Glacial rivers, butter tea, and the highest starry skies in Spiti

The journey through Kinnaur and over the high mountain passes into Spiti tests your endurance, but the reward is celestial. Kaza feels like stepping onto another planet. Our homestay in a quiet village just above town was heated by traditional mud-brick walls and a central bukhari wood stove. The hosts, Dolma and her brother Dorje, welcomed us with butter tea and hot momos while the temperature dropped below freezing outside. At night, stepping out onto the open roof terrace revealed a view of the Milky Way so crisp and bright you could navigate by starlight alone. Visiting Key Monastery at dawn and listening to the monks chanting with the snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the background was a spiritual experience that will stay with us forever.