Located in the beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh, India, Kaza is a small Spiti valley town rapidly gaining popularity among adventure-seekers and travelers alike. This remote mountain town is surrounded by stunning Himalayan peaks, crystal-clear rivers, and rolling green hills, making it the perfect destination for nature lovers and those looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.
We rolled into Kaza late one evening from the right hand side of this map – passing through Kinnaur and Nako.
Till we reached Kaza, our itinerary was quite hectic – spending each night in a new place, and with a lot of driving. But Kaza gave us a chance to rest and regroup – doing short day trips instead of packing and unpacking every morning and evening.
We spent three nights in Kaza, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.
Day 1 at Kaza
Our first full day in Kaza was very busy. We visited three different places – Komik village (the world’s highest navigable village), Langza village (famous for its massive Buddha statue), and Key monastery (the most iconic vista in Spiti).
In between, we also stopped at Hikkim post office (the world’s highest post office). Yup, there were a lot of high points on this trip.
Here are some photos.
There isn’t much of note to see apart from the Komik monastery. Apart from the monastery itself, there’s just a small sign saying this is the world’s highest navigable village, but no exceptional view point or anything.
After finishing up here, we drove to Langza village – again a tiny village, without anything to note except for this.
I chose to use this photo of the Buddha from the back because it highlights the lovely scenery all around.
After clicking a few pics with the Buddha, we headed out to Key or Ki monastery is one of the largest and most important monasteries in the Spiti Valley, and is a must-visit for all visitors to Kaza. The monastery is perched on a hill overlooking the valley, and offers stunning views of the surrounding landscape.
It was late evening by the time we did all the monasteries, and we returned tired to our hotel rooms, for an early dinner and bedtime.
Day 2 at Kaza
This was an even more hectic day as this was our hike day to Dhankar lake. The trek to Dhankar lake was dry and dusty, and very, very difficult for me – suffering from some amount of altitude sickness and a bad head cold.
But I did it, and it was worth it – just for the satisfaction of completing it, if nothing else.
We then stopped for lunch before visiting Dhankar and Lalung monasteries.
Both monasteries were extremely pretty. Photos were not allowed inside, so I don’t have much to share except for this one shot of the exterior of Dhankar monastery.
After this, we drove down to Kaza, stopping along the way for a brief tea halt on the banks of the Spiti river followed by an early dinner and bedtime.
Next day
This was our last day in Kaza. We killed a little time chilling in the town before a quick photo stop at Kibber village, then moving on to Chicham bridge, and beautiful Chandratal lake – story for another blog post entirely.
With this post, I complete my blog posts (finally) about the week I spent in Spiti last year. It was one of the most mind-blowing trips I have taken. And though I faced a lot of difficulty with the altitude, it was all worth it. Hope you enjoyed all my posts on this remote and breathtaking spot!
I visited Kaza back in Oct 2022. Reading this blog refreshed those memories.
I understand that there is not much to see but I think it is still worth visiting Kazada. The view and being with nature in its purest form is a worthwhile experience. By the way, love the shop of the massive Buddha in Langza. That’s a great angle.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Such a beautiful place! Especially the monasteries look amazing. Too bad they would not allow photos inside all though that is often the case in religious places. I too suffer from altitude sickness so I think I might have to skip the hike to the lake even though it is beautiful.
The town of Kaza located in Spiti valley is a picturesque destination and no wonder it’s a popular destination among travelers and adventure seekers. I would love to visit the colorful Komik monastery famous as the highest navigable village. The views from the ki and the lalung monasteries is stunning as well. The pristine Dhankar lake and the Chandratal lake are worth capturing through the lens. And the Buddha statue at Langza is just mind-blowing. Kaza is a traveler’s paradise.
A vacation to Kaza seems enjoyable and thrilling! There are countless interesting locations to see in this area. The Komik Monastery’s exterior and interior are both really gorgeous! Dhankar Lake is quite stunning. Before it became really popular with tourists, I wanted to visit this location.
It’s a pretty isolated place, so there isn’t much crowd yet. But, year after year, there is an increase in the number of tourists.
I haven’t been to this region. Have seen and heard a lot about Spiti Valley, so that’s in the list. I can see Kaza is also very beautiful and irresistible. Hikkim post office would be my highlight to send some postcards.
A fantastic trip through the Spiti Valley, a great and helpful map, and stunning photos! In 2013 I was in a few places you described, and I would love to go back to do a similar tour. I spent a few days in Shimla and Manali, but I didn’t have the opportunity to see the other places you described. I was traveling alone at the time and had no idea how to organize such a road trip. I would love to take pictures of the colorful Komik monastery and visit Kaza. Also, the massive statue of Buddha at Langza is so impressive and majesty with the mountains in the background. Also, the Dhankar monastery is on my bucket list.
Recently I saw several blog posts about Spiti Valley, but this is the first I read about Kaza. The landscape and the spirituality of the monasteries there must be quite memorable. I especially like your picture from Kibber village!
Kaza is pretty much the heart of Spiti valley.
Kaza is definitely a worth visiting place . I went to spiti last year and witnessed all these places like Dhankar, Kibber, Hikkim, Langza. Your picture of colorful wall , reminds my picture too. Great post. Reminded my trip to Spiti…
I was supposed to go to this beautiful area of India back in 2020, but then the pandemic came and the trip planning fell apart. Kaza sounds like a great place to base yourself in if you want to explore the nearby area. The Key monastery looks particularly spectacular, overlooking the valley below. Dhankar looks incredible as well, shame that you were not allowed to take photos inside. However, the hike to it and the lake seems to have been all worth it for those views.
It is a great place to base yourself. We stayed there three nights.