How to Reach Pin Valley National Park
Pin valley which is actually Pin Valley national Park and house to many high-altitude flora and fauna is the softer and more colourful persona of the Rough and rustic SPITI hills of Himachal. Often less visited due to the tough terrain and bad weather roads, Pin valley must figure on the serious trekkers and high-altitude hill lovers! There are two important treks which originate also from this place – the Pin-Bhabha Trek (4 Nights) and Pin-Parvati trek (7-9 nights). However, those simply interested to soak all the five elements of Nature and slowly find even a “sixth” element of a “New self” being opened to themselves -must definitely park two nights at Pin Valley.
Route directions: Tabo→ Attargo Bridge → Gulling → Sagnam →
Drive Time: ` 2-3 Hours | Distance: 50-55 Kms | Altitude: 11000- 13000 Ft (Pin Valley)
Pin Valley feels like Spiti’s softer, more intimate side
It was our Day 8 of 14 days Spiti Immersion which started from Shimla – To Rachcham- Sangla Valley – Tabo and the next two nights halt at Pin Valleys (last Motorable village named”Mudh”). This place figured in my itinery after a lot of research on Spiti and Routes and Travel bloggers ! Pin Valley and Mudh Village was as if playing “hide and seek” with me ! It was a destination which was coming as glimpses and not getting exposed in my visualization even after having spending 2 days on studying and reviewing this place . It was as if what has been written/documented and shared by people – is Not “Complete”. As if the “true picture” of this place could never be worded . I had a mixed feeling when I had put up this on my itinery plan. It was a 50% gamble! Such high altitude (11-15000 ft); last village Mudh (So much lesser amenities); home to two major treks ; Pin Valley National park …very less visited by people.
We started at a decent time from Tabo , since the distance we had to cover today to reach Mudh Village was ~ 55-60 kms , and no major enroute sighteeying.
I was almost expecting the same barren , Brown , desert mountains and the Spiti river ..the sites which were so similar in Tabo and Rackcham . I was wondering how the road conditions would be like till the Last motorable Village in SPITI ! Amazing thing was that more challenging the mountain trails were …more were the Adventure Bikers group around there ! Hats off tho all those brave hearts. I had a couple of Mini Myocardial Infarcations on SPITI roads on a one year old Scorpio already by now
As You’ll reach Attargo Bridge ; 👉 This is the turn-off point for Pin Valley. What you experience will be unbelievable !
Some where down the Roads some 20-30 kms after leaving Tabo came a flimsy Bridge (Attargo Bridge) and a river underneath it again! My heart started to flutter again ! Surely our driver – Sunny will ask us to deboard and walk down the bridge ! I couldnt imagine this bridge could hold all of us ! But he was full on confident ..and went cautiously with admirable control …and as we crossed this bridge …what I saw was pure heaven . It was No road at all…It was as if lush green meadows with Purple, sky blue and baby pink wild flowers in artistic patches on the hills. The hills started showing different shades too . I couldnt understand whether this was due to the vegetation on the hills , or was it the sunlight reflection angles or was it due to the Minerals and rock types variations of these mountains ! Almost as if hearing my inner dialogue and lost in thoughts of the magic of Universe ..Sunny replied ..”Madam , Pin Valley is commonly referred to as valley of rainbow mountains” ! And by then I had made up my mind to trek closer to these “rainbow mountains” !
The Charm of Mudh Village - The window between Spiti and Kinnaur .
I was half lost in the visual spectacle of Pin Valley and half keeping up with the body acclimitization at 12000 ft ! It was around 12 pm as we reached our stay – Tara Guest Guest House. Most places at SPITI are best experienced only by homestays ! For two reasons first the cultural immersion, and the best locations . We were hungry….we were almost always hungry at all times of the day I wonder why !? My smart watch was always showing oxygen saturation hovering between 83-87% ! And though intially at Rackcham on day 3 I got a bit worried on this statistics…..by now I had mentally accepted and felt a little “high” imagining that I am doing great at a low SPO2 as well ! All gods grace .
Heart rates will almost always be higher . So nothing to worry . My normal resting heart rate of 48-56 was always showing 106-113 ! Yes this high was the difference at High altitudes ..atleast for me ! And the icing on the cake ….every day I was burning close to 550 K.Cals (without any of those normal workouts and gyms) which I used to kill myself at back in NCR !! God is great 🙂
Yes dear travelors- so this this called “Acclimitization” . The body stats will start varying from This place onwards , and will be really helpful to stay put here for 2 Nights for those planning for the Pin-Bhabha or the Pin-Parvati or the More easy Chandrataal trek .
Exploring Mudh Village in Spiti
- Mudh Village the last village of the valley having less than 50 Households yet flourishing with vibrant Peas fields .
- Witness the Mountain Horses , Mountain Goats and Buffaloes .
- Two important treks -Pin Bhabha Trek and Pin-Parvati treks have possibilities from Mudh Village. From Mudh Village a Bridge for trekkers to join the 4-5 days Pin-Bhabha trek and 7 -8 days for Pin-Parvati trek .
- Short trek routes from Mudh Village up to Kinnaur pastures possible
- The village earns roughly 7-8 lakhs per household by Peas cultivation which sustains them throughout the year ! Subsidized ration and free Solar panels distributed by the government in 2023 makes Mudh Village and Pin Valley (which has sone 10-15 villages , primarily Tribal) well off !
- However, Pin Valley sees the harshest weather conditions. Best time to visit is July end to August end when monsoons ends. Sept-March are peak winters; where night temperatures may go upto -30 degrees! Most elderly and Lamas descend down after October.
- Mudh Village locals build houses out of Mountain Rocks, being ferried by tractors on extremely difficult trail routes. Which are then polished and cemented with mud and hay . Very few houses in Mudh can afford brick houses!
- Spiti region needs more Political attention in terms of roads. The trek route I took showed a Trail route which is halted over last 10 years which could be easily metalled by the government connecting from Mudh to Kinnaur region; so that people do not have to drive back from Mudh Village to Kinaur-Smila-Manali via Kaza or Rangrik. However some vested interest is holding this off in the fear of SPITI valley gaining more popularity than these popular tourist sites of Kinnaur and Shimla ! Felt unfortunate. As a revolt entire Mudh Village and nearby villages boycotted the elections this year (as shared by my guide Gautam ) !
Day 2 - STEEP but Short trek on the PIN BHABHA Route, ~12 kms, 15000 Ft , 6 hours with gautam (mANDI , hIMACHAL)
Day 1 at Mudh Village left me with dreams of what must be lying beyond this village on the other side ! I went walking up a few metres up from our home stay to the top of the road where the icy mounains laid and had found the road tapered off and heavy streams coming on the road. This was the last motorable road ! But can we walk down it !?
I was getting super excited to walk and see what the highest road can lead further to. So I befriended our owner and sweet she was ….gauging my eagerness …she smiled and shared that Pin -Bhabha treks (which currently starts from Kafnu village in Pin Village takes 4 days and quite difficult , but I could also take this road which parallely starts from Mudh Village . However It is not possible to do the entire road since the bridge connecting from Mudh Village has been washed off ! So I could cover as far as I can within nightfall. Sonam (Our Guest house owner) gave me a great navigator and trek guide – Gautam . And hence forth we started the next day for this trek route after hearty breakfast of Alu paranthas !
Where to Stay in Mudh Village
During my visit to Mudh Village, I stayed at Tara House Homestay, one of the oldest and most well-known homestays in the village. Located in the heart of Mudh, it offers mountain views, home-cooked meals, and easy access to Pin Valley National Park. Tara House has been welcoming travelers since 2003 and is a popular base for exploring the valley.
📍 Location: Mudh Village, Pin Valley, Spiti Valley
🏡 Type: Homestay / Guest House
🍲 Food: Home-cooked meals available
🥾 Ideal For: Solo travelers, trekkers, photographers, and slow travelers exploring Pin Valley.
