Let me start this article to capture the road conditions from Delhi to Spiti valley via Shimla – Kinnaur Valley. A lot of people travel to Spiti Valley via Kinnaur route every year. Some who travel from Kinnaur Valley exit via Kaza to Manali route. But, for this article I will focus on the road status and conditions from Delhi to Shimla to Kinnaur to Spiti Valley.
The article will help you get updated road conditions and status before planning a trip to Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh.
Delhi – Shimla – Kinnaur – Spiti Road Status
When you travel from Shimla to Kaza or Spiti via Kinnaur, you traverse the route along Hindustan – Tibet Highway or commonly known NH-05 (previously known as NH-22). The Hindustan Tibet Road is also known as the world’s most treacherous roads and when you travel on it, you will get to understand the reason why.
This road to Spiti Valley runs through some of the beautiful places well known as Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kinnaur, Tabo etc. Well, the words are short to explain the entire experience. But I can share the road conditions for all those who are planning a trip to Spiti Valley in this article. For everyone else, this article may also act as a reference for the entire route between Delhi to Shimla to Kaza, Spiti Valley via Kinnaur.
Delhi – Kinnaur – Spiti Road Status – January 2019
Here is the general breakdown of major sections of Hindustan – Tibet Road or road to Spiti Valley. Delhi to Shimla remains open all around the year. Then further as you move from Shimla towards Narkanda, the road might close at Kurfi and Narkanda in winters due to heavy snowfall.
However, after Narkanda to Reckong Peo in Kinnaur, the route remains open mostly as regions in between does not receive heavy snowfall. Although on some days, the road to Reckong Peo from the diversion point of Hindustan – Tibet road might close for a day or two.
Beyond Reckong Peo, next bottleneck point of road closure can be multiple, starting from Akpa – Jangi – Spillow. The major one, of course, being Nako – Maling Nala – Chango road which may close due to furious Maling or landslide at Maling Nalla.
Finally, if you are able to reach Tabo, you are already in Spiti Valley. The main extreme winter zone starts after Tabo at Schichiling, just below Dhankar. From here onward, in winters, the rod to Kaza may remain closed for some days to weeks due to presence of heavy snow.
Current road status as mentioned below:
- Delhi – Shimla: Open
- Shimla – Narkanda: Open
- Narkanda – Rampur – Jeori – Reckong Peo: Open
- Reckong Peo – Nako: Open
- Nako – Maling Nalla – Tabo: Open
- Tabo – Kaza: Open
- Kaza – Kunzum Pass: Closed
Kinnaur Valley Road Status 2019
I think it makes sense to keep the road status within Kinnaur Valley updated as well. Most people traveling to Spiti Valley, also visit Kinnaur and explore places like Sangla, Chitkul, Kalpa and Sarahan. Hence, knowing the road status of these routes will also help you plan the visit to these places in Kinnaur Valley as well.
- Reckong Peo – Kalpa: Open
- Reckong Peo – Sangla: Open
- Sangla Valley – Chitkul: Closed
- Rampur – Jeori Peo – Sarahan: Open
I hope these road status for Kinnaur Valley and Spiti Valley will help you in your upcoming trip. In case, you have an update on it. please share with me in comments section or DM me on Instagram.
Road Conditions between Delhi – Kinnaur Valley – Spiti Valley 2019
The road conditions on this route running along NH-05 or Hindustan – Tibet Road from Delhi to Spiti Valley remain similar majority of the year. It does not change much in the year except in monsoon and winter.
Monsoon is not a good time to be in Kinnaur Valley due to fragile mountains. Landslides are pretty common and slush makes equally difficult to drive in such a terrain. And in winter months, you should be careful as some parts on this route around Narkanda, Kufri, Nako, Reckong Peo, Tabo receive a heavy amount of snowfall closing the roads for some days to week
In March – April, the snow melts and that’s when shooting stones and snow slides are also a common phenomenon. I will try my best to keep this thread with updated road conditions from Shimla to Kinnaur to Kaza, Spiti Valley. You should also read about the best time to visit Kinnaur and Spiti Valley.
Here is the jest of road conditions of Delhi – Kinnaur – Spiti route in 2019. In case, you have an update, please feel free to post it and I will be happy to update the status.
- Delhi – Kalka = Good + Excellent
- Kalka – Shogi = Good + Average
- Shogi – Shimla = Average
- Shimla – Theog = Good + Average
- Theog – Narkanda = Good + Average
- Narkanda – Rampur = Good
- Rampur – Jeori – Bhawanagar = Good + Average
- Bhawanagar – Powari = Poor + Average
- Powari – Jangi = Poor
- Jangi – Spillow = Good
- Spillow – Dubling = Poor
- Dubling – Khab diversion = Good + Very Poor
- Khab diversion – Nako – Geyu diversion = Good + Average + Excellent
- Geyu Diversion – Tabo = Poor + Average + Good
- Tabo – Attargoo = Poor + Average
- Attargoo – Kaza = Good
- Kaza = Good
- Kaza – Kioto – Losar = Average
- Kaza – Langza – Komic – Hikkim – Kaza = Average
- Kaza – Ki – Kibber – Gete – Tashigang – Kaza = Average + Good
- Within Pin Valley = Average
Is road to Spiti Valley open in Winters?
Yes, the road to Spiti Valley from Shimla – Kinnaur side remains open all round the year including winter months because there is no high mountain pass that gets closed. However, the road closure is common for few days to weeks in case of very heavy snowfall days. The snowfall gets so heavy in few days of winter that it takes time to open the road between Reckong Peo and Kaza especially between Nako – Tabo – Kaza.
Hence, when you plan a trip to Spiti Valley in winter, please keep the buffer days in hand.
Conclusion
I hope this article will be useful for someone who is planning a trip to Spiti or Kinnaur in near future. Please feel free to ask any questions/doubts you have and I would be happy to revert back. If you happen to know the more updated road conditions, do let me know and I will update the required section.