4x4 SUV - No Itinerary - Spiti Valley Winter Exploration with Abhinav Chandel

Meandering roads through the snow-clad mountains.
Turquoise rivers flow down in the valley.
A few travellers venture ahead.
Walking and driving through the snow.
To a land where peace prevails, and galaxies appear up in the sky at night.
Enter Spiti Valley, known for some of the highest inhabited regions of the Himalayas.

Imagine..

Stargazing.
Walking through wilderness in the middle of nowhere.
The most beautiful mountain stories.
The world's oldest Monasteries.
Songs of the Himalayan locals.
Eight days in the mountains of Spiti Valley.
And no itinerary to restrict your footsteps.
Ask yourself,  how many times has the wilderness called and you have said no?

That’s about to change as you embark on this unforgettable eight-day Spiti Valley Tour – no plan and no itinerary – just a group of like-minded photo-explorers, finding one story after another, while traversing into the unknown pockets of the far-flung Himalayan valleys of Spiti Valley.

This tour is hosted by Abhinav Chandel (@AbhiandNow), one of India’s leading Instagrammers. This former city boy now lives in the mountains and chronicles his life through his stunning photographs and poetry. He describes himself as being “constantly on the move; trying to uncover and collect stories from corners of the world”.

The last Winter Exploration Tour happened in February 2018, where Abhinav and Spiti Holiday Adventure collaborated on a Winter Exploration Tour to Spiti Valley with eighteen photo explorers.

If you hate being a tourist and want to explore (truly explore) Spiti Valley, this tour is tailored for you. No fixed plan. No itinerary. Just the explorers with their cameras and an insatiable hunger to know Spiti Valley - lead to the most enchanted lands with spellbinding views, and a never before experience in the mountains.

You may want to spend time interacting with the locals or find a village where no one goes during the winters and listen to the stories from there, or who knows maybe spot a Snow leopard. Whatever it is that the group feels like doing - that’s what you’ll end up doing.

It’s highly likely that on this eight-day holiday to Spiti Valley, you'd spend time in a monastery and learn about Buddhism through conversations with monks or spend a day with the local farmers in their farm. You could trek from one village to the other or spend a day driving through the valley. Also, if herbs and ancient science fascinates you, you could meet and interact with the Amchi (a local medical practitioner) and learn about the ancient form of Spitian medication or spend the day interacting with the postmaster from the highest post office in the world at Hikkim; Volunteer for a day in an old age home or spend a day in a village school. The possibilities are limitless. The maps are with no horizon.