Spiti in winter: frozen pipes, frozen falls and the best sky of your life
An honest guide to rooms, water, toilets, network and food in Spiti between December and February.
The cold
Expect −5 to −20°C, with bright, dry sun by day. Mornings are slow on purpose: the roads warm up once the sun is out.
Rooms and heating
Our stays are chosen for warm rooms and snowy views, but some hotels charge extra for a room heater. If your room has a wood stove, never seal it airtight while it burns.
Water and toilets
Pipes freeze, so hot water arrives in buckets. Some homestays use dry or compost toilets, which is normal and eco-friendly in a place with no sewage system. Wet wipes and dry shampoo are your friends.
Phone network
Jio and BSNL work in most towns; Airtel and Vi barely do. Download offline maps and playlists before you leave Shimla.
Food
Breakfast and dinner at stays. Lunches are at dhabas and cafés on the road: hunt for siddu, thukpa, thenthuk, momos, tingmo, butter tea and seabuckthorn juice.
The pay-off
Frozen Lingti Falls, 1,000-year-old monasteries in the snow, Chitkul at the edge of India, and New Year's Eve in Kalpa facing the Kinner Kailash range.