Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like

Tripoto

(Read the whole spiti trip here)

Another 22 kms and we will be reaching our next stopover, Kaza which is the largest township of Spiti valley. We made advance bookings with Hotel Deyzor and as per our plan, Kaza was going to be our base location while we explore villages of Langza, Komic, Hikkim, Losar, Kibber and Tashigong. There are hotels, homestays, hostels etc and then there is Deyzor. In a valley like Spiti, where even electricity is luxury, we got a feeling like home. You can lazily wander around the home, fiddle with innumerable artefacts, if you are interested in deep knowledge of the valley, there are research papers and study work preserved in a corner for the readers to make the most of it.

Photo of Kaza, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi

Karan, the owner and our host, single handedly runs every possible errand around Deyzor. From allocating you room to serving you food, he is an interesting personality with hundreds of travel stories to share. You can know so much about the valley by staying here. Everything around Deyzor has been carefully chosen to win a traveller’s heart. Origami, Crochet covers for water bottles, graffiti, travel quotes, postcards, and lots of DIYs throughout the home. For somebody like me who is a sucker for details, this was definitely heaven. Room tariff is reasonable(although the experience is priceless) and food is superlative. Wine, best company and my crude music collection made for the perfect night party to celebrate bachelorette.

Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Kaza and Key Monastery : How home feels like by Richa Gandhi

As per the plan, we left for the excursion early morning without wasting anytime in shower. 14 kms from main town of Kaza lies Key monastery Gompa, which stands high in all its valour on top of a hill. At the height of 4100m, Key is the biggest Buddhist monastery in Spiti valley and a religious training centre for lamas. The walls of the monastery are decorated with beautiful paintings and murals, thangkas (a painted or embroidered Tibetan banner) & valuable manuscripts. Monks were pretty chilled out and were open to talk to the tourists. We saw a lot of monks preparing for their exam and debating over some topic. We were awed to see the monks trying to remember the learnt verses and putting a valid point in front of their teacher.

Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi
Photo of Key Gompa, Key, Himachal Pradesh, India by Richa Gandhi

Leaving from Key Gompa, we passed by the village of Kibber. Just walked around the village for few minutes and took some photographs because we were getting late for our drive towards Tashigong.

(Tashigong : Read Here)