I assume the route is exceptionally beautiful and regret I could have enjoyed it if had stayed at Chandratal. Also, keep in mind that August is also the peak time of apple season and crop transportation, which creates a good amount of traffic jams owing to a high number of trucks that ply on the Kinnaur Valley route. First we stopped and visited the World's Highest Post Office. I have been following DoW for a few years now. The western interior national parks are probably the very best places to view the Milky Way. How can you make the most of your viewing experience. The Hindustan Tibet Road remains open throughout the year via Kinnaur Valley, and you can make a journey to Kaza or Spiti via Shimla Kinnaur all around the year because there is no high mountain pass that comes on this route which gets heavy snowfall. The only problem sleeping at Chitkul will be AMS as your body may not be acclimatized to sleep at high altitude that early in the trip. The Milky Way is bright enough to silhouette the clouds of gas and dust running through the center of our galaxy, creating a field of detailed structure, called the galactic interstellar medium. They can sometimes be found nearby other wildlife but prefer to sleep during the day with movement only in evening or afterwards. for more details. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Where to See the Milky Way. I am bone-weary from a seven-hour morning hike in Pin Valley, Himachal Pradesh and a rocky three-hour drive to Kaza, but I cannot retire to bed just yet. The central part of the Milky Way the galactic core shines nightly from March to November. But yet whole heartedly you replied with lengthy detailed information. The Milky Way over Grand Canyon. We continued ahead to the lake. However, some of us, like myself, whose house is in a state park where the nearest village has a population of 153, can get the experience by merely turning off the house lights and stepping into thebackyard. Day 5 : Losar Chandratal Manali 6 years later, I have taken a, Join me and the@photopillsteam tomorr, New 2023 OREGON COAST ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY WORKS, Our 2023 Milky Way Calendars are ready! I have been waiting for a clear night such as this one cloudless, moonless, crisp and dry for a week now while we toured from town to town taking in the awe-inspiring spectacles of Spiti Valley. Avoid full Moon nights if stargazing is high on your agenda as the lunar light can obstruct views of the Milky Way and other constellations. Day 9 : 13th June : Kaza to Ki, Gette, Tashigong, Kibber & then to Losar. We were back at Key Monastery before 6.30pm and started our hike up to get the shots. If you visit during April and May, try to face your telescope or binoculars south and start the session at the pre-dawn hours. June July is the beginning of the actual main season to travel to Spiti Valley when a large number of tourists make their journey over these. The Spiti Valley temperature in winter can go well below -20 deg C, so you must go well prepared with proper woolen clothing. Opt to go via Manali Leh Highway and I will suggest that you refer the thread for more details on the route and night halts though it is of 9 days: Manali Leh Ladakh Manali | Itinerary for 9 Days. The road from Manali to Kaza is closed, and most hotels are shut off. The clouds suddenly came out and blanketed the sky, it poured all day, and not a single star was to be seen. The best time to visit Spiti from Manali, and also when the route is entirely open, is between mid-May to October. The present, the moment, it is all we get it is fleeting, and fleeing, and gone we need to seize it, live it as purely as possible and only then we get a glimpse of the magic, perhaps capture a wisp of it for posterity. Thank you in advance. I need your help To get you started, this Space.com articlegives you both a bit of history and a bevy of interesting facts. While we on Earth orbit the Sun, our solar systems one-and-only star orbits the center of the MilkyWay! 5. There are no great nationwide registries for them. Its dotted with bright and faint stars that make it alive with activity and sets it apart from other sections of the sky. Is it fine as these are earliest dates we have. To help you plan your Milky Way images in 2021, Ive created a series of Milky Way Calendars where you can see, at a glance, the best days of the year to capture our galaxy according to your location. Spiti Valley is famous for its apple. Can we return to Losar for the night (Is it possible?) November December is generally the winter months in Spiti Valley or at least the beginning of winters. so in mid december which places of himachal Pradesh can we find thick snow??? The best time to visit this isolated yet spectacular region of Himachal Pradesh is during the summers from May to October. Or you want to have travel to Shimla and Manali also included in these 4 days? Seeing the Milky Way in all its glory should be on everyones bucket list. The car had covered almost 550km and even though I could just eek by visiting Mud and then eventually fueling at Kaza, I did not want to take a risk. The food will be pretty basic as available in the homestay. Regards, Harish sir, It starts to get cold during that time of the year in Spiti valley and there can be occasional snowfall as well. The roads were not great but not too bad either. An astronomy podcast or a recording of Cosmos are winners if you want to learn about what exactly it is youre looking at. Day 02 : Manali / Solang Kaza Hotels start to come out of hibernation, and things, including fruits/vegetables, start to arrive in Spiti Valley frequently. Spiti Valley in November to December. For more stories from some of the world's most exciting destinations click here. Overnight at Leh, Day 14 | Rest day at Leh to enjoy local culture and some shopping OR Monastery tour The lunatic riot of stars tumbling downward toward the south and the twisted texture of the background glow surely belongs in our lives at least once ayear. Kaza Manali. All the stars you see from Earth are part of our home galaxy. Go very well prepared at this time of the year concerning mental levels, physical levels, and food to carry along with having some buffer days. It demands travel to remote locales, long prayers to the weather-gods for a clear sky, buying expensive lens and DSLR cameras and lastly bodily endurance for those long nights in freezing temperatures; but when you get that click, its all worth it. Gompo spotted a pair of Ruddy Shelducks nearby a small pond but were quite far away. To help you plan your Milky Way shots in 2020, I've created a calendar that identifies the best days of the year to photograph the Milky Way at your location. Traveling to Spiti Valley via Manali side, by and large, depends first upon the opening of Rohtang Pass and then opening of the route from Gramphu to Kunzum Pass and Kunzum Pass in itself. To fine-tune your planning, I also recommend taking a look at the following: I hope these calendars help with your planning so you can take fascinating images of the Milky Way this season. Day 09 : Manali Delhi, WE R PLANNING TO VISIT KAZA,MANALI ON FEB 1 CAN YOU GIVE ME THE TOUR PLAN, You can read: Spiti in Winters Most Common Itinerary and How to plan a trip to Spiti Valley in Winters. It would be great if u can help me out. It was 7.45pm as we left the parking. In photographing the night sky, while the stars and the Milky Way should dominate your image, its the foreground that anchors the composition. We then dive into the dusty central region to take a much closer look. By 6.15pm it had been 4 hours at this spot and leopard didn't show signs of shifting. I grab the camera and hurriedly move out of the way. Another viewpoint off the road. Day 30 | Sangla/Chitkul (if you cannot extend, skip) Definitely, 20th September, you will be able to enjoy more. Custom programming and server maintenance by Reinvented Inc. Best Time to View the Milky Way Galaxy From Earth! The annotated artist's concept illustrates the new view of the Milky Way. These are just a few tips for beginners that will help you get started. His dream is to see India and to make every camera-owner a great photographer. The whole experience in a short video: After coming down we drove to another spot where we found group of male Blue Sheep. We reached Kaza around 5.30am and quickly went to sleep. We had 2 nights to try and get this right depending on the forecast. Tricks to find the perfect rig. Hello Leave Chandigarh at 12 noon and go to Narkanda via Chail (Is a short visit to Chail Palace possible?). I love clicking the Milky Way and I love the shots that my camera, Canon 7D Mark II DSLR, captures. Or its the same road which I see in those youtube vidoes . Hi Dhiraj, Summer is the best time to see the Milky Way, according to astronomy experts based in the UAE. There are many different ways to photograph the stars and Milky Way. Day 4 : 8th June : Relax & then local sightseeing like Batesari village, ITBP camp, walk along Baspa river. The Photographers Ephemeris is a pretty impressive site (and app) that will tell you everything you could want to know about light conditions at a particular location, at a particular time. Day 06 : Kibber/Kaza Langza Komic Hikkim Kaza Mayoor, it is wonderful to see you back here !! This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The road at Nako is closed due to a massive landslide at Malling Nala. This is like an encyclopedia into Spiti. Is it advisable to return back to Kaza or can we stay overnight at Losar to save time the following day. Many major port cities offer nighttime cruises specifically to get out of the city and look at the night sky. To the ancient Peruvians and Mayans, the Milky Way was the center of the universe. June-August: View the Milky Way as soon as the sun sets for most of the night. For night sky photography, we suggest these combinations: Nikon D810 and 20mm f/1.8 lens. In my honest opinion, March is one of the best time to enjoy winter Spiti trip. Enjoy the vistas enroute Overnight at Srinagar, Day 3 | Srinagar Zozi La Drass Kargil Finally, remember to keep them engaged in conversation, bring facts to share or stories you think will keep them from getting bored. However, this is considered one of the better times to travel over the road to Spiti Valley that is Hindustan Tibet Highway. Its the amazing place around which every star, including our own Sun and its retinue of planets, revolve once every 225 millionyears. Box 520 | Dublin, NH 03444. Omar, fuel should not be a problem. So, you have very little time in a year (mid-June to October), in case you are interested in the entire Spiti Valley circuit that is Delhi Shimla Kinnaur Kaza (Spiti Valley) Kunzum Pass Rohtang Pass Manali Delhi. From above, its that enormous spiral which spans 100,000 light years.) Moon Deluxe is a great app for showing the phases of the moon. There are many tools for this. The following 21 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 13 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 15 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 24 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 19 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 20 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 18 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 14 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post: The following 17 BHPians Thank AnandB for this useful post. We reached the lake parking around 5.15pm. Chances of overcast skies all through the journey? Hence, do carry heavy woolens or thermals at this time of the year with you. New article about Northern Lights photography in M, September Acadia Astrophotography workshop, Where can you see the Milky Way? The sun and all of the objects within our solar system lie about half way out from the centre (or about 25,000 light years). Its a far cry from the spring, when the Milky Way is almost coincident with the horizon and invisible. Day 11 : 15th June : Chandrataal to Manali. Late May to June is the best season to visit Spiti Valley as the temperature rises above the 0 degree celsius which makes traveling possible in this area. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. We had booked the room with balcony so we could shoot the Milky Way and the peaks. Regards Since you are versed with terrains, it should not be an issue but just dont any unnecessary risks. The road is empty. We set up the cameras and started the timer. I enjoyed the scenery and sunset past 7pm. Couple of times had to reverse around as it was hard to figure out the right path at night. There are endless opportunities to see the Milky Way in Greece, due to [] We, five couple with children, wants to visit spiti valley during next May, 2018. Hence, running water is a luxury at this time of the year. Less chances of overcast skies. Gompo went ahead in search of Blue Sheep while we had our breakfast by the pond, rested, and took photographs. Looking toward the dark skies at the right time of year, the naked human eye should see a whitish glow stretching in a huge arc. It humbles you. Even i am planning Spiti valley tour in mid October from Delhi, Best wishes for your Spiti Valley trips, have fun and if possible do share the experience on DoW . how is american identity changed by the 20th century. Day 28 | Nako Kalpa Cool, as long as you are confident of its working, you should be fine. Roads within Spiti Valley are open only to an extent. More like this 2 Sagittarius Credit: Stellarium Best seen: August and September.