Kanamo Peak Trek at 19,553 feet is the perfect trek for people who want to get closer to the “6,000 metre treks”. In comparison to the 6000 metre peaks, this peak is equally challenging however it takes less time to complete. We recommend having done a high altitude trek before attempting this trek.
Kanamo peak is also termed as “The White Hostess” by the locals. It is considered a good omen by the locals of the area. Getting to the base of this peak we travel into the Spiti valley, west Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is a dry valley and erosion by winds, sun, snow over hundreds of years had laid bare the rocks. This area is known for blue sheep, Himalayan rabbits, marmots, tibetian wolves and snow leopards. Each year people all over the globe come to do the snow leopard trek in anticipation of spotting one.
NEW DELHI
3 Hours Before Flight Time
Enjoy the beautiful ride from Manali to Kaza via some beautiful roads. From Manali we start early by 6am. Drive through Rohtang pass reaching Keylong. Taking the right towards Spiti valley we reach Batal by lunch time. We move ahead towards Kunzum pass (15,140 feet) straight away skipping Chandrataal (we could visit on our way back). Crossing the Kunzum pass we are amidst the beautiful Lahaul Spiti valley. We enter the very first village in this valley, Losar village. Next villages in order would be Hansa, Kyatoo, Paagmo, Hul, Mohrung, Soomling, Phurik, Rangrik and reach Kaza. The total distance from Losar to Kaza is of 56 odd kms. Here we can halt and sip some tea or freshen-up for some time. We continue our journey to Kibber and reach by evening. It is a total of 19 kms road journey from Kaza to Kibber.
At nearly 14,000 feet we need this one day to acclimatize. So today we don’t stress out too much however we do go an acclimatization walk. We go on the trek route for about an hour and return back to Kibber. We rest as much as possible to smoothen the acclimatization process.
Today is our day one of trekking. A total distance of 5kms we trek in about 6 hours. We gain altitude of about 1650 feet in the high altitude hence 6 hours for a 5 kms trek. We cross a patch of a water-body 45mins prior to reaching the base. We halt here for having our packed lunch. Post lunch we continue to trek to get to our base. We have our first night of camping here as well.
We take it easy this day. Generally summits are attempted at 15,740 feet and we are camping at this altitude. We hydrate well, exert less, and do a short trek for height gain. Post bfast we go for the height gain. We return and do quick healths check-up of everyone. Warm soups along with meals and ginger water post dinner are mandatory to have this day. Later this day, we discuss our trek plan, decide our pace, what to carry, how to tackle emergent times (if need be) along with other details.
The “D-day” has arrived…!! Once we receive a go ahead from the mountain gods, we push for the summit. We ascend for about 9 hours to reach to the summit. The last 3 to 4 hours of ascend are steep. Challenges are not only of the altitude and steepness, but the terrain as well. This ascend is completely on scree which adds on to the difficulty.
After spending some time on the summit (depending on the weather conditions) we start our descent. 4 hours of descending from the summit would get us back to the base camp. A hot meal and a cup of soup add is on to the celebration. We make sure to start the day at 200 hours so that we get back by 1500 hours.
After wrapping-up our tents and other equipment we push down for Kibber. It would take about 2 and half hours to get down. We have a quick lunch at Kibber, fresh-en up and move to Kaza. Considering time, we could also visit the Hikkim (The highest post office of the world – 14567 feet) while getting to Kaza. We have our closing sessions and sleep.
We can start our day early today as we can go via Chandrataal. Spend some time at Chandrataal, have lunch near Bataal and reach Manali by approx. 7pm. Total trek distance – 26kms (including acclimatization walk)
