After having a wonderful stay at Kalpa, it was time to move towards Kaza. The Distance between Kalpa to Kaza is around 200 km. We started from Kalpa at approx. 10 AM, this was a big mistake, as the distance to cover was large and the road was terribly bad at some places. In this post I’ll let you know about Kalpa to Kaza road status / road conditions.

After starting from Kalpa, we first have to descent from Kalpa to Powari, where we join NH5. The drive from Kalpa to Powari is a scenic one. The road passes through the lush green forest with tall deodar trees on both sides, occasionally opens up to a nice view of the Kinner Kailash mountain.

After reaching Powari make sure to fill your fuel tanks before leaving for Kaza. Please note that there are no petrol pumps after powari, the next petrol pump is at our final destination, Kaza.

Kalpa to Kaza road conditions — **NH5-After crossing Akpa Bridge**

NH5

The road from Powari to Khab Sangam is part of NH5. The journey from powari onwards is very scenic and also the road was really well maintained. Full points to BRO and PWD for their efforts. The road goes along the Sutlej river with an amazing view of the mountains. For the initial few Kilometers, we can see vegetation on the mountains and as we keep going we can see the drop in vegetation and all we see are snow-capped barren mountains. Phone signals also start to fluctuate and are available at selected places. The condition of the road is quite good till Khab Sangam. But, sometimes stones falls from the mountains because less vegetation.

Khab Sangam

Khab is a small village in kinnaur district of Himachal. About 7-8 Kms before Khab, you’ll encounter first check post on the way to Spiti. At khab, we leave NH5 and enter NH505. Khab sangam is the famous place in Khab, where the Spiti river joins the Satluj river. The bridge at Khab sangam is build over the Satluj river and just besides it, we see the confluence of Spiti and Satluj river. Also, china border is about 30 Kms from Khab sangam and the NH5 goes upto the china border

Khab Sangam to Nako : The NH505

After crossing the Khab sangam we enter the Hangrang valley. After about 2 Kms from Khab sangam we enter the KA loops. The picturesque loopy road has several hair pin bends, also the road is smooth with no potholes. Once we complete the KA loops we get to see a really good view the KA loops and the valley. After this, we come across really good valley view points. The views were breathtaking, I felt like entering altogether a different country. All we can see are barren mountains and their tops covered in snow. I was enjoying the breathtaking views of the Hangrang valley and we arrived at our next stop, Nako.

Nako

Nako is a small village, located at around 12000 ft. Nako is 100 Km from Kalpa. Most travelers stop here for food breaks, some also choose to stay here for a night to explore the Nako village which have some touristy things to do, listed below.

The Monastery, the famous translator Rinchen Tsangpo built this monastery in the 11th Century.
The Nako Lake. This is a sacred lake in Nako. It is believed that Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rimpoche meditated on the shores of this lake.
Nako Viewpoint. This viewpoint is at an elevation near the Nako helipad, which provides a very good view of the Nako village and mountains of the great Himalayan range

**Nako Village view from the Nako Helipad**

**Nako Lake** **at Nako – On the Kalpa Kaza route**

View from Nako- we can see Dhar Khaksa covered in snow

**Some Chit chat with the Locals and migrant workers at Nako**

The Malling Nala experience

After having an amazing time at Nako, we continued our journey towards Kaza. Little did we know that we would be facing a road blockade at Malling Nala. It is a small rivulet, which we need to cross, it proved to be an uphill task. As we approached the Malling Nala, the road got blocked by a huge landslide and rockfall. This leading to traffic jams at both ends of the road. Moreover, on one side there is steep gorge and on the other side there is steep hill which is prone to rock falls.

The BRO personnel removed the debris from the road which took around 3-4 hours. I would highly recommend crossing malling Nala before 3 PM so that you have enough buffer even if the road gets blocked. The fragile terrain near malling Nala makes it very susceptible to landslides so much so that the entire stretch of NH22 is abandoned to create a new one above it. It’s well known for the tough water crossing and unpredictable landslides and stone falling.

Sumdo Check post – Gateway to Spiti valley

The road from Kalpa to sumdo lies in Kinnaur disctrict of Himachal Pradesh. We enter the Spiti valley at a village called Sumdo. Though inner line permit is not required to visit Spiti valley, But you need to make entry at Sumdo check post. After crossing the Sumdo check post you officially enter the Spiti Valley.

The road after the Sumdo check post is in good condition. The road goes along the Spiti river till Kaza. On you left side you have the Spiti river and the snow covered mountains of pin valley and on the other side you have the fragile mountains with very less vegetation. Be aware while driving, as there is chance encountering the falling stones from the mountains. It will take around 2.5 Hours to reach Kaza from sumdo. But, if you have time, then you can visit following places between Sumdo and Kaza
– Gue Monestary
– Dhankar Monestary
– Tabo Monestary

Kalpa to Kaza HRTC bus timings

The Kalpa to kaza route is a tough one, which takes almost a day to cover. HRTC operates a Bus service from Kalpa to Kaza. The bus starts from Reckong Peo bus stop at 7 AM.

Other places to visit between Kalpa to Kaza

There are number of places that lies in the vicinity of Kalpa Kaza road. following are some of the places that you can visit if you have some extra time with you.