Best time to travel to Spiti & Lahaul Valley
Spiti valley is accessible from Shimla’s side throughout the year however from Manali, it can only be accessed for 5 months, from June till September.
Best time to travel to Spiti & Lahaul Valley
When to visit Spiti completely depends on what your preference is.
From June till September : The complete Spiti circuit remains open at this time. You can start your journey from Shimla and end at Manali or vice versa. While Spiti does not experience much rain, almost next to none for that matter, roads leading to the valley often get damaged or closed due to monsoon. Kunzum pass opens in late June and it takes some time for BRO and PWD to stabilize the road from Kokhsar till Kaza. The entire patch from Kokhsar to Kunzum, specially till Batal is a nightmare to drive on. Add monsoon to this and you will get the idea. Landslides often occur in this region and you may have to wait for a few hours for the road to reopen and turn back and return the next day. Road from Shimla’s side is however do not have that large of a risk of closing down, even though it is equally bad. But even after all this, you can still comfortably complete the journey and enjoy the valley.
From October till May : A trip to Spiti gets one sided during this time because Kunzum pass remains closed till June. You can start from Shimla, travel till Kaza and return taking the same road back. There isn’t much snow till December however it does get very cold. Caution is advised if you are traveling between January till March as this is the time when the entire valley is covered under a thick sheet of snow. You can hope to find whatever is left of the snow in the months of April and May but it is also the time when roads are in worst condition due to melting snow.
If a safe, uneventful trip, lush green hills and colors of Spiti is on your mind then July and August are the best months to travel to Spiti. If you are feeling adventurous and heavy snow is what you want to see, then March is the best month to go.
39 comments
Hey Vargis,
I was planning my trip this year between 2nd to 8th November.
I am not sure if I would get to see snowfall but would be great if you could help me to decide.
I was planning to cover from shimla till kaza including all the nearby small villages .
Please suggest.
Hi Neha – There won’t be any snow in early November. Better would be to plan after 15th December if snow is what you are after.
actually we are planning spiti trip from 25th june from shimla.
i want to know whether the spot booking for accomodation is possible or not .??
is it necessary to take package..?
we are 5 couples …so is it possible to get accomodation without prior bookings?
No need to take packages. Better would be to find on the spot accommodation.
hi,
Some of them are saying i could expect frequent rain in May 2nd week… is it so??
Will it be open to travel till kaza, mud village and pin valley if we start from shimla on 12th of may’19
your blogs are my inspiration to plan trip for this total unknown territory
Thanks once again Bro.
NO, there will be no rain anywhere in May. Except for Manali Kaza stretch, all of the other routes will be open Aroop.
Hi Vargis, m reading so many blogs and m just not able to contemplate in which month i should be visiting here. I actually want to see this thick sheet of snow and want to go through rohtang la, just like you see kareena going in Jab we met. Which month should I go
Hi Indu – For that, you will have to go as soon as Rohtang Pass gets declared open; either towards late April or early May.
Oh… from where do we get to know about this? Also since we have to keep a tab on when the road is open,we won’t be able to make any advance planning isn’t. How to go about it. Also how safe is traveling in the snow.
Just plan for a trip around May 10th to 15th and it will be all open by then.
We are planning to go leh from Delhi via srinagar on September mid then come back to keylong and head towards spiti >sangla >narkanda >simla>delhi , without manali.. Is it quite safe if we plan there by inbetween third and and forth of September..?
1st time I only could able to visit this Path
, only manali leH manali. last week of June 2017.
please suggest for this time… Should we able cover the whole area
Yes absolutely. September is a great time to be traveling on this route.
Is September 3rd and 4th week will something different from june last week.??
Road condition will be better in September and there will be greenery as well.
Brother
Am planning to visit spitty in march, but i heard that the road would be closed during this month due to heavy snow…. is this true, march is not the best time to visit spitty? kindly advise
It is closed from Manali to Kaza Gokul Bhai but open between Shimla and Kaza
Hello,
we want to travel from shimla-Narkanda-Sangla-Kaza-Manali and back to delhi. we have decide to hire a rented car(preferably hyundai Creta ). please suggest us about the road conditions and permits needed to be taken for this trip. we are two of us, me n my wife planning for this trip. it will be great help if you could share few inputs on driving conditions and other things to keep in mind.
Thanks for the help.
Sorry forgot to mention the dates. 9th of june to 20th june. 🙂
Hello – Creta should be fine for the trip. Roads will be bad for most part of the trip, worst part being between Kaza and Manali. Start from Shimla and end at Manali because this part of the road is still closed and expected to open by 15 th June. No permits are required for Indian citizens in Spiti valley.
Dear Vargis – thanks a ton for the detailed inputs. It is really helping us know the place before going there.
Now to the real query
– we are planning a trip from 7-May to 12-May from Shimla to Spiti to Manali with kids (two 9 year olds) and parents (65+ years old) – are these dates good to travel with kids and parents?
– we plan to hire a new Innova for the trip – will it be a good car for such terrains and time of the year?
– which are places that we should stop over in the nights? Are their hotels or home stays that we can/should book in advance?
– we have never lived in cold weather so will it be very cold for us to visit at this time of the year?
Your response will really help us make this trip memorable.
Thanks in advance!
Regards
-Arvind
Hello Arvind – The Manali to Kaza road will not be open by 7th May. I would advise that you postpone your trip by another month. Do it in June sometime since you will be traveling with family.
Are the roads in the spiti loop open in may. We are planning to drive to spiti from shimla and exit from manali. Your views
Manali to Kaza circuit will probably not be open until early June
Hello,
I am planning to Spiti on 24th August from Manali side and trip ends on 2nd September.
My query is it good time to visit Spiti valley. Is there any raining chance? Please suggest.
Hello,
You may encounter rain while at Manali or Rohtang. Once you cross over towards Lahaul Valley, there is very little chance of any rain at all. Spiti is in a rain shadow area and it is very rare that it will rain there.
Hey! I am planning to travel to Kaza from Chandigarh on this 13th March, I need to know if one can go to Kaza now, and if yes, then any buses from Chandigarh to Kaza or Shimla to Kaza.
Please help.
Yes you can go to Kaza on 13th March.. There is a bus that goes from Shimla to Kaza but it is a 2 days journey. You will stay overnight at Reckong Peo and then continue to Kaza the next day.
is spiti is open in march & is it good time to visit in march month
The route is open from Shimla til Kaza in March but then you would have to return the same way, cannot exit at Manali. March is not the best month to go unless it is snow that you are after.
we are planing for Amritsar-Manali-Rohtang pass-Spiti valley-leh/ladhak in mid may is it possible to travel all the places in 15 day span? are the routes open? where should we book our hotels during this trip?
Thanks for the help:)
Hi Vaibhav – You can do it but Ladakh and Spiti both in 15 days will be a rushed journey.
We are planning to firstly goto leh, then come back to keylong and head towards spiti. Is it quite safe if we plan there by first week of June?
If No, can you please suggest a better alternate?
Thanks for the help.
It depends on the weather brother. If you can, I would suggest that you postpone the journey by a couple weeks, do it mid of June just to be on the safer side.
Hi. Is mid-November a good time to visit Spiti? Will the weather effect sight seeing? Pls advise.
November is not really a good time. It is going to be way too cold and you will not even see any snow. If you are going in Winter, then go in either late December and January. It will be cold but at least you will get to see the entire valley under a thick sheet of snow.
We want to travel from narkanda to spiti and back, can you enlighten me.
Bharat
What help do you need?
just wanted to know, i am planning to go spiti valley via shimla, would that be safe or not??
Yes it is quit safe indeed