Nestled on the eastern fringes of Himachal Pradesh named as Spiti Valley, adjacent to the Chinese border, this is an expansive and extraordinary terrain that challenges belief in the existence of such a marvel on Earth. Dotted with numerous quaint villages, each boasting no more than 30 to 40 houses, this secluded region relies heavily on 1 or 2 HRTC buses that ply through the area, serving as a vital connection for the inhabitants, facilitating the exchange of posts and money orders. Amidst this picturesque landscape, a multitude of apple trees radiate a vibrant red hue during the harvesting season, while the laughter of small, cheerful children echoes through the villages.
Terrain to Spiti Valley
The vast expanse of this untouched and infinite land, gleaming like gold in the daylight, captivates the beholder, with over 80% of its terrain remaining untouched by human hands—a truly enchanting masterpiece of nature. This distinctive environment undergoes a transformative winter makeover, as heavy snowfall blankets the region, rendering it akin to a colossal, cold desert with an ethereal atmosphere.
The Introduction : Spiti Valley
Welcome to Spiti Valley, one of the most beautiful tourist destinations of not just India, but the whole world. So this entire place is situated between the very huge mountains of the Himalayas which are extremely close to the Chinese borders, approximately around 30 if I’m not mistaken. This is a very high altitude region where most of the places are above 12,500 ft and going upto 15,000ft where people have their houses and lead a happy life. So actually Spiti means “The Middle Land”, the land between India and Tibet. It entirely has a Cold Desert environment due to its proximity towards the Himalayas.
Geographical Location of Spiti Valley
Spiti is bordered on the east by Tibet( I honestly don’t know what’s there exactly), on the north by Ladakh which needs no explanation, on the west and southwest by Lahaul Valley another marvelous piece of nature’s creation, on the south by Kullu, and on the southeast by magnificent Kinnaur Valley. The Spiti river is the major source of water flowing around the valley feeding everyone here and also adding beauty to the breathtaking landscapes.
Monasteries and Buddhism in the Valley
Due to its proximity towards Tibet almost everyone here are Buddhists and also this is the favorite of Dalai Lama too. There is a monastery in every village where monks live and pray everyday. Some of the monasteries are a very famous tourist attraction due to their beautiful architecture and their history. Tabo Monastery being the oldest running monastery in India, Kee Monastery, the image which fits into the most of the cover pages of Spiti Valley, Dhankar Monastery which is another famous and beautiful monastery. Some of them even have guest houses for tourists to stay in, which would be a lifetime experience for someone who wishes to spend time with monks.
The Humongous Mountains
Once you’re here all you see is the tall and tall mountains even after you stand above 13,000 ft. They rise to such high altitudes that the highest one is above 23,000+ ft (just 6,000ft less than Mt Everest). On either side of the valley there’s a very long range of such beautiful mountains and once you travel on these roads after every run you encounter a new beautiful mountain. Even though the rainfall is less, the temperature is extremely and extremely cold.
The maximum temperature in summers is comparable to the minimum temperature in the entire year in South India, ranging around 12°C, oh my god, the inhabited places also experience temperatures as low as -40C. As I write this on Nov 23, 2023, at 11 PM, a village named Komic has a temperature of -14°C, which will dip lower in the coming months.
The Tiny yet beautiful Villages
So there are many villages around here, but the headquarters of this valley is a beautiful village named Kaza, which has the highest population and is much more urbanized compared to others. So if you’re planning to visit here, Kaza will be your home for the next 4-5 days. The other major villages are Tabo, Sumdo, Pin, Dhankar, Kibber, Chicham and many others. Every place has its own specialty and you get a lot and lots of World’s highest places here, read it again World’s highest not India’s highest.
You get the best view only after the hardest climb, in the same way the road to Kaza isn’t a piece of cake. There are 2 ways to reach Kaza one from Shimla (Kinnaur Valley side) which takes an entire 2 days and another from Manali taking a whole day. Though the distances are low, the road conditions are very harsh. As the journey would be around the mountains, the road conditions are very bad and hence it would take a lot of effort and time to drive here.
Adventurous drives in the Valley
The best part is HRTC is upto your service and you can make the best use of it as we did. But it’s truly a heaven for someone who loves off-roading and adventure. If you have a 4X4 or an adventure bike why do you even have it if you aren’t driving them here.
As said, the journeys are much more beautiful than the destination which I firmly believe, all my journeys here are the best of my life. At every turn you’ll enter a lovely piece of amazing land and you just say wow. The entire responsibility of roads is of BRO, so some parts are too good like the one from Reckong Peo to Sumdo is just marvelous, no National Highway can be compared to it. Driving here itself is a heavenly experience, which you shouldn’t miss at any cost. So many hairpin turns, lovely landscapes, beautiful villages, the parallel flowing pretty rivers, oh my god just looks like a wow.
The World’s Highest things
From the Highest Post Office in the world to the Highest Village in the world connected with the motorable road to the Highest Bridge of Asia to the Oldest Monastery of India to the Highest Peak of Himachal Pradesh with some other unique places, no other place can be compared to this place. People often plan for Ladakh but many don’t actually know about this valley making it a remote and special tourist destination.
Conclusion
The beauty of Spiti can’t be explained in a single blog, this was just an introduction to all the future blogs I’d be posting about Spiti(Read the myths about Spiti), be it my experiences, travel guides, etc. in a very detailed manner about all the places I explored here and also some things which I missed(which I’ll be visiting again very soon)which you shouldn’t miss if you’re planning to travel here.
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