11

Best Places to Visit in Kaza

Precisely famous for Kibber wildlife sanctuary and Kibber Monastery, this place is fenced by beautiful landscapes and hills. Alternatively called Kyibar, this picturesque village is positioned at 4,270 m above sea level. Kibber was built in Tibetan architecture with similar looking houses, currently, it’s the most populated village with around 366 people. 

Buddhism is the majorly practiced religion by the locals here. Foundation of Kibber Monastery was laid by Serkong Rinpoche, who was the teacher of Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama holds a special place for the Buddhist people as he was the initiator of Buddhism community.

How to reach Kibber: It’s the highest located village with road connectivity, but still there are no direct buses till here. You have to catch a private or shared taxi from Kaza or Spiti which are at 20 Kms and 19 Kms from Kibber respectively. 

Alias “Ajanta of Himalayas”, Tabo is resting at an altitude of 3,050 from the sea level. The highlight of this place is Tabo Monastery which is the oldest monastery of India. Tabo monastery is the incalculable gem of Buddhist community. It is the second most important and oldest Buddhist monastery after the Tholing Gompa in Tibet. Tabo monastery is beautifully crafted with murals and ancient arts.

How to reach Tabo: The only bus kick starts at 6:30 am from Reckong Peo bus stand and covers 150Kms to reach Tabo at around 4 pm. Spiti is at a distance of 54 Kms from Tabo.

Monastery Timing: Monastery opens at 6 am along with the Morning Prayer and stays open till 7 pm round the week, including public holidays.

The largest monastery of Spiti valley, this is one of the amazing places to visit in Kaza. Standing 4,166 m high above the sea, it is the training center of around 300 Lamas. Despite several attacks Key Monastery sails through to complete its 1000 years in the year 2000 in the holy presence of Dalai Lama.

How to reach Key Monastery: It is besides Spiti river, at around 15 Kms from Spiti valley. Monastery is reachable via Kaza only, you have to catch a bus or taxi from Kaza to reach outside of Monastery, and from there you have to walk till monastery.

Monastery Timings: Opens from 6 am to 6 pm, every day of the week.

Also called as Dankhar,Drangkhar and Dhangkar Gompa, this monastery is at a sky-touching height of 12,774 Ft. Dhankar Monastery is beautifully built 1000ft above the ground on the cliff edge, to give you a 360-degree view of the whole Spiti valley. It stores a statue of Dhyan Buddha along with a museum. Dhangkar Gompa is featured in the world’s 100 most endangered monuments.

How to reach Dhankar Monastery: From Kaza it is a 40 Kms bus journey or you can choose the adventurous way by dropping down in between and do a 10 Km trek to the monastery. It is at a distance of 40 Kms from Spiti valley as well.

Monastery Timings: 6:30 Am to 5:00 pm.

Your list of “places to visit in Kaza” must include this highest motorable pass called Kunzum Pass, also known as Kunzum La by the locals. Offering a panoramic view of Bara-Shigri glacier, it connects Spiti valley via Kullu and Lahaul. Chandrabhaga range and spiti valley is like a “Dream come true” scenario for a photographer. A 15 Kms trek from Kunzum La takes you to Chandratal Lake.

How to reach Kunzum Pass: You have to take an HRTC bus from Manali which leaves at 5 am and reaches the pass at 2 pm which is near Spiti valley.

Tip: It is believed that whosoever is crossing the Kunzum La must stop at the temple of Goddess Kunzu Devi, to seek the blessings to cross the pass safely.

Sitting in the lap of Himalayas at an altitude of 4300 m, this lake is located on the Samudra Tapu plateau which looks above the Chandra rive. Lake is called sacred since it is believed that God Indra’s chariot picked up Yudhishthira from here only, so it’s an attraction for Hindu devotees as well.

The color of the lake’s water keeps changing throughout the day from reddish orange to blue to emerald green.

How to reach Chandratal Lake: Catch a bus going from Kaza to Manali and get down at Batal, from there you need to hitchhike and cover 14 kms till Chandratal Lake . Another way is to reach Kunzum La from Kaza and then trek rest of the way till Chandratal Lake.It is at a walking distance of 2km from Kunzum La, and 72 km away from Spiti valley.

You just can’t miss this lake from your list of “Places to visit in Kaza”. Situated at a mere distance of 5km from Dhankar Monastery, this lake is on the next side of the hill. You need to walk for 60 mins approximately through the scenic beauty of Spiti Valley, to make your way till Dhankar Lake. 

As the sky changes color, you can see the lake’s water doing the same. This crystal clear lake water gives you jaw-dropping views around the lake.

How to reach Dhankar Lake: Starting from Dhankar monastery ,You need to walk and cover 5 Kms on hills to reach Dhankar Lake. Dhankar Monastery is reachable via Kaza after a journey of 40 Kms.

Pin Valley National Park is mostly loved by nature lovers and adventure seekers.  Sited at a height ranging from 11,500 Ft. to 20,000 Ft., Pin Valley Park was made a wildlife park in 1987. Spread over a vast area of 675 sq. km., this place brings together an amazing combination of around 20 species of flora and fauna.

Snow Leopard, Siberian Ibex, red fox, etc are the highlights of this park. After getting required permits, one can opt for Pin Valley Park Trek which is covered with snow for most of the year.

How to reach Pin Valley National Park: It’s reachable via bus from Kaza to Mud village, then from there a taxi to cover 50 Kms to the park.

Amongst the places to visit in Kaza, Tangyud is one of the most beautiful monastery that can be seen on the outskirts of Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary . Precisely it is located in the Komic Village of Spiti Valley.

Risen up till 4520 m from the sea, this is one of the highest gompas in India. The monastery was made like a castle, at the edge of a deep canyon. It is a part of only two monasteries belonging to the Sakya sect left in the valley of Spiti.

How to reach Tangyud Monastery: It is located at a distance of 4 Kms from Kaza and is easily accessible.

Monastery Timings: Opens at 6 am and stays open till 6 pm during all the days of the week.

“Komic” whose literal meaning is “eye of a snow cock”, is a village in Spiti valley which is located at a height of 4587 m above sea level. On our list of “Places to visit in Kaza”, It is one of the highest villages that is connected via motorable roads.

Local believes in Buddhism just like most of the villages of the Spiti valley. It’s a place that does not grab the interest of many, but those who like to stay close to nature and are searching for serenity will love this place. Similar places like Langa Village and Hikkim Village are also located nearby to Komic Village.

How to reach Komic Village: You can easily reach Komic village from Kaza which is at a distance of 19 Kms via Hikkim Village. There is a bus from Kaza to Komic which goes at 2pm and reaches Komic at 3:30 pm.

On your list of places to visit in Kaza, the last stop is Langza Village. This village is nestled at an altitude of 4400 m. It constitutes of 2 parts, named as Langza Yogma(lower) and Langza Gongma(upper).

The main attraction includes the statue of Lord Buddha, beautiful overlook for the valley, ancient monastery and mud houses. It’s a homeland of Fossil fuels. Due to the large availability of Fossil Fuels, geologists and anthropologists make their visit here. Being one of the best locations in Spiti valley, this village offers you snow-covered mountains and barren landscapes that will make you go “Wow”.

How to reach Langza Village: It is 16 km from Kaza, from Kaza you need to hire a private or shared taxi.