• Difficulty: Mild

• Max Elevation: 3,810 metres (Mud) and 4,400 metres (Pin base camp)

• Duration: Five days

• Start/end point: Mudh village, Spiti valley

• Accommodation: Homestays & camping

A hike through the Pin Valley National Park in Himachal’s Spiti Valley is my recommended alternative to the crowded and over-popular Valley of Flowers hike. Pin Valley is perfect for those who want a remote but quiet and beautiful landscape, with a sprinkling of local Buddhist culture.

Easy day hikes can be done from Mudh, a quaint village that I love for its whitewashed, traditional houses in the midst of pea and barley fields surrounded by windswept valleys and intriguing rock formations. Alternatively, you can make longer forays into the Pin National Park to places like Gechang, Ka, and Thango. You could go to the Pin base camp via Tia and Shia on a three-day camping trek. The Pin-Parvati traverse is suitable for more ambitious hikers.

Need to know

While the hikes here are fairly easy, getting to Pin Valley is a challenge. The full day drive from Manali (comfortable overnight buses from New Delhi get you here, or a 14-hour taxi/self drive) to Spiti is best ended in the valley’s capital Kaza, from where you can continue to Mudh the next day via shared taxis. Factor in additional days for roadblocks due to minor landslides, a common occurrence in the region.