It was a Jeep Safari spanning across 9 days covering Kinnaur and
Spiti. We were a bunch of 9 people from across the country who met each
other for the first time at Shimla.
Here is a kaleidoscope of my favorite moments
Meeting the Goddess
Our first stop – The Bhima Kali temple in Sarahan village. Human sacrifices were carried out here till about the 18th century to please the goddess.
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Bhimakali Temple
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The temple architecture was interesting with layers of stone and wood and seemed to have a Tibetan influence.
Sayin Hello to Tibet
Chitkul is rainy and cold when we arrive and is also the last village
at the Indo Tibet border. There is nothing notable about the place, but
visiting the last village should be good enough reason :)
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Don’t let the sun go down on me…..
It was still daylight in Rackcham village at Sangla Valley, so we decided to do a short walk downhill to explore the area. Sangla is one of the largest producers of the Kinnaur Apples and we saw several apple orchards during our walk.
And then we became audiences to a beautiful sunset.
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Knockin On Heaven’s Door
Daybreak at 5 am. I could hear the sound of the streams from my room. I decided to step out and explore.Ahead was the Baspa River. The river has bluish turquoise shades and cuts through the mountains making for spectacular views.
The Sangla valley is blessed with effortless beauty and should be on your must explore itinerary.
Nako Lake Overivew
Nako is a small but pretty village which has a Gompa at its entrance and a small but scenic lake.
Aum Mani Padme Hum
The old monastery of Tabo is said to be over a thousand years old.
There are splendid frescos and murals of Buddha and Buddhism inside the
monastery which need urgent restoration and care.
Mornings begin as early as 5am in these parts as the locals prefer to
start their day with prayers at the Tabo monastery. Listening to the
monks chant made us feel peaceful and we ended the session with generous
cups of butter tea :)
Just outside the village are a few old caves on the mountains which
were used by monks to mediate. It is an easy climb so we hiked up the
mountain to explore the caves.
The view from the top was worth the hike. We could see sweeping views
of the Tabo monastery, the village houses, fields and farms and the
Spiti River.
Save Dhankhar
Dhankar was the erstwhile capital of Spiti and the monastery overlooks the Spiti – Pin confluence. This monastery too is around 1000 years old and is of religious
significance. The landscape around Dhankar is grandiose and unlike
anything that I ever saw before (loss of words)
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Dhankar Monastery
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| View from top of Dhankar monastery overlooking the Spiti Pin confluence |
Magical Lake
A steep upward trek leads us to the Dhankhar Lake. The way up was not difficult however the thin air made the climb arduous. When we reached the top we were greeted by majestic wild horses. How cool is that? The lake was a magical color of turquoise, green, blue…again loss of words to describe beauty.
The trek up to the lake was worth it and should not be missed. The good part is, the descent down is cakewalk :)
Good Things Come In Small Packages
Rain and slight snowfall greeted us at Fukchung village. We had now
entered the area where the population was getting sparse, but it was big
on friendliness, hospitality and happiness.
Everywhere we went people waved and smiled at us. On the road people
stopped to wave and say “Julley” which is Hello or Welcome in Spiti :)
It was contagious and we reciprocated their smiles and cheer feeling great :)
At Home In Demul
We were to live in a traditional Spitian homestay at Demul. So we
were looking forward to it. Our guide introduced us to our hosts who
were warm and welcoming.
The homestay was neat, clean and simple. It had basic amenities to keep us warm and well taken care of.
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Typical house in Spiti
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In Spiti the central place in every homestay is the kitchen as it has
the fireplace and is the warmest place in the home. So we spent all of
our waking hours in there with the rest of the family.
Dancing In Demul
We were excited, after all we were about to watch a
traditional Spitian dance. The dancers were all women who were
beautifully attired in their traditional shawls and a lot of jewelry.
They were accompanied by men playing drums and a type of shenai player.
After a while we joined them in their dance. The dance was indeed a good way to understand the culture of the people here.
Good Job!!
We also visited the local school in Demul and met the headmaster and the kids.
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| These students belong to different grades but study together |
Though the school was supported by the government we felt we could
help by sending them educational material which could enhance their
learning.
Yakking And Trekking
We were to hike through one the highest points in Spiti and if lucky
spot some wildlife. How can I miss this opportunity. So layering myself
to brave the cold I set out with my friends and guide for a 6 hour trek
from Demul to Komic.
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Yaks to help us during our trek
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We had yaks to help us incase we did not want to walk all the way and
thank God for them as we needed them especially during the steep
climbs.
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We trekked through the highest point in Spiti at 4700 mts (approx 15,000 ft)
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We also got lucky to see and follow the tracks of the snow leopard and we also saw blue sheep. The trek was not all difficult terrain but again the thin air made us breathless with even a slight climb.
Finally Komic!!! We did it!!!
Breathless but feeling accomplished we reached Komic, the highest village in Asia and a pretty village too. This time my hosts were a large family with two very cute and sweet kids.
The menu for the evening dinner was potato momos and soup. Given the blowing cold winds outside this was a welcome :)
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Our hosts at the homestay making potato momos
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Sustainable tourism
Like most villages in Spiti, Demul and Komic are self-sustained
villages. There is a sense of community work among villagers to get
things done that benefit the entire village and that is commendable. There are green houses run and managed by the villagers and they also use passive solar energy.
The homestay experience made me introspect about the difference in
lifestyle between us city folks and the people of Spiti. They have very
little to offer us but they give it with a smile from their heart and
are genuine in their hospitality.
Mr. Postman at Hikkim
The post office at Hikkim is the highest in the world!!
It was a simple post office only a small board outside made this
announcement no frills or fancy to this. We sent post cards from here as
a memento to this place, again cool stuff :)
Langza Village Overview
The special thing about Langza is the mighty statue of Buddha towering over the village.
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| The Buddha at the left and the village below |
In addition Langza is a picture perfect village, very pretty. I saw
several contrasts with the green fields; brown mountains and the deep
blue sky…hmmmm…seemed very poetic.
The Shopaholic Awakens
We were almost done with our tour of Spiti and were in Kaza which is
HQ of Spiti. Kaza is a small town which has some good shopping options.
You can buy woolens, jewelry, good crockery that is popular with the
locals, souvenirs, and traditional Buddhist items.
Food binge at the German Bakery it’s worth it :)
Kinner Kailash
We were at Kalpa on the last day of our trip. I woke up for a walk to watch the sunrise from the mountains.
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| The apple trees with the Kinner Kailash range in the background |
The chanting of monks coming from the nearby monastery through the loudspeaker kept me company.
The Essence Of Spiti
For me the essence of Spiti was experienced in many ways through:
1. People – Their Hospitality & Friendliness is genuine and so freely given to all :)
2. Landscape and Rivers – The browns of the mountains complements the
blues of the sky…you are never tired of looking at them. The Sutlej,
Spiti and Pin rivers were our steady companions throughout.
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| Off-roading was the way we traveled throughout Spiti |
3. Monasteries & Gompas & Prayer Flags – The spirituality of
the place and the people is reflected through the monasteries, gompas
and prayer flags.
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Key Monastery
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4. Food – Couldn't get enough of it. We were fed everywhere we went :)
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| Momos, Thukpa, traditional Tibetan and Spitian food |
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| Chai was offered everywhere :) we also had rajma and parathas |
5. Wildlife – Where can you see horses running free and wild? Do you
know the Ibex and Blue Sheep? Have you seen the elusive snow leopard?
Where can you find fossils of the sea on land? Or even see flora and
fauna never seen before?
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Snow leopard pug mark, succulent plant, Ibex
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Fossilized stones, sheep, blue sheep
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| Wild bush, wild bird flying over the river, wild horses… Yeah after all we’re in da wild :) |
Spiti has all of these and a lot more to offer. If offbeat and
unexplored is your kinda holiday, then Spiti should be on your list :)
Julley :)
-Malita Castro
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About the Author- Malita travelled to Spiti on the Essential Kinnaur & Spiti Jeep Safari in June 2015. This post was originally published on her travel blog- https://donandthetravelmafia.wordpress.com/
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