A Spiti Valley bike trip, planned and ridden as a group
The Spiti circuit climbs from the apple orchards of Kinnaur into a cold desert where villages sit above 4,000 m, then crosses Kunzum La down to Manali. It is slower than it looks on a map, light on signal, and much easier as a group that agreed where to wait for each other.
The circuit
- In through Kinnaur: from Shimla through Narkanda and Rampur to Reckong Peo and Kalpa, then along the Sutlej and Spiti rivers to Nako and Tabo.
- Spiti itself: Dhankar, Kaza, and the high villages around it such as Langza, Hikkim, Komic and Kibber.
- Out over Kunzum La: from Losar over the pass to Batal, past the turn for Chandratal, along the rough road to Gramphu and down to Manali.
Many groups ride it in that direction because it gains height gradually. The Kunzum La side is usually open only in the summer months, so check the road status before you commit to a direction.
What splits a group in Spiti
Landslide stretches in Kinnaur, water crossings and loose gravel on the far side of Kunzum La, and short days that turn long. A rider who stops for a stream crossing can be out of sight, and out of signal, in minutes.
Planning it in Qafilaa
- Lay out each day with its legs, distances and elevation, so the long day over the pass is planned as one.
- Book stays by the night, including a base in Kaza for the days you ride out to the villages and back.
- Pin rally points at towns before the empty stretches: Tabo, Kaza, Losar, Batal.
- Log papers and permits per rider. Foreign riders need an Inner Line Permit for the stretch near the border; check the current rule before you go.
- Download the route corridor on Wi-Fi in Shimla or Manali, before the signal goes.
Signal in Spiti
Coverage is patchy at best. Towns such as Kaza usually have some, and long stretches between them, including the road over Kunzum La towards Batal, often have none. Qafilaa reads every screen from the phone first, keeps each rider's last known position on the map, and queues positions, expenses and alerts until a phone reconnects. See how offline maps work.
On the road
With the group on one live map, the sweep knows when someone has stopped at a crossing, and crash detection alerts the riders nearest a fall first. Fuel, food and stays go into shared expenses as you ride, and settle up at the end in the fewest transfers.
Road status, landslides, weather and permit rules in Spiti and Kinnaur change through the season and are set by others. Check them close to your dates. In an emergency in India, call 112.
Questions riders ask
Is there an app to plan a Spiti Valley bike trip with friends?
Qafilaa plans the trip day by day with legs, passes, stays and rest days, keeps every rider on one live map, lets you pin rally points where the group regroups, and works offline for the long stretches of the circuit with no signal.
Is there mobile network in Spiti?
Coverage is patchy at best. Towns such as Kaza usually have some signal, and long stretches between them, including the road over Kunzum La towards Batal, often have none. Download the route corridor before you leave.
Which way round should a group ride the Spiti circuit?
Many groups ride in from Shimla through Kinnaur and leave over Kunzum La to Manali, because it gains altitude gradually. The Kunzum La side is usually open only in the summer months, so check the road status before you commit to a direction.
Can we split fuel and stay costs in the app?
Yes. Log each shared cost, choose who paid and how it splits, and Qafilaa keeps a running balance per rider and settles up in the fewest transfers, even if half the costs were logged offline.
Qafilaa is free on the App Store and Google Play, for iPhone (iOS 15.5 or later) and Android. No advertising, no cross-app tracking.