How to reach Spiti Valley
The first thing to understand about reaching Spiti is that there is no railway line into the valley and no functioning commercial airport within it. You get here overland, on one of two mountain roads, and the choice between them is the most consequential planning decision of the whole trip — not for scenery but for your health, because the two routes ascend to Spiti at very different speeds.
The Shimla–Kinnaur route (the "safe" way up). This is the longer, lower and gentler approach, and for most first-time visitors it is the right one. From Shimla you follow the national-highway corridor (NH5, continuing as NH505) roughly north-east through Narkanda, Rampur, Reckong Peo and Kalpa in the Kinnaur valley, then over Nako and along the Spiti River past Tabo and Dhankar to Kaza — something on the order of 410–420 kilometres and, realistically, two full days of driving with an overnight in Kinnaur. Its great virtue is the gradual climb: you gain altitude over two days rather than a few hours, which gives your body time to adjust and dramatically lowers the risk of altitude sickness. This road is also open for most of the year, because it does not cross a high pass that snows shut in the same way — although landslides, shooting stones and flash floods can and do block it, especially in the monsoon months.
The Manali–Kunzum route (the fast, summer-only way). From Manali the road runs north through the Atal Tunnel (which has replaced the old crawl over Rohtang Pass) into Lahaul, then east up the Chandra valley past Batal and over the Kunzum Pass — at roughly 4,550 metres — before dropping to Losar and on to Kaza, around 200 kilometres in all. It is shorter and spectacular, but it has two catches. First, it is seasonal: the Kunzum Pass is typically only open from around June to October and is closed by snow for roughly seven months of the year, so this approach simply does not exist in winter and spring. Second, and more important, it takes you from Manali (about 2,000 m) over a 4,550 m pass and into Spiti very quickly, giving your body little time to adjust — a recipe for altitude sickness if you go straight up and stay high.
The strongly recommended pattern is therefore to enter via Shimla–Kinnaur (ascending slowly, acclimatising as you go) and exit via Manali once you are already adjusted to the altitude and the passes are open. This gives you the best of both roads, avoids a hard fast climb, and lets you see the whole traverse rather than backtracking. Outside the summer months, when Kunzum is shut, the Shimla side is the only way in and out, and you return the way you came.
Nearest railheads. Because there is no train to Spiti, the practical railheads are well outside the valley. Shimla is served by the narrow-gauge Kalka–Shimla "toy train" (a scenic UNESCO-listed heritage line, but slow and with limited capacity); the broad-gauge network reaches only as far as Kalka, and Chandigarh is the major well-connected station for the region. On the Manali side, the little narrow-gauge line at Joginder Nagar is the closest railhead but is not a practical arrival point. In short: take a train to Chandigarh (or Kalka/Shimla), then continue by road. Check current trains and fares in the search box on this page.
Nearest airport. The closest airport is Bhuntar (Kullu–Manali airport) near Kullu, which has a limited and weather-dependent schedule of small domestic flights; Shimla airport is similarly limited. Neither is reliable, and both are still a long mountain drive from Spiti. Most travellers treat Chandigarh as the dependable air gateway and drive up from there via Shimla. Always confirm current flight schedules before planning around Bhuntar or Shimla.
Getting around inside Spiti. There is a sparse network of state (HRTC) buses linking Kaza with Shimla, Reckong Peo, Manali (in season) and the bigger villages, but services are infrequent and slow. Most visitors travel by hired car with a driver, by shared taxi, or on a motorcycle (Spiti is a legendary but demanding ride, and not a beginner's route). Note that Kaza has the valley's only petrol pump, so fuel up there and carry a reserve; mobile coverage and mechanical help are both thin once you leave the town. Foreign nationals should check current permit requirements for the border-adjacent stretch of the Kinnaur road, as rules near the Tibet frontier change from time to time — verify before you set out.