To the middle land

en-route to Kunzum pass

Altitude sickness, head-aches, nausea are familiar even for seasoned travelers by the time they reach Kunzum pass. It is a routine for the tourists to stop over at the Ghonpa at Kunzum pass on their way to Spiti Valley. For the locals, it’s part of their Buddhist rituals to pay respect at the Ghonpa that is visible once you start climbing from the valley. For the un-initiated, the rituals look more like a thanks-giving for offering safe passage on the wretched, narrow roads that’s been chiseled through the mountain ranges . For the tourists, this is the perfect gateway to Spiti Valley, where they also take a break and stretch their knackered-body after several hours of tideous journey from places like Manali.


road to no-where? ice formation from last winter on the 'road'
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Soon after crossing the village of Rangrik and the extremely ugly looking hotel called Spiti Sarai (why on the earth do they ever want to build such a building when local architecture is so beautiful and efficient for their climate?. It shocks even more when you know that it’s been built by a local to ‘exploit’ the new opportunities offered by tourism), signs of the colourful Kaza are visible. From a larger hamlet consisting of multi-coloured buildings, green patches of farm land; the sight gives the idea of a prosperous small town from a distance. Tenzin, our ever-smiling driver from a village near Tabo says,” Kaza is the capital of Spiti Valley and all the administrative offices are based out of here”.


Rare breed of Spitian Chamurthi horses known for its unique gallops. Locals says Raiders like Genkis Khan used Spitian horses as the riders hardly felt tired on them.

The nearer we reach the beauty of small traditional villages and landscape transforms into ugly concrete buildings built by PWD and migrant business people. Traditional roofs have given away to metal sheets painted in green, mud walls have given away to cement plastered bricks, energy efficient ceilings have turned into ugly looking make-shift roofs.

Comparatively new to the tourism circuit, Kaza is now a base for most back-papers to move out to many attractions including Kee, Kibber, Tabo, Dhankar, and it’s in-numerous trekking routes and camp-sights. Sweeping our way through the confusing combination of drainage and tiny springs of fresh water, we checked into a newly built hotel Le Karza built by a Spitian career-civil-service officer. Of course, no one is expecting French ambiance and levels of comfort in a hotel in Kaza because it has a prefix of “Le”. Though we didn’t come to Spiti valley looking for comforts, we immersed ourselves to the comfort of our bed with clean linen and cushions. The gorgeous Mountain View from the balcony and bathroom reminded of better things to come in the coming weeks.


Our driver Tenzin was carrying a "leaf" from Manali for a fellow driver, whose vehicle was stranded near Kunzum pass for past 48 hours.