Even though, unlike Ladakh (see Best time to visit Ladakh), Spiti Valley is accessible throughout the year, however only a couple of months can actually be considered as best time to visit Spiti.
Kunzum La, Spiti Valley
This is due to the fact that while Spiti Valley itself is mostly in rain shadow area and is unaffected by monsoon season, both the approach roads leading up to it, regularly close during monsoon season, due to landslides. Add to that, Kunzum La remains open for less than 5 months (from June to mid-October), limiting the prospect of those, who wish to do the complete Lahaul-Spiti circuit.
So which are the best months to visit Spiti?
June and September are the best months to visit Spiti Valley and here is why:
Spiti in June: In June even though you will have to wait for Kunzum La to open, before you can begin your journey. And road conditions between Gramphoo and Kunzum La are at its worst. Roads are mostly stable, and even if Kunzum La – Manali route closes due to avalanche or landslide, you can return via Shimla route.
You can also see plenty of snow between Kunzum La and Rohtang Jot and weather till Kaza (if you are going via Shimla route) is mostly pleasant. There is also a lot of greenery till you enter Spiti Valley, and almost all hotels and restaurants in Kaza are open.
The only downside is, you might end up missing out on Chandertal Lake, if you are going early in June or in case road opening gets delayed.
Spiti in September: Even though you will hardly find any snow in September, it is actually a much better time to visit Spiti than June, due to the fact that monsoon season is over and roads are open and stable. Only minus point about traveling to Spiti in early-September is that road condition will be bad at some of the places, due to monsoon fury and road reconstruction process will be in full swing.
Of course if you are an adventurous soul, who is ready to take the chance of getting trapped in Spiti or coming back from halfway due to landslide, then there is no problem with traveling to Spiti in July or August, when almost all of Himachal Pradesh witnesses heavy rain.
However, it is my recommendation, that it is best to visit Spiti when the weather is good, both roads are open and there is minimal chance of nature’s fury and unfortunately for us travelers, in case of Spiti, it is only valid for June and September.
40 Comments
Hi Yogesh,
planning a motorbike trip to spiti Valley, Kinnaur, sangla on 15-16 August 2014. i want to know, which is the best route from Muzaffarnagar,U.P. also what types of clothes to be taken and some other precautions if any.
Sorry Sunil, no idea about the best route from Muzaffarnagar.
Since you are traveling during peak monsoon season, make sure you are carrying a good two piece rain suit and waterproof/resistant shoes and gloves.
Keep a watch on news, since this is the time when landslides happen regularly in Kinnaur Valley and between Manali and Kunzum Pass.
hi sunil , we (group of three )also going on 17 aug from delhi we are planning to start from shimla side. Please share your details. I have a few questions and also we would be just behind you if u planning from shimla side:).
hi surya, there are 3 routes from Muzaffarnagar to kinnaur, out of which only 1 is through shimla, lets see which route we’ll take….. anyways u may call me anytime on 7500070013.
dear yogesh sarkar,, we planning to go spiti in september 27 to october 3rd.. this tme is very good . pls guide us pa.. thanking u we starts from bengulare to manali via waiting for u r words
Vignesh, you are traveling towards the end of season. Although roads will be open and likely without any major disruption, it would be a good idea to start your journey from Manali side.
Hi Yogesh,
i am planning to visit spiti in first week of September, could you please tell if it is a good time to travel ?
Darshan, it is a good time to travel to Spiti. Provided rains have stopped in Himachal.
Hi
Is the next week i.e. Oct 27th to Nov 1st a good time to visit Spiti via road?
Dear yogesh,
Is it possible to do circuit trip(shimla to kaza to chandratal to manali). I planning this trip in june. pls advice
Hi Yogesh
I am planning to visit spiti valley upto kaza only with my bike[Thunderbird].
Here is the detail itinerary :
30th July : Chandigarh to Manali[manali stay]
31st July : Manali to Kaza[Kaza stay]
1st August : Kaza to Chandartal [staying in chandartal-Jamaica tent]
2nd August : Chandartal to manali
3rd August : Manali to Delhi.
kindly suggest me if this itinerary is good to go ahead.?
Thanks in anticipation ,
Regards,
Tanmay
Hi Yogesh,
We want to travel to Spiti Valley from 21st May onwards….I heard that most roads open only in June, is it correct? Do you think it will be ok to travel in May after 20th? Kindly advise.
Hi Yogesh
I am planning to visit spiti valley upto kaza only with my bike[Desert storm500].
in the month of june.
kindly suggest me if this itinerary is good to go ahead.?
Thanks
Regards,
Rajiv
Rajiv by all means go for it, though please keep in mind that Losar to Gramphoo route is likely to open by middle of June and Chandertal will likely reopen in July.
thanks yogesh sir
Hi Yogesh,
Have been following your website since a long time. I have planned a solo ride to Spiti and have booked the flight tickets and following is my plan.. I will be renting bikes from chandigarh and my trail will be from shimla side ending with manali side and back to chandigarh..
16 Sept – Delhi (Arrival at airport 11pm)
17 Sept – Chandigarh (11am) – Theog
18 Sept – Theog – Sangla/Chitkul
19 Sept – Sangla/Chitkul – Nako
20 Sept – Nako – Kaza
21 Sept – Around Kaza
22 Sept – Kaza – Chandrataal
23 Sept – Chandrataal – Manali
24 Sept – Manali – Chandigarh (possible?)
25 Sept – Spare day anywhere in between
26 Sept – Delhi (Departure flight at 5:00am)
Kindly make suitable changes if anything is wrong or if not mentioned here and i’ll regret that i have missed ? Moreover can i get a chance to see either shipki-la or kaurik i.e the border? If yes i will change the itinerary.
Regards,
Neeraj Wandre
Hello Yogesh,
Want to do a circuit trip from Simla-Kaza-Kunzum Pass-Chandratal-Manali in 2nd week of October. Is this trip possible at that time?
Hello
I am travelling in mid June. Can i reach to kaza in one day riding bike?
Hi Yogesh, Thanks for the wonderful post.
I am planning to visit Spiti Valley in July – 16-24. What I am planning is taking an Innova with driver and doing the Delhi > Shimla > Spiti > Manali > Delhi route.
I know about the landslides and rain. Should I go ahead and do it? Or is it too much of a risk?
Hi Yogesh,
Hope Oct, 1st week is good to visit Spiti on road. Planning to do a solo on motorbike from Oct 1-10 from Gurgaon. Rajan Sirohi
Kunzum La closes in October, usually by the middle of it. However everything depends on weather. Better bet would be to do this trip in September.
Hi!
I am also planning to do solo ride from Gurgaon to spiti from 01/10. Is it possible to join you for this ride? I am putting up in Gurgaon & you may call me on my number 9911336248 so that we can discuss on this.
Thanks
Gajendra
Hi Yogesh …. we are 2 couples planning to do the spiti valley trip by car in end September 2016 …. we plan to start from delhi – shimla – spiti – mamali – delhi ….. please guide us if there are any tours after 25th September from Delhi or Chandigarh which we can join (would prefer to go in a group rather than just we 4) …. please also let us know the itinerary for 8-9 days or whatever is suiting you
Hi Yogesh,
Is Oct 2nd week a good time to travel to Spiti ? Considering we only have 7 days for Spiti, could you suggest the best possible routes ?
Thanks in advance !!
Neha
Neha, second week of October is towards the end of season, when hotels and guest houses in Kaza begin to close for the season and Kunzum La too is on the verge of closing. My suggestion would be to prepone your trip to last week of September or first week of October if possible. 7 days are more than enough to cover the entire circuit and you should be able to cover Shimla route as well as Manali route in that time.
Hi ,
Is October a good time to travel to spiti going via Manali and returning by the other route.
Planing from oct 19 to oct 24.
If this not a suitable time than what about first week of Oct.
Nitin, you’re traveling quite late in the season, in all likelihood, Kunzum La would be closed by then or would be on the verge of closing. First week would be a better bet. Though please keep in mind that most hotels in Kaza would start closing for the season, around that time.
Hi Yogesh,
After doing a Leh trip this june with my spouse on Avenger 220, I must thank you for the awesome forum to help me plan out a successful trip.
I am planning a Spiti trip this Dussehra Holidays. The problem is that I have just 5 days (11/Oct Morning Departure from Delhi and 16 Morning arrival at Delhi) in hand.
How would you suggest travelling ? I was thinking of using a self-drive car for the same from Chandigarh ? Do you think covering the entire circuit be feasible in 5 days ? If Yes, would you suggest to start from Manali-Losar Side ?
Considering the Kunzum Pass uncertainty, would you rather advise to stick on the Rampur-Peo route for both sides of the trip ?
Thanks
Shubham
Keep your plan open and keep an eye on the road status updates here http://www.bcmtouring.com/forums/threads/2016-lahaul-spiti-and-pangi-road-status.66886/.
If you don’t want to take any risks, then it would be a good idea to take the Shimla route both ways, otherwise do Kunzum route first.
You can do the circuit in 5 days, but it will be a little fast paced. 6 days if you can squeeze out, would be better.
Hi Yogesh.
We are 5 friends planning (28th Oct – 1st Nov ) from Gurgaon to Kaza and then back, through Shimla route only.
We will stay at Kinnaur (in Home stay) and travel Kazza in the early morning and then back to Kinnaur within the same day. Will this plan be feasible? Please suggest the risk and road condition too? We will cover the distance in a Fortuner.
Regards,
Dwibesh
Dwibesh, it would be a tiring drive, and you will be running from one place to another. I wouldn’t recommend it, however, it comes down to personal choice.
Hello Yogesh,
We are planning to go Spiti valley on August last week. Our tour will start on 27th August and ends on 2nd September, 2017.
My query is it good time for visit Spiti. Also is there raining chance in August last week
Soumyadip, normally monsoon and post monsoon showers continue till the first week of September. However, everything comes down to weather. Roads of course won’t be in their best condition, since they would have been damaged due to monsoon and landslides.
Hi Yogesh,
Thanks for the great description above well we are planing a trip in june end from 24th- 30th.
so what would be the best route to take, is there a possibility of rain? and what are the other areas near by spiti to explore.
though will no tbe going to leh as have there already.
Regards
Rohit
Rohit, you can cover Sarahan, Nako Lake, Gue Mummy, Tabo and Dhankar Monastries, Pin Valley, Key Monastery, Kibber and Chandertal. Rain is always possible, but monsoon shouldn’t arrive by then.
Hey Yogesh,
I am planning to go on 13th August till 20th August. Now, since its a monsoon it bounds to have rain. But I heard that Spiti Valley is rain shadow area and it does not rain there in monsoon. even if it does, its very less.
I am more skeptical about the views and scenery. I dont want to miss out on visual beauty of the region because of weather.
Please suggest me if such is the case.
Gaurav, Spiti does fall under rain shadow area. However, its approach roads through Kinnaur and Manali-Kunzum get plenty of rain and landslides due to it. It is fairly common for these routes to shut down temporarily due to this and places like Malling Nallah have dedicated cleaning crew to clean the route on a regular basis.
So if you wan to travel at that time, be ready for delay or even postponements, with a bit of chance of getting stuck inside Spiti.
Dear Yogesh,we are planning to visit spiti valley in mid december from shimla.
Can we have snow fall at that time?
Snowfall can occur at that time, everything depends on the weather. However, it will be extremely cold and even during the day, temperatures can fall below freezing and at night, they will go even lower. So make sure you’re ready for it and also for the black ice, if you’re planning to ride or drive your own vehicle.
Hi i m planning to go from 1st may to 7th may
Starting from delhi
I will take a bike on rent from delhi
Please suggest me for good bike (as i m not comfortable with royel enfield) and dealer in delhi