if you have any AMS symptoms — coming back tomorrow costs nothing, hospitals don't exist at 4,140m. Lunch at Cafe Dhankar (the new wooden cafe at the monastery, run by the monks' cooperative, ₹250 for noodles and lemon tea). From Dhankar descend to the highway and continue to Kaza (3,800m), arriving 15:30. Kaza is the Spiti administrative HQ — SBI ATM (often empty Sundays), HP State pump (queues from 09:00, opens 09:30 sharp, carries diesel + petrol; this is your last fuel for 155 km until Tandi), market for warm clothes if you under-packed. Stay Hotel Sakya Abode (₹1,500–2,500/night, the original Spiti homestay since 1995, run by Tsering), Hotel Deyzor (₹2,625, with the best cafe in Spiti attached), or Spiti Heritage House (₹3,200 boutique). Dinner at Cafe Kunphen for Tibetan momos (₹140) and butter tea. Hazard: 3,800m sleeping altitude is the highest you've slept so far — no alcohol, no exertion after sunset, drink 4L water through the day. If you've been on Diamox since Day 4, continue.

The day everyone comes to Spiti for. Hire a taxi (₹3,500–4,500 for the full circuit, your hotel will arrange) or self-drive — but only if your vehicle has decent ground clearance, the Komic road is rough. Leave 08:00. First stop: Key Monastery (4,166m, 14 km from Kaza), the largest gompa in Spiti, 1,000 years old, 250 resident monks. Climb to the rooftop terrace for the iconic Spiti river-bend shot. Continue 8 km to Kibber village (4,205m, once the world's highest motorable village before Komic stole the title). Drive across the Chicham Bridge — Asia's highest suspension bridge at 4,145m, opened 2017. Proceed to Langza (4,400m) — the 'fossil village,' where kids will sell you 200-million-year-old ammonite fossils for ₹100–500 (genuine, the valley was a Tethys seabed). Photo stop at the giant Buddha statue overlooking the village. Hikkim post office (4,440m, world's highest functional post office) — buy a postcard for ₹10, write to yourself, and post it; takes 10–14 days to arrive home, the date stamp is the souvenir. Lunch at Komic (4,587m, 'highest village in Asia connected by motorable road') at Cafe 4587 or the Komic Monastery mess (₹300 thali). Return to Kaza by 17:00 — you've gained and lost 800m in altitude today, headaches are normal in the evening. Easy dinner, early bed. Hazard: do NOT attempt this circuit on Day 6 if you arrived in Kaza the same day — the 4,587m exposure on a non-acclimatised body is how AMS becomes HACE. The Day-6-rest, Day-7-circuit pattern saves lives.

The biggest pass day. Leave Kaza by 08:00 sharp — Kunzum Pass closes at 17:00 in summer, 16:00 by late September, after which BRO doesn't allow uphill traffic. Top off fuel at Kaza HP pump first thing (queues form by 08:30). The road from Kaza to Losar (3,990m, 56 km) is paved but slow — averages 25 kmph due to BRO works. Losar is the last village before the pass; have lunch here at Kunzum Top Cafe (₹250 thali) and use the toilet, there are NONE between Losar and Batal. Police register your vehicle at Losar checkpost. Climb to Kunzum Pass (4,551m) — 20 km of switchbacks, 18 hairpins, surface alternates between tarmac and gravel. At the top, drive the parikrama loop around the Kunzum Mata temple (clockwise, slowly, all vehicles do this — local custom). The Bara-Shigri glacier opens up on your left. Descend to Batal (3,960m), home of the famous Chacha-Chachi Dhaba — Padma Bhushan-recipient Dorje and his wife Hishen have run this dhaba for 40 years, saving stranded travellers in winter. Maggi ₹120, chai ₹30, do not skip. From Batal, the 14 km dirt track to Chandratal (4,250m) is the worst road of the trip — three river crossings, 90 minutes for 14 km. The lake itself is 1.5 km from the parking; walk the last bit. Camp at Parasol Camp (₹3,500/person with dinner+breakfast), Parashar Lake View Camp (₹3,000), or Samsara Camp (₹4,200) — all 4 km from the lake itself, no camping is permitted within 1 km of the lake (NGT order, 2014). Hazard: Kunzum closes mid-October to mid-May reliably; the Chandratal road typically opens only mid-June and closes by 15 October. NEVER attempt this segment in heavy rain — the Pagal Nala (literally 'crazy stream') between Batal and Chandratal becomes impassable for 4WDs in afternoon. Cross before noon.

Pre-dawn alarm (04:30) for Chandratal sunrise — walk 1.5 km from camp to the lake by torchlight, reach the shore by 05:30. The crescent-shaped lake (the name means 'moon lake') turns from black to navy to turquoise as the sun hits the surrounding 6,000m peaks. Back to camp by 07:30 for breakfast. Leave by 09:00. From Chandratal the road descends through the Chandra valley to Batal (re-cross, 14 km), then onward via Chhota Dara and Chhatru — this is the old Manali–Spiti road, now downgraded since the Atal Tunnel opened. Surface is rough, multiple stream crossings, but the Chandra river views are extraordinary. At Gramphu you join the NH-3 from Manali; turn right toward Khoksar — the police checkpost here is mandatory, all foreign tourists must show passports, Indians show DL. Tandi fuel pump (the only IOC pump between Manali and Leh, 105 km from Manali) is 25 km past Khoksar — top off here. Lunch at Keylong, the Lahaul HQ — Lamayuru Restaurant (₹250 thali) or HPTDC Chandrabhaga's terrace. From Keylong, backtrack 20 km to Sissu (3,130m). Stay Hotel Tandi (₹1,800/night), Marizane Homestay (₹2,200, family-run, dal-bhat dinner included), or Chandra Riverside Homestay (₹1,600, basic but lake-view). Evening: walk to the Sissu waterfall (a 5-minute drive or 30-minute walk from village) and the artificial Sissu lake created by the Chandra river dam works — popular with Bollywood crews. Altitude has dropped 1,100m from Chandratal — sleep will be deeper tonight, but layer up, the wind off the Chandra is brutal.

Civilisation day. Leave Sissu by 09:00 — the Atal Tunnel north portal is 14 km away. The 9.02 km tunnel (highway tunnel above 10,000ft, world record holder) takes 12 minutes to drive; speed limit 60 kmph, no stopping, no photos inside (CCTV-monitored, ₹2,000 fine). Emerge at the south portal in the Solang valley — you've gone from cold-desert Lahaul to lush green Kullu in one tunnel. The 30 km to Manali winds down through Solang and Palchan; expect heavy tourist traffic from 11:00 onwards. Reach Manali by 11:30. Stop at Old Manali for the obligatory final brunch — Cafe 1947 (₹450 for shakshuka and coffee), Drifter's Inn Cafe (₹350 breakfast, the same building as the famous Old-Manali-backpacker Drifter's Inn, ₹2,300/night if you want to stay), or Lazy Dog Lounge for the riverside seat. Visit Hadimba Devi Temple (1553 CE pagoda in the deodar forest, ₹0 entry, 09:00–18:00) and Vashisht hot springs (free public bath, separate gents/ladies sections) before departure. If continuing to Delhi by road, the 540 km drive is best broken at Mandi or Chandigarh — don't attempt Manali–Delhi same-day (15+ hours, dangerous fatigue). Hazard: Mandi–Manali NH-3 has had repeated landslide closures in 2023, 2024, and 2025 monsoons (Pandoh, Thalout, Nagarni stretches); check NHAI Twitter @NHAI_Official before departure if travelling July–September. Manali–Chandigarh by Volvo (HRTC, ₹1,200, 10 hours, departs 18:00) is safer in monsoon than self-driving.