8 Day Trek
EASY / MODERATE / DIFFICULT
Available from
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2021
Trek Highlights
Cost per person
Set in the highest National Parks in India, the Pin Parvati trek is a challenging and adrenaline pumping ten day Spiti Valley trek that is accessible only in the long rain-free summer. The Pin Parvati trek, first discovered in 1884, from Manikaran, near Manali, to Spiti Valley, takes you through a geological laboratory, where you will first be awed by the open air, hot sulphur bath at Khirganga. Conserve your energy because the variety of mountain scenery on this Pin Parvati trek will constantly leave you breathless: Long glaciers, rugged ice deserts, towering peaks that dazzle the valley in white, gray, green and the golden yellow of dawn.
The Pin Parvati trek takes you through the two different worlds of the Pin and Parvati valleys. The cold barren Pin valley is in stark contrast to the more hospitable Parvati, with its bushes, lakes, wild flowers and pastures. Much like the variety in landscape, on this ten day Pin Parvati trek, we will also notice the terrain coloured by the beautiful cultures of Hinduism on one side of the valley gradually changing into Buddhism on the other side of it.
View Full ItineraryOn the first day of the Pin Parvati trek, you will start from Mudh village, the last motorable village of Pin Valley. Leaving behind the picturesque village, you’ll be walking till your first campsite, Tiya.
It’s a straightforward trail till Tiya, where you walk over cree midst the typical landscapes of Spiti Valley. You’ll notice different colours in the mountains surrounding you, while a few hundred meters below, the Pin River gushes past. And Pin Valley slowly starts opening up to new views as you move further.
On the second day of the Pin Parvati trek, you’ll have to start early from Tiya on day two, as a river crossing awaits you early in the morning. The trail will pass through few glacial streams that you will cross on the way while walking over the loose rocks.
This part will lead to the descent to the Pin River, which flows on your left. After crossing the river you’ll climb up the other side, walk alongside the left bank of Pin River and then ascend a moraine, all the way to a shepherd’s campsite.
The third day of the Pin Parvati trek is an exciting one as you’ll start by crossing the Pin River barefoot, or cross it via glacier 2 kms ahead if the flow of water is unmanageable.
Moving further, you’ll have to tackle a steep ascent to reach the base camp of Pin Parvati pass, which is about 1000 feet below the pass itself. The moon-like conditions on this part of the mountain will enchant you, as you’ll arrive breathless after the climb, and cross a tricky stream on your way during the ascent.
You’ve to take care, as the campsite is quite windy, but it provides breath-taking views of the mountains around you.
On the fourth day of the Pin Parvati trek, we learn an important mountain lesson – Passes shouldn’t be traversed after noon, because of the dramatic weather changes. And this is why it’ll be another early morning as we’ll move to cross the Pin Parvati pass.
And it’s a pass where the world literally changes, as you move from the desert like Pin to the vast lush Parvati valley. And standing atop the pass, you could see as far as possible through both the valleys. You can see almost as far as Bara Shigri glacier, Pyramid Peak, Snow Peak etc.
And as the rhythmic flutter of the prayer flags enter your ears, you can gaze at the peaks of Kinnaur, Kullu and Spiti. The descend will include walking over muddy scree, passing Parvati glacier which is ridden with crevasses. Do follow the guide’s instructions and ensure that everyone walks in a line.
You’ll first cross the Parvati base camp, which is exactly like Pin base camp, and then descend towards Mantalai. It’s a steep descent, but it also gives one a chance to spot many a rare species of flowers including Brahmkamals, and then another river crossing will bring you to the most beautiful campsite of this trek.
On the fifth day of the Pin Parvati trek, a 9 kms descent will take you to Odi Thatch from the extremely beautiful region of Mantalai. The trail is scenic and starts with a walk on the right side of the river, until you reach a point from where you can get a view of Parvati River.
The best part about today’s trek are the mountains strewn with flowers before Odi Thatch, with different coloured bands formed by different flowers on slopes surrounding the trail. And ahead of these slopes lie a beautiful campsite.
On the sixth day of the Pin Parvati trek, is another hard day of trekking, as you descend from Odi Thatch to Tunda Bhuj while walking across meadows, followed by boulder strewn fields in the valley carrying Parvati river.
This trail will provide views of various peaks, and waterfalls along the mountain. An interesting part of the trail is Pandu Pul, which is an assimilation of boulders forming a natural bridge over the river.
Moving further is a tricky patch that you’ll have to negotiate before you enter a thick forest of Rhodoendron and Pine. This leads to Tunda Bhuj, which is a campsite surrounded by cliff faces, and there are many waterfalls all around.
On the seventh day of the Pin Parvati trek, a trek to Kheergana is a steady downhill hike, where you’ll reach Parvati River once again, and come across many waterfalls, and pastures of Birch trees.
The waterfalls in this region are sheets of mist, forming a gorgeous sight for trekkers in this part of the mountains. The trail will take you further down the mountains across various bridges, and forest patches until you spot the first signs of civilisations after almost a week at Kheerganga.
There’s a hot spring here to relax in, and it will also be your last campsite.
On the eighth and final day of the Pin Parvati trek, the popular trail down the hill from Kheerganga to Pulga is well laid and there are many dhabas on the way.
You’ll find many amateur trekkers going up to Kheerganga, as you slowly descend down into the lower reaches of Parvati valley, where you’ll be picked and driven to Manali.
It’s the last day of the trek, and is fairly easy in comparison to what you’ve done on the previous days.
Vaishali Bhat
The 6 day Spiti holiday we had in the month of August 2016 was one of the most exciting, hassel-free and filled with enriching experiences.Big Thank you goes to each and everyone in Spiti Holiday Adventure for the amazing time we had.It was indeed a pleasure to meet Rahul Mansur who organised the trip for us at a very short notice.Special thanks to Team at Hotel Spiti Serai, Rangrik for their hospitality and our driver Tilak.Would definitely love to experience more off-beat destinations organised by you guys.
Sally Anderson
Do yourself a big favour and visit Spiti Valley using this company. The whole team is extremely professional and just a lovely bunch! We did 7-day jeep ride which provided a great itinerary to see a lot of what this amazing place has to offer. Spiti Valley is a once in a lifetime experience and totally worth the effort to go!
Nilesh Saigaonkar
Thank you for an amazing "Spiti" experience. This was one of the well arranged and managed travel experience that I have been part of. Still missing the hospitality of all the people who hosted us at all places be it Khansar at kaza, Home-stay at Kibber or Mountain Trail Hotel at Manali. Once again a thank you very much and of course hope to travel with you guys once again. As JRR Tolkien says... Home is behind, The world ahead; And there are many paths to tread…
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Trek from Mudh to Tiya
Trek from Tiya to Shia
Trek from Shia to Pin base camp
TREK From Pin base camp to Pin Parvati Pass to Mantalai
Trek from Mantalai to Odi Thatch
Trek from Odi Thatch to Tunda Bhuj
Trek from Tunda Bhuj to Kheerganga
Trek from Kheerganga – Pulga
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