01Key Monastery
Spiti's largest monastery, a thousand-year-old maze of whitewashed cells stacked up a conical hill. Sit in on morning prayers, then take butter tea with the monks.
Add to my trip →
Cliff-top monasteries, moon lakes, impossibly high roads
Spiti Valley
Spiti is a cold desert wedged between the Himalayas and Tibet, where the air is thin, the rock runs ochre and violet, and thousand-year-old monasteries sit on ridges above a braided grey river. Days are spent on hairpin roads at 4,000 metres; nights bring a Milky Way that spills from horizon to horizon.
Best timeJune to September, when both the Manali and Shimla approaches are open and Chandratal is reachable over Kunzum Pass
Ideal duration7-9 days
Great forRoad-trippers, photographers and high-altitude adventurers
Trip highlights
Sunrise prayers at Key MonasteryCamping beside turquoise ChandratalPosting a letter from HikkimCrossing the Chicham gorge bridgeMilky Way nights over Kaza
Top places in Spiti Valley
01
02Chandratal Lake
A crescent of turquoise meltwater at 4,300 metres, mirroring bare Himalayan ridges. Reachable only in summer over Kunzum Pass; camp nearby and watch the colour shift hourly.
Add to my trip →
03Langza
A giant Buddha sits above this hamlet at roughly 4,400 metres, facing a wall of snow peaks. The surrounding slopes are famous for marine fossils.
Add to my trip →
04Chicham Bridge
Prayer flags snap over one of Asia's highest suspension bridges, linking Kibber and Chicham across a gorge that drops away beneath your feet.
Add to my trip →
05Dhankar Monastery
Once the seat of Spiti's kings, this monastery clings to crumbling cliffs above the Spiti and Pin rivers. Hike an hour higher to Dhankar Lake.
Add to my trip →Ready for Spiti Valley?
Tell us your dates and budget — we’ll build the itinerary around you, with hand-picked stays and everything booked in one place.