Marriage proposal at 4200 MSL

'Make no mistake' leader of the group seems to be convincing our driver

We were on our way after a volley ball game with young lamas of the monastery in the picturesque village of Komic, when we came across some women who came and blocked our way. Women in Spiti Valley are quite social and confident. Since we have heard several stories about their empowerment we were more than curious to know why they would block our way.


These women refused to let our driver go. They even sat on the bonnet for a while!

We were driving from Kaza to Komic and back en-route to Langza. The Komic at an altitude above 4000 MSL is amongst one of the high altitude villages in the Himalayas.

Initially we couldn't figure out what was happening. All we could notice was that the women, especially the older ones were quite happy about blocking the road and talking to our young driver. There was also a young girl who was shying away when we looked at her, but 'making strong' statements to the driver.


volley ball with lamas in one of the highest villages in the world.

Even after ten minutes, when we realised that they had no intention to let us pass by, we got curious and asked our driver if every thing was okay! He blushed! Once again we weren't sure if we read the expression on his face correctly. By this time two women were already sitting on the bonnet while other engaged in conversation with the boy. It looked more like a cajoling towards the end, but we were totally lost on what exactly was going around.

After half an hour, our driver tried to move the vehicle slightly which was vehemently opposed by the group. They refused to let us go! Later in the afternoon when we managed to pass them, our driver told us that the women were trying to convince him to get married to a girl in their village! No wonder he was blushing. Apparently a proposal had come to him couple of months ago and he was not ready to get married at 23, and the women refuse to accept that. So every time his vehicle passes through the village with travellers, he is under siege! Poor thing.

Lucky - the musician of Kaza

The best thing to do after arriving in Kaza for the first day is to-do-nothing. Especially for those coming from the plains, acclimatisation is the key to survival in high altitude regions like Spiti Valley. For those who are visting to have a ‘look’ at Spiti Valley, they lose more than 4-5 days just to reach and exit. As there is so much to see and do in the entire valley it is gross injustice to plan a holiday for a week. But that’s exactly what we ended up doing in the name of a ‘working’ holiday!

Along with my fascination for local food, another adventure I get into in Indian destinations is to try out the traditional head massages. Except for the last bit of cracking of neck, I let them do everything in a way they want to do. Every time they bring in their palm closer to my neck I ward them off as evil. The idea of a broken neck scares me away from these guys.

After swallowing the bad taste of ‘croissant and cinnamon rolls’ from the ‘German bakery’, I was looking for an avenue to entertain myself. For all the ‘almost-broken-bones’ after the previous days twelve hour journey from Manali, I didn’t want a ridiculously priced breakfast croissant ( not to say of its taste!) to spoil my mood. It was then I noticed ‘Lucky’ hair dressing salon right opposite to the eatery. Lucky, a fashionable (if your fashion taste belongs to 70’s) young man who comes from the plains, spends five months of ‘season’ in Kaza and the remaining time in his village like all business people who work in Spiti Valley.

Lucky has a way with your head! Moving his fingers in a unique way, he is not the typical road-side barber who ‘champissage’ you by drumming his way with your head. He respects the person in front of him, he feel their energy levels and rhythmically move his fingers, palm and fist in such a fascinating way on your head, neck and face. If you observe him carefully, you can see how he treats each customer differently. Like a bass player he picks out his own notes that fit the chords like a ‘walking bass line‘.

For me Lucky was one of the best barbers I have come across during my travel in the country. If you ever visit the small town of Kaza, don’t miss out on the ‘Lucky’ experience. This humble and warm person can make a difference to your Spiti experiences. Lucky could be the improvised soloist playing his jazz in the cold desert of Spiti. If one still feel the rhythmic massage on tired neck even after a week’s time, that’s when you realize that the massage wasn’t just a jumbled up bunch of notes, but certainly a magician who can multi-task as a drummer, soloist and chord-player!

And to the customer who loudly commented that she felt her head was put in a washing machine for a while, well, all I can say is that it’s quite ‘un-Lucky…’

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.