Adventures Of Jellie 06/08/2023 Adventures Of Jellie 06/08/2023

Spiti Valley Diaries Day Five - The Roof of the World!

Join us for day five of our Spiti Valley Adventure in a day full of the “world’s highest’s” we visit the Langza Buddha, Komic - the highest motorable village in the world and send postcards from the world’s highest Post Office at Hikkim before returning to the market town of Kaza for an amazing night star gazing.

Day five of our Spiti Valley adventure found us waking up swaddled in blankets in the market town of Kaza (3800m above sea level). It had dropped below freezing in the night and we had been glad of our layers of warm blankets. The low temperature now meant that the peaks surrounding the mountain town of Kaza, had been dusted with a fresh coating of snow!

After munching on a breakfast of egg and onion parathas we headed out for the days exploring. Our trusty minivan trundled off down the valley and headed up the mountain towards the Langza Buddha.

The Langza Buddha is a massive statue of the seated Buddha. Colourfully painted and sitting proudly atop 4420 metre high mountain. Disembarking from the bus, we followed a stream of people towards the statue. The vibrant colours of the statue contrasted against the browns, greys and whites of the surrounding scenery. It was like a beacon of colour lighting up the valley all around. It was a stunning location. 360 degree views across the whole valley and mountain ranges beyond, with jagged snow capped peaks ringing the horizon.

The colourful Langza Buddha statue sits looking out over a Himalayan vista in India's Spiti Valley.

A vast sweeping landscape of snow capped Himalayan mountains and grey rock sweeps away from the viewer. A small group of people give perspective of the scene.

A few thousand photos later and we set off again, this time towards the highest village in the world!

Komic claims the title of the “highest village in the world”. At an elevation of 4587m above sea level, iIt is hard to imagine living any higher. It feels like the roof of the world and even a short climb leaves you light-headed and out of breath.

Jellie pose for a photo in front of a sign proclaiming Komic to be the "highest motorable village in the world".

The monastery at Komic was another beautiful example of Tibetan Buddhist architecture and art. Calm, tranquil and cosy on the inside, the monastery held an amazing library of scrolls as well as stunning colourful wall paintings. As we explored through the narrow corridors and staircases, a trance-like beat permeated the walls, as a monk sat drumming and chanting in a small jewel box of a room, it was otherworldly.

A carved wooden window sits in the red wall of the Komic monastery in India's Spiti Valley. Reflected in the window pane is a snow capped Himalayan mountain peak.

Outside we enjoyed lemon and ginger tea at the self proclaimed “highest restaurant in the world” whilst watching an extremely cute gaggle of donkeys (definitely not the correct collective term) wander across the mountainous backdrop. It was one of those moments you get when travelling, where you almost have mental whiplash. We may have just been drinking a cup of tea, but we were drinking a cup of tea at the world's highest restaurant surrounded by the Himalayas. It was a pretty special cup of tea.

The red metal exterior of the highest Post Office in the word in Hikkim, India.

After Komic it was time for another “world’s highest” . This time it was the world's highest Post Office in the tiny hamlet of Hikkim (4400 metres above sea level)! Obviously we had to make use of the facilities, so we brought a stack of postcards and sent them off. The old man in the post office has apparently been doing this for over forty years and used to have to walk for miles back down the mountain with the mail sack each day!

We were not too sure if our letters would reach their destination as, after being plastered in many, many stamps they were posted into what really did look like a bin. Our confidence was not helped by our Indian companions assuring us that no one ever got the letters sent from here, although, that didn’t stop them from trying as well!

A postcard addressed to the Brent Centre for Young People is held up to the camera. 6 Indian stamps are plastered to the top right.

We are very happy to report that, as of the time of writing, all except one of our postcards has been delivered, taking just under two weeks to reach the UK.

We are hoping the last one shows up eventually!

It was shockingly inexpensive for both the postcards and stamps at the “world's highest post office in the world”. We, being cynical brits, expected much more exploitative pricing than we got. The postage to the UK cost 30p and the postcards themselves were inexpensive (30p) but if you want a larger selection pick them up in Kaza or another town as there were limited designs available.

Postcards posted we jumped back in the van and headed back for Kaza. Langza, Komic and Hikkim form a loop that begins and ends in Kaza.

Colourful prayer flags hang over the entrance to a cafe in the Himalayan market town of Kaza.

Back in town, we and some friends headed back to the Himalayan Cafe for some much needed lunch. For lunch we decided on thenthuk. The best way to describe thenthuk is thukpa’s chunky brother. A thickened broth filled with garlic and hand pulled noodles and topped with vegetables and either chicken or mutton. After our warming bowls had been devoured the cafe owner successfully tempted us into a slice of banoffee pie. We are not sure how authentically Himalayan bananas are, but it was delicious!

After lunch we spent a lazy afternoon around town, shopping for trinkets and Spiti Valley souvenirs. We returned to our Zostel hostel and had an explore of the fields behind that led down to the river bank. The fields were being turned over ready for planting and the afternoon air was buzzing with insects and the sound of water. We were joined on our walk by a lovely excitable puppy we decided to call biscuit. Biscuit led the way all through the maze of fields and irrigation channels to the point where the fields fell away and the rocks of the river bed began. The view down the valley was amazing, the wide flat bed of the river contrasting with the razor edge angles of the mountains around.

John and Biscuit the dog walk through irrigation channels towards the river in the Kaza Valley.

Back at the Zostel we enjoyed another delicious dinner before heading to the roof for some star gazing. The Spiti Valley has some of the clearest skies in all of India and, even next to a town like Kaza, the light pollution is very minimal. This all means that we enjoyed some truly amazing star scapes. The shadows of the surrounding mountains silhouetted against the speckled carpet of the Milky Way.