chicham

the spiti-kinnaur trail

2024-10-17

We come from kaza and head to Chicham. The rivers wind like a caduceus.

The rivers be like…

On the way, there’s the highest bridge in India, called the Chicham bridge.

Highest Bridge

On top

The roads around Chicham are beautiful.

Finding Waldo (Chicham bridge edition)

We reach Gyalli’s village. I notice most homes there have a cozy dining layout where everyone is seated around the fireplace.

Living area

Gyalli serves us some hot tea—a relief to my sore throat.

Utilities

They also have a pooja room that is very well decorated and sacred.

The shrine

Then we head to Key monastery, the largest in the Spiti valley. The autumn colors are stunning.

Yellow

It’s a small climb, but with my health state, I dread it.

Entry

After reaching the top, I relax in one of the meditation rooms. There’s also a tea room adjacent to the meditation room where I have some herbal tea served by the monks there. From a gift shop, I buy some solid fragrances along with a postcard.

Behind the monastery is a beautiful “three Buddha statue.”

Three Buddhas

Just above it is a beautiful viewpoint (again, a dreaded climb) that’s featured on the postcard.

The Postcard

We head back to kaza.