Honeymoon 2.0: How my trip to Spiti Valley made me fall in love, again

I am someone who has been lucky enough to experience love in its purest form. From my husband, from my daughters and even from life itself.

When you are lucky enough to be surrounded by such a beautiful emotion in abundance, you tend to forget how it actually feels like to receive it all over again.

The initial skepticism, the way it comes in your life when you least accept it and the way it makes space for itself in your heart and your very soul so that you can never quite move on from it. In my case, love re-entered my life in the form of a place, it came in the form of Spiti Valley. And, I don’t think I ever want to move on.

The unexpected arrival of “Lahaul & Spiti Drive”

My husband and I love traveling. We have been to many places, all over the world. He particularly loves road trips, especially self-drive trips and we always find a way to make time for such getaways. So far, we had only taken short drives near Surat because we both can’t stay away from our daughters for too long. Our eldest is twenty years old and we have never left her behind to go traveling for more than two days. But as they say, there’s a first time for everything.

My husband loves adventure and driving in the Himalayas was on his bucket list for years. Once he came across the Lahaul & Spiti Drive by Adventures Overland, there was no stopping him.

I was really hesitant and even doubtful. Partly because I didn’t want to be away from my daughters for so long and partly because we have always been the ones to plan our trips.

We had never traveled with a group before either, especially for an entire week.

My daughters decided to hype me up, reversing the role, acting as if I was their naive daughter being nervous about my first trip. They teased me relentlessly, even coining the term “Honeymoon 2.0” as this was going to be my first long trip with my husband after such a long time. Eventually they convinced me to let go of my doubts and give this trip and especially Spiti Valley a chance. Looking back now, I am so glad that they stepped in and made me go on this trip because it changed me, forever.

Experiencing the joys of simple things in Sangla

We were introduced to the group and our fellow travelers in Chandigarh. From there, we sat behind the wheel of our cars and drove towards Narkanda which was the first stop in our Spiti itinerary. The first few days were spent getting to know the people and the crew we were traveling with. I didn’t expect to feel so comfortable around new people but every person’s presence was so comforting that my initial wariness simply faded.

By the time we reached Sangla, we had all pretty much come out of our shells enough to share inside jokes and even rely on each other, in more ways than one.

Before I knew it, we were spending our evenings watching sunsets by the river, dancing to all kinds of music and stargazing till 3 in the morning. A sense of belonging that is rare to find these days has found its way into this dynamic. It had started to feel like a family trip.

One of my best memories is from the day when we were driving to Chitkul. The team had planned a picnic en-route. There were green canopies overhead and a stream of river flowing through. In the middle of it all, a small food tent was standing, beckoning us with the aroma of rajma rice and my personal favorite kheer!

I don’t remember the last time I had enjoyed a meal as much. No Michelin star restaurants compare to it.

The Highs of Spiti Valley

Whenever someone used to mention mountains, especially the grandness of it all, I used to think of The Grand Canyon. Because of how popular it is, we visited it a few years ago. We even took a helicopter tour to see it from the top and although the experience was quite amazing, the grandeur of the Himalayas is what I think of now when someone asks me about my favorite views.

While driving through the treacherous Himalayan routes and even crossing the iconic Kinnaur gate which is hailed as one of the most dangerous roads in India, I couldn’t stop thinking how the trip would’ve turned out to be vastly different if we were alone.

These massive mountains, these isolated valleys, as incredible as they are, they are also intimidating to navigate. And, I think I was able to enjoy it as much as I did because I was at complete ease.

The way the convoy was always rolling together, the way that every single person was connected to each other via radios, it built a sense of trust. We never had to worry about anything because everything was taken care of. And so we were able to experience all the “highs” of Spiti Valley without ever having to face the lows.

We sent postcards from the highest post office in the world in Hikkim, clicked some cool pictures at the highest bridge in Asia in Chicham and celebrated with the team of Adventures Overland for crossing the 100k milestone in Komic.

From teaching Ingrid and Rania (who had come all the way from Oman) how to do Garba to celebrating our anniversary in Kaza, every day was a celebration.

The trip was nothing short of a dream because we were lucky enough to find people who had come from different corners of the world and who decided to be the coolest company we could’ve ever asked for.

Speaking of cool people, I really want to thank the AO crew. My three girls; Anjali, Kritika & Shruti who were always there to hype me up. Prachur and Akshay for being the guardian angels that they were. Prateek and Ashish for the endless jokes and Harish for being the absolute best. The trip wouldn’t have been the same without them.

I’ve been asked by my daughters and friends how the trip was and if I have gotten over the place yet.

Truthfully, even now when I close my eyes and think of Spiti, I can’t pick just one landscape because every time we turned, the view would take my breath away. After a while, you start to think that it can’t get any better than this and then, the valley would surprise you in the best possible way. That rush of emotions was nothing I had ever felt before and yet, at the same time, it was obvious to me that the feeling I was being immersed in was love, in its most pure and unconditional form.

It was thrilling and peaceful, new and familiar, challenging and comforting, all at the same time.

And when you find something that makes you feel so much, you do everything in your power to hold it close. So, I am going to do the same. I am going to hold Spiti in my heart and carry it with me everywhere I go.