I woke up quite early, packed some food and left the dhaba from Chattru. It was cold in the morning, but i know soon its gonna be hot and I am going to burn myself under the scorching sun. Spiti valley was quite dry in terms of terrain, the rocks, dust, colors. It has an unique desert-mountain combination with streams always filled with water. I reached Chotta dhara and there was sign of no one. En route I saw one shepherd moving towards Chattru. The barren landscape gave me a sense of calmness in me.
Sometimes i took a halt near the stream and observed the mighty mountains. One stretch of dirt track from Chotta Dhara to Batal was free massage to your buttocks as the cycle was vibrating like crazy. The track was just filled with pebbles and I was standing and ride for a long time.
Batal was empty as well. All i could see was a dhaba, a small house and a bridge to cross. I soon had my lunch at the dhaba, purchased some candies. Outside was so hot that one could make omlette and eat. Soon I saw one motorcyclist who stopped just in front of me. He came to me and asked where are you heading to? I said I will be camping today at Chandertaal if everything goes well. He was an Italian motorcyclist who came from Milan and heading to Burma later. He was crossing many countries and he said he was in the neighbouring country and here he was free to ride. Soon he will leave to SE Asia. He had a BMW touring bike, equipped with Michelin maps. He gave me a thumbs up and left the spot. I was enjoying my rose candy meanwhile and bid goodbye to the chacha from dhaba , crossed the bridge and started climbing slowly. I felt that air was thin, but I was climbing non-stop. I soon noticed a sign saying Chandertaal. I later realized i was trying to cross Kunzum la pass which would be in the direction towards Kaza. Kunzum la was 4550 m in altitude. I soon cycled into the dirt tracks that were leading to Chandertaal lake.
Around evening I noticed some campsites on a flat space. Once i reached there, they said the lake is just above. I decided to go there after a short break. I met the guy who welcomed to the campsite in Chatru. He was Bishan, an adventure guide and founder of Parasol Camps. He hugged me after reaching and expressed his happiness. He wanted me to join his campsite where there were different people from different nationalities. He offered me garlic soup and said its good for high altitude. We were in a big campsite talking and meeting people. There were 3 Italians, 2 from US and 4 friends who were doing a road trip in seven sister states of India. It was a happy and cheerful campsite. I met the Italian biker also camping around. My friend asked me to stay for one more day and proceed. I decided to stay to enjoy Chandertaal a bit and move towards Kaza.
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