Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
+ Previous: Kunzum La, Kaza, Ki Monastery and Kibber Village
+ Next: The hurried women of Nako
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We left Kaza early next morning. It was going to be a long drive today to Nako village, where we were planning to spend the night. Deciding not hurry through too many places, we skipped visiting Dhankar(Dhangkar) Monastery and Pin Valley. Like it usually happens, friends would tell me later that Dhankar is one of the prettiest places in Spiti Valley.
I can’t be all too praises about this part of the drive. All the overused words on Spiti can be re-used again – the landscapes are dramatic, muddy brown Spiti River was in full force and we still travelled sandwiched between rows of mountains kissing the sky. But very unlike me and of my love to mountains, I started feeling the monotony. First there was boredom of driving which held us away from the feel of being part of the mountains. We were going like tourists – in way it is used as a dirty word – the fast moving sightseeing and quickly going from place to place type. And then sun was probably getting on us. High altitude sun baked our bodies and had us feeling tired in no time. Staying out was impossible, and every time we walked somewhere, we constantly kept looking for some shade.
The thousand-year-old monastery was closed for lunch hour when we made it to Tabo. We lunched while we waited, and quickly grew impatient in the sunny weather. Such experiences only increase my reverence to the ever-smiling mountain people who probably never know what getting angry is like. Nothing seems to bend them, be it the hard terrain and weather or the difficulty of everyday living that we almost take for granted.
The millennium old Tabo Monastery
Tabo monastery is said to be a world heritage center, but there seems to be some confusion about it. My driver said so, and so did the monks. Lonely Planet also makes a mention of it, but UNESCO list doesn’t speak about it. I still don’t have a clue of the exact status; please fill me in if you know.
Tabo monastery is a millennium old and is known for its well-preserved frescoes. The prayer hall, called Tuglhakhang, is richly decorated with frescoes in vibrant colors. A set of nine small temples built with mud surround the prayer hall, each with paintings of incarnations of Buddha and Tibetan deities. The daily activities of the monastery are performed in a new building built beside the temple complex, leaving the ancient structure preserved.
Oppressed by the sun, we did not stay there for long, and continued to Nako. It was 4pm when we reached Nako, and we immediately headed for the lake above the village, leaving driver Mangal to find a place for the night.
At nearly 10,000 feet, Nako is like a green oasis in Spiti’s high altitude desert. The distinct green patch of the village is visible from far away as we drive through the valley. An irrigation system that feeds the artificial lake, and the potato fields of the village sustains the local population. Like elsewhere in the region, tourism is becoming a new means of livelihood, which is evident from ongoing construction of guesthouses in every alley of the village. The lone school has plenty of kids but seems to have problems finding teachers willing to work there. For reasons I could not figure, people here seem a lot less contented when compared to rest of Spiti we had left behind.
Nako lake is an unlikely water body in Spiti’s steep valleys and arid landscape. It is created by constructing a mound on the slope, just above the village. Probably because of its origins, it doesn’t have the feel of a high altitude lake, normally characterized by clear, turquoise and frigid waters. It is comfortably warm for a bath and has a light green color that is more fit for the plains.
Nako Lake
Despite being lower than Batal and Kaza where we had spent the nights earlier, Nako’s air is thinner and even slight walking made us feel very tired. Back from the lake, Mangal had already found a place for us where we settled down to spend the night.
Continued at The hurried women of Nako
No matter how much time I have been spending writing on India Travel Blog, I have always had a lot pending. The stories on Himachal that I have been writing now will be complete in a week or two. Had I delayed any further, it would have been a year since I made the trip.
Anyway, once I am done with ‘Himachalogue’, coming up next will be another long series of posts on Rajasthan, covering Jaipur, Shekhawati, Pushkar, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.
Camel and camel drivers of Jaisalmer
After that will be a story on a few places in Tamil Nadu, which includes gigantic temples of Madurai and Thanjavur, and enchanting Kanyakumari.
At Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
Together, they should keep me busy for a few months. I should set sail again sometime in June to the mountains of the North, and stories of it should follow after return. There is enough dough for the entire year already; keep dropping by. 🙂
Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
+ Previous: Batal and Chandratal
+ Next: Tabo Monastery and Nako Village
+ Go to beginning of the story or index page
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