Food · Chandratal, Spiti & Lahaul
Dal and rice at a Batal dhaba
Eat with drivers, bikers and trekkers at Batal, the tiny stop where the Chandratal road leaves the highway. Hot dal, rice and tea in one of the emptiest stretches of the Himalaya.
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY 4.0 · CommonsBatal is barely a settlement: a bridge over the Chandra river, a few dhabas, a PWD rest house and a lot of stones. For decades it has been the place where travellers between Manali and Spiti stop to eat, warm up and swap road news.
The menu is short and filling: dal, rice, vegetables, Maggi, omelettes and endless cups of tea. Some dhabas offer very basic beds on the floor as an emergency stop. Pay in cash.
Ask about the road. The people who run the dhabas know which streams are high, whether Kunzum is clear and how long the Chhatru stretch is taking that day. Thank them, leave nothing behind, and carry your plastic out.
Good for
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Stop at Kunzum La, about 4,590 m, between Spiti and Lahaul, where drivers circle the small shrine to Kunzum Devi and th…
Trips through Chandratal
Do this on a trip
Each of these trips stops in Chandratal. Tell us and we keep a slot for this day.
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Spiti circuit: Kinnaur in, Kunzum La out
Private SUV with driver
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Lahaul and Chandratal from Manali
Private SUV with driver
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Slow Spiti and Lahaul with a private guide
Private SUV with driver, private guide
Questions
Before you book
Where is Batal?
On the Manali–Kaza road, below Kunzum La, where the side road to Chandratal begins.
Can I stay at Batal?
Some dhabas offer basic floor beds in emergencies. Plan to sleep at the Chandratal camps or in Kaza instead.
Is food available all year at Batal?
No. Dhabas open only when the road is open, roughly June to October.