Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
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We continued eastward from Chandratal. Roads improved considerably as the day progressed. My friend who looked worried on the road to Chandratal was now sitting relaxed. ‘Don’t you think it will be nice to trek on this road?’ he had asked me on the way to Chandratal, and then admitted that he was a bit worried about sitting in the jeep.

At Kunzum La. All the information you would be looking for.. Kunzum La – 4551m, Kaza – 76km – 3600m, Losar – 19km – 4079m, Kibber – 90km – 4205m, Sagnam – 118km – 3650m, Tabo – 123km – 3050m. The blue sign belongs to BSNL and lists their telephone exchanges ahead on the road. Incredible folks they are, having managed to connect such places.

Kunzum La or Kunzum Pass was our next point and the highest altitude that we went through in our journey. The place hosts a small temple for Kunzum Devi. Whether the pass derived its name from the temple or the other way is not known. At least there was no one there to tell us about it and neither did our driver Mangal know. Walking barefoot on the cold ground was not exactly my idea of fun, but I could not resist going inside. There was some evidence of worshiping by both Hindus and Buddhists, but it is unlikely a priest would visit everyday to perform pooja.

Kunzum Devi Temple

Landscape of Spiti is remarkably different from Lahaul. Lahaul region had perfectly blue skies as if someone chose the precise shade and painted it permanently, but a tiny clouds or two popped up as we progressed eastward. The floor of Spiti valley is wide and has a lot more vegetation. Asphalted straight roads took us through Losar, the first village in Spiti and then to Kaza; it was not very different from being in the plains except for the views of the mountains on both sides. Villages appeared on the road every now and then, and there were a few people waiting on the road for transport to Kaza. Losar, with a population no more than a few hundreds even has a branch of State Bank of India. They probably had a mobile network too – we spotted towers in Kaza which was not too far away. Villages have irrigation facilities and people were out working in the fields. From the uninhabitable terrains of Lahaul, this was a complete change.

A Yak grazes in Spiti Valley

We stopped at Losar for lunch and reached Kaza around 4pm. We wanted to refuel in Kaza, but it was Sunday and the only government owned fuel station was closed. Mangal explained that they only work from 9 to 5 on weekdays, true to the style of a state owned business. But some begging seemed to work, and the operator came down to bail us out.

Ki Monastery is only a short drive from Kaza town, but its location gives it a distinction from its neighbourhood. Placed on a hillock, it stands apart from rest of the valley, with construction crowding the hill.

Grandeur setup of Ki Monastery

We entered the monastery and stood in the inner courtyard, confused and wondering which way to go. A door that seemed to lead a sanctum was closed, and so was another door in the opposite direction. A small wooden staircase lead into a dark arena and we pondered on taking it. Just then we heard a monk speaking with a feeble voice behind us, offering his assistance.

The friendly monk opened the doors of the prayer hall and lead us inside. He had a typical round Mongoloid face with small blood-shot eyes and bugling cheeks. His ochre robe clung to his body in a manner not very different from a sari. He spoke with a deep high pitch voice that seemed to be coming from the bottom of his larynx.

Ki Monastery is 800 years old, but most of the buildings are new and there is no visible evidence of its past. The buildings that stand today are made of white washed mud plaster and wood to support the roof. More buildings, built with cement, are coming up in the periphery to accommodate more students as well as tourists. Dalai Lama had given a visit to the monastery some time ago, and the chair where he sat and the bed he slept on have been preserved neatly. ‘Dalai Lama used to sit here, he used to sleep in this room,’ explained our guide as he took us through the monastery.

The monastery was spread around a prayer hall where the monks assembled. A few deities of worship, a kitchen and smaller prayer rooms surrounded the prayer hall. An old kitchen built many centuries ago still existed though not used anymore. Our monk escort showed us the utensils of yesteryears and asked to take a seat on a bench in the center. ‘We now use this room to honour the guests,’ he said and poured us tea from a pot. Over the tea, I questioned in him length about the past and present of the monastery.

‘Life was much difficult before,’ he explained and spoke in length, ‘it was not easy to procure food and other daily needs. Now we are helped by the government. Procuring fuel and wood was a big problem, since there are no trees here. Things are much better these days, we are well connected and well provided. There is a problem of good teachers though, Tibetans don’t get visa(permits?) very easily and we will have to manage with local teachers.’

Tibetans requiring a visa or permits to get to Spiti was news to me. I asked why is it so. ‘They could come and go easily in the past,’ he said, ‘but people of Spiti were innocent and Tibetans misused us. They would take our sheep and eat them. They would steal things. So they had to be restrained.’

‘Why is your monastery located in such remote place? Why are you so far away from civilization? Why do monasteries tend to be in some far away mountain or top of a hill?’ There were simply too many questions I wanted answers for.

The barrage of questions was probably hard on him, but he was patient. He took some time to think over it and said, ‘it is to escape from the everyday world.’ I waited for him to continue but he did not seem to have more to say on it.

He escorted us back to the entrance after the tea, and humbly welcomed us to visit again. The goodness and hospitality of of the people of hills never ceases to amuse me. ‘We have rooms to stay for tourists,’ he said, ‘next time you come, do stay with us.’

We made a brief visit to Kibber village before returning to Kaza. At more than 4000m, Kibber used to pride itself as the highest inhabited village in the world once, but the credit has now weathered down to highest motorable village. With the expanding road networks, I am sure they will soon become the second, and later third highest and so on in the days to come. They will have to search for other things to fill for highest _____ village in the next few years.

Kibber Village

Kibber is very close to Tibet border, and is mostly inhabited by Tibetan Buddhists. There are just a few dozen houses and all of them look similar. They rely on livestock to make a living, but as tourism is making inroads, a couple
of guest houses have sprung up. Kibber had electricity, and even boasts of a school – a few things which they can probably use with the ‘highest’ tag in the years to come. As we were returning from Kibber, driver Mangal told us in a tone of discomfort and disgust – ‘you know, people here eat beef.’ I think he waited for us to come back strongly in response, but unconcerned that we were, he must have been disappointed. He repeated the words again with a hope that he may not have been heard earlier, even as we continued to gaze through the window, admiring the views of Spiti valley below.

The evening in Kaza was much different. It was a town full of chaos. Guesthouses littered the streets and everyone was offering a room. A few professionally run resorts too had sprung up in the outskirts of the town. But there was no power supply late into evening and most of the guesthouses did not even have water, owing to some temporary problem in water supply. The ever reliable Mangal finally found a guest house with water where we checked in for the night.

Continued at Tabo Monastery and Nako Village

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