Shimla–Spiti Winter Circuit by 4x4

The Route

Six Days, Day by Day.

Out of Shimla along the Sutlej, through Kinnaur into Spiti, up to the high villages above Kaza and back by way of Kalpa. The road climbs a little each day, so you acclimatise as you go.

Bars show the highest point reached each day.

Highest point

Komic, 4,587 m — reached on a day drive. You sleep lower.

Acclimatising

The route gains height over several days, and the highest point is a day visit rather than a night.

Permits

Overseas guests need an Inner Line Permit near the border, and we arrange it.

Travelling by 4x4

Four Guests to a Vehicle.

The Shimla–Spiti circuit by 4x4, in both seasons: green valleys and open roads in summer, snow and quiet villages in winter. A local driver-guide at the wheel, and the same crew and stays all the way.

• 01

  Local driver-guides

  Raised in these valleys, and at the wheel of every vehicle.

• 02

  Four guests to a vehicle

  A window seat for everyone, and room for the camera bag.

• 03

  The same safety net

  A medic, oxygen and a mechanic travel with every 4x4 convoy.

The vehicles

High-clearance, four-wheel drive with low range, and checked every evening by the convoy mechanic. Snow chains travel with every winter convoy.

Spiti & Kinnaur Routes

Mahindra Thar Roxx 4x4

Five doors, a ladder frame and low-range four-wheel drive: sure-footed on the rough, unpaved stretches beyond Kaza and up to Komic.

• 5-door
• 4WD, low range
• Rough-road ready

Shared or Private

Toyota Fortuner 4x4

The long-distance 4x4: seven seats run as four so everyone gets a window, with luggage on the roof and oxygen behind the rear seats.

• 4 guests + driver
• 4WD, low range
• Oxygen on board

Small Groups · Narrow Tracks

Maruti Suzuki Jimny 4x4

Short, light and properly four-wheel drive, with a low-range transfer case — for the narrow mountain tracks where a bigger 4x4 would struggle.

• AllGrip Pro 4WD
• Low range
• Compact

Per Person

What the Price Covers.

Before You Travel

The Packing List.

The vehicle, its fuel, every night's stay and the permits are ours to arrange. Bring the documents and personal things below. Warm clothing, and the reasons behind each item, are in what to pack for a winter Spiti expedition.

Coming in your own vehicle

What the Charge Covers.

For the whole trip. You bring the car. We bring the crew, the beds, the food and everything that makes it safe to take it over these roads — and we drive it for you if you cannot.

It is not a fee for joining a queue of cars. It pays for three teams on the road with you for the whole expedition, the places you sleep, and the food on the table at either end of the day.

• The medical team. An expedition medic travels in the convoy with oxygen and a trauma kit, checks oxygen levels and pulse every morning and evening, and has a plan to get anyone down fast. Altitude is the one thing on this route that does not negotiate.
• The mechanical team. A mechanic and a support vehicle with spares, tools, a tow rope and a shovel. Your vehicle is checked the evening before we leave and looked after all week — a puncture, a dead battery or a wheel in the snow is a stop, not the end of your trip.
• The media team. A photographer travels with the convoy and records the whole thing — you on the passes, the villages, camp at night — and your edited gallery comes to you after the trip. You drive; we keep the memories.
• Where you sleep. Every night is booked and paid for: heated camps and family-run homestays, chosen and checked by us, not whatever has a room free at 9pm.
• Breakfast and dinner, every day. Hot food morning and night, including in the villages above Kaza where there is nothing open in winter. (Lunch on the road is your own.)
• The guide and the route. A lead guide who has driven every stretch, sets the pace, and makes the call when weather closes in — plus the Inner Line Permits for everyone in your vehicle.
• A driver when you need one. Tired, unwell, or simply done for the day? One of our drivers takes your wheel, or you ride in one of our vehicles and someone else brings yours along. Nobody drives these roads exhausted.