Itravelled to Chitkul with the simple intention of seeing the last village on the Hindustan-Tibet trade route but what I found was far more profound. At 3,450 metres in Kinnaur’s Baspa Valley, Chitkul felt like the edge of the world, where the road ends and an eternal silence begins.

The drive through Sangla and Rakcham was breath-taking. Snow-draped peaks, apple orchards and winding roads made the journey feel like a slow unveiling of something sacred. We stopped at Hindustan Ka Akhri Dhaba for a warm, rustic meal — it was the kind of place that made you linger.

We stayed in a tent pitched along the Baspa river. Early next morning, I stepped out with a cup of chai and sat beside the river. The water murmured softly, and soon a girl arrived to practice her flute. That moment—chai, r

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