Spiti Valley: Kaza, Kibber, Ki

Manali was the jumping off point for the Spiti Valley, a remote mountainous area in the Himalayas. The area is Tibetan in its people, language, culture, and religion, and it's a place to see beautiful and rugged mountain landscapes as well as remote Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Transportation here is slow and uncomfortable, which has kept the area isolated and culturally unique. During the long winter the valley is completely cut off from the rest of the world, and all work stops as people stay at home and look after the livestock. The road there from Manali had only opened at the end of June, so we were catching the valley at the beginning of the season.

We had heard the bus ride to Kaza, the main city in the valley, would take 10 hours. The scenery during the ride was fantastic, but we were seated in the back of the rickety bus, and the ride was brutal. We were shaken and bounced around the whole way, and every time we hit a large bump we were literally catapulted out of our seats 6 inches or more. When we reached the Kunzum Pass, the highest point of the journey at 15,000 feet, we were stuck for two hours in the freezing cold. A truck had gotten stuck while trying to get around an abandoned vehicle; eventually we pulled the truck out with a chain and were on our way, arriving 3 hours late in the end.

some road blockage we passed

the traffic jam at 15,000 feet

on local buses you have to load your bags onto the roof

Kaza was our base for the next few days as we took day trips to smaller, surrounding villages. Kaza's elevation is 12,000 feet, and we could feel the effects: we were constantly tired, found walking very difficult, had headaches, and had some trouble sleeping. Kaza's surrounding scenery is beautiful, but as a surprisingly busy traveler town with narrow, jeep-dominated roads, it was mostly a base for sleeping and eating.

We hired a driver and headed out to Kibber and Ki on our first full day. Kibber was once the highest village in the world with electricity and a road, and as with most of our destinations we spent an hour or so taking in the views before moving on.

electrical wires as a makeshift swing set; where are their parents anyway?

Our second stop, Ki, was a monastery dramatically situated on a mountainside. We were given a tour of several rooms by an English-speaking monk, and enjoyed some tea in the guest kitchen. It can be a wonderful feeling to be in such isolation and absolute quiet, and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are extremely atmospheric places to visit. It was a somewhat difficult place to get to, but already worth the effort.