Spiti in Snow: Christmas & New Year Expedition
Kaza, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh10D / 9N
Frozen waterfalls, thousand-year-old monasteries and New Year's Eve under Himalayan peaks.
From ₹34,000₹26,000per person + GST
Next: 25 DecFilling fast
Spiti Valley in winter
Spiti sits in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, between Kinnaur and Ladakh. In winter it turns into a white desert: frozen lakes, monasteries above the clouds and villages above 4,000 m. The road via Shimla and Kinnaur stays open all year, which makes it India's classic winter road trip.
- Altitude
- 3,800 m in Kaza, 4,587 m at Komic
- Winter temperatures
- −5 to −20°C
- Best time
- December to February for snow, June to September for summer
- Gateway
- Ambala Cantt, Shimla
Places you will stand in
All of these are on our winter route.
A thousand-year-old gompa stacked on a hill above the Spiti river. Butter tea with the monks is part of the visit.
Home to one of the highest post offices in the world, at about 4,400 m. Send a postcard home.
A golden Buddha watching over a village where the fields hold marine fossils from when this was a sea bed.
Asia's highest suspension bridge, hanging over a gorge between Kibber and Chicham.
The last village on the Indo-Tibet road, once a stop on the old Hindustan-Tibet trade route.
A Kinnauri village facing the Kinner Kailash range. We ring in the New Year here.
Go with us
- Christmas & New Year
Read before you go
Straight answers about the cold, altitude and packing.
- Packing
Winter Spiti packing list: what actually keeps you warm at −20°C
Layers, socks, the one item everyone forgets, and what to leave at home. Tested on the road to Kaza.
- Safety
Altitude sickness in Spiti: how it feels and how we handle it
What AMS is, the early signs, why we sleep in Tabo before Kaza, and when we turn around.
- Destination guide
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.
- Planning
Mumbai to Spiti by train: why we skip the flight
3rd AC from Bandra Terminus to Ambala Cantt, and why the train makes the trip cheaper and better.
New Year's Eve under Himalayan peaks?
25 December from Mumbai, back on 3 January. New Year's Eve in Kalpa.