Chitkul is blessed with natural beauty and that is its primary attraction. it’s a small village in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The entire route from Karcham to Chitkul takes you through a paradisiacal landscape and you will find it hard to not stop at every turn and click hundreds of pictures. The road ends at Chitkul, making it the last village on the border. After that, it is just the mighty mountains in front of you and beyond that, Tibet.
Chitkul is located roughly around 600 kilometers from Delhi; about 350 kilometers from Chandigarh; and about 250 kilometers from Shimla. It is a 2 days journey from Delhi; and one day from Shimla. You can actually make it in a single day from Chandigarh as well but the drive will at least be of 12 hours.
It is, however, a perfect location if you want to spend some time away in peace and tranquility; away from the crowd at an offbeat destination. If you want to visit a place where there are hardly any people around, then Chitkul will suit you just fine. It is a place where you can slow life down for a few days; feel every hour of the day; listen to the birds, the river, and the trees; listen to the silence; soak in the warm and walk along a river while gazing upon the snow-capped mountains.
If you, however, took the Manali route, then you would first have to cross the entire Spiti valley on the way. The route will then be as below.
Chandigarh – Manali – Rohtang Pass – Gramphoo – Batal – Kunzum Pass – Kaza – Dhankar – Tabo – Nako – Pooh – Karcham – Sangla – Chitkul