Spiti travel guide

8 to 9 daysHow long to stay

Budget to mid-rangeRough cost

Couples, FriendsWho it suits

Himachal Pradeshthe Himalaya

Is this for you?

Spiti is for you if long days on rough roads and simple rooms sound fine. It's high and very dry, with big mountain views and few other people around. Permit rules differ by route and change by season, so read the notices before you plan. Skip it if you have young children, and get medical clearance for the altitude.

When to go

Go in the coloured months. The black ones are best avoided.

What to do

Kalpa and Reckong Peo

Reckong Peo is the mountain town where you collect your permit, and Kalpa is a village nearby. Neither needs a protected area permit.

Nako

A village at about 3,620 m on the Kinnaur side. It's on the permit list, so sort that first.

Tabo Monastery

A major gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, in the valley. Tabo is on the permit list.

Dhankar

A monastery village high above the valley, at about 3,894 m. It's on the permit list.

Kaza

The valley's main town, at about 3,650 m. You'll find the newest hotels and most services here.

Key and Kibber

Key is a large monastery on a hill, and Kibber is a high village at about 4,200 m. Neither is on the permit list.

Chandratal

A high lake you can only reach in summer when the road is open. Ask local drivers about the road first.

Kunzum Pass to Manali

The pass road to Manali is summer-only, and snow closed it on 15 October 2026. After that, go back by Kinnaur and Shimla.

What to eat

Spiti eats for the cold: barley, noodles and tea, cooked in homestays and small Kaza cafes. Most tourist places shut when winter closes in, so ask what's open, and let your homestay feed you.

Sea buckthorn tea

Hot tea made from sharp orange Himalayan berries. Order a cup in Kaza.

Vegetarian

Thenthuk

A soup of flat, hand-pulled noodles, thicker than thukpa. A good bowl after a day on rough roads.

Thukpa

Noodle soup with vegetables or meat, the everyday hot meal in Kaza and at village homestays.

Tsampa

Roasted barley flour, one of the oldest foods in the valley. Homestays and cafes serve it, often with butter tea.

Vegetarian

Where to go

Chacha-Chachi DhabaBatal, on the Manali road

Dal and rice on the high road. One source names it, and it depends on the pass being open.

Cheap eats

Sol CafeNew Kaza

Coffee and vegetarian momos, dumplings, at a social enterprise cafe.

Cheap eats

Taste of SpitiKaza

Thukpa and sea buckthorn tea from a mixed Tibetan, Indian and Italian menu.

Cheap eats

Key Monastery is a monastery belonging to the Gelugpa school of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, located at an elevation of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) o — Original: Kulbhushan Singh Suryawanshi (website) Derivative work: Aristeas, CC BY-SA 4.0

Spiti River above Kaza, Lahaul and Spiti Dist, Himachal, India. The river bed is several hundred metres wide. The river itself is much narro — This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but pl, CC BY-SA 4.0

Spiti River (3,700 m (12,100 ft)), viewed from Tashi Gang (4,300 m (14,100 ft)). On the right bank: Hamlet Morang, Gyundi River, Hamlet Hull — This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but pl, CC BY-SA 4.0

Pin Valley National Park, Lahaul and Spiti District, Himachal, India. View down Pin River (on right) towards Mudh (surrounded by green field — Timothy Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fields of peas and barley to north of Kibber towards Chicham, with evening sunlight breaking through clouds. Snow-capped Parbati range on th — This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but pl, CC BY-SA 4.0

Key Monastery, Himachal Pradesh — Madhumita Das, CC BY-SA 4.0

View from left bank: NH505 visible (centre) on the right bank of the Spiti River in a narrow valley about 15 km above Kaza, Spiti, Himachal, — Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0

Dhankar Gompa (also Dankhar, Drangkhar or Dhangkar Gompa; Brang-mkhar or Grang-mkhar) is a village and also a Gompa, a Buddhist temple in th — Deepank Ranka, CC BY-SA 4.0

Dhankar village in the morning — Sumita Roy Dutta, CC BY-SA 4.0

A bowl of tsampa in the process of having yak butter tea blended in to produce tsampa dumplings or porridge. — Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0

Getting there

Come from Manali if the Kunzum Pass is open: about 201 to 225 km and 10 to 12 hours, summer only. Otherwise go from Shimla via Reckong Peo, about 412 to 468 km in total, with 8 to 10 hours to Reckong Peo. There are no flights. Plan short daytime stages, as landslides can add hours.

Where to stay

Kaza The best-served base, with hotels and homestays, and the one to pick if you want services close.

Village homestays Away from Kaza it's mostly family homestays with simple rooms, so go if simple suits you.

Worth knowing

Permit

You need a protected area permit (PAP) for Dhankar, Tabo, Nako and other villages on the 2025 list; Kaza, Key, Kibber, Langza, Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Sangla and Chitkul aren't on it. A 2023 page says two or more people, up to 30 days, Rs 200, from the local officer at Kaza, Pooh or Kalpa, so confirm today; solo permits aren't clear, so join an agency group or ask first.

Safety

Get insurance for altitudes over 2,400 m and helicopter rescue, as the UK advises: Kaza is about 3,650 m, Kibber about 4,200 m. Carry cash, water and medicine: services are thin and signal limited.

Opening

Assume the Kunzum pass road from Manali is closed: snow shut it on 15 October 2026 and no reopening has been reported. Use the year-round Shimla and Kinnaur side, though landslides can delay it.

2 more to know

Permit

Follow the 2025 order, which lists Tabo, though its monastery website says foreigners need no permit via Kaza. A 2023 Himachal page says a summer Manali, Kaza, Key, Kibber, Kunzum loop needs no protected area permit (PAP), but the Tabo and Nako approach from Shimla does.

Sources differ on this, or we have only one, so check locally.

Safety

Ask your driver or guesthouse about road conditions the evening before each leg. Don't use the district road-status page, which hasn't been updated since May 2024.

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