Introduction
Continuing with the next part of our journey in Spiti Valley, we were now all set to go to the main crisp of Spiti, the most beautiful town named Kaza, the Official Headquarters (Spiti & Lahaul District), largest town and commercial capital of Spiti Valley. There are so many attractive and unique tourist spots just around Kaza, making it a worthy destination in North India (I’ll be covering everything in detail, in coming blogs).
Journey to Kaza
We finished exploring Tabo and next was our plan to take a bus to Kaza. Though the distance is just 48 kms, the road isn’t good at many stretches increasing the journey time to 3-4 hours. But trust me, this is also another gracious journey in Spiti Valley. For the whole route of the journey, the Pretty River Spiti would be flowing parallel to you on a vast plain, making it an unreal site.
The river is pretty young and hence its swift and shining bright in daylight. Mountains on one side and gorgeous river on another side, it’s a real treat to nature lovers. Adding it again, the roads in Himalayas are mostly parallel to rivers most of the times and I have noticed the same in Spiti Valley, Uttarakhand, J&K, Ladakh as well. You see many small small villages and also diversions to other small villages like Mudd, Pin and other villages in Spiti Valley.
Kaza – The HQ of Spiti
After a lovely bus journey on a slightly dark evening, we finally reached Kaza, the HQ of Spiti. The temperature was very low like almost 0°C to 1°C, even in the evening and we were desperately looking for hotels to warm ourselves.
The Beauty of Kaza
The best part of Kaza is there’s a very very tall gigantic mountain right in front of the town with Spiti River flowing below it and then starts the homes and hotels. The other side of Kaza is almost plain with no huge mountains. Once we reach the entrance of Kaza from the Tabo side, you get the mesmerizing views of the Spiti River Plain, mountain and Zostel which is a very popular place for accommodation in Kaza.
We straight away checked it out and after looking for a few other options, we found a double bed room available at the same cost of a dormitory in another hotel, so decided to skip Zostel.
Zostel, Kaza
But Zostel, Kaza is pretty well maintained, very close to Bus Stand, Market, Taxi Union with the river flowing behind. Even the TV room was so cool when I saw the World Cup Match going on and random tourists were enjoying tea and snacks. The rooms are a bit expensive, but worth the money. The dorms are cheaper and if you’re a group of friends or a solo traveler, it’s definitely worth trying out.
We planned to stay for 3 days in Kaza and I’d say those were our best days ever. The main jinx of the Spiti trip. There’s again nothing much to explore in Spiti but the villages around in a radius of 20-30 kms are the real things to explore here.
Roaming around Kaza
There are also many options to roam around through these villages. One can hire a taxi from Spiti Taxi Union, even rental bikes are available, even buses are available but they go to one particular village in the evening and return in the morning, so not an ideal deal to take buses except in some exceptional cases.
Things to do in Kaza
The Highest Retail Fuel Outlet in the World
There’s also a Monastery in Kaza which is quite famous and the best part of Kaza is the beauty of the town and the lovely landscapes in early morning. So if I’m not wrong, the next petrol pump is right before Atal Tunnel near Manali which is around 180 kms and the road is next to hell taking atleast 7-8 hours. On the other hand, you can get it in Reckong Peo, which is again 220 km away taking 9-10 hours for sure.
So the Indian Oil Petrol Pump in Kaza is very crucial here and also it’s the World’s Highest Retail Fuel Outlet at a height of 12,270ft which makes it very famous for many reasons. No vehicle leaves the gate without a full tank even HRTC buses as well, making it almost a tourist destination itself
The case is the same with ATM as well, once you cross Kaza, you might find it in Tabo and another side straight in Manali. Thus Kaza has been a prime feeder to all these villages around.
Himalayan Cafe
The Himalayan Cafe is the most popular cafe in Spiti Valley, located in the Kaza Market. Visit to Kaza is incomplete without visiting here. Right on the door of the cafe just before the handle you can find VentureVista, don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram when you visit this cafe. You can find almost all varieties of food here and open from morning to night as well.
Food Options in Kaza
The food options in Kaza are pretty dull and all shops close by 8 8-30, except this cafe and few restaurants. There aren’t many good places to eat except a few Momos, Thupkas, Samosa shops. Make sure you make your food arrangement properly.
Kaza Weather
Even the weather here is extremely cold. It’s -8°C right now when I’m writing this at 7PM and the night it goes until -19°C today. Even some days it’s not surprising even if it touches -25°C too. Kaza is at a height of 12,270 ft and surrounding villages are at a much higher height, so the temperature is much worse. Make sure you keep these things in mind when you’re planning a trip in winters.
Winter Beauty
But winter beauty in Kaza and the entire Spiti is unreal. You get to watch snow, snow and just snow everywhere. There’s no better place to visit in India to experience such heavy snowfall in winters than Spiti Valley. The roads are hard to locate once there’s heavy snowfall suddenly at random times and stored foods get frozen in no time. Even once you open a water bottle from the refrigerator, it just starts slowly freezing immediately due to the temperature all around.
Conclusion
After a pleasant stay at night, we took out RE Himalayan, the beast in Himalayas making real use of 400cc in terrible mountains to explore the surrounding places in the next 2-3 days, where we made lifetime memories and took fabulous pics of the mesmerizing landscapes which I’d never forget. I’ll elaborate the detailed guide to Kaza and surrounding villages along with our experiences in coming blogs. Don’t forget to react to the blog(the new feature) and comment down your experience during your visit to Kaza.
I’m gone to say to my little brother, that he should also go to see this weblog on regular basis to obtain updated from most recent reports.