15 Years. One Man. A Legacy of Reliability in the Mountains.

In the mountains, no season passes without its share of challenges — swollen rivers in the monsoon, sudden landslides, blocked roads, or urgent evacuations. In Himachal, these situations are a given. What matters is having someone you can count on when they happen.

For us, that person has been Pohlu Ji for the past 15 years. From arranging a JCB in the middle of a Hampta Pass crisis, to navigating risky river crossings at Beas Kund, to getting trekkers out safely when the roads blocked — he has been there, every single time.

He is not just our partner for transportation and operations in Himachal. He has stood by us through every difficult situation, often in the background, making sure things work when they matter most.

From helping lay the very first foundation of the Hampta Pass trek in 2010 with our founders Arjun Majumdar and Sandhya UC, to running the heart of our Manali operations today, his work is woven into every step of our story. 

And on August 1, 2025, we honoured him with the Sarvasreshta Partner Samman. It was our way of recognising Pohlu Ji — for being the steady, reliable force that ensures everything in Himachal runs without a hitch. 

But let’s dive a little more into the person that Pohlu ji is. 

The Delhi Meeting That Launched Our Himachal Story

“When Indiahikes was still finding its feet, most of our work was in Uttarakhand,” recalls Arjun Majumdar, our founder. “But in 2010, senior members of the Youth Hostel network suggested: ‘There’s a man in Manali you should meet.’”

That man was Pohlu Ji. Indiahikes was nobody then — just a small team with big dreams. Yet, when asked to meet in Delhi, he didn’t hesitate. He travelled, met Arjun in Chittaranjan Park, and offered to be our local representative in Himachal. The conversation lasted barely an hour, but in that short time, his reliability, readiness to take responsibility, and deep knowledge of the land were evident.

The real test came soon after, during our first explorations of Hampta Pass. Back then, it wasn’t a popular trek — just a handful of trekkers each season. The route was raw and beautiful. It was on those snowfields and narrow descents that trust was forged.

Many people came and went from our story. Pohlu Ji stayed.

What began as a simple meeting in Delhi grew into a partnership that has guided our work in Himachal for over a decade and a half. And the Jungle Line celebration was our way of pausing to honour that journey and the person behind it.

What Happened at Indiahikes Jungle Line Campus?

This celebration was more than an award — it was a living reminder of why we choose to work the way we do, year after year.

Our leadership team—Swathi, Nayana, Ramon, and Nandana—were there on the slope, joining in the celebration firsthand.

Putting the event together required careful coordination. From the initial idea on July 30th to the event the next evening, Abhishek Tiwari, Vishal, and Nalin managed logistics, collected video messages from across the slopes and from Arjun and Sandhya, and prepared a visual tribute that captured his journey.

When the messages played, there was a shift in the room. On Pohlu Ji’s face, a smile appeared. It was the same emotion that surfaced again when his family spoke with honesty about their journey with Indiahikes — the pride, the struggles, and the growth. True to who he is, Pohlu Ji stayed shy before the large crowd.

People, Culture, and the Spirit That Holds Us Together

The event was not about fancy décor or grandeur. It was about the soul of Indiahikes — people, culture, connection and the spirit.

The folk dance from Uttarakhand, Karma Daju’s heartfelt song, and Vishal’s Himachali melody brought the room to life.

Even the rain joined in. It poured relentlessly that morning, but no one stood still. With raincoats on, we set up the venue. Then came the power cut — no TV, no mic, no Plan A. But our adaptability took over. We improvised, and the lack of equipment only made the celebration more intimate.

The way everything came together at Jungle Line that day is just like how our treks come alive — through the people who know these mountains best. Their traditions, their knowledge, their connection to the land aren’t extras. They’re the heart of how we work.

Pohlu Ji — and every person we work with — is not part of a ‘local collaboration.’ This is the only way we work.

As Arjun put it, this was never about ‘local collaboration’ as some separate concept. For us at Indiahikes, working with the people of the region is the only way to work. If we’re in Manali, we work with Manali. In Kashmir, with Kashmiris. In Uttarakhand, with the people who have walked those trails for generations.

Pohlu Ji isn’t an ‘outsourced’ partner — he is part of the slope’s system. This isn’t charity. It isn’t a token gesture. It’s simply the most effective and sustainable way to run treks — where knowledge of the land, the weather, and the culture flows naturally.

There is something for everyone — trekkers, team members, partners — who can learn from Pohlu Ji:

Through rescues, evacuations, unpredictable weather, and the countless behind-the-scenes challenges of running treks, he has stayed steady. Often unnoticed, but always there. In a world quick to move on, he chose to stay. And that choice has built a legacy.

This celebration reminded us of something simple but important — we aren’t just running treks; we’re part of people’s lives: our trekkers’, our teammates’, and the families working behind the scenes.

To everyone who made the Jungle Line celebration possible — thank you for your time, effort, and care.

And to Pohlu Ji — thank you for showing us that lasting impact isn’t made with noise. It comes from consistency, showing up day after day, until years later, you look back and see years of unshakable presence etched into the mountains.

Honouring a Legacy: 15 Years of Pohlu Ram Ji with Indiahikes

Trekking community, Trekking culture, Trek operations and logistics, Leadership in trekking, Himachal Treks, Treks from Manali

The Bijli Mahadev temple is an icon of Kullu's cultural identity. The trail to the temple is also well known for its scenic beauty. Thousands of pilgrims visit this shrine in Himachal Pradesh every year. 

The temple famously gets its name from a legend, associated with an annual lightning (bijli) strike. It holds that lightning strikes Bijli Mahadev annually, breaking the shrine apart. The priest then restores it with sattoo, collected from the local villages.

But beyond this one story, how well do we actually know Bijli Mahadev ? Do we know the origins of its association with lightning ? How did the temple look when it was first built ? When did it come into prominence ? How is Bijli Mahadev connected to the greater deities of Kullu ?

So, read on for a deep-dive into all that surrounds Bijli Mahadev-- folklore, history, and fascinating geography.

The Setting

Bijli Mahadev sits atop the Mathan hill in Kullu. At 8100 ft above sea level, the meadowy clearing of Mathan is a beautiful vantage point. From here, you see four prominent river valleys of Himachal Pradesh-- Kullu, Parvati, Bhuntar and Gorsa. On the distant horizon, you gaze into the legendary snow peaks of Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges. 

Even the approach to the temple is magical. The trail snakes through beautiful forests of giant deodars. These are some of the oldest and grandest deodars of the country.

And then, the tall forests transition into a meadowy slope near Mathan. At the top of this slope, sits the Bijli Mahadev Temple.

The trail to Bijli Mahadev passes through some of the grandest deodar forests of our country. These dense forests then open up into a beautiful meadow near the temple.Photo by Archana Solanki.

Temple Architecture

The temple measures 36 ft in length by 24 ft in breadth. The lower parts of its walls are made of cut-stone, with no plaster being used throughout. A covered verandah of Deodar encircles the building and the sloping roof is formed of six tyres of planks of the same wood. 
At the entrance there are fancifully carved uprights that join on the roof. 

It is a fine specimen of Himachal’s indigenous timber-bonded, chalet-style architecture. Academics describe Bijli Mahadev as “one of the most famed examples of the pent-and-gable roof” among the wooden temples of Himachal Pradesh.  [Source:  May-June 2024 issue of the International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research]

The Bijli Mahadev temple. Photo by Abhishek Tiwari.

A beautifully carved wooden verandah against the orange hues of sunset. If you trek to the summit just in time for the sunset, you witness the Pir Panjal And Dhauladhar ranges lit by evening light. Photo by Abhishek Tiwari.

Antiquity of the Bijli Mahadev Temple

The temple structure you see today is a 20th century construction. But it carries whispers of a grander structure that once stood in its place. 

“Kulu, the Happy Valley”, published by the Punjab Public Relations Department in 1956, describes that the temple had “massive woodwork and beautifully carved deodar verandah and uprights, which were seriously damaged by a disastrous fire”. It is echoed in a book by Ramanujam S.R, which mentions “records from 150 years ago that testify to a grander multi-tiered temple which perhaps was lost to fire”.

Even though a lot went up in smoke, you still see very intricate sculptures on the temple’s wooden doors. Dilaram Shabab, in his seminal book on Kullu valley’s cultural history, describes these wooden carvings to “represent 18th century hill art of the highest order”.

Lightning and the Temple: How Bijli Mahadev Gets His Name

Just beside the temple, you would see a tall wooden pole. This sacred staff, called Dbuj, is a single deodar trunk, stripped off its branches and tipped with a muslin-wrapped silver coin. It is believed to attract Lord Shiva’s blessings through lightning (Bijli).

Popularly, lightning is believed to strike the temple once every 12 years. Others describe this strike to be an annual event. But everyone agrees that the shiva lingam inside the temple (pindi) shatters into pieces with each lightning strike. 
“The temple priest collects butter and sattoo from each household to piece together the fragments of the defaced Pindi. Prayers and chanting of hymns from the ancient scriptures follow and soon the Pindi is restored to its original form”, writes Dilaram.
The Dbuj is replaced with the tallest deodar from the surrounding forests.

This connection, that Bijli Mahadev shares with lightning and the Dbuj, is a very prominent part of Kullu’s cultural identity. You would even find it mentioned in travelogues and journals from the colonial era.

A.P.F Hamilton’s 1933-account of Kullu in The Himalayan Journal mentions this Dbuj-- “tall staff, some sixty feet in height, which stands close to the building and is visible from Sultanpur”.

The "Dbuj" or Lightning Attractor of the Bijli Mahadev temple. Photo sourced from “The Joy of Himachal Temples) by Ramanujam SR.

Tall deodars from the surrounding forest are shaped into the "Dbuj" of the temple. Photo by Upayan Chatterjee.

Kulant, the Demon and Whispers of a Buddhist Past

If history is one side of the coin, mythology is the prominent other.

Delving into the folklore surrounding Bijli Mahadev brings you to Shiva’s altercations with Kulant. Kulant was a demon, who hailed from the cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti. He took the form of a huge snake and approached Mathan via Ghogar Dhar in Mandi. Other versions of the story describe Kulant to be a fire-breathing dragon.

At Ghogar Dhar, Kulant put his body across Beas to stop its flow and drown the villages in the valley. Shiva intervened by telling Kulant that his tail was on fire. When Kulant turned back to check, Shiva slayed him. 

Kulant’s huge body then turned into a mountain. It is this mountain that is believed to have formed the watershed between Parvati and Beas rivers. 

Kulant’s head lies at the Mathan. So, from time to time, Indra strikes the hilltop with lightning and Shiva bears the brunt of those strikes, through the unending cycle of shattering and restoration of His shrine at the Bijli Mahadev temple.

But the story doesn’t end here. There are a lot of interesting lines that you can draw from these mythical descriptions.

Kulant can be linked to the Kulutas-- traders who historically travelled from Kullu towards Spiti via Rohtang Pass. The Kulutas brought with them whiffs of thriving Buddhist culture from  the Tibetan Plateau. 
Kulant being described as a large snake or a dragon, a prominent Buddhist icon, further reinforces this hypothesis. 

And along these lines, Dbuj’s association with lightning was interpreted by A.P.F Hamilton as “a survival of Buddhism which existed everywhere in the valley in the 7th century AD”.

A typical sunset at Bijli Mahadev, against the serrated skyline of high summits and Kullu’s rolling highlands. As per local belief, it was the demon, Kulant’s body that turned into these mountains, after Lord Shiva defeated him in a battle. Photo by Archana Solanki.

Of Mountains and Rivers

With time, these whispers of a Buddhist past have disappeared. Today, you see stone-carved statues of a bull and a lingam right at the temple-entrance. These paint the perfect picture of a Shaivite shrine. 

It is set against an incredible backdrop of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal Ranges. You see several imposing peaks like Parvati, Kullu Pumori, Kullu Makalu (first successful Indian ascent happened only recently in June 2023) and even the Hanuman Tibba (immortalised as the “Solang Weisshorn” by C.G. Bruce). 

Beneath the snow-peaks are the green hills of Kullu. Numerous spurs and ridges shoot off in all directions. The turquoise thread of Beas winds through these hills before merging with Parvati’s muddy torrent near Bhuin. 
Dr. Hiranand Shashtri interpreted the revered “Kulantipitha Mahatma” text and described this sangam is the holiest location in the greater Kullu landscape.

While Bijli Mahadev stands over this holy confluence, Mata Parvati (Bijli Mahadev’s wife) of Chong and Bhagga Siddh (Bijli Mahadev’s sister) of Pini carry His influence into the Parvati valley. Covered in silver masks and decked with flowers, Bhagga Siddh visits Bijli Mahadev each year on an auspicious day in Shravan.

The holy confluence of Parvati and Beas rivers at Bhuntar, as seen from the temple. Photo by Neeb Balwant sourced from "Traveler Tales", a public blogsite maintained by the photographer.

Bhaga Siddh of Pini, the mythical sister of Bijli Mahadev, adorned with silver masks. Photo sourced from the book “Flowers of Faith: Devtas of Kullu Valley” by Ellen Reitman.

Bijli Mahadev, Sidh Pal and Hidimba

The story of these silver masks brings you to the rise and fall of dynasties in this remote Himalayan kingdom. Rajah Man Singh (1688-1719) is known to have donated silver masks to Kullu deities for commemorating victories. 

Man Singh was one of the greatest conquerors of Kullu’s famed Pal dynasty.

But who were the Pal rajahs? And how did their dynastic name change to Singh? Again, a mythical tale holds answers.
[Source: “History of the Punjab Hill States [Vol-II]” by Drs. Hutchinson and Vogel]

Vihangamani Pal established his rule over Kullu in 1st century AD by ousting cruel Spiti chieftains. With blessings of Goddess Hidimba, his successors ruled the region until 1450 AD. The kingdom, then, fell to the Kunindas and the Ranas.

After this takeover, Sidh Pal arrived at Kulu and noticed the shrine of Bijli Mahadev on a hilltop. He learnt that carrying water from the holy sangam of Beas and Parvati to the temple would earn him the God’s favour. From the sangam, it is a very steep ascent to the temple. But Sidh Pal performed the feat. Tired, he then fell asleep at the temple premises. 

Bijli Mahadev appeared in his dream and implored Sidh Pal to visit Jagatsukh. 

At Jagatsukh, Sidh Pal took refuge at a potter’s place. There, he met an old woman and carried a heavy kilta (basket) for her. The old woman was none other than Goddess Hidimba herself. She was impressed by Sidh Pal’s selfless, moral act. 

As an act of blessing, Hidimba raised Sidh Pal on her shoulders. The folklore even puts a number to this incident-- they describe Sidh Pal to have been raised 32 kos above the ground

“How far do you see?”, Hidimba had asked, after raising Sidh to that 32-kos vantage.
“Up to Dalasni in one direction, to Chorot plain on the other and till Kale Kanaur in the third direction”, Sidh Pal had replied. 
“All of that land belongs to you now”, Hidimba said and disappeared immediately. 

Everyone in Jagatsukh immediately recognised Sidh Pal as king. But having no army to fight the Ranas, he stayed hidden at a Brahmin’s place in Jagatsukh. 

One night, when Sidh Pal was helping the Brahmin’s wife milk a cow, a lion (singh) entered the shed. Sidh fought the lion with bare hands. This instilled great confidence among his subjects. Together, they waged a successful war against the Ranas. 

Thus, Pals regained Kullu (circa 1500 AD) and earned the dynastic epithet of “Singh”.

The famous Hidimba Temple of Manali, set amidst the dense groves of ancient deodars. Hidimba is revered as the guardian deity of the entire Kullu valley. Photo by Upayan Chatterjee.

The Ebbs and Flow of Time

The Ebbs and Flow of Time
The Pal Dynasty was threatened again, in the 1800s. There were repeated Gurkha invasions. The Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh extorted the Pals in the guise of protection. 

Kullu’s identity as an independent mountain kingdom lingered weakly till the reign of Ajeet Singh. He was the last Pal Rajah. After Ajeet Singh’s death, Kullu was virtually annexed by Sikhs. 

The region came under British rule when the Sikh Empire ceded ground after the first Anglo-Sikh War (1846). The Bijli Mahadev Temple committee lost 874.7 bigha land to the British Land Tenancy Acts.

Bijli Mahadev stood on the Mathan Hilltop and saw all of this unfold. His temple endured the test of time. Thus, it stands today, where it has always stood. When you trek to Bijli Mahadev temple, these are the stories you stand amidst. 

At Indiahikes, we do run regular batches for the Bijli Mahadev Trek from Manali. But if you are just looking for information and want to do the trek on your own, you can go through this detailed guide.

When you trek to Bijli Mahadev, you walk amidst a rich tapestry of history and cultural reverence. Photo by Archana Solanki.

The Kais Dhar Connection

From the magical vantage of Bijli Mahadev temple, you can see many fascinating features of Kullu valley. Among them, is Kais Dhar, a ridge named after the quaint village of Kais. 

Kais used to be a quiet hamlet, tucked away into the interiors of Kullu valley. But things changed after the inauguration of Dagpo Shedrupling Monastery by the 14th Dalai Lama (2005) brought it to limelight.

But that is the story of a different trek for a different day.

The cultural significance of Kullu's Bijli Mahadev Temple.

Why Bijli Mahadev is a Famous Cultural Icon in Kullu

bijli mahadev uttarakhand famous kullu significance story stories history mythology kulant makkhan bijleshwar bijleswar kot chansari 

I remember the first time I heard about Spiti, It was while reading Rudyard Kipling’s book “Kim.” Published in 1901, this book is set against the geographical grandeur and the cultural richness of India and specifically the Himalayas.

The protagonist of the novel, Kim O’Hara, along with a Tibetan Llama, traverses through the Spiti valley which is aptly described.

“At last they entered a world within a world — a valley of leagues where the high hills were fashioned of the mere rubble and refuse from off the knees of the mountains… surely the Gods live here”.

Surely, there couldn’t exist such a place as Spiti — secluded, untouched with its shamanic rituals, tenets of Buddhism and symmetrical villages against pink jagged mountainscapes — surely, there couldn’t exist such a spiritually electric place as Spiti!

Key, the largest monastery in the Spiti Valley region and possibly one of the oldest in the region. Picture by Sudheer Hegde.

Pronounced  locally as “Piti,” Spiti  literally  means the middle country  that lies between India and Tibet. It was and still is  the ancient gateway to Tibet .

The beauty of its topography paints a stark picture against the blue canvas of the  sky. If you have visited Spiti once, you will never be able to forget it. The small things will stay vivid in your memory, especially the shapes and  colours — the white chortens, the prayer tablets, the mud walls of homes studded with pebbles, dust devils rising from the fine silt islands, the Spiti and the Pin rivers, like  mirrors, glinting through the arid cold desert – this high altitude world will truly take your breath away.

Read about 11 Places To Visit In Spiti After Your Trek

You trek through these stunning views of Spiti Valley on the Pin Bhaba Pass trek. Picture by Gourab Nandy.

Many treks — the Pin Bhabha Pass, Pin Parvati Pass, Kanamo peak — either begin or culminate at the heart of Spiti. All of  these treks give you a glimpse of the grandeur of Spiti’s brilliant landscape as well as the cultural heritage it expresses.

As a trekker, one must on any account, explore beyond the trails of the trek and beyond the touristy. We, at Indiahikes, believe that a trek is the best way to understand places in the most intimate way, and Spiti is one of those rare regions that allows you to do that. 

Spiti belonged to the ancient kingdom of Zhang Zhung. With the coming of the Tibetans in the valley, Buddhism flourished but the Zhang Zhung culture with its Tribal rituals and shamanic practices continued to survive in different forms, synchronising itself with the cultures of Hinduism and Buddhism along the centuries. 

You will meet locals who will tell you about various primitive traditions, beliefs and superstitions that are both taken from the Mahabharata as well as Mahayana Buddhism. Hindu and Buddhist gods have been assimilated together, living in harmony. You will be completely amazed by the understanding that exists between these two philosophies and their similarities. It will make you realise that culture is not a water tight compartment of a certain set of rituals, customs or religions. Rather it is a melting point where many philosophies can meet, interact and exist in harmony.

The Golden Buddha at Langza, deemed to be a 1000 years old. Picture by Satyen Dasgupta

The vernacular landscape is as sharp as the topographical. The people are flat faced, rosy cheeked but deeply lined because of the harsh cold. They drink the Chang (salted butter tea) and murmur prayers into the air with beads twirling in their hands.

A mother caught admiring her child. Photo by Ravindra Joisa.

You will be amused to find out that the gods here are quite temperamental in nature and require constant appeasement. You will definitely come across colourfully dressed villagers celebrating festivals to escape the dreadful ire of their gods. 

Spiti will make you feel far, far away from everywhere.

When the great Italian scholar, Giuseppe Tucci went to Tibet in 1933 through Spiti, he wrote that the Spiti valley contains some of the most precious relics of  Tibetan Art and architecture. 

Lying next to the Zanskar region, the Spiti valley remained landlocked because of its harsh climate and inaccessibility. Thus its Tibetan culture  remained as it is – sealed in a time warp.

And to have a better understanding of this culture — one must visit Tabo.

Situated at Sumdo, the Tabo Monastery is not only the official entry point into Spiti but a doctrinal enclave and a living  museum. It was built in 996 A.D. by Rinchen Zangpo who translated 158  holy scriptures from Sanskrit to Tibetan. In addition, he also built 108 monasteries and stupas under the patronage of Yeshe Od, the king of Guge in western Tibet. The monastery celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 1996 in which His Holiness the Dalai Lama performed the Kalachakra ceremony for world peace.

Designed in western Tibetan style and painted by artisans invited from Kashmir, Tabo is a paradise of human artistic genius. The complex has nine temples, 23 chortens and chambers for monks and nuns.

Upon entering the main assembly hall or the Du Khang, you will see beautiful frescoes depicting the life of the Buddha and stucco figures of gods and goddesses. What will truly enthral you is the 13 foot seated figure of the four faced Vairocana, the Buddha in meditation, on the wall across the main door of the monastery .

Visit the Ser Khang or the golden temple and you will see lovely paintings of the Gandharvas (angels specialising in the arts) along with birds and delicate floral motifs. Standing here, amongst these ancient relics and paintings, with monks and nuns vibrating with prayers- you will  be reformed- take our word  for it!

Next day  you could drive on to Ki Gompa, the largest monastery in Spiti. Although this monastery was invaded and plundered umpteen times by the Ladakhis, Dogras and the Sikhs, it still has been able to preserve its collection of sacred Buddhist  paintings or Thangkas which are more than 200 years old.

You will also come across a collection of old weapons and a few three-metre-long trumpets.

In the Himalayan region, particularly in Himachal Pradesh, an ancient form of tribal religion called Bon has a significant influence. Bon is popular in the Zanskar Range and throughout Tibet and is perhaps the earliest form of religion in Spiti.

Bon religion is associated with shamanic rituals of medicine men or Amchis as they are locally called. Spend some time in any village and you will meet medicine  men who forage  for their medicines in the forests, preserving them in tiny leather pouches. Don’t mistake  their kind,  lined faces for ignorance .They can tell you  the  contents of  your stomach or whether you’re possessed by  the spirit of a local demon just by checking your pulse !

Harmony is a way of life at Spiti. You will notice this harmony in everything as you trek through these valleys. The villages, their colour, the polite people, their even politer yaks and ponies, the women winnowing the chaff from the grain. Everything exudes contentment and a deep reverence for nature. Tucked away here is the epitome of synchronised living with nature.

The women of Mud Village smiling while they go about their farm work. Picture by Gourab Nandy.

The harmony of the villages will strike you at first. The villages in Spiti all look the same. Unlike the haphazard hamlets in the rest of Himachal, the sameness of the homes in Spiti with their white mud washed walls and the brown hay stacked rooftops will surely make you feel a déjà vu.

Notice the harmony in the houses of this village. Picture by Ravindra Joisa.

The villages lie perfectly symmetrical next to a clear running stream coming from a natural spring.You will be delighted  to see that all  houses are lime washed externally and the top of the house is painted red with Chak (red soil).All the villages in this region are on the sun facing side and in wet point settlements.With the scarcity of water, they are mostly located next to glacier fed streams.

The  white Gompas and Chortens surround the villages  and prayer tablets  are strewn across the trails. You will know you are in the presence of a strong Buddhist way of living as soon as you set eyes on a village at Spiti .

Talk to a shop owner, a chanting monk  or a smiling lady working in the fields. You will realise that harmonious living is in the culture of Spiti. Every conversation will be somehow related to the meaning of life, to the land and its preservation. You will learn that religion and a reverence for the habitat go hand in hand at Spiti. The locals are deeply connected to the land and their natural heritage. If this is not modern sustainable living – then  I wonder what is ?

Spiti has many wild treasures including the Pin Valley National Park — home to the Ibex, Snow Leopard and the Red Fox. Even the postmen are mules! But I will tell you about the most fascinating one. 

The Chamurthi horse — one of India’s seven recognised heritage breeds-  is a native of the Spiti Valley. You will come across this breed nimbly climbing steep frozen slopes with their hardened hooves. 

You will be astounded to know that the Chamurthi, despite being one of the rarest  horses in the world, is also  highly intelligent.

Ask a local horse keeper and you will learn that the Chamurthi has the capacity to remember and navigate really well. They can travel long distances, as long as Ladakh to Spiti, even remembering the house and the people who have raised it!

If you come across a Chamurti, carefully observe its owner too. The people of Spiti love talking to their animals. The horse and its keeper enjoy many lone conversations of love and home when they are travelling  together.

In these barren surroundings, with the snowy peaks in the distance, a gentle but freezing wind and the sound of horses’ hooves clip clopping, Pause. Sit on a roadside tea shop , staring into the green barley fields and the blue sky corralled with  white clouds and wonder why treks have to end at all…

Drop a comment if you’ve been to Spiti and have some stories to share about its culture & experience!

Culture And People

Treks by Categories

Treks by Month

Treks by Difficulty

Treks by Experience

Treks by Season

Treks by Duration

Treks by Region

Quick Links

Follow Us On

Contact Us

Bengaluru Office

Dehradun Office