My Road Trip to the Very Last Village of India!

It was in November last year that I decided to visit Kinnaur in Himachal, which had just received a fresh batch of snow the previous week. I booked a Shimla bound Volvo from Delhi on the night of November 29, and from Shimla, I had booked an Innova along with a driver, for the rest of my trip.

And so my long road trip across Himachal began from Shimla and my first stop was at Kufri, for breakfast. A glorious sight of cascading mountains covered in darkness with peaks gleaming in orange greeted me.

After the brief stop at Kufri, our next destination was Narkanda, a tranquil hill town. The uphill drive from Narkanda to Hatu Peak took about 30 minutes and had a steep ascent along a narrow road. At the top, a carpet of snow greeted me along with a marvellous 360-degree view of endless Himalayan mountains covered in snow. I also visited the temple at Hatu peak, and marvelled at its wooden architectural style that is very unique to this part of Himachal Pradesh.

After all the snow games at Hatu, it was time to get back on the road. The next major town I crossed was Rampur and I realised that after that, the terrain started changing dramatically. The mountains here were tall, rocky and with jagged edges and the roads were curving in and out of tunnels. We were driving alongside the river Sutlej and once we crossed the Wangtoo Dam, we entered the Kinnaur region.

We drove up till Karcham, the place where the roads to Sangla and Chitkul branch away from the road to Reckong Peo. At Karcham, I also visited a very large reservoir with snow-capped mountains in the backdrop, making it look all the more picturesque.

First we took the road to Kalpa and found it a little bumpy. Along the Reckong Peo to Kalpa route, I could see marvellous views of the Kinner Kailash Range. They seem to be so close that it feels almost like you can reach out and touch them. The snow was still there from a couple of weeks back.

After the drive to Kalpa, I came back to Karcham and took the Sangla route (which was a little bumpy) and this took me to Chitkul, the very last village of India! The idea of travelling to the last village of India (beyond the border is Tibet) had always fascinated me and finally reaching there and actually seeing it for myself was an altogether different and very satisfying experience. Chitkul is a very scenic and remote village, perfect for those who seek to experience an authentic and traditional Himachali lifestyle, totally untouched by the rest of the world. 

In the midst of all that wilderness and beauty, there was a dhaba and I just couldn’t resist having a meal here at Hindustan ka aakhri dhaba! This is a trip I will never forget for I visited the very edge of the country and brought back memories to last me a lifetime.