2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 4: Nippy Nako To Killer Kaza

Day 4

Waking up in the morning is the easy part. Getting out of the duvet to a temperature that is in the single digits is what takes the toll on you. The morning in Nako redefined this belief of mine as soon as I felt the wrath of the freezing water on my test fingers. Next thought - ‘I’ve forgotten about the Scorpio! That’s exactly what happens when you are in a place like this’. Those were my consoling words to myself.

Done with breakfast I soon found myself lost, even in the tiny village of Nako. With inputs from incredibly courteous locals, I managed to reach the car park with baby steps and, thanks to that masterstroke, not out of breath. Once we all gathered we were given a quick crash course about how Nako was originally christened as Nago and how it is one of the most important locations for all Buddhists. Praying to the heavens was done on our behalf and soon, after the dog lovers had bid goodbye to the camp owner’s Tibetan mastiff, we were on our way.

Since I was a passenger for the first leg of today’s 112 km journey, with a few detours on the way, it gave me enough time to revisit what the Scorpio had been through. As far as performance was concerned, it never failed to impress me with its tank-loads of torque, huge ground clearance, potent 4x4 system and big tyres. Soon after I was done making a note of this, I realised that I couldn’t keep my phone anywhere on the dashboard, the centre console or the minutely thin door pockets, because there wasn’t any space. That’s where the Scorpio fell short. It doesn’t tick all the boxes when it comes to practicality.

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While I was wondering how, even in its top spec, the Scorpio doesn’t get an automatic IRVM, electrically folding ORVMs or leather upholstery, I got side-tracked by the mesmerising scenery. But I didn’t get much time to drool over it as we were suddenly instructed to stop. “We’ll be disengaging the radios for all cars as the next check-post, which is quite close to the Chinese border, is quite finicky. We have a licence to use them all over the country but since this is a sensitive location, we’ll be taking them down”. That was the last radio call from our convoy lead before the service team came and took it down.

Not long after we took off, we encountered something that everyone fears in this part of the world. A landslide. Thankfully, a JCB was already at work to clear it out and when we checked with the workers, they told us that the rocks came sliding down the mountain last evening. After an unscheduled halt of 2 hours and 30 minutes, we could finally drive past the loose earth. The check post wasn’t far away and we crossed that as well without any hiccup.

The detour towards the Giu monastery was torturous to say the least. The road was even narrower, with fine dust everywhere. The surface of the road felt like it has smallpox scars with a million relapses. Tarmac? What tarmac? It was when we reached the Giu village that the road turned from apocalyptic to tolerable.

Entering the Giu monastery everyone hurried out of their cars with a mission - to see the gorgeous monastery from inside. ‘Gotcha!’ is the word that the gods above must have accompanied their laughter with. The monastery was still being built from the inside and will take at least a year to complete. 

But our disappointment was overshadowed by the scenery surrounding us. It was, without a doubt, the best yet. We even got to visit the mummy of Spiti Valley, which was residing in a small establishment next to the monastery. The 500-year-old mummy is believed to be of a Lama who died at the age of 45 and was dug out in a sitting posture. Scary!

We didn’t spend much time at the monastery for two excellent reasons. One, we were running late; and two, there was nothing else to do. Hey, the latter rhymed! Anyway, soon after we drove out of the Giu village and joined the main road towards Tabo, I realised how simple the people living in this valley are. Life for them, on the other hand, is anything but. Completely secluded from the rest of the world and with next to no facilities, they are still surviving. Although there are several hydro power projects running and more being readied, many villages rely on solar power. I guess it is the rugged simplicity that makes them strong enough to tackle such tough surroundings. Respect!

Radios were back in business. The drive to Tabo, home to our lunch halt, took about two hours and the views on the way got better by the minute. Conveniently located mid-way of Nako and Kaza, the small town of Tabo is home to the oldest monastery in India. After a nice, homely lunch at the Dewachen Retreat, we visited the centre of attraction. Unfortunately, photography was prohibited inside the premises. The inside of the monastery was dark and only had natural light creeping in from the few openings that were there. Built in 996 CE (Common Era – same as AD), the monastery is arguably referred to as one of the seven wonders of India.

After the combined diesel engine clatter of our convoy shook the entire village again, every single local would have thanked the lord for there will soon be peace. The rest of the drive towards our night halt in Kaza included a number of unscheduled stops due to two main reasons. One, small bladders. Two, many were astonished how similar the culture and the landscapes were to Tibet and Ladakh. Hence, they wanted to stop and take as many photographs, without annoying the support team, as possible.

Our hotel, the Grand Dewachen Retreat, was located on the outskirts of Kaza in the quaint village of Rangrik. Soon, I accompanied my photographer friends to capture the sight of stars with the most unpolluted and unclouded sky I’d ever seen. The sky was so clear that one could actually spot a swirl of our galaxy, the Milky Way. At least, that’s what was told to me by people who were regulars there. Absolutely majestic!

My constant jaw-dropping at the sight of the night sky soon turned into endless yawns. After leaving the keen snappers, I retired for the day as the next one included multiple close vicinity drives, including one to the top of a mountain!

Part 1: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 1: Cheerful Chandigarh To Neat Narkanda

Part 2: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 2: Neat Narkanda To Serene Sangla

Part 3: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 3: Serene Sangla To Nippy Nako

Part 5: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 5: Spiti Valley Explored

Part 6: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 6: Killer Kaza To Majestic Manali

Part 7: 2017 Mahindra Himalayan Spiti Escape Part 7: A Day In Manali And Then Back To Chandigarh