By road
~200 km from Manali (a demanding 9-10 hour drive) or the gentler ~415 km route via Shimla
North India · Himachal Pradesh
Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh
Cold desert, ancient monasteries · ~200 km from Manali (a demanding 9-10 hour drive) or the gentler ~415 km route via Shimla
Getting there
By rail
No railway reaches the valley; Shimla (~415-450 km, via the Kalka-Shimla toy train) is the better-connected option, ahead of Joginder Nagar
By air
Bhuntar Airport (Kullu-Manali), ~240-250 km, with limited weather-dependent flights
Best time to visit
June to September for road access; winter is expedition territory
Don't miss
Key Monastery
Chandratal Lake
Dhankar
Tabo's thousand-year murals
Kibber
Things to do
Monastery circuits
Fossil hunting at Langza
Stargazing
Yak-butter tea stops
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: 4ocima from Czech Republic · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Serious layers, sunscreen (high UV), meds for altitude, cash
A quieter corner
Hikkim's post office — the world's highest — send yourself a postcard
About Spiti Valley
- Mountains
- Desert
Where it is
Spiti is a high cold-desert valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, in the trans-Himalaya north of the main Himalayan range, along the Spiti river; Kaza, its main town, lies at about 3,650 m.
History
Spiti's culture is closely tied to Tibetan Buddhism, and Tabo Monastery, founded in 996, is one of the oldest continuously functioning monasteries in the Himalaya. The valley was ruled at times by the kings of Ladakh and by local chiefs before coming under British rule in the 19th century, and it was closed to foreign visitors until 1992.
People
Spiti's people speak a Tibetic language along with Hindi, and village life centres on Buddhist monasteries such as Key and Tabo. Farmers grow barley and peas in the short summer and keep yaks, goats and sheep, and masked cham dances mark monastery festivals.
Known for
- Key Monastery
- Tabo's ancient murals
- Chandratal Lake
- Dhankar and its cliff-top monastery
- Fossils at Langza
Did you know?
The post office at Hikkim in Spiti, at about 4,400 m, is one of the highest post offices in the world.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.