Kaza-Hikkim-Komic-Langza-Kaza is another circuit apart from Ki-Kibber-Gette-Tashigang from Kaza that you should visit in Spiti Valley. While Komic claims to be the world’s highest motorable road, Hikkim and the world’s highest post office in world, and Langza is known for the presence of a big, 1000 year old Lord Buddha statue. There are 2 ways to do this circuit one is to start from kaza gate and go to Langza and then cover Hikkim, Komic and come back to Kaza or start from kaza to Lidang and then start climbing towards Komic and come back from Langza. I would recommend you take the later route as it’s much more scenic as you climb from Lidang. The landscape from all these villages is enthralling and inspiring.
It was around 3 AM we woke up and tried to take the picture of galaxy but as it was almost a full moon night we count capture it although locals say that sometimes during no moon night you can see that galaxy though naked it. Just the thought of it left me in awe I can only image what a moment it would be to see the galaxy with naked eye. The day started with sipping butter tea along with grain powder I guess which we were given for breakfast in KI Monastery. While we were asleep all the monks were already ready in the Monastery for their morning prayer. As we were unable to explore the Monastery the previous day all of us got ready for the morning prayer and went straight to the Monastery where the morning prayers were still going on. Once the prayer was completed we were given a bowl full of butter tea and the grain powder as breakfast by a young monk. After washing our eating bowls and dropping them in Kitchen we went to explore the Monastery but unfortunately most of the places were closed as Lama ji were not present in the Monastery at the time so most of the students were staying in their hostels and not in Monastery. It was already around 10 by the we left the Monastery to explore the hidden gems of Spiti Valley. Only after coming from the trip I realized that a scene of the movie Highway was shot in Ki Monastery.
We came down to Kaza from Monastery and then started towards Lidang from where the climb will start. The complete circuit Kaza-Hikkim-Komic-Langza-Kaza is around 70 KM. We started from Kaza towards Lidang, there is a left turn just before reaching the Lidang with diverts towards Komic. Komic is another 31 KM from Lidang, the roads are awful but at the same time the landscapes are breathtaking to the extent that in every 2 mins you will say to yourself i got to capture this scenic view. Located 4590 meters above sea level, Komic claims to be ‘world’s highest village connected by a motorable road’. Though i am sure that there are many villages which are higher than Komic but this doesn’t lessen the beauty of Kimic in any aspect. The village is also home to the lesser known Tangyud Monastery, also known as Komic monastery that houses around 50 monks who stay there round the year. The monastery has a large courtyard, quarters for monks and a prayer hall.
Hikkim village, at an altitude of about 4440 Mtrs, is about 4 KMs from Komic, another remote Himalayan village located 3 kilometres away. Unknowingly we passed Hikkim without stopping and missed our chance to collect some postcards from the world’s highest Post Office. Like Komic, Hikkim too is a small settlement with a very small population. Hikkim’s happens to be the host of highest post office in the world and the highest polling station of the world. The post office sells some interesting picture postcards which most tourists pick up as souvenirs from their trip. You can also send some unique postcards to your friends and family from here.
Langza is another 7KM from Hikkim. On our way to Langza there were a lot of locals who were trying to sell some rocks to us which we later realized were some ancient fossils. There is a fossil centre Chaudua in Langza Village which you can go to know more about these fossils. There are couple of lakes around Langza as well, which can be reached by trekking about as 3-4 Hrs a day with a local guide or villager. Apart from the breathtaking landscape, the presence of a big, 1000 year old Lord Buddha statue in the meadow makes Langza as heavenly as one possibly can imagine. It is one of the most beautiful villages of entire Spiti Valley. If you want to experience the authentic local lifestyle of Spiti Valley, you should definitely spend a night in Langza village. You can find few home stays for your stay up in this village.
We planned to spend the remaining time in Kaza. There are a lot of cafes Kaza and you must explore some of them while in Kaza. By around 4 we reached back in Kaza and spent the rest of the day wandering around the streets of Kaza.
The Itinerant Analyst 
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