Pin Valley National Park protects the cold desert landscape of the Pin River catchment, a side valley that joins Spiti near Attargo village. Established in 1987, it covers 675 square kilometres of some of the most austere terrain on the Subcontinent — treeless brown mountains, narrow gorges, and a river that runs green-grey with glacial melt.
The park is one of India's best places to spot snow leopards in winter, along with Tibetan wolves, ibex, and bharal (blue sheep), which form the leopard's main prey. The bird list includes the Himalayan snowcock, chukar partridge, and occasional sightings of the Himalayan bearded vulture (lammergeier). The Pin River valley is also greener and more agricultural than the main Spiti Valley, with villages like Mudh at the end of the road where local people maintain farms and small guesthouses. Treks from Mudh head up toward the high ridges and eventually cross into the Kinnaur Valley. The road into Pin Valley requires a permit for foreign nationals in some sections.