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The best way to travel to Spiti or Ladakh is on your own Motorcycle, Jeep, Car or a hired Taxi from Manali, Srinagar (For Ladakh) or Shimla (For Lahual-Spiti, Sangla and Kinnaur Valley), this time we have decided to ditch our motorbike and head to Spiti , Sangla and Kinnaur by Public Transport.
In this article we are covering how to get to Spiti, Kinnaur and Sangla Valley from Shimla, and RekongPeo is the first major halt on your journey. You can head to Kinnaur and Sangla valley from RekongPeo or continue your journey towards Spiti Valley.
TRAINS
Several trains run between Delhi – Kalka, the Himalayan Queen (departing at 5:45AM) and Shatabdi (departing at about 8AM) are the fastest. Book your tickets till Kalka and from there you can either take the Toy – Train, Bus or Taxi to Shimla.
There are 3 Toy Trains
Shivalik Deluxe Express – connects with Howrah-Kalka Mail train, departs Kalka at 5.30 a.m and arrives Shimla at 10.15 a.m.
Himalayan Queen – connects Himalayan Queen train from Nizammudin, Delhi departs Kalka at 12.10 p.m. and arrives in Shimla at 5.20 p.m.
Rail Motor Car – departs Kalka at 5.10 a.m and arrives at 9.35 a.m.
BUS
Ordinary Bus
There is a direct bus from Delhi to Rekong Peo, leaves Delhi at 8:10PM and reaches Rekong Peo at about 5PM next day, cost about 720/-
Deluxe Bus
There is a Deluxe Bus [HRTC operated] which departs from Chandigarh at 5:50PM and get your to Rekong Peo by 7-8 AM next morning, costs about 650 per person. You can catch the same bus from Shimla at 10PM. There is only current booking on the bus from Shimla.
Volvo
You can take a Volvo from Delhi to Shimla 4 times during the day around 6:45AM, 9:25AM, These cost about 850/- and travel time is about 7-8 hours.
There are lots of Ordinary buses leaving for RekongPeo from Shimla and two Deluxe buses leaving at 10AM and 10PM.
Ordinary bus from Shimla to RekongPeo costs 350/-
Deluxe buses from Shimla to Rekong Peo costs about 430/-
Useful Websites
http://www.hrtc.gov.in/hrtctickets ——— FOR the HRTC buses, which you will have to use beyond Shimla and Chandigarh. The website requires you to register which takes about 2-3 minutes and then you can book your tickets online.
For Any questions, feel free to leave comments.
Nice! I did this area by public bus in Nov/ Dec -obviously an odd time of year to go lol it was interesting, I actually wrote about one ride today!
Rachel of Hippie in Heels recently posted…The Indian Bus Ride from Hell
Rachel
The roads are still as bad and crowded and we also had people sitting on our laps . but it was fun.
Empty Rucksack
Useful post for travellers not riding into Spiti.
Niranjan,
The public transport is quite nice, would highly recommend it over a bike ride