The trek starts at Kafnu base camp, where the road thins out and the trail enters forest.
The trail climbs through deodar and pine, with the Bhaba river below. The first camp at Muling sits in a valley clearing, still within the green zone.
From Muling the valley opens up. Kara Lake appears as a clear glacial pool under the ridgeline, cold enough to end any curiosity quickly.
The push to Fustirang marks the transition. Trees thin out, grass gets shorter, and the Bhaba river narrows to a glacial stream through boulder fields.
Bhaba Pass is a narrow saddle between two ridges, marked by prayer flags and persistent wind. The GPS read 4,919 metres.
Behind the pass: forest, river, orchard, and the Bhaba valley. Ahead: Pin Valley, dry slopes and a wide basin.
Bwalder, around 3,950 metres on the Spiti side, was the coldest camp. Low light pollution and clear night sky.
From Bwalder, the trail drops into Pin Valley: ochre cliffs, dry river beds, small stone houses, and finally Mud Village, with the road onward to Kaza.
Kaza sits inside the same contrast the pass introduces: the green valley behind, the dry Spiti basin ahead, and only about fifty kilometres between them.
The road from Kaza back through Kinnaur was interrupted by five landslides between Kaza and Shimla. One section had lost the road entirely, leaving only a scramble path through loose debris.
The night halt was Tapri, on the Sutlej. The next morning had more slide-affected road sections.
The route did not end cleanly at the trailhead. The exit road became part of the record: unstable slopes, broken tarmac, and two slow days out through Kinnaur.