Miyar Valley –The Astonishing Valley

Overview of Miyar Valley –The Astonishing Valley

July 12, 2020

     

•     Miyar valley is Located in the heart of the great mountains. Also known locally by the name of    mayad, it extends  in NW of Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. over 100 kms from Udaipur  to great Kangla pass. It  is resting in the lap of mighty Himalayan  range in Lahaul region of  Himachal Pradesh (India) and the valley  is  nature lover’s delight. It is undoubtedly one of the most  beautiful valleys that would ever have across in the Himalayas .
     Miyar valley is comparatively easy to reach by road and there are plenty of untouched things to   explore which are still hidden to the outside world.

•     The valley is also popularly known as the valley of flowers. Lush forests, beautiful intoxicating views of snow covered peaks, the feisty rivers, and picturesque tiny villages are the major highlights of the valley apart from the rock climbing peaks. It borders with Zanskar and Ladakh, another major regions for trekking and camping. For the ardent traveller  Miyar valley is one of the most enchanting places to visit in the Himalayan region.
    The valley is breath-taking beautiful, and rock climbing in such ideal conditions is definitely something one must not to be missed out. the  is eternally famous for its high snow capped mountains and surrounding landscape, featuring geographical attributes that are unique to this region.

•     Reaching this place will  introduce you to sparkling clean Miyar river water and a pleasant climate the makes it worth exploring.Once you visit this wonderland , you will fall in love with it.

•     The beginning of the valley is narrow but slowly opens up. The surrounding mountains seem like protective sentinels sanding guard over one of the most beautiful valleys in the Lahaul region. The Miyar River widens to support twelve small farming villages at altitudes between 9,300 and 11,500 feet, with about 3,000 current inhabitants in total. Most of the people of the valley are Buddhists. The first village to encounter in miyar valley is Shakoli village and Khanjar is the last village of the  valley .The world famous  Kangla trek and Thanpatan( great plains ,endless moraines with carpet of flowers) trek starts from tiny beautiful village Khanjar

Villages in Miyar Valley

there are 12 small beautiful farming villages at altitudes between 9300-11500 feet with about  3000 inhabitants in total. Listed below are the some of the these villages of Miyar Valley and trust me, all of  them are  at  very scenic locations and definitely worth  visiting .

Tingrat Village

A tiny beautiful village sits on the bank of miyar river. It is the main village of the valley,  where all basics facilities are available like hospital, shops, home stay, and  dhaba  as well.  There is a police check post as well, where all outsiders have to submit   their  details.

Udgose village

This is one of the bigger villages in the valley located at an altitude of 3250 meters. You can spot fecund fields from the village which consists of Green peas, Potato, Cauliflower; which is common in the whole of the valley. The views here are surreal with amazing vistas and beautiful mountains in the backdrop of the village. There is also an old ancient monastery (Gompa) in the village which can be reached very easily.

Udgose Village acts as a base for mountaineers looking to climb the Menthosa peak. Mount Menthosa is the second highest Peak (6443m) in the Lahoul-Spiti Province of Himachal Pradesh. The first team to climb Mount Menthosa was British Service Team lead by Capt. S. Bembrose in 1970. R.E.M.E Capt. R. Cape and Royal Marine Lt. S. Rae were the only two members of that team to climb the summit  

     Shukto 

This quaint Village is the last motorable point in the Valley. It also acts as the starting point of the Multi-day trek to Zanskar or even if you want to trek high altitude meadows. The landscape here is similar to Ladakh and Zanskar with huge barren mountains in the backdrop and sparse vegetation here and there. The village itself consists of just 4-5 households but there are a couple of home stays here. It is around 29 km from the Udaipur .

    Khanjar

      This tiny hamlet village offers a bird’s eye view of the fertile fields, magnificent mountains in the backdrop along with the Miyar River flowing below. This is the last village in the valley and is about 30-45 minutes hike from Shukto. To reach here you must cross a shaky bridge with Miyar River flowing violently below. From the bridge, you need to take a right and ascend through the beautiful fields of the village. Just before the bridge you can reach the bank of river Miyar and witness the tumultuous waters of Miyar River.

Life of the Locals in Miyar Valley

  •    Local inhabitants of Miyar valley are predominantly Buddhists, as most of the other people of Lahaul Valley. Life here is extremely harsh due to brutally cold winters and the valley is completely cut off from the rest of the world for 6 long months.

  •   Most of the locals here are engaged in agriculture and grow vegetables like potato, peas, cauliflower, etc. which are organically grown. Since vegetables grown here are mostly organic, there is a huge demand for vegetables from Lahaul in north Indian cities..

•      Sowing season starts around April and May and then harvesting takes place in September as winter starts to set in around October. November is when the winter sets in and locals start making provisions for storing food and other necessary items.

 Place of interest in miyar valley

 From few decades, the valley is under the influence of small size tourism .  Recently Mountaineering activity is becoming more popular in the valley.  Those who visit the valley are mainly seasoned trekkers or adventure lovers looking to hike to the high-altitude meadows; or go beyond Kang la pass to Zanskar. If you are someone who doesn’t like to trek or cannot trek, then you can just relax and stay in quaint villages like Tingret, Udgose and Khanjar. there is a monastery at gompa village close by which you can visit. The vistas and mountains here are unique and you will be completely left awestruck by its sheer beauty. 

There is also a much-loved high-altitude cricket-ground with a sensational view of 15 or more snow-covered peaks at Dosathang. You can have a short hike to Dosathang from Khanjar.

Best Time to visit Miyar Valley

    • Miyar valley is one of the remotest regions and remains completely cut off from the outside world for 6 brutally cold winter months. So, you only get around 5 months to visit Miyar. The valley is only accessible from April end to mid – October.

•   April to June (Summers) –this is probably the best time of the year to visit Miyar Valley. This is the Spring –Summer time which is when you’ll find the best weather in the valley. Flowers will be in bloom and the weather will be  pleasant . Most of the snow melts away by this time and roads become accessible again. Though this depends on when the snow gets cleared from the Rohtang Pass and Sach pass respectively. Soon Rohtang  pass problem will be solved by rohtang tunnel, which is going to be functioning for general public very soon.

•      July – August (Monsoon)--Snow is mostly all gone by this time and can only be spotted on glaciers and high mountains. These are the rainy months in Himachal. But It doesn’t rain here that much during monsoons as it falls in the rain shadow region. But the lower hills in Himachal experience landslides in July and August. The entire area around Manali, Rohtang, Killar, Sach Pass receives a heavy amount of rain each year and becomes landslide-prone. But the valley remains lush green at this time and is a feast for the eyes.

•      September October (Autumn) --After monsoons, autumn months of September and the first week of October is one of the best times to visit as monsoons give way to clear skies perfect for spotting milky way. During mid-October, temperatures plunge and start to hover around freezing point. November marks the advent of brutally cold winter for 6 months during which the roads get blocked after the first heavy snowfall of the season.

Economy

The economy of the valley is dominated by extensive farming. A short period of vegetation   (May- September). Among the main crops are peas, barley, buckwheat, seed potato, and also used in medicine: kuth (Saussurea lappa) and mannu (Inula racemosa). Agriculture is accompanied    by typical pastoralism breeding (sheep, goats) and also mixed pastoralism and cattle breeding (cows,  horses).

How to reach the valley

The easiest way to reach Miyar is to first reach Kullu/ Manali  and then go to Keylong by  crossing Rohtang Pass. Next morning get the 8 AM bus going to Khanjar from keylong bus stand, Khanjar is the last village in the valley.  Or  you can get direct HRTC bus from Kullu bus stand  at 5am to shukto . As a matter of fact, there is no road till Khanjar and the bus goes only till Shukto, just before Khanjar .No airport or railways station is present in lahaul  district  . The  nearest  airport  is  bhuntar airport

Where to stay in Miyar Valley

Accommodation was  not easily available in Miyar valley few years back . Since very few people visit here, except for those hiking to hike and trek. Now accommodations are easily available. There are home stay options available at Tingret ,Urgos and Shukto. The prices are very reasonable, with basic rooms. There is also a very beautiful camping site (Kangla Camps) at changut village. You can enjoy camping fire, off road cycling, amazing views, home cooked meals etc.

    Outline Itinerary

     1: Manali to Rohtang  pass (3,978m) – Udaipur (2650m) – Chimrat (2,090m) - Urgos (3,300m).

     2:  Trek Shukto (3450m) - Khanjar (3520m) – Dosathang -Tharang (3,700m)

     3:  Trek Gompa nallah (3,800m) - Zardung (3880m)

     4:Trek Palbo / Snout of Kang La glacier base camp (3950m )

5: Trek Udgose – Menthosa peak (6443m

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