11 July 2021 – In Kaza – 87 km - Day 9 of Spiti Valley Exploration

Last evening while writing the blog in the restaurant, after dinner, I had a chat with Jeevan, the hotel manager. He revealed something surprising about reservations over booking.com. For instance, the reservation I had made in Zangchuk Hotel was a deal apparently only between me and the booking site. This was not known to the hotel. He said that I got the room only because it was available. He mentioned many instances when his hotel was overbooked and had to accommodate guests in homestays, which led to disputes and unnecessary embarrassment. I found this information absolutely stunning because I was given approval of the check-in time I had sought and free parking on site. How these were guaranteed by the booking site without the hotel being involved is a mystery I have to deep dive into on my return to Chennai.

Since the hotel kitchen would function from 8.30 am only I decided to start off early and have breakfast somewhere en-route. My first sight-seeing destination for the day was Chicham Bridge. It is considered to be the tallest bridge in all of Asia. The 120 meter span cable bridge is built with stiffened steel trusses over the Samba Lamba Nallah on the Chicham-Kibber road. It was surprising to note that the bridge, commissioned in 2017, cost less than Rs. 5 crores; indeed commendable. The bridge is 13,596 feet above MSL and hence, qualifies as the tallest bridge in Asia. It was indeed nerve wracking to lean over the bridge and take a peek at the Nallah down below with water gushing through the gorge in the mountains.

From the cable bridge it was less than 5 kms to the lovely Kibber village. Basking in the lap of mountains and overlooking the Valley, Kibber Village is every nature lover’s paradise. People were already up and about making their way to work. My eyes were drawn to the sprawling cultivation of vegetables protected by electric fencing. The village abounded with homestays and other types of accommodation for tourists. I drove some distance away from the center of the village and found a Chorten where large pipes had been unloaded for infra work in the village. From that vantage point I got panoramic views of the village, mountains and the Valley. What an awesome place to relax! I could not have found a better place to make a cup of coffee and munch on some biscuits. 

The Key Monastery is the largest Buddhist monastery in Spiti and sits majestically at a height of 13,500 feet. It looks like a fort from a distance. The monastery is reputed to have been built in the 11th century and over centuries was ravaged by wars and natural disasters. Mongols, neighbouring regions, Dogras, Sikhs, fire and earthquake - all had their hand in the continuous destruction and rebuilding of the Key Monastery. It is said that this is the reason for the haphazard construction of box like structures that resemble a fort. The ancient monastery had a lot of Chinese influence in its architecture. It has a lot of high value murals, books and paintings. Presently, more than 350 monks of the Gelugpa sect reside in the monastery. The monastery seemed to be popular with visitors and there were many around at the time. In one of the small rooms I was served herbal tea and sattu by a friendly monk. I made a donation towards the upkeep of the monastery and left for my next place of interest.

Langza is a small village that is renowned for the 35 feet Buddha statue that sits atop a hill at an elevation of 14,300 feet and looks to be watching over the entire world. Apparently, during winter the temperature here goes down to -20 degrees Celsius. The road leading to the statue was narrow and terrifying. It took a lot of skill to maneuver and reach there. Once, I got to the statue the view from that hill was magical. However, at that elevation I had some difficulty breathing. Use of a mask was certainly out of question. 

Hikkim village is another place tourists are drawn to in the neighborhood of Kaza, as it has the highest post office at 14,567 feet. The post office itself can be reached only by foot as it is the centre of the village. I parked near the brightly painted Tsedup Café which, besides vending food, sells postcards and fridge magnets. The café was doing brisk business at the time of my visit with visitors about in plenty. The owner of the café was busy sorting all the postcards based on the destination addresses. He told the visitors that he would personally affix the stamps required the next day and post them as the post office was closed, it being a Sunday. Hikkim village is one of the highest year around inhabited places in the world.

My last stop on the sight-seeing tour of the day would be Komic village. Sitting pretty at an elevation of 15,050 feet it claims to be the highest motorable village in the world! It also lays claim to have the world’s highest restaurant, The Hill Top restaurant, and the highest homestay arrangement in the world. Quite a bit of firsts for a village that has a population of 114! The village has a brightly painted monastery and prayer halls too. It would not been proper to leave the village without having a meal in the world’s highest restaurant. As many tourists were around, the restaurant was busy, which served only vegetarian food. I ordered my staple Maggi noodles with veggies that cost me Rs. 50. At that height it was incredibly hot and I was keen to get back to the car after the hot meal. 

From people I met on the day’s trip I enquired about the road conditions to Chandrataal, my destination for tomorrow. The reports were hair-raising and I foresee two days of struggle. With a 5 am start planned for the morrow I turned into the fuel station at Kaza. It was uncharacteristically empty at the time. The attendant asked me to be back after a half hour as the generator set had been working overtime since 7 am and was being ‘rested’ for a while. When I went there later I noticed that this fuel outlet of Indian Oil Corporation is also the highest retail outlet in the world at 12,270 feet above MSL!

The Sakya Tangyud Monastery in Kaza overlooks the town and has the majestic Himalayan range as its background. The modern monastery was commissioned in 2009. It was time for the skies to open up. Against odds and forecasts, the rains had stayed away over the last week. The forecast for the coming few days is not encouraging and with the road conditions reportedly in a terrible state between Batal and Manali and Kunzum Pass and Chandrataal I have to keep my fingers crossed to complete the exploration drive without any hiccups.

Braving a steady drizzle I headed to the market for dinner. I discovered a gem, the Café Piti. It did not have any boards outside but looked operational on the first floor. It indeed was and what a shame that it was drizzling because they have a terrace that affords great views of the mountains and the river. The Manager told me that the facility was opened end 2019 and then the pandemic happened. They are now slowly getting their act together. The Café is aesthetically done up with lot of potted plants and succulents. The interior is a mix of the traditional and the modern. I took a seat inside the Café and feasted on burnt garlic fried rice and banana toffee for dessert. It turned out to be a very heavy meal. The steep trudge back to Zangchuck Hotel helped burn some of the recently ingested calories.