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| state: Himachal
Pradesh |
location: Spiti, appr 20 km north
of Kaza |
| info date: Sep 2003 |
size: village of appr 350 people |
| season: Jul - Sep |
transport: bus, share jeep taxi |
| hotels: 2 (sometimes 4) |
good for: everyone |
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|  Its
claim to fame as the highest village in the world is certainly
untrue (although it may well be the highest village connected
by tarmac road, there is a nearby village higher up), but
it's location at an altitude of about 4200 metres is spectacular
nonetheless. Set in the Himalayan mountain deserts of North
East Himachal Pradesh, Kibber village is an oasis of vegetation
and white houses amid the barren , dusty and harsh landscape
of the Spiti Valley.
Although Kibber is home to 350 people (and about 200 donkeys),
the village seems perpetually quiet and peaceful. Near the
upper part of the village is a small Gompa (monastary), and
the landscape around it is frequently punctuated with prayer
flags, chortens, and small cairns decorated with rams horns,
all of which adds to the "last outpost of humanity"
feeling.
The road up to Kibber passes by Ki gompa (pronounced "key");
one of the Spiti Valley's most spectacular Buddhis moastaries,
and well worth a few hours of your time. It's a fabulous,
almost organic building that seems to be part of the rocky
outcrop above Ki village on which it sits.
Owing to the altitude, the night skies are incredibly crisp
and clear and filled with an improbable number of stars. The
Milky Way is so clear it could easily be mistaken for a wispy
cloud. Nights - especially at the extreme ends of the season
- can be bitterly cold, and plenty of warm clothing is essential.
more in the Spiti Valley diary... |
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guest house
/ hotel: |
Norling guesthouse
has good rooms for 200 Rs with a weird variation of the attached
bathroom and geyser (to be shared with the neighbouring room);
cheaper (80 Rs) but much more basic is Sagong
Guesthouse, which has 4 rooms in a local house in the
village, run by the very friendly Tchering and his wife; there
are 2 more guesthouses in the village, which are shut most
of the time. |
restaurant
/ dhaba: |
the only restaurant in Kibber is at
the Norling guesthouse, which serves,
after lengthy waiting times, huge portions of good food; simple
food is also availble at Sagong guesthouse. |
local interest: |
barren landscape, walks, village life,
small monastary, astonishing night sky |
| season: |
June to mid September; by the end of
September the fields are harvested and all looks a bit barren,
also it can get extremely cold; July to August is fairly busy
and it can be difficult to get a room. |
| transport: |
By bus from Manali
(200 km, 11 hours, only during the summer months of July to
September); by bus via Kinnaur district
from Rampur (approx 300 km, the road from the Rampur side
is open all year, apart from road closures due to landslides
or snow) There are no private "deluxe" buses on
the Manali - Kaza route, probably for the reasons given below
for motorcyles.
*Note on motorcyle travel.
The road from Spiti to Manali is a real bike breaker, with
the stretch from Losar to Kunzum La being especially treacherous,
as long stretches of road are unmetalled (in the extreme sense
of the word) and seem to consist entirely of small rocks that
can only be described as "road" on a technicality
because they are smaller than the large rocks on either side.
To do this road on a bike is tough enough; to do so two-up
with any luggage is unwise, as it's likely to break some part
of the suspension or at the very least cause you endless problems
with "snakebite" type punctures.
A smart move would be travelling in a group, making sure
there are spare tubes, tyre levers and a cheap foot pump between
you. If you are feeling really flush, hire a jeep between
you to take the luggage and maybe pillions, which is what
the organised Bullet tour groups do on this circuit. There
are no mechanics workshops on the way, and very, very little
available in Kaza |
| related: |
On this site: Spiti
gallery • Himachal
Pradesh photo gallery • Himachal
Pradesh map • Spiti
Valley diary |
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