KI VILLAGE, HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA - 2013/06/05: Aerial view on Ki Gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres, the Spiti Valley in the background.. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LightRocket via Getty Images

Spiti

Separated from fertile Lahaul by the soaring 4551m Kunzum Pass, the trans-Himalayan region of Spiti is another chunk of Tibet marooned within India, a kind of 'mini-Ladakh' with fewer tourists. The scattered villages in this serrated moonscape arrive like mirages while the turquoise-grey ribbon of the Spiti River is your near-constant companion, albeit sometimes way below in precipitous gorges.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Tabo Gompa

    Tabo Gompa

    Spiti

    Founded in AD 996, and retaining five sub-temples dating back over 900 years, Tabo Gompa is reckoned to be the oldest continuously functioning Buddhist…

  • Chandratal

    Chandratal

    Spiti

    This gloriously calm glacial lake presents mirror-perfect reflections of the surrounding white-top peaks and geological colour-swirls. At 4270m, the 20…

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    Dhankar Gompa

    Spiti

    Like a series of whitewashed limpets, the 1200-year-old Dhankar Gompa clings precariously to an eroded cliff-edge rock pinnacle, high above the beautiful…

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    Kunzum La

    Spiti

    Forming the watershed between Lahaul and Spiti, this 4551m pass, accessed by multiple switchbacks, is topped by a grassy area where stupas are strewn with…

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    Ki Gompa

    Spiti

    Covering a conical hillock with an array of whitewashed monastic buildings, Ki (Kee, Key) is the largest gompa in Spiti. Views of it from the south are…

  • Lhalung Monastery

    Lhalung Monastery

    Spiti

    Near the top of Lhalung village, this outwardly modest monastery is actually an antique gem. Beneath a yellow painted tin roof, the very atmospheric…

  • Dhankar Tso

    Dhankar Tso

    Spiti

    Offering beautiful reflections of the mountainscape plus chorten, this small lake sits high above Dhankar, accessed on foot by a steep 2km path that…

  • Tangyud Gompa

    Tangyud Gompa

    Spiti

    Probably founded in the 14th century near Hikkim, Tangyud monastery relocated to Komic after a devastating 1975 earthquake. The oldest section is within…

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