Kibber Chicham Ropeway – An Extraordinary Canyon ride

Chicham – a remote village in the Himalayas in India. Spiti Valley is one of the world’s most beautiful places on planet earth and has some stunning landscapes, lakes, canyons, glaciers, and snow cap mountains. As a result, adventure lovers flock around Spiti valley from all over the world. In addition, you will find a lot of bikers exploring this place.

There are these little know villages where a few families have lived for generations without any infrastructure or connectivity. However, the beauty of this place and the considerate nature of people make this place an ideal getaway. One such village is ‘Chicham’.

Chicham village
Chicham Village as seen from the trail to Kanamo Base Camp. Image Copyright: Ravindra Joisa

How did I come to know this place?

Exploring the Himalayas is something that I love. Visiting a place that is less crowded, peaceful, and away from any kind of mobile connectivity is what I like. This time, the trek was not the usual trek. I usually go on a hike for a few days. But, this trek was a summit climb to Kanamo Peak which is at 19600 feet. And Kibber which is the village adjacent to Chicham is the basecamp.

Where is Chicham Bridge situated?

The nearest town to Kanamo is Kaza and the best place to collect all the ration needed for the trek. There is road connectivity to the basecamp, Kibber which is another village similar to Chicham. We reached Kibber a day in advance to get acclimatized to 14,000 feet. The only village around is Chicham which is more like a backyard to Kibber village.

Chicham and Kibber - Parilungbo canyon, Spiti valley
Parilungbo canyon and Kanamo peak to the top right. Image Copyright: Ravindra Joisa

What is Chicham Bridge famous for?

Which is the tallest bridge in Asia? – The tallest bridge in Asia may be seen in Spiti Valley. Yes, it is home to the Chicham Bridge, Asia’s tallest bridge, and an amazing sight to behold. The bridge, which stands at a dizzying height of 13596 feet, is the highest bridge in Himachal joins the communities of Chicham and Kibber. The bridge was under construction at the time I visited this place and is now a major tourist attraction. The bridge has made the like of people living in these villages easier with better connectivity and an increase in tourism.

Spine-Chilling Chicham Ropeway

Chicham and Kibber had no connectivity before. Other than a round trip to Kaza, there is a Parilungbo canyon separating the two villages. So, the only way to reach Chicham from Kibber was to hike down to the Spiti river tributary and climb up. And, that would take half a day. This route was being used by the locals to carry heavy goods.

Crossing Parilungbo Canyon using a simple ropeway.

But, locals without luggage had an alternative to cross the canyon with a self-propelled ropeway. Also called the Kibber Chicham Ropeway. There is absolutely no safety, but locals risked their lives to cross the canyon. Recently, the government has built a bridge connecting the two villages. During my visit, the Chicham bridge was under construction and I doubt if the ropeway still exists.

The ropeway has no backup power, motor, or any kind of safety and is completely manual. Luckily, in the video, you can see our trekking team pulling the rope. Also, the present-day Chicham bridge can be seen to the right in the video but was under construction at that time. So, if you have the guts needed to sit in that little cart and cross the canyon which is at a height of 150 meters, without any kind of safety gear then leave a comment.

You might also like: KANJI – A REMOTE VILLAGE IN THE HIMALAYAS

Kanamo Peak which is approximately 19,600 feet high can be seen from these two villages. People stay at Kibber before making an attempt to climb the summit. The village stay is ideal if you are not acclimatized to this high altitude.

To conclude, this was a true adventure trip that I had and something that you should definitely experience. So, SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel and to my blog for more travel and photography stories. In addition, you can follow me on Instagram – @ravindra_joisa to see all my travel stories.

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