Bir Valley or Spiti Valley? Help Needed.

[CharlieKilo]

Hello,
Me and my friends are planning for a trip in our college semester break but are thoroughly confused as to where to go. Initially the plan was that we will go to Amritsar, leaving Jaipur at 23rd of May and reaching Amritsar by 1100hrs on the same day. We were supposed to be joined by a few more friends from CG and we will book a train (or bus) ticket to Amritsar thereafter.

After a bit of digging out, turns out that temperatures in Amritsar in May will be high. So aborting the plan, it was decided to proceed to HP from Delhi.

Now, the real confusion starts here. We had finalised two placed- Bir Valley and Spiti Valley. Bir Valley is at a height of 1525 MSL and Spiti is at 3750 MSL.
Knowing that Bir would be easy for us, we are still inclined to visit Spiti. But how to get there is still a BIG question mark. I tried researching on the WWW but there were only so many options that it had me confused.

Note that the trip form Delhi to Bir/Spiti is supposed to be budget friendly and we will be mainly using public transport unless, of course, circumstances don't favour.
Please suggest a itinerary and modes of travel.

Delhi→Punjab (Amritsar) → Bir/spiti?
Or
Delhi→Bir/Spiti?

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

How many days do you have in hand for this trip, also what exactly are you looking for in the destination?

 

[CharlieKilo]

How many days do you have in hand for this trip, also what exactly are you looking for in the destination?

Sir, we have about 6-8 days of time with us (Which can be extended since we will be doing the trip during our summer semester break).
In this trip we are looking to get a taste of adventure from the real world, new people and last but definitely not the least, FOOD.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

If it is food on your mind, then skip Spiti. It isn’t actually known for delicious cuisines.

Add to that, since Kunzum La would be closed, you would have to take Jalori Jot route to Mandi, and then proceed to Bir, in case you visit Spiti. That will require at least 2-3 days of traveling in buses.

Having said that, May is tourist season in Himachal, so Bir and Billing will be full of tourists. Spiti will have comparatively fewer tourists and journey is a lot more interesting, full of different cultures and landscape.

So my suggestion would be to pick either Kinnaur and Spiti or Kangra and Chamba region.

 

[CharlieKilo]

If it is food on your mind, then skip Spiti. It isn’t actually known for delicious cuisines.

Add to that, since Kunzum La would be closed, you would have to take Jalori Jot route to Mandi, and then proceed to Bir, in case you visit Spiti. That will require at least 2-3 days of traveling in buses.

Having said that, May is tourist season in Himachal, so Bir and Billing will be full of tourists. Spiti will have comparatively fewer tourists and journey is a lot more interesting, full of different cultures and landscape.

So my suggestion would be to pick either Kinnaur and Spiti or Kangra and Chamba region.

Sorry to bother sir, but can Punjab be done in May? Are the temperatures too high even in places like Pathankot? We still are not able to come to a conclusion.

 

[amitw79]

Sorry to bother sir, but can Punjab be done in May? Are the temperatures too high even in places like Pathankot? We still are not able to come to a conclusion.

MAY month will be nearly burning hot in Punjab...pathankot city including.

 

[CharlieKilo]

Since we will be leaving for Spiti on 23 May (From Delhi), which route should we go from?

Delhi→Manali
Or
Delhi→Shimla

Because I have read that the Manali route is motorable from June to October. Would it be feasible to do it in the last week of May?

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Manali route would not be doable that early in the season, unless summer arrives extremely early.