9 July 2021 - Kalpa to Nako – 110 km - Day 7 of Spiti Valley Exploration

Last evening a large lot of tourists had arrived at the hotel. In fact, I had to shift my car a bit to accommodate the vehicles that were halting there the night. This morning, when I was checking out, I heard the caretaker of the hotel taking to task a couple of drivers who had emptied garbage on the road. He sternly told them that they would have to clean up the place before leaving from there. I was happy that the locals cared for their surroundings and did not hesitate to read out the riot act to visitors when it was necessary. By and large the surroundings are neat and clean. I do not understand how visitors can disregard this and litter wherever they can.

The stay in The Monk had been comfortable even though the accommodation was basic; in such places one cannot expect comfort of star hotels. When one travels to such places it should be to experience something new and distinct. An element of adventure and rough and tough attitude has to be injected into the program. I thanked and tipped Suresh the caretaker, Aryan the room boy and Sonu the cook for their hospitality. Suresh requested me to give a good review of the room and its facilities online. I agreed to do so. They deserved at least that much for the hospitality.

The distance to be covered this day was low, just about a 110 km. Google Maps indicated that it would take me about three hours to reach Nako. I feared that the road to Nako would be below par. I was pleasantly surprised. Except for short stretches where work was going on, the rest of the drive was quite alright. BRO and GREF are engaged in upgrading NH505. At a couple of places I found children stoning the rocks on the hill side. Large chunks of rocks, surprisingly, fell off indicating the brittle nature of the rocks in the area. I saw many large landslide locations and shooting stones from hills are a regular phenomenon.

Past Spello, I found a small cascade where I took the car to for a quick wash. It had not been given a wash since I set out from Chennai.  The fresh water wash with a dancing rainbow must have certainly enthused the car! I found a small café, Lungta Café, at Pooh, which is a major military establishment. I stopped there for a snack to enjoy the lovely views of the valley. The hills make you hungry. The egg burji and coffee came in good time. 

Vodafone connectivity is extremely poor in these parts of the country. The Airtel connection stayed till Pooh and, thereafter, that too died. Fortunately, I had made my hotel reservation while sitting in the cafe in Pooh and had set the Google map to the hotel location.

Despite the non-availability of net connectivity the GPS took me to the Sacred Lake in Nako shortly after noon. The Nako Lake is a high altitude lake at about 12,000 feet above MSL. Surrounded by poplar and willow trees and in the lap of the Himalayas, the Lake is an ideal place to spend some time in quiet meditation and contemplation. The lake is revered as sacred by the locals and is a pilgrimage centre for Buddhists.

The Reo Purguil Hotel I had booked is in close proximity to the Sacred Lake. When I reached the hotel I was told that it would take some time before the room is readied for my occupation. I decided to use the available time to visit the Nako Gompa, which is said to be more than 1100 years old. However, in its present form, the Gompa combines modern elements with the ancient. The two Gompas contain ancient murals and sculptures made of sand, clay and vegetable dyes. I had a leisurely walk around the Gompas and the Monastery. Save a lone monk no one else was in sight. He patiently guided visitors around entreating them not to take photos inside the Gompas.

The room in the Reo Purguil hotel was very good with panoramic views of the small village, farm lands and the majestic Himalayan range. I was totally stumped for net connectivity. Manish, the Jharkhand help who has been around the hotel since its opening in 2013, turned out to be my Guardian Angel. He provided me hotspot connectivity from his Jio phone and left his mobile in my room! I was able to upload my Facebook post due to this generous soul. When he ran out of his 1 GB limit for the day, unhesitatingly he recharged and handed the phone back to me. I cannot fathom anyone ever offering such selfless service. Thanks to this, I was able to source accommodation in Kaza and Chandrataal. Travel makes us learn something new every day, if we wish to.

Manish served a hot portion of Maggi noodles liberally embellished with vegetables for lunch. He promised me a bottle of Thunderbolt beer before dinner. I prefer to have vegetarian food during travel because it sits easier on the stomach. Manish gave me a portion of rice, mixed vegetable sabji and yellow dal with tomato and cucumber salad for dinner. One feels ravenous in the hills. My condition was no less. The Thunderbolt had also stirred up the appetite. Over dinner I met the owner of the hotel, Negi, and thanked him for the hospitality. Despite the pandemic and its aftermath people have been travelling. Manish told me that the hotel was almost full with 11 of the 14 rooms occupied.