How Much will Spiti Valley Trip Cost by Motorcycle?

How much will a trip eventually cost is really more of a personal choice; and will differ for every individual depending on their own spending habits. However, with that being said, there are some expenses which will actually remain the same; or will definitely incur irrespective of any other factors. How much will the trip cost cannot be predicted on the maximum side but a certain calculation can still be made for minimum budget. In this article, I will provide a sample calculation of how much will a Spiti valley trip cost by motorcycle. Please note that when I say motorcycle, I mean your own and not a rented one. I will provide a sample itinerary, a most common one that will cover majority of the tourist destinations in Spiti valley; and then run it day by day providing an estimated cost of motorcycle trip to Spiti valley.

spiti valley trip cost

The calculation below of course cannot be an exact figure but should at least be able to give you an estimated idea of the total cost. For the sake of this article, I will make a few assumptions. First one will be in terms of the itinerary. I will suggest a travel plan starting from and ending at Delhi; and provide a cost breakdown accordingly. If you were however starting from a different place then only the journey for first and last day will differ; rest will remain the same. While laying down the itinerary, I will make a comprehensive plan including the entire circuit and tourist destinations on it.

If you were traveling for a lesser period of time then just remove the days and destinations you were not covering. If your plan was for a longer duration; then you can add your total accommodation and food cost for that day to overall cost.

Also read: How to Plan a Trip to Spiti Valley?

There are two ways that you can reach Spiti valley. One is from Shimla and other from Manali. The road from Shimla to Kaza remains open throughout the year; expect for occasional roadblocks caused by snow in winter season. But even then, authorities clear the road just as soon as they are able to; unless the weather turns extreme in which case the road can get close for weeks altogether. The road from Manali however remains open only in the months of June till September.

The usual way of Spiti trip is to complete it in form of a circuit but this is doable only between June and September; while Manali Kaza route is accessible. For rest of the months, Manali to Kaza road would have to be left out. You will reach Spiti from Shimla side and return the same way. So I will suggest an itinerary for the compete circuit and then followed later by an itinerary only from Shimla side. If you were traveling in the months from June to September, then the first travel plan should give you an idea on Spiti valley trip cost. If traveling during rest of the year, then the second itinerary is the one you should be referring to.

Also read: How to Prepare your Motorcycle for Spiti Valley?

Also, the cost estimate below is on two basis. One is that you are riding solo and will bear the entire cost yourself. Second is that you have a pillion rider and the total cost will be shared partially.

Itinerary 1 – Delhi to Spiti Valley to Manali to Delhi

Following is a 10 day Itinerary to complete the entire Spiti circuit. It includes all major tourists spots en route. This itinerary can only be followed from June till early October. For rest of the plans, I have suggested a travel plan later in this article.

Delhi to Narkanda – Day 1
Narkanda to Sarahan – Day 2
Sarahan to Chitkul – Day 3
Chitkul to Kalpa – Day 4
Kalpa to Nako – Day 5
Nako to Mud Village (Pin Valley) – Day 6
Mud Village to Kaza – Day 7
Kaza – Local Sightseeing – Day 8
Kaza to Chandratal – Day 9
Chandratal to Manali – Day 10
Manali to Delhi – Day 11

Also read: Spiti Circuit Route Guide and Road Map

Spiti Valley Trip Cost

Your biggest expense following the plan above will of course be of fuel. You are going to be traveling a long way over a period of 10 days and will end up consuming a lot of fuel. For further explanations, I will assume a mileage of about 25 kilometers per liter which I believe is the least that any motorcycle will give. If yours is even lower than that, I would recommend that you take it to a mechanic. If your motorcycle has a better average, than you can make adjustments in the calculations accordingly.

At the time of writing this article, Petrol price at most of the places en route is between Rs. 70 per liter to Rs. 75 per liter in Kaza. For my calculation, I will use Rs. 75 per liter which is the maximum you will spend while traveling. Depending on the time of your trip and petrol prices then, please adjust this calculation accordingly.

Also read: How to Handle Acute Mountain Sickness in Spiti Valley?

Hotel Cost in Spiti Valley

At all of the places where I broke the journey for the night, you will easily be able to find a budget accommodation. I am assuming a minimum and safe number of Rs. 700 per day for accommodation. There are of course luxurious and expensive hotels available too but I am considering hotels that are reasonably priced, decent and comfortable enough. As a matter of fact, at some of the places; you can negotiate a deal for even lesser than Rs. 700 if you were good at negotiating. For the calculation in this article however, I will assume Rs. 700 as minimum accommodation cost per day. Please read Budget Hotels in Spiti Valley and List of Good Recommended Hotels in Spiti valley for a list of some hotels recommended by other travelers.

Food Cost in Spiti Valley

It is really hard to give an estimate on this because it all depends on a person’s taste, type of food they like and how often and how much they eat :-). But for a minimum budget calculation, even an aaloo parantha will not cost you less than Rs. 20-30 at dhabas. Few Rotis and Sabzi will easily cost between Rs. 50-100 depending on a person’s appetite. Then there will of course be some snacks, cold drinks, water, tea breaks during the journey. Considering all of the above, I think Rs. 300 per day per person will be a safe enough number to assume as food cost.

Also read: Clothes for Spiti Trip – What to Pack?

A day by day break up of the itinerary is provided below.

Day 1: Delhi to Narkanda

Total distance: 400 kilometers, travel time of about 8 – 10 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs. 1,215.00 if riding solo and Rs. 607.00 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Narkanda: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense so far: Rs. 2,215 if solo; Rs. 1,257.50 if with Pillion

Day 2: Narkanda to Sarahan

Total distance: 110 kilometers, travel time of about 6 – 7 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.330 if riding solo and Rs. 165 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Sarahan: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,330 if solo and Rs. 815 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 3,545 if solo; Rs. 2,072.50 if with Pillion

Day 3: Sarahan to Chitkul

Total distance: 110 kilometers, travel time of about 6 – 7 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.330 if riding solo and Rs. 165 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Chitkul: Rs. 1,000 for a budget hotel. Rs. 500 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,630 if solo and Rs. 965 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 5,175 if solo; Rs. 3,037.50 if with Pillion

Also read: Mobile Network in Spiti Valley

Day 4: Chitkul to Kalpa

Total distance: 80 kilometers, travel time of about 4 – 6 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.240 if riding solo and Rs. 120 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Kalpa: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,240 if solo and Rs. 770 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 6,415 if solo; Rs. 3,807.50 with Pillion

Day 5: Kalpa to Nako

Total distance: 110 kilometers, travel time of about 6 – 7 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.330 if riding solo and Rs. 165 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Nako: Rs. 1,000 for a budget hotel. Rs. 500 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,630 if solo and Rs. 965 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 8,045 if solo; Rs. 4,772.50 if with Pillion

Day 6: Nako to Mud Village

Total distance: 130 kilometers, travel time of about 6 – 7 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.390 if riding solo and Rs. 195 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Mud: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,390 if solo and Rs. 845 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 9,435 if solo; Rs. 5,617.50 if with Pillion

Day 7: Mud Village to Kaza

Total distance: 55 kilometers, travel time of about 3 – 4 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.165 if riding solo and Rs. 83 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Kaza: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,165 if solo and Rs. 733 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 10,600 if solo; Rs. 6,350 if with Pillion

Also read: A Complete List of Tourist Attractions in Spiti Valley

Day 8: Kaza to Kibber / Komik / Langza / Hikkim to Kaza

Total distance: 100 kilometers, entire day of traveling around and local sightseeing, about 6-8 hours.
Fuel Cost: Rs.300 if riding solo and Rs. 150 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Kaza: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,300 if solo and Rs. 800 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 11,900 if solo; Rs. 7,150 if with Pillion

Day 9: Kaza to Chandratal

Total distance: 100 kilometers, travel time of about 6-7 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.300 if riding solo and Rs. 150 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Chandratal: Rs. 1,500 per person at camp site
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 2,100 if solo and Rs. 1,950 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 14,000 if solo; Rs. 9,100 if with Pillion

Day 10: Chandratal to Manali

Total distance: 135 kilometers, travel time of about 6-8 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.400 if riding solo and Rs. 200 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Accommodation at Manali: Rs. 700 for a budget hotel. Rs. 350 per person if traveling with pillion.
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,405 if solo and Rs. 853 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 15,405 if solo; Rs. 9,953 if with Pillion

Also read: Which is the Best Motorcycle for Spiti Valley Trip?

Day 11: Manali to Delhi

Total distance: 550 kilometers, travel time of about 12-13 hours depending upon your speed and breaks.
Fuel Cost: Rs.1,650 if riding solo and Rs. 825 per person if traveling with Pillion
Meal Cost: 300 per person
Total Expense for the day: Rs. 1,950 if solo and Rs. 1125 if with Pillion
Total Expense so far: Rs. 17,355 if solo; Rs. 11,077.50 if with Pillion

So for a bike trip to Spiti of 11 days as I mentioned above, your total distance traveled will be about 1900 kilometers and if you were riding solo, it will cost you about Rs. 17,000. If you have a pillion to share some of the cost with, it will be a total expense of 11,000 per person. This are a little bit of stretched numbers but can actually be pushed down a bit as well by a couple thousand if you were on a strict budget.

Spiti Valley Trip Cost for Shimla to Shimla

Now the above calculation was for a ride through the complete circuit. If however, you were traveling at a time when Manali – Kaza route was not open, then you will have to return via Shimla. How your itinerary then would be and what will be the cost incurred is as mentioned below.

Delhi to Narkanda – Day 1
Rs. 2215 if solo; Rs. 1257.5 if with pillion

Narkanda to Sarahan – Day 2
Rs. 3545 if solo; Rs. 2072.5 if with pillion

Sarahan to Chitkul – Day 3
Rs. 5175 if solo; Rs. 3037.5 if with pillion

Chitkul to Nako – Day 4
Rs. 6940 if solo; Rs. 4070 if with pillion

Nako to Mud Village (Pin Valley) – Day 5
Rs. 8330 if solo; Rs. 4915 if with pillion

Mud Village to Kaza – Day 6
Rs. 9495 if solo; Rs. 5647.5 if with pillion

Kaza – Local Sightseeing – Day 7
Rs. 10795 if solo; Rs. 6447.5 if with pillion

Kaza to Kalpa – Day 8
Rs. 12425 if solo; Rs. 7412.5 if with pillion

Kalpa to Shimla – Day 9
Rs. 14145 if solo; Rs. 8422.5 if with pillion

Shimla to Delhi – Day 10
Rs. 15495 if solo; Rs. 9247.5 if with pillion

Please note that this is just a rough calculation; not the exact number but at an average, this is about how much a bike trip to Spiti will cost you. Cost will differ for everyone, but from a minimum budget standpoint, this number is safe to assume.

Conclusion

I hope the information above regarding Spiti valley trip cost was of help. If you need any further questions; or need any further help to plan your Spiti trip; then please feel free to ask in the comment section below; or at our Community Forum; and I will be glad to answer.