Things to Do in Spiti Valley: Monasteries, Villages, Lakes

Our trips spend two nights in Kaza so these fit into one relaxed day.

• Visit Key Monastery, the largest in Spiti, on a hill above the Spiti river
• Post a card to home from the post office at Hikkim, one of the highest in the world
• Look for fossils and see the large Buddha statue at Langza
• Walk through Komic, among the highest villages in the region
• Visit Kibber and cross Chicham Bridge over a deep gorge
• Walk Kaza market for local woollens and supplies

• See the naturally preserved mummy of a monk at Gue
• Walk through Tabo Monastery and its old murals
• Look down the valley from Dhankar Monastery, on a ridge above the Spiti and Pin rivers
• Detour into Pin Valley and Mud village when the road is open

• Eat at the 'last dhaba of India' in Chitkul, near the Tibet border
• Watch the Kinner Kailash range from Kalpa
• See Khab Sangam, where the Spiti and Sutlej rivers meet
• Walk around Nako lake and its monastery

• Stand among the prayer flags at Kunzum Pass, 4,551 m
• Spend a night in a camp near Chandratal and walk to the lake at sunset
• Ride or drive out through Batal and the Atal Tunnel to Manali

From December to February, Nako lake freezes, the villages above Kaza sit under snow and the roads are almost empty. Our winter 4x4 expedition is built around these snow days.

Spiti is high, dry and far from big towns, so on clear nights the sky is full of stars. Step outside the homestay after dinner with a warm jacket; Langza, Kaza and the Chandratal camps are good places to look up.