Spiti Valley in Winter | Surviving -30 Degrees
It was a decision that required a lot of courage and planning. I couldn’t have woken up one day, packed my bags and decided to leave, as I often do. I had to go over a list of things I needed over and over again and every time I went through it, it seemed not enough. Winters in Spiti Valley is no joke, after all.
Winter is a different game altogether in a place where even summer nights can be painfully cold with dry winds stinging your face like a slap. And for someone like me, whose cold bearing threshold is incredibly low (read: non-existent), it was weeks of planning and running errands that finally made me feel ready for the plunge I was about to take.
I had signed myself up for some of the most incredibly challenging things to do: survive 10 days where the temperature falls to -30 degrees Celsius!
My ten days in Spiti Valley during the last week of December were no less than an adventure. Here’s all that I learned, and my guide to how you can do it better.
What's In Here
How to Reach Spiti Valley in Winters
First things first. There are two routes through which you can enter Spiti. One via Manali through Rohtang Pass, and the other via Shimla through Kinnaur. Since Rohtang Pass remains buried in snow during winter, the only option to enter Spiti Valley in winter is through Shimla. The Shimla route remains open the entire year, except for unforeseen road blockages due to snow- which gets cleared out in a couple of days.
Things to know about winters in Spiti Valley
Running water is a luxury you will miss
This is not much of a surprise considering I have already mentioned the -30 degrees bit. But for those who need a little more perspective on things, water pipes freeze during winters here. That means about 6 months of no running water to bathe, flush or even wash your hands or your face.
Errr… wait, what? No flushing? So how do you do the big job there? We’ll find out.
Everything Freezes. Everything
In continuation to the last point, frozen water is not the only thing that you need to worry about while in Spiti Valley. While I was sitting in the kitchen, observing the cook do his business one day in Kaza, I saw him pick up an onion and dunk it into a pot of hot water. Curious, I questioned him about this and he told me that onions have so much water in them that the entire vegetable freezes and it’s difficult to cut into it or eat it in that form!
On top of that, the walls of the kitchen were lined with a considerably thick layer of ice… from the steam that came from all the cooking. Which ultimately means a light shower in the kitchen when the sun decides to bestow us with its presence and the ice finally melts off.
But that’s not it, if you put a wet towel to dry, chances are you’ll find it in a weird twisted position because a wet towel in Spiti Valley freezes faster than it dries!
You can expect other mildly wet things around you to freeze too, including your pack of wet wipes and even your hair after a head bath. The moment you step out with those wet hair of yours, it’ll bunch up together and the remaining water on it will… you guessed it – freeze. So unless you have a blow dryer lying around in a place where electricity is intermittent, do not wash your hair!
Frozen water pipes equal dry compost toilets
Have you even heard of a concept like dry compost toilets, let alone experienced it? I hadn’t either until I saw one of them, and it is not a sight to behold.
Compost toilets are essentially large holes dug into the earth, covered with a tin/ cardboard sheet in which you aim and shoot. Toilet jets (bidets) are replaced with toilet paper and baby wipes and if it’s too cold, soap is replaced with hand sanitiser.
Temperatures range from freezing to freezing throughout the day
The days are usually -15 to – 20 degrees. This, coupled with cloudy skies and strong winds, mean only one thing: doing nothing but sitting in your blanket all day long! The nights are usually -25 to – 35 degrees Celcius and you most definitely need a heater to survive. And I don’t mean your regular electric heaters because they will feel like orange light bulbs in your room and nothing more.
The real heaters are the traditional tandoors found in Spitian homes that keep you nice and toasty… and alive.
My experience in a concrete room (as opposed to traditional mud houses that are 3 to 5 degrees warmer) with an electric rod heater was… let’s say horrifying. Throughout the 4 nights I spent in Kaza, my entire focus was on keeping my body warm and quite frankly, I couldn’t enjoy myself even in the company of a bunch of really good friends.
But well, that’s just me and my poor threshold for the cold.
Markets are mostly shut
Once the tourist season ends and winters take over everyone’s lives, you will only find 2 to 3 shops selling the bare necessities and Kaza – the otherwise bustling tourist town of the valley – will feel like an abandoned post-apocalyptic town.
With shutters on every single shop you lay eyes on, it was quite eery to walk around lanes that were so full of life the last time I saw them. So forget about shopping for souvenirs and dining at fancy cafes and focus on surviving.
Clothes for winter Spiti: Layer up!
Regardless of how many big poofy jackets you buy, you cannot survive such harsh temperatures in just a jacket or two. Begin with a well-insulated base layer and top it off with another one if required. Follow that up with a warm fleece, then a nice comfy sweater and then that poofy jacket we talked about.
Similarly for the bottoms, start with a base layer (or two if needed) followed by a pair of warm pants.
Your shoes must be waterproof and preferably insulated with a good grip to walk over the ice. Trust me, the waterproof bit is important because fellow travellers came in water-resistant shoes and ended up soaking them wet and having to buy another pair from Kaza Market.
My Reccommendations
- Base layer (top): Columbia Omni-Heat 3D Knit Crew Top Baselayer Top
- Base layer (bottom): Columbia Omni-Heat 3D Knit Baselayer Bottom
- Top jacket: Columbia Bugaboo II Fleece Interchange Insulated Jacket
- Shoes: Quecha Women’s Snow Hiking Shoes SH520 X-Warm Mid
- Ski pants: Quechua Warm Hiking Trousers SH500 X-Warm Stretch
Weather Gods control public transport
When in Spiti, forget about fixed itineraries and pre-made plans. Snowstorms and blizzards often equal blocked roads which then equal cancelled buses. Depending upon the amount of snow, it can take several hours to several days for our beloved BRO to clear up said roads.
So don’t count on catching that flight back on time because, well, this is Spiti.
Surviving winters in Spiti Valley: A checklist
Now getting to the most important bit of the trip, the planning. Regardless of how spontaneous you are and how unplanned your travels are, you need a checklist. Because you can never be too prepared for winters in the good ol’ Spiti Valley.
- SUNGLASSES to prevent snow blindness: a condition where the eye gets severely damaged due to looking at the sun-reflecting snow directly.
- SUNSCREEN to prevent sunburns. I recommend Plum Goodness.
- FACE MASK/ BALACLAVA to protect yourself from those knee-knocking winds.
- THERMOS FLASK because water will freeze in your plastic bottles.
- LIP BALM to prevent burnt, chapped lips caused by the winds and the sun.
- WOOLLEN GLOVES to prevent frostbite.
- EXTRA PAIR OF WOOLLEN SOCKS in case your pair gets wet by the snow.
- DRY SHAMPOO for those who can’t bear the dirt and oiliness of unwashed hair.
- WOOLLEN CAP
- MUFFLER
- TOILET PAPER AND BABY WIPES to care for that tush.
- HAND SANITIZER because sometimes it can get too cold to wash your hands.
- MOUTH WASH because sometimes it can get too cold to brush your teeth.
- FACE WIPES because sometimes it can get too cold to wash your face.
- DIAMOX TABLETS altitude mountain sickness because (AMS) is real.
Pssst… women. Here’s a tip for you. Carry enough fresh underwear to change every day, and consider carrying intimate wipes or foam wash to ensure hygiene down there since taking a shower will be… well, difficult to say the least.
Here’s another tip: If you’re worried about finding accommodation, food and transport in the deserted cold desert of Spiti Valley during winter, you can rely on the frequent group tours organized by Trekatribe. I have been working with them for over a year now and I trust them wholeheartedly to plan a cherishable trip come rain or shine!
For more stories and pictures from my adventures in Spiti Valley and elsewhere, follow me on Instagram.
Avantika
A twenty-something solo adventurer, Avantika finds comfort in learning about various cultures, its people and listening to age-old folk tales. When not on the road, she can be found cuddled up with her dog in her room, with a book in her hand.
30 Comments
Vikram katoch
Avantika is an awesome solo traveller. She is full of life. I respect her courge of exploring places solo. Keep it up avantika. ???
Avantika
you’re too kind, vikram! thank you 🙂
Rahul
Reading your blog is an experience in itself, looking forward for more.
Avantika
thank you for your kind words, rahul!
Amita Chaturvedi
You amaze me everytime….?
Rajat Bisht
Really felt the cold while reading!!
Kudos for the article and the courage to brave Spiti in December!! ?
Avantika
haha, thanks for reading! 🙂
Jabez Philip
Please don’t write false facts ! Spiti does not go below minus 20, including wind-chill. Also now imagine the army deployed in kargil and drass tin winter ! In minus thirty even your nose and eyelids freeze ! I know cause I have lived !
Avantika
good to know you’ve lived wherever you have lived. and major respect to the indian army for surviving harsh conditions even at Siachen but that’s not the point of this post, firstly. secondly, request you to google kaza and kibber temperatures on accuweather as of today. night drops to -26 and when i was there, it was -28. maybe do a little more research before spewing hate on people’s work yeah? 🙂
Navneeth and Shishira
This post is really warmly written Avantika! We’ve not been here and all that you’ve written here makes us yearn for our own experience! Hopefully, we get to visit someday soon too. 🙂
Avantika
hopefully you will! it’s a one of a kind experience truly!
Debjani lahiri
I tell ya reading this post in the sweltering heat of kolkata right now made me feel like packikng my bags and leave for Spiti right away ..and feeling the wind chill on my face would be my wish so now .. but honestly ya bracing cold in winters that too in -30 is unimaginable.. I wonder about the locals and their tenacity .
Avantika
i feel you, Debjani! even delhi is burning up these days. but -30 definitely feels like an otherworldly experience! it must take a lot of grit for the locals to spend their entire lives this way!
Arnav Mathur
After experiencing Ladakh in the Winters, i so want to experience Spiti Now. I can totally relate to your experience, as i had similar one during the Chadar Trek. At least you had legit pakka rooms, with bukharis to stay, we stayed in tents, in freezing temperatures. And what an experience it was.
Avantika
I can’t even imagine camping in such temperatures, Arnav! what a bone-chilling experience it must’ve been! but I do want to try it one day- to test my perseverance hahaha!
The Exploring Eyes
Winter Spiti is a long time wishlist for us. The surreal layer of ice all over the place is just magnificent. Your recommendations will be really handy for us. Bdw can you do Chandratal in winter?
Avantika
I’m glad you found it useful! hopefully, you’ll get to experience it soon. and no, one can’t visit Chandra Tal in winters since kunzum pass is shut during the winters
Nitin jain
While reading this whole blog, I am feeling chilling winds, I can’t make it to -30 it’s a nut job, though wanted to see the beauty of Spiti, hats off to you, would like to read more about your chilling experiences.
Avantika
haha thanks, nitin. spiti is beautiful and warm from May to August (though pretty cold during the nights regardless). but winters in spiti is a charm in itself!
VIDur
Can’t wait to get to spiti. Love this place. Thanks for sharing. It was good to see ur pics and memories from spiti
Afreen Ansari
Spiti has been in my list for way too long.. Love the detailing will efinitely be visiting it super soon post Corona
Ramya
I heard about the harsh winters of Spiti, but before this post was unaware about the realities of it. I believe it is an adventure to cherish lifetime.
Nidhi Gupta
this was the year for my Spiti travel but lockdown changed plans as well as life… just travelled through your post… thanks
Raksha Nagaraj
That is my biggest concern whenever I plan Spiti or any parts of the north during Dec and Jan. It is cold and I hate cold :D. I cannot even imagine what -30 feels like, when I dont even like something around -5. But this article is so tempting, the pictures during winters are absolutely stunning.
DoiBedouin
Wow. Seriously I crumbled in the -2 degrees of Sikkim’s winter. And you are saying -30degrees. And I loved the way you put it all. The compost toilet, the poophole as you referred. Every word prepares the readers fir their trip to the Narnian winter.
Lancelot Quadras
I just had a visual treat reading about your journey. Best being the minute details on living, bathing, pooping and being ready for wearing multiple layers. Thanks for all the suggestions along with their links.
delhifundos2014
Thank you for the detailed experience. We appreciate the depth of information you’ve included here. It really helped us for a lot planning our trip to spiti valley.
pamela
Wow Avantika, Loved this post and the pictures. Spiti is in my list from long long time and this year I wanted to visit but due to this pandemic could not make it. Hopefully next year….
PRIYANKA SENGAR
Spiti, is the part of my bucket list since long but not getting a chance to materialize it soon. Loved the pictures and the details you mentioned here. Thanks
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