You will have to position yourself at Manali to start your journey towards Spiti valley. Manali is an overnight bus ride away from Delhi. Once you reach Manali ,Himachal road transport buses are available till Kaza, the headquarter of Spiti Valley. The route to Kaza requires crossing over the Rohtang Pass. However nowadays the Atal tunnel is functional which reduces the time to reach Lahaul by almost 3 hours. After crossing the tunnel you will be in Lahaul, with the Chandra river flowing to your side and massive barren mountains throughout the route before reaching Kaza at around 4:00 PM. You can take a stroll in the Kaza market, however you are advised to rest after the strenuous journey. Read: All about Manali to Kaza

Today you will be moving towards Kibber village from where the Kanamo peak trek starts. On the way to Kibber falls the Key Monastery, which is an ancient monastery in the region and has connections with the tibetian form of Buddhism. In the ancient times Spiti was part of the extended Tibet region for brief periods. However it had enjoyed good trade relations with the erstwhile tibetian kingdoms throughout. To know more plugin to our article about Key Monastery. After visiting Key Monastery you will be on your way to Kibber village. Buses and taxis both ply for Kibber from Kaza. Also hotels are available in Kibber. Plugin to our guide to plan your journey from Kaza to Kibber.

The route to the Kanamo Basecamp starts from Kibber and takes you near the base of the mountain. The route has plain sections as well as scree sections. It starts with a gradual ascent from the Kibber village after which the trail becomes more or less levelled. During this period you will come across two lakes. One of them supplies water to the town of Kaza. Recently it was the due to the pollution of these water bodies due to tourist activities, the Kibber village panchayat paused the Kanamo trek. But it has since resumed. After passing by these water bodies you will find that the gradient of the terrain is increasing gradually before reaching the Kanamo base camp which is dotted by stones piled on top of one another to mark the site. For the day you can rest here and enjoy the views of the arid terrain around you.

You will have to start early in the morning today. Start the push for the Kanamo peak by 5:00 AM in the morning. You will see the skies changing colors as you make your way to the first shoulder and will see the entire skyline get illuminated. Slowly make your way to the second shoulder keeping a steady pace. Once you make your way to the second shoulder you have completed half the journey to the peak. From now on the path till the peak will have a steep gradient and is covered with scree sections. More than once you will run out of breath but continue your assault towards the peak after taking small breaks to catch up your breath. After having gradually ascended through the ridge you will find yourself at the Kanamo peak which is marked by the prayer flags and the stone formations. From here the entire skyline of Spiti valley is visible. You will be surrounded by the dominating mountain peaks in the region and will be at the zenith of your expedition. Don’t try to go too far into the snow side of the peak, as it might be a serac and might give in under your weight. After spending a good 20 minutes on the summit it’s time to come down to the base camp. Have a drink of water and continue your descent. You will have to be extra cautious while coming down from the ridge as a minor slip of foot can prove fatal here. Also not getting carried away and controlling your rate of descent is the key to safety in this leg of your trek. You can come down slowly while enjoying the vistas for one last time.

The trail from the Kanamo basecamp is downhill and you will be traversing on rock and scree sections throughout. This journey is a true moment of bliss after having completed the summit, coming back to the Kibber village with the tall mountain behind you and distant mountains ahead of you. You will pass by the twin lakes once more, spend few minutes her and reflect upon your journey so far. After reaching Kibber have your lunch at any of the local restaurants and plan your journey ahead, as the entire Spiti valley is dotted with inummerable places of interest. You can visit our guide to Spiti, which has all the villages and places of interest listed. However few places off the bat would be Dhankar village and Mudh village, both very interesting. If you have time on your side, Mudh is the place to go to give your trip a grand closing.