Norse Travel Guide To Spiti Valley - Land Of Gods

Norse Travel Guide To Spiti Valley

Certainly, not my first post on a travel guide to spiti valley and will not be the last either. Every time I go there, new ideas and places come naturally to me. 

The spellbinding Spiti Valley, located in Himachal Pradesh in India, is often proclaimed by those who see it be a world within a world.

So, how to see spiti valley in its full glory? here is my Norse Travel Guide To Spiti Valley. 


1. Places To See: 

Kibber - Once the world's highest village with a motorable road and electricity, it's located not far from Kaza at 14,200 feet above sea level. It's popular with travellers and has a few laid-back guesthouses.

Komic -  Asia's highest village with Spiti's highest monastery at an altitude of 15,049 feet above sea level.

Ki Monastery - Located not far from Kaza, Ki Gompa is the largest and most accessible monastery in Spiti. The monastery rewards those who enter with a magnificent view over the valley. 

Tabo Monastery - Founded in 996 AD, Tabo is the oldest monastery and has an important role to play. There are nine temples in the complex, as well as an assembly hall, captivating statues, incredibly beautiful artwork, and a public library.

Dhankar Monastery - It's the spectacular rocky setting that makes this monastery special. The sculptures and frescoes are also interesting. 

Komic Monastery - This small monastery is perched on a desolate hilltop overlooking Asia's highest village.

2. Where To Stay: 

You'll find a range of comfortable hotels, guesthouses, and backpacker hostels in Kaza and Kibber.

In Kaza, expect to pay around 1,000 rupees upwards per night for a clean room, with western toilet and 24-hour hot water.  Kaza now has a Zostel hostel and notably, it's Asia's highest backpacker hostel. 

One of the most fascinating things that you can do in Spiti is to stay in one of the villages with a local family. The rustic homestays are all very similar in terms of facilities, although each village differs in its nature, and cost around 3,000 rupees per night including meals. Be prepared to use traditional composting toilets, which are not much more than a hole in the ground.

While staying in Spiti’s villages, you’ll be able to dine on delicious homemade local cuisine, often consisting of momos, thukpa and thenthuk (my favourites). You don't want to miss out on their cuisine and the hospitality the people have to provide. People in spiti valley and truly the sweetest on earth. 


3. Transportation: 

If you don't have your own vehicle, taking a taxi is the easiest way of getting to Spiti. However, it's expensive! You can expect to pay 8,000-10,000 rupees for a private jeep taxi from Manali, or about 1,000-2,000 rupees per person in a shared taxi depending on the size of the vehicle.

Buses are cheaper and cost about 400 rupees per person. There are two Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation services a day from Manali to Kaza, and they depart really early in the morning (5 a.m. and 5.30 a.m).


4. Things To Do: 

Trekking - Adventure enthusiasts love trekking in Spiti. Opportunities are almost endless. Some well-known treks are Pin-Parvati, Parang- La, and Pin-Bhaba. Village to village treks is also popular, such as the one from Kaza to Demul via Komic.

Yak Safari - If you're not up for trekking a yak safari is a perfect alternative. Each village family usually owns one yak, which they let roam freely during the summer. 

Cultural Performances - Demul and Lhalung villages are renowned for their cultural shows, featuring traditionally dressed dancers and live music.

Tracking Endangered Wildlife - track India's exotic and endangered Snow Leopard and Himalayan Wolf in the Pin Valley National Park and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.

Mountain Biking - traverse little known valleys and plateaus on a mountain bike.

White Water Rafting - the Pin and Spiti rivers offer some great white water rafting opportunities.

Excursions to villages and monasteries.


Pro Tips for planning a trip to Spiti Valley :


Homestays & Accommodation Options: All villages and important tourist places in Spiti Valley have many homestays. Hotels also exist in popular and bigger towns like Kaza & Tabo.

Phone connectivity: BSNL works best. Other networks like Vodafone, Idea etc all work sporadically. Even small places may have BSNL connectivity. Airtel works till Spillow as of February 2016.

Petrol Pump: Non-existent except at Kaza. Antique filling station from the old times. There’s a long winding handle on one filling tank to be used by hand even when there is no electricity.

Best time to visit: June-October. Check the status of Kunzum La before starting on the journey. The road from Shimla to Kaza (NH-22) is open throughout the year except in case of heavy snowfall.

Temperature: 5-28 degrees C for the summer months. At over 4000m, be prepared for snowfall and freezing temperatures anytime.

Clothing: Light woollens required, carry some heavy ones too for sudden changes in weather at high altitudes.

AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness): AMS is the feeling of breathlessness and nausea at over 3000m. The trick is to drink lots of water and acclimatise by slowly ascending, say around 400m every day after 3200m.

How to reach Spiti Valley? : Spiti is only accessible by road. Not by train or flight.

1. From Delhi & Manali: First, reach Manali from Delhi. Spiti can be accessed from Manali across Rohtang Pass, turning right at Gramphu & then crossing over to Kunzum La. It is the quickest way of reaching Spiti Valley from Delhi. Distance from Manali to Kaza is approx. 200 km.

2. From Delhi-Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti: Shimla is 345 km from Delhi and a comfortable 6-7 hour drive. From Shimla take the NH22 (The old Hindustan-Tibet Road). Road condition on the Wangtoo – Karchham stretch is bad and may sometimes result in a delay of 1-2 hours. 

3. HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation) buses ply everywhere in Spiti. Connectivity is fairly good to Spiti from Shimla, Reckong Peo and Rampur although the times may be erratic sometimes. 

ATM facility available in Kaza, but travellers are advised to keep cash in case of emergency. Hitchhiking is easily possible on this route, with helpful locals around.

This is my guide to spiti valley and I feel like I missed out on a lot of information just to keep this post short, I promise to include them in my next post. 

My advice to all who are going to spiti valley, plan everything to the last moment as anything can happen in the mountains and you should be prepared for any danger that may befall. 

Apart from this, I hope you have an amazing time in spiti valley and get to see the beauty of the mountains and the people who stay there. 

Share your thoughts and stories in the comment section below and if you have any queries or modification that I can make please do tell them through email or leave a quick reply. 


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