The journey from Tabo to Kaza, which is the main town in Spiti valley, takes around two hours to reach by local bus.

The distance is only 48 kms but the uneven and extremely bumpy road makes the drive longer, and the ticket is affordable too, just Rs 55. The landscape becomes more intriguing as we moved further away from Tabo, the rock formations began to emerge; at some places thick columns of rocks dominated the landscape.

Breathtaking view it was, and what beckoned us was even more enchanting, Kee Monastery, perched on top of a hill at an altitude of 4116 m, and Kibber, which once the highest village with a motorable road in Spiti – however now since all the villages are connected it has lost that status. But before that, we had to reach Kaza, check into hotel Nimling, suggested by the owner of our guest house in Tabo. Since we were in Kaza only for a day, we took that option.

Kaza is at a higher level than Tabo, situated at an altitude of 3,800 metres, so it was more cold and less sunny. But Kaza is a commercial center with haphazard construction and huge number of shops doting the landscape. Hotel Nimling was just a short walk away from the bus depot, we got a decent room for Rs 200 with window facing the snow-covered mountains. The market was buzzing with activity, souvenir shops, general stores, cyber cafes, restaurants, bakeries, almost everything was available in Kaza.

Since the landslide that happened at Malling, on our way to Tabo was cleared, the supplies were flowing in again from around Himachal. In this picture local Spitian women carrying gas cylinders from the market to their homes. Women in Spiti do more work as compared to men, even when it comes to building roads. They leave their kids on the side, and do the work, I was amazed to see that. We had a quick breakfast at the lodge and went out to enquire for a taxi. There are plenty of private taxi operators who can take you around Spiti, and depending on the distance and places to cover they quote a price. The cost is on the higher side though. We decided to go to Kee and Kibber, since those were the only places fitting in our budget, more places to visit means more money. So we got the taxi for Rs 720, no bargaining allowed as the rates are fixed.

We were on our way for a magical ride in the abode of gods. This cute chubby kid was waiting with his father at the taxi stand. A bit away from the crowded market place in Kaza was this colorful monastery, we didn't go in but stopped to take a picture. The view was even better than Tabo, pleasing our senses and opening our minds to see a new dimension in nature's orbit. The Spiti river gently flowing between the mountains, forming tributaries that looked so artistic, and white sand gathered around it looked like snow.

What should I say about the mountains, barren and arid land with spots of green at the foothills and snow at its peak, if this isn't heaven, what is it?
The Incredibly Peaceful Kibber Village

Our first stop was going to be Kibber village, situated atop a mountain 20 kms away. On the way we spotted herd of Ibex, running across the road, they were pretty quick in their steps as well. Ibex belongs to a species of wild mountain goats that are distinguished by the male's large re curved horns, And soaring high in the sky was this huge sized eagle. It would be fantastic to get a bird's eye view of scintillating Spiti! In a short while after that we reached Kibber, which once was the highest village in Asia reachable by a motorable road. Now its Komik village in Spiti which is at a height of 4513m, and falls on the other route. The tarmac road is nice to drive on as well, much better then the road connecting Tabo to Kaza. The jeep driver gave us an hour to take a stroll around Kibber. According to the signboard, the population of Kibber is merely 295 people, so it seemed to be a peaceful and subdued place. It was blessed with a magnificent view of the valley, surrounded by snow-covered peaks, I couldn't even imagine how cold it would get at night. There is a civil dispensary, a high school, a post office and a telegraph office here, so the village is self-sufficient in a way. Like many villages in Spiti, an ancient Chorten greeted us at the start of the village. It was surrounded by prayer flags and as a sign of respect you are suppose to walk from the left of it. On moving ahead we saw Norling guest house, we didn't know about that or else we would have stayed here. There are just 1 or 2 guest houses in Kibber, that gives you an idea how secluded it can get. We hardly saw any locals around either, they would probably be working in the fields while the kids were at school. Life is tough at such high altitudes, as it snows for six months, temperatures can drop to -15 degress in December, so the remaining six months are spent in cultivation of crops, which forms the main source of income. When it snows the locals stay indoors and make handicrafts.

I was enjoying the walk, nobody to stop or disturb you, just absorbing the rustic landscape. This design is actually formed by the finger marks imprinted on the wall of a mud house, how natural does it get. We spotted a little lamb hidden behind the wall, bleating for his mother; we heard his cry but couldn't spot him. So Clyde started to bleat and there the little fellow popped out from behind the wall, responding to his calls. The houses were similar to Tabo, tiny windows and door, white-washed facade with a maroon strip on top, perfect for such cold conditions, and the flat roofs were rimmed with bales of hay neatly stacked, often stuck with prayer flags. Wonder how they would recognise their house if one day a Spitian guy got drunk, that's just a thought! An old house with colorful bales of hay and twigs piled up on its flat roof and the snow-clad mountains in the background, made for a pretty picture! The flat roofs were used for work and storage purpose. As we moved higher up towards the end of the village, we got a better view of Kibber. The green fields spread across the arid land on the top right and the yellow building in the center of the image is Norling guest house. At the far end away from the houses is the small monastery, I assume it is that because of the flags around it. The sun shone through a rift in the clouds, but it was still very pleasant. We kept walking till we reached the end of Kibber. I saw a couple of houses which had yak fur lying outside, the locals might be either selling it or using it to protect themselves from the extreme cold climate at night. On the opposite slope is another village called Chicham, which looked much smaller than Kibber. But the view was stunning, green fields around Chicham added colour to the otherwise brown landscape. Its a 2-3 hours scenic trek from Kibber. We wanted to go closer to the route leading up to Chicham and saw this sight. Horns balanced on a stone structure with twigs placed underneath. I am not sure what this symbolises. The road leading to Chicham village, flanked by tilled fields and scenic mountains. I took a deep breathe totally soaking in the marvellous spectacle that lied in front of me. It looks like a beautiful painting:) but this is reality! There was so much to admire around us, but the driver waved to us from the other end asking us to come back.

The colorful structure is a solar passive house made by Ecosphere. The house absorbs and retains the sun's energy for a longer time and distributes solar energy in the form of heat in winter. This helps communities bring down their winter fuelwood consumption and and also the money spent. The objective being to bring down the amount of fuelwood burnt as well as carbon emissions generated.

Ecosphere is a social enterprise working in the Spiti valley linking lives of locals to conservation and development. They also organise homestays for tourists to experience the unique culture of Spiti. On our way back we saw this cute furry dog looking at us from the door. To sum up our short visit to Kibber, we experienced a sweet moment joy when the school bell rang and the girls came running out from their respective houses to play a game of volleyball. Such was the excitement and simple life of people in Kibber. We went back to the jeep hoping to come back soon to this village, this time with our bags. Our visit would be incomplete without a picture of the two of us in this paradise! The beautiful Kee monastery is a short ride away from Kibber, in fact it comes on the way to Kibber. Due to loads of photos, I have divided the post. But am sure you won't have to wait too long before its up. Read the complete post...

After the trek to the Buddhist caves in Tabo, we were famished as it was already past 4 pm and we were starving. So we decided to go to a restaurant close by and savour the local delicacies. For the first time we walked on the main road of Tabo village to get a glimpse of rural life.

The mud houses had similar structure, design and colour, very few of them had two or three levels. Some of the houses also had sheds built on the side for the cows to rest. We were trying to figure out why this calf was embellished with colourful ribbons, when a Spitian girl popped out of the window. She looked at us, wondering what we were doing and when she was about to shut the window, Bhavika quickly gestured to her to wait for a picture.


We noticed that most of the houses had twigs stacked just above the door. Just across the road was this young boy filling a glass of water, looking completely dazed. While these Spitian kids were radiating with joy and love, shining like a beacon. Just this short walk brought smiles on our tired face, it didn't serve as nourishment for the body but uplifted the soul. Innocence personified! Cute-looking kids happily posing for the camera with their dolls. We turned behind to look how far we had reached from the caves. Not much distance covered, yet at every step we discovered something different. You can see few of the caves we trekked to, although there is a huge stretch of them that you will see in a picture further down, now its time for your mouth to water. We had a multi-course meal at this restaurant called Zion, the full power cafe. We wanted to try some of the local Spitian dishes like Thantuk, Thukpa and not to forget Momos. Traditionally, momos were only served to important guests when they visited the household. They were a delicacy which were only made on special occasions to celebrate. Since we were starving we ordered for quite a lot of food. We started with shakes (Mango shake Rs 25, Banana Rs 20) then moved on to appetisers that included Veg Momos (Rs 40), Thantuk (Tibetan-style vegetable soup with flat noodles) (Rs 35), Mashed potato with local cheese and fried onions (Rs 50). The food was delicious, especially the Thantuk that had lot of flavours. A meal is incomplete without desserts, so we went on another binge, rice pudding (Rs 40), mango custard (Rs 40 for 1) with fresh mango pieces and banana toffee (Rs 30 for 1). The Mango Custard and banana toffee were scrumptious, so we ordered for one more round, even the guy serving us was amazed with the quantity of food. We were over-nourished now and it was time to walk again. The bill came up to only Rs 395. Zion cafe was more affordable than the restaurant at our guest house.
While we were on top of the mountain our eyes were set on the greenish blue water body. We were not sure of the way, but we started to head towards the fields. Walking through the fields and wide open spaces, with Spiti river flowing on the left and the mountains on the other side, we felt in the lap of nature, who was displaying its immense beauty at every step. We walked on a cemented canal, made to provide water in the fields, along side the river. Bhavika was nervous as there were dog fights taking place in the fields, with huge furry dogs running about barking at other group of dogs, she's scared of dogs by the way. In the picture below you can see some of the dogs standing outside the mud wall of the apple orchard as well as a stretch of caves on the mountain. The wall is made to protect the apples from being stolen, and Spitian apples are well known in India.

As we proceeded on the cemented canal a farmer with a plow approached us from the other side, he was walking faster and as he came closer we realized a trickle of water following him in the canal. As the trickle built up force, he was opening and sometimes closing exits of the water entering the fields. The frog was swept by the water force until he managed to cling on to the sides of the canal for us to take a picture! Picture perfect, shot of Spiti river flowing through the barren mountains like a snake crawling and making its way in the fields.
If you remember the wild orchids we saw during the trek to a village in Parvati, this one is exactly the same except for the colour. Finally we drew up close to the pond, which was quite big; if it was attractive from the top, it was unbelievable when we were besides it. Like an oasis in the desert, the water body was used for irrigation purpose.

The colours were not only green because of the depth in the center, but also brown towards the banks due to plants growing underneath. Air bubbles slowly making their way to the surface as insects came up for a breather and then go back down.

There were small fish swimming about and how can I explain the mesmerizing reflection of the sky, mountains and the colours in all their glory on the surface, shattering with ripples created by the breeze only to form again. As the sun set a group of swallows flew over the pond chasing each other, some flying just above the surface as though they were looking at their reflections on the water. While some played games by skipping over water and just about touching it to make us wonder if they were placed there at that point of time, it was the swallow show in the middle of the desert. The words perhaps can't describe the way we felt, we were, "Woooo did you see that!!!" all the time, our head moving, our eyes following the birds they had all our attention. Even the sole duck and a duckling in the pond were trying to catch our attention but in vain, until the sun started another show. The shadow of the mountains where the sun was setting started spanning across the entire valley, slowly eating up hill after hill.
It was time to leave, when we were in the middle of the fields yet again something magical happened. Straight in front of us, the mountains at the horizon were still the same, the sky was light blue, and right behind us where the sun was setting it was dark blue and grey.
The sky had unlimited gradients in the middle all the way from light blue, sky blue, navy blue, dark blue, blue grey, every shade of blue you can imagine possible, this was the magic in Spiti, we had not seen these shades anywhere else in Himachal Pradesh. We were blessed by the Mountain Gods! We walked towards German bakery in Tabo, picked up a cheese cake, our favorite on this trip. You can see the internal structure in this picture, this is the roof of German Bakery from the inside in Tabo. What a contrasting image pops up in the head when you think of German Bakery! We went back to our room after an eventful day, ordered for dinner. It is worth a mention that the food was delicious at Tashi Khangsar, but tad expensive, like Thantuk costed Rs 60, that's too much for a veg soup. A proper meal for three, comprising dal makhani (Rs 40), rice (Rs 40), mixed vegetable (Rs 50), chapatis (Rs 5 each) and sugarless halwa (Rs 40) came up to Rs 195. Back in the room a game of Scrabble beckoned us, and Bhavika turned out to be the lucky winner, on several occassions!:)

The Ancient Tabo Monastery

The next morning our plan was to catch the bus to Kaza, the main city of Spiti, and go further up to Ki and Kibber monastery. But the visit to Tabo is incomplete without seeing the ancient monastery. We had passed it a few times and never ended up going inside. Called the 'Ajanta of the Himalayas', the monastery holds nine temples, 23 chortens or stupas and seperate chambers for monks and nuns. It is enclosed by a boundary wall built with mud bricks, that separates it from the modern monastery buildings and village. The bus to Kaza arrives anytime between 8.30 am to 12.30 pm, so we had 15 minutes to check the Tabo monastery, assuming that the bus arrived by 9, 9.15 am. Unfortunately all the sections were closed, even the temples that house exquisite wall paintings, stucco statues and murals. But whatever we saw was gorgeous enough, especially the central part. This is the assembly hall where the above mentioned treasures were preserved. The entire monastery was built in a way that it makes maximum use of natural light, the roof had green glass at places and solar cells to generate electricity. On our next visit we would definitely visit the monastery, with that thought in mind we rushed to the Tabo bus stand. It was time for us to go to Kaza, our next stop in the mystical Spiti desert! Read the complete post...