Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
After breakfast proceed for the sightseeing of Ki, Kibber, Hikkim, Komic & Langza.
Kye Monastery was established by a Buddha’s Disciple named Drompton in the 11th century and is one of the main training centres for lamas in this region. Situated at an altitude of 4115 metres and is also known as the ‘Little Tibet’. The Monastery specializes in certain specific subjects like sadhana, Buddha hood, Cosmology and Physiology and is the most frequented religious destinations for the Buddhists in the state along with the Tabo Monastery. The monastery is around 12 km north of Kaza in
the Spiti valley above Kye village and you can also hike it easily.
Numerous invasions, natural calamities and patch-work as reconstruction has given it a box-like structures giving it a look of a fort with temples built on top of one another. There are low rooms and narrow corridors, not so well lit passages, difficult staircases and small doors lead to prayer rooms which themselves do not conform to a single design. There are three floors, the first one is mainly underground and used for storage. One room, called the Tangyur is richly painted with murals. The ground floor has the beautifully decorated Assembly Hall and cells for many monks.
Kye Monastery has Thangkas (a painted or embroidered Tibetan banner), valuable manuscripts of high aesthetic value, images, unique wind instruments and on the top of all this a collection of weapons which were probably made use of to defend the monastery from the attackers. The wind instruments are still put to use in summers during Chaam. Around the month of June and July, the Kye Monastery celebrates a festival wherein Chaam dances are followed by a procession that reaches the ritual ground below the monastery. Here, a large butter sculpture of a demon is set on fire.
Locals here also run an old age home for people looking for salvation in their old age.
Komic also known as the Tnagyud Monastery has the honor of being one of the world’s highest motorable monastery at 4587 mts overlooking the Komic village and mountain peaks. As per the sacred ‘Gum Maro’ (Red Box) kept in the monastery, it was foretold in Tibet that a monastery would be built
in Spiti in the backdrop of a mountain with the shape of a snow lion on the left and a beheaded eagle on the right hand side with 4 springs in the vicinity. The area in between these mountains was to be in the shape of the eye of a snow cock, which was foretold as the exact location where the Monastery would be built. On the basis of this, the area was to be named Komic (‘Ko’– Snow Cock, ‘Mic’– Eye). The monastery is known as the KomicLundupTsemo Gompa and dates to the early 14th century built like a fortified castle with massive slanted mud walls and battlements with vertical red ochre and white vertical stripes. In Komic, there are only about a dozen houses with the total population being between 50-60 people.
Other than this, there are the Lamas staying at the monastery throughout the year. The most interesting part is to imagine people living at such an altitude where mobile phones don’t work, the climate is harsh, there is no source of basic amenities and the village is completely cut- off from the rest of the world during the winters due to snow from November to March. The winter characterizes harsh winds and heavy snow where temperatures fall to -30 degrees Celcius.
Later visit LangzaVillage,, it is situated at an altitude of 4200 meters, is one of the most picturesque villages of Spiti located on the highland meadows with snow capped mountain ranges forming the backdrop. The village is adorned by a beautiful image of Buddha and an ancient temple more aptly called ‘Lang’ said to be the Abode of the Deities of the region and over 1000 years old. The beautiful peak of Chau Chau Kang Nilda makes the view of this village even more beautiful.
Langza is also well known for its rich fossil reserves. Millions of years ago, Spiti lay submerged under the Tethys sea. Fossils of sea life can easily be found scattered close to the village. Regular fossil excursions are organized for a unique insight into the history of the Himalayas.
Hikkim also just happens to be the highest polling station& highest post office in the world as well. If the season is right, gorge on freshly picked peas from the farms, run behind a Yak or sit endlessly watching the locals herd their cattle. Stroll up to the Komik Monastery, whose claim to fame is the being the highest monastery in the world with a motorable road.