You may have visited Himachal Pradesh, India plenty of times, but if you haven’t been to Spiti yet, you are missing out much. Spiti Valley is unlike any other Himachali valleys, which usually have vegetation rich mountains, dense farms and jungles. Instead, Spiti has barren mountains with strange shapes and colors, and its charm lies in its quaint villages. Starting from Chandigarh to Shoghi, then Jeori-Sarahan, Lower Kinnaur villages like Sangla-Chitkul, and then to Upper Kinnaur, furthermore after entering Lahaul-Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh, and exploring Gue-Tabo and Dhankar-Mud, we finally headed to Kaza on day 7. We planned to be in Kaza 3 nights, so we can explore the neighboring villages during day-trips from Kaza. However, on the first day in Kaza, we explored the village only, and here I am sharing where to stay, what to see, and where to eat in Kaza.
Highlights of the Day
Mud to Kaza
Kaza Homestay
Kaza Sight-Seeing
Mud to Kaza
The scenic road from Mud to Kaza is 50 km only, which can be covered in around 2 h. In Tara Homestay, Mud, we slept well inside warm blankets. We woke up to fresh banana-papaya smoothies offered by our host. The morning looked blissful. I ran up to the stairs to catch the glimpse of the beautiful surrounding in the morning. Soon, we started the journey to Kaza. We left Mud at 10 AM and reached Kaza at around 12.30 PM.
The entire drive along the Pin Valley is filled with breath-taking scenery
When you see this, it means you have almost arrived Kaza – it’s made from plastic waste to make locals and tourists more aware of plastic issue in Spiti and the world
Kaza Homestay
Our beautiful homestay in Kaza looked beautiful, both from inside and outside. There is a huge cricket field in front of the homestay and the Spiti river borders the field. Nawang and Tenzin Dolma (Nono Bhaiya) are lovely hosts, who welcomed us along with their 2 kids. The homestay has two floors – the hosts stay on the first floor and the second floor is for guests. There is a common Western-style toilet on the second floor and an Indian-style toilet on the first floor. There is a living room, a kitchen garden, prayer room, and a traditional dining area where family and guests can sit together, interact and eat.
The white building on the left side is our shelter in Kaza overlooking the Spiti river
We parked our vehicles next to the homestay, checked in, and freshened up
Richie getting tips from Nono Bhaiya about what to see in Kaza
Now, we are off to visit Kaza on our own
Kaza – What To See & Where To Eat?
We all were hungry; Nono Bhaiya recommended few really good places to head to in Kaza Market. Then we explored other details of Kaza Market, and also paid a visit to Kaza Monastery on the way back to homestay.
Kaza Soma (New Kaza) and Kaza Khas (Old Kaza) constitute Kaza. The government offices are located in Kaza Soma whereas Kaza Khas has the king’s palace, monasteries, and other historical buildings.
The best way to explore Kaza is by foot
We started with hot piping momos and chowmein (all vegan) from a local Tibetan restaurant in the heart of Kaza market
There are few artifact shops in the market, highly recommended for buying souvenirs from
Hawkers with various goods from neighboring villages line up the streets of Kaza Market
Spinning prayer wheels is considered to be a spiritual practice for the locals – we found a big one in the Kaza Market
Richie and I explored another must-visit cafe in Kaza – Taste of Spiti
I found a mix of Spitian and international elements in the tasty dishes offered in Taste of Spiti, also their menu is hugely vegan-friendly
Seabuckthorn grows wild in the Spiti valley along the riverbeds, and is widely used by local doctors – you can easily get seabuckthorn products in Kaza Market
Loads of fresh fruits and veggies are available in the summers in Kaza; I bought some fresh fruits to make my morning smoothies
Local dogs are super friendly in Kaza
Sol Cafe by Ecosphere is a cafe with a cause, situated in the heart of Kaza Market; it was started in 2012 by a bunch of passionate volunteers and has been run by volunteers ever since
Sol cafe has become a must visit place in Kaza, a lounge for travelers to meet, exchange stories and plan their travels while enjoying great food and music
More importantly the Café is a space that links every traveller to Spiti, enabling them to support various causes and initiatives in the villages of Spiti just through what they eat or buy at the Cafe
Its warmth comes from its selections of teas, brilliant coffees, delicious sandwiches, handmade chocolates, rum balls, waffles, and fresh bakes; they are also vegan-friendly
The cafe also has a terrace area and a comfy back room with beanbags where they host movie nights every day at 6 PM
You will come across such initiatives in Kaza, as plastic is a huge problem – thanks to the locals for taking such initiative
Another similar work on environmental consciousness is painted on the wall of The Himalayan Cafe
Another must-visit cafe in Kaza is The Himalayan Cafe
The warm-weather terrace of the cafe buzzes with delicious food, youthful music, and a happy graffiti-murals on the walls
You cannot visit Spiti and not taste the Tibetan-style thukpa and chowmein – they taste delicious in The Himalayan Cafe
On the way back to our homestay, we decided to visit Sakya Tangyud Monastery – one of the most visited monasteries in Spiti
Sakya Tangyud Monastery, located right on the center of Kaza town, is one of the two monasteries belonging to the Sakya sector left in Spiti Valley
Dinner in Kaza Homestay
It was almost dark when we came back to the homestay after exploring the lanes of Kaza. To our delight, our hosts cooked amazing dinner for us. We were carrying some mockmeat packets from Kolkata, and Joy loves cooking. As we had access of the kitchen, Joy made an amazing mockmeat curry.
The homestay looked amazing with the backdrop of Spitian mountains even when it was dark
Joy prepared one of the best mockmeat curries I have ever had – imagine having vegan meat in Kaza!
Hot dinner was served by our hosts
It was a wonderful experience to have dinner with friends and other family members in the traditional dining hall of the homestay
Total Distance Traveled:50 km
NET EXPENSE FOR 1 PERSON (IN INR)
Let us have a look at the expenses of Day 7 in India – Kaza.
Stay at Kaza Homestay (3 nights): 2700
Food and miscellaneous: 300
Total expense (roughly): 3,000 INR
For a more customized itinerary, whether for solo or couple or group of any number of people, feel free to contact me on Contact Us page.
If you are planning for a much-organized, tastefully-curated, stress-free yet exciting vacation, consider booking your holidays at Travel Love Repeat. It is going to be a treat for sure!
Wow! Amazing photos. This place looks incredibly beautiful. Serene and stunning. Its a pity so few of such places are left in the world. Great writing as well.
I loved the views of the scenic beauty. And was interested to see the plastic displays. We have seen such displays in aquariums related to plastic waste in the water. It was great that you got to explore the market and see goods from neighbouring villages.
I LOVE all the colors. I also love that the town is taking the initiative to make people aware of the plastic waste problem. I have never heard of Kaza, but it looks like a lovely town to visit. The vibrant markets against the mountains is really beautiful.
Spiti Valley looks awesome! It makes me think of Peru. Filled with scenic mountains, unique villages, great food, and interesting spots and people. Thanks for the informative article and beautiful images.
This is amazing, I am glad to know people up their are creating awareness around Plastic, something which we all need to learn in the plains. Also, Kaza is not much expensive, can you please tell me, do we encounter an altitude problem in Kaza? And, are the oxygen levels fine over there?
I’ve never been in India, so I haven’t heard about Himachal Pradesh. I’m always interested in reading posts like yours because not many of the tourists visiting India know about places like Himachal Pradesh. I’m sure it was an interesting experience driving the scenic road from Mud to Kaza and staying with the locals. By the way, what is mockmeat?
It looks like this was a great village to visit. The monastery looks beautiful! And I find that prayer wheel interesting being so large! Those dumplings in the beginning look delicious as well!!
Wow, what an extensive road trip! This is the first time I am reading a 12-day Spiti Valley trip though I’ve seen a lot of blogs/bloggers do this trip for a shorter time. How long does it take to arrive to Kaza if I am coming from Delhi? I would like to stop in Shimla, too. Some of my friends did an overnight stay in Manali. It seems like Kaza is hard to get to! Also, when is the best time to visit? When are the passes open? Thanks for your tips, Shreya!
I so want to visit Spiti after reading this. You seem to have had quite an amazing time exploring the different cafes and trying out the yummy food, while exploring Spiti Valley. Too bad, Spiti Valley is closed until March 2021 else, i would have had extended my stay in Manali, and finally visited Spiti Valley this year.
Your journey is beautiful and so inspiring. I’m impressed. The places you have seen in Spiti Valley are great. I dream about this part of the world. Sakya Tangyud Monastery, located right in the center of Kaza town, looks so charming. For sure, it was a wonderful experience to have dinner in the traditional dining hall of the homestay. You can learn so much about their life, traditions. I like that you provide prices also. It’s great!
Kaza looks so beautiful with all the striking colors against a backdrop of mountains and a blue sky. I especially love looking at the food. The ones at your host’s house look amazing. It’s good to know that they’re also vegan friendly.
It seems that you had a fantastically exciting experience. The pictures you have taken on the mountains are superb, incredibly beautiful. Your article really makes me want to try this tour with as soon as the covid situation has calmed down a bit.
I so miss the mountains right now. Spiti has been on my list for a while now. Have only visited a part of it enroute to Ladakh but I want to do an exclusive Spiti stay. Kaza does seem like a perfect stop. And looking at those pics of momos and thukpa makes me ravenous. That incidentally is my fav food in this part of the world.
Hi there,
This is new to me, never heard of Kaza…. It looks like a really divesre interesting adventure. I loved the photographs – very colorful…… Nikki
These photos are so breathtaking, especially all the colors both in the scenery and in the culture. I loved seeing the murals & artwork centered around environmental consciousness and anti-plastic. It is so great to know that these initiatives are touching every corner of the world, especially in a beautiful place like Spiti.
India is a country I’ve wanted to visit for some time and I loved reading about your experiences there and this road trip and your stop over in Kaza. The colourful village, the stunning views, the delicious food, and charming market. Perhaps the most incredible piece in the article was the cost of your time in Kaza – unbelievably reasonable and it looked like your had quite a wonderful stay there as well.
I am already missing the Himalayan cafes and couldn’t stop myself from drooling over the momos, Thupka, chowmein, etc. I have done Ladakh for good 10 days but yet couldn’t go to Spiti. Its picturesque everywhere. Well, all your pictures above want me to plan it soon. The homestay looks comfortable and does offer a great setting (background). I love visiting monasteries and it was good to know about Sakya Tangyud Monastery. It sure looks great.
Love the look of the Himalayas and frankly missing them during these festival months when I am normally there somewhere up in the hills. Spiti is still not visited by me but have been reading your posts on this journey and they are absolutely stunning places as you traveled. Would love to do this exact replica sometime soon. Possibly next month.
As always, in love with your extensive road-trip itinereries in the little gems of India and East Asia! Spiti has been in my wishlist like forever. I really hope to go there within the next couple years atleast. Wow! Those art installations made of plastic is very thoughtful, in educating the tourists in a eye-catching way to not use plastic there. Staying in homestays there is a good idea. Vegan food in local Tibetian restaurant?? Whoa! I want that!!! Movie nights on beanbags in the Himalayas??? I need that. I mean, I really need that!!! Hahaha…
Super love the stunning picturesque! I would love to visit it one day and I think, it’s also a kid-friendly place, right? Do you recommend Tara Homestay? When is the tourist season in there? Sooooo interesting, especially the prayer wheel! The foods are amazing, too. I would take a walk there with my kids one day 🙂 God bless
It’s beautiful that Sol cafe has been a hub for travellers and that they are able to support various causes by simply eating or buying at the Cafe. I would love to visit them someday and learn more about their initiatives. Thank you for sharing about it.
Shreya I love how you pick your homestays, and if I am ever to go to the places you’ve been to, I know I can rely on the home stays you chose with my eyes closed because they look so wonderful. Kaza homestay looks great, with such lovely views, food and friendly hosts, as you said. Its in my bucket list, to visit Spiti. The Pin Valley drive looks so dreamy, a little bit like Ladakh even.
A friend visited Lahaul-Spiti and came back with amazing stories. Your article reminds me of that trip. Want to go there some day. Thanks for writing this post.
Wow! Amazing photos. This place looks incredibly beautiful. Serene and stunning. Its a pity so few of such places are left in the world. Great writing as well.
Thank you so much
I loved the views of the scenic beauty. And was interested to see the plastic displays. We have seen such displays in aquariums related to plastic waste in the water. It was great that you got to explore the market and see goods from neighbouring villages.
Plastic waste in water is depressing.
I LOVE all the colors. I also love that the town is taking the initiative to make people aware of the plastic waste problem. I have never heard of Kaza, but it looks like a lovely town to visit. The vibrant markets against the mountains is really beautiful.
I am glad to see people taking action against plastic issue.
Spiti Valley looks awesome! It makes me think of Peru. Filled with scenic mountains, unique villages, great food, and interesting spots and people. Thanks for the informative article and beautiful images.
I am yet to visit Peru.
This is amazing, I am glad to know people up their are creating awareness around Plastic, something which we all need to learn in the plains. Also, Kaza is not much expensive, can you please tell me, do we encounter an altitude problem in Kaza? And, are the oxygen levels fine over there?
Oxygen levels are fine in Kaza, but I can’t guarantee about altitude problem. It affects differently to different people.
I’ve never been in India, so I haven’t heard about Himachal Pradesh. I’m always interested in reading posts like yours because not many of the tourists visiting India know about places like Himachal Pradesh. I’m sure it was an interesting experience driving the scenic road from Mud to Kaza and staying with the locals. By the way, what is mockmeat?
Himachal Pradesh is super popular in India, as few of the mightiest mountains of the world lies here. Mockmeat is plant-based meat.
It looks like this was a great village to visit. The monastery looks beautiful! And I find that prayer wheel interesting being so large! Those dumplings in the beginning look delicious as well!!
Those are called momos! Love them.
Wow, what an extensive road trip! This is the first time I am reading a 12-day Spiti Valley trip though I’ve seen a lot of blogs/bloggers do this trip for a shorter time. How long does it take to arrive to Kaza if I am coming from Delhi? I would like to stop in Shimla, too. Some of my friends did an overnight stay in Manali. It seems like Kaza is hard to get to! Also, when is the best time to visit? When are the passes open? Thanks for your tips, Shreya!
Trisha, passes are open from mid-June to mid-Sept or Oct. It will take 2 days to reach Kaza from Delhi. All seasons are beautiful there.
I so want to visit Spiti after reading this. You seem to have had quite an amazing time exploring the different cafes and trying out the yummy food, while exploring Spiti Valley. Too bad, Spiti Valley is closed until March 2021 else, i would have had extended my stay in Manali, and finally visited Spiti Valley this year.
I was planning for White Spiti this time, but alas!
Your journey is beautiful and so inspiring. I’m impressed. The places you have seen in Spiti Valley are great. I dream about this part of the world. Sakya Tangyud Monastery, located right in the center of Kaza town, looks so charming. For sure, it was a wonderful experience to have dinner in the traditional dining hall of the homestay. You can learn so much about their life, traditions. I like that you provide prices also. It’s great!
A lot to learn, Agnes.
Kaza looks so beautiful with all the striking colors against a backdrop of mountains and a blue sky. I especially love looking at the food. The ones at your host’s house look amazing. It’s good to know that they’re also vegan friendly.
Yes, these days, too many guest-houses are vegan friendly.
It seems that you had a fantastically exciting experience. The pictures you have taken on the mountains are superb, incredibly beautiful. Your article really makes me want to try this tour with as soon as the covid situation has calmed down a bit.
True, Ann.
I so miss the mountains right now. Spiti has been on my list for a while now. Have only visited a part of it enroute to Ladakh but I want to do an exclusive Spiti stay. Kaza does seem like a perfect stop. And looking at those pics of momos and thukpa makes me ravenous. That incidentally is my fav food in this part of the world.
Wow, I am yet to visit Ladakh.
Hi there,
This is new to me, never heard of Kaza…. It looks like a really divesre interesting adventure. I loved the photographs – very colorful…… Nikki
Thanks Nikki.
These photos are so breathtaking, especially all the colors both in the scenery and in the culture. I loved seeing the murals & artwork centered around environmental consciousness and anti-plastic. It is so great to know that these initiatives are touching every corner of the world, especially in a beautiful place like Spiti.
Glad you liked it, Chloe.
India is a country I’ve wanted to visit for some time and I loved reading about your experiences there and this road trip and your stop over in Kaza. The colourful village, the stunning views, the delicious food, and charming market. Perhaps the most incredible piece in the article was the cost of your time in Kaza – unbelievably reasonable and it looked like your had quite a wonderful stay there as well.
Thanks Jamie
I am already missing the Himalayan cafes and couldn’t stop myself from drooling over the momos, Thupka, chowmein, etc. I have done Ladakh for good 10 days but yet couldn’t go to Spiti. Its picturesque everywhere. Well, all your pictures above want me to plan it soon. The homestay looks comfortable and does offer a great setting (background). I love visiting monasteries and it was good to know about Sakya Tangyud Monastery. It sure looks great.
Glad you liked it, Manjulika.
Love the look of the Himalayas and frankly missing them during these festival months when I am normally there somewhere up in the hills. Spiti is still not visited by me but have been reading your posts on this journey and they are absolutely stunning places as you traveled. Would love to do this exact replica sometime soon. Possibly next month.
Where did you go finally?
As always, in love with your extensive road-trip itinereries in the little gems of India and East Asia! Spiti has been in my wishlist like forever. I really hope to go there within the next couple years atleast. Wow! Those art installations made of plastic is very thoughtful, in educating the tourists in a eye-catching way to not use plastic there. Staying in homestays there is a good idea. Vegan food in local Tibetian restaurant?? Whoa! I want that!!! Movie nights on beanbags in the Himalayas??? I need that. I mean, I really need that!!! Hahaha…
Vegan food is not surprising, it’s basic food here without meat and dairy.
Super love the stunning picturesque! I would love to visit it one day and I think, it’s also a kid-friendly place, right? Do you recommend Tara Homestay? When is the tourist season in there? Sooooo interesting, especially the prayer wheel! The foods are amazing, too. I would take a walk there with my kids one day 🙂 God bless
It is indeed a kid-friendly place
It’s beautiful that Sol cafe has been a hub for travellers and that they are able to support various causes by simply eating or buying at the Cafe. I would love to visit them someday and learn more about their initiatives. Thank you for sharing about it.
Sol is soul!
Shreya I love how you pick your homestays, and if I am ever to go to the places you’ve been to, I know I can rely on the home stays you chose with my eyes closed because they look so wonderful. Kaza homestay looks great, with such lovely views, food and friendly hosts, as you said. Its in my bucket list, to visit Spiti. The Pin Valley drive looks so dreamy, a little bit like Ladakh even.
Let’s exchange our locations for a year, Medha? 🙂
A friend visited Lahaul-Spiti and came back with amazing stories. Your article reminds me of that trip. Want to go there some day. Thanks for writing this post.
Glad to know that.
Kaza seems to be wonderful. You had a perfect road trip! I like your adventures.
Thanks Agnes.