Bara Shigri Glacier, the largest glacier in Himachal Pradesh, is located in the Chandra valley of Lahaul and it feeds the river Chenab. This glacier, 25 km long and about 3 km wide, lies on the middle slopes of the main Himalayan range. On the three sides of it, it has high mountains. All around are the great peaks of the Parvati headwaters -- White Sail, Indrasan and, further up the range, Kulu Makalu and the Parbati peak itself
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The Bara Shigri glacier, whose name signifies 'boulder-covered-ice', flows northwards and debouches into the Chandra river where its southerly course is deflected westwards, close to the Spiti border. The glacier is above 3,950 m altitude and extends beyond 4,570 m, a 11 km length of which has been recently surveyed and mapped. The glacier is so heavily covered with surface moraine that ice is not visible for long stretches except along the crevices and in the ablation areas. Estimates differ as to the breadth of the glacier where it is crossed, as owing to its movement and roughness no two caravans cross it in exactly the same way, but it is not less than a mile wide. It is just 4 kms away from Batal and around 40 Kms from Rohatang Pass The best time to be around is July – September, you’ll find many trekkers in Manali with the same purpose. It is a difficult trek across the mountain, glaciers and requires experienced in mountaineering and use of connected equipment. The best time to cross is before sun rise. The glacier itself is highly steep and you’ve to be very professional to cross this glacier, however there is an alternate way which makes you haggle in rocky floor. This glacier was conquered by women mountaineers in 1956.
Across the Bara Shigri is another glacier known as Chhota Shigri. It is a comparatively smaller glacier and does not reach down to the bed of the river, but it is most steep and slippery, difficult to cross. There are number of prominent glaciers in Chandra valley in Lahaul. Some of them are, Kulti, Shpting, Pacha, Ding Karmo, Tapn, Gyephang, Bolunag, Shili and Shamundri. Gyephang is the chief deity of Lahaul valley and the Gyephang glacier is named after him. It is full of snow all the year. It is considered as the Manimahesh of Lahaul
The Chandertal lake is believed to have formed from this glacier after the great disaster in the Chandra valley in 1936. The Chandra valley also has a number of prominent glaciers. In 1936 this glacier burst its bounds and dammed the Chandra causing the formation of a large lake, which finally broke loose and carried devastation down the valley. The story runs that the people of Spiti posted guards in the Kunzum Pass to watch whether the water would rise high enough to flow across into Spiti."