Spiti Snow Drive 2026: La Himalaya's next 4x4 batch departs December 8

A 4x4 only convoy through winter Spiti

La Himalaya, a Shimla based self drive operator, runs its Spiti Snow Drive through the cold months on a fixed calendar of departures. The current batch left on 7 November 2026 and runs to 15 November. The next one leaves Shimla on 8 December and ends on 16 December, a 9 day, 8 night run of about 1200 kilometres, the operator's own page says, with 60 per cent tarmac and 40 per cent broken or icy road.

Entry is restricted to 4x4 SUVs only, no two wheel drive cars are accepted. Each car gets a walkie talkie and the convoy travels with a lead car and a backup car, according to the itinerary posted on lahimalaya.com. The stated route runs from Narkanda into the Sangla valley, on to Chitkul, then Tabo, Dhankar and Pin Valley before reaching Kaza, with side trips to Langza, Komik, Hikkim and the Chicham bridge.

What it costs to join

The listed price is ₹99,000 per person, inclusive of taxes, for double occupancy. That covers all meals, the lead and backup cars, the guide and the walkie talkies. Fuel, tolls, insurance and any rescue cost are extra, the page states plainly, which matters at altitude where a stuck or skidding car can mean a tow from a long way off. Indian clubs that already run a Thar, a Jimny or a Gurkha on the Hindustan Tibet highway will find the vehicle brief familiar: ground clearance, low range and a car that has actually been serviced before winter, not just washed.

For a reader in India wanting to attend, booking is direct with the operator on their published number, and dates run right through to April 2027 in batches of 8 or 9 days each.

Why Kunzum La is not really on the winter map

La Himalaya's own itinerary lists a day 8 drive to Kunzum Pass with a weather permitting detour to Chandertal. That line needs a caveat for anyone planning around it. Kunzum Pass and the Gramphu to Losar stretch of the Manali side close to all traffic every year once snow makes the road unsafe, and they stay shut for months. The pattern repeated this year too: the route was blocked beyond Gramphu from the first week of November, and the Border Roads Organisation reopened the Sumdo to Kaza to Gramphu road via Kunzum only on 20 May 2026, and then only for light 4x4 vehicles, The Tribune reported, quoting the Lahaul and Spiti deputy commissioner.

That means any Spiti Snow Drive batch running between November and April has to lean on the Shimla, Rampur, Kinnaur, Nako, Tabo approach that stays open through winter, not the Manali side. Anyone signing up for a December, January or February batch should ask the operator directly how that day 8 leg is actually being run this season, and should separately check the current pass status with BRO or the district administration rather than go by a generic brochure itinerary. The same caution applies to anyone taking their own 4x4 toward Spiti this winter. Carry chains, carry extra fuel within the legal limit, and do not push past a barrier a local policeman has already put up.

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