Things to do in Nako

Nako is a pretty fairly tale about 4-5 hrs drive from the travel headquarters of Kinnaur Valley – Rekong Peo and is easily accessible by buses which run two times a day. You can find information about travelling to Rekong Peo by Public Transport.  From Rekong Peo there are two buses for Nako, one leaving at 7AM and another at 11:30AM.

Most tourists visiting Nako spend a night at max, and some visit it enroute to Tabo and Kaza. All of them commit a mistake we advise you not to commit. Infact we love Nako so much that we can advise one to stay here for 3-4 days, we stayed 5 nights in Nako. The town is much smaller than a neighborhood that you were probably brought up in.

We suggest the following things to do during your stay in Nako.

1. Nako Lake – This is the main attraction that has put Nako on the tourist Map. It is a 5min walk from the Nako Bus Stand, and you will need only  5 minutes to see if all you want to do is tick it off the list. This is what most people do but the way to see it is to walk up the small hill that you see next to the lake, you don’t need to go too far just 10 minutes, all you need to do is reach the old rustic white Gompas that you can see from the Lake.

2. Nako Monastery – Not as famous as the Tabo Monastery but it is empty most times of the day and you will see lots of locals gathered around it when they have their monthly celebration. The celebration is a spectacle to watch if you happen to be in Nako around the time, but nothing that you should explicitly plan for.

3. Semang Monastery – An opportunity to walk on the Indo – Tibetan route which was used by people to travel between India and Tibet till 1962. The monastery is a good 7-8 hour hike from Nako and this can be tried only if you plan to stay at least 2 – 3 nights in Nako. The journey in spectacular and the trek is very refreshing, plus you also get to visit a village (Tashigong) which is only accessible by foot and the great opportunity of staying in a monastery i.e. Semang Monastery. The monastery is sort of a pilgrimage for Buddhist and lots of buddhist from Ladakh visit it. There is a tale which talks about a butcher feeling sincerely guilty about his sins and jumping of the mountain top and not dying but ends up flying in the air since God forgives his sins. An Lama (monk – Priest) from the monastery sees this magic happening and tries to imitate him but falls to the ground and dies. I guess no matter which religion it is,you can never expect the priests to be honest and sincere.

4. Maling Monastery – Malling is the neighboring village to Nako, it is so close that when the bus drops you at the junction near the helipad, you are likely to mistake Malling for Nako. The monastery is newly built but the locals are old and very very friendly. We got offered tea, food and were forced to eat apples (they were the sweetest apples we had had in our lives). If you head into the prayer room, you are most likely to be alone and it is very calm and peaceful. It takes about 20 – 30 minutes to walk here from Nako Bus Stand.

5. Do Nothing – If you are staying more than 2 days and have decided not to trek to Semang, then you will lots of spare time in this tiny hamlet of a town. The locals keep themselves busy during the summer months by working extensively from Sunrise to Sunset. Nako is very cold owing to it altitude i.e. 12014 ft above sea level. As a tourist you will find yourself acting like a Sunflower i.e. following the sun and enjoying some great food at Reo Purguil – the only proper restaurant in town. Their Israeli food can be rated 4/5. Must Try their Falafels, Lafas and Musakas. Their Mexican food isn’t bad either and you must try their Enchiladas and Mousaka. They are also a 4/5 and the staff is extremely friendly and chatty if there are not many guests around.

There is a fairly large amount of places to stay in Nako enough for the amount of tourists it gets, here is a complete list.

For Food we only ate at Reo Purguil where we also stayed, and will recommend it highly. We paid 550/- in 2010 but now in 2014, we paid INR 500/- for the same room. The difference was that we did not bargain earlier as we were working, now we don’t. Here are some tips  that will help you bargain, and find the right amount that you should pay.

The average expense per day for two people would be between INR 1000 – 1200 /- because your only expense is stay and food. If you like to drink beer which is easily available at the restaurant or at the beer shop near the Helipad will add INR 150 – 200/- to your expense.