Kee Monastery

We got up early and went up the hill to a Buddhist shrine overlooking the village.  Great views. After breakfast we left our tent lodgings and headed to Kaza and the Spiti Valley.  And more importantly, to where the Kee Monastery.

The road was better than expected.  The spectacular sights continued.  The mountains surrounding us are getting taller and more barren.  There were also areas that resembled Capadoccia with sandstone towers carved by water.

We had to go through another checkpoint this time with passports and all.  We stopped at Tabo for lunch.  Tabo is the site of the oldest monastery in India datig back to the year 900. There was a market with a lot of Tibetan textiles.  Met a group of ladies that wanted to dress me and take a picture with them.

Once we got to our hotel in Kaza (3600m) we set out to visit the famous Kee Monastery (4000m) perched on a cliff.  Interesting visit, Apparently this was the Dalai Lama’s residence for sometime after he was exiled from Tibet.  We then set out to go higher to see if we could take a picture of the monastery from above.

That was the adventure of the trip so far. We went up the mountain on a dirt road that just kept going up straight.  After 3 false summits we got to the edge of the clif at 4400m.  And over the cliff the most amazing view of the monastery from way high.  We even saw a herd of Ibix right on the edge of the cliff.  So peaceful up there … at the top of the world. Surrounded by majestic peaks, the Spiti Valley almost 3000 feet below, wild life in its element around us.

Again, just sitting there watching the world below, and the peaks all around us, and the animals, and the quietness … the world is at peace.

Got back to the hotel and after dinner decided to go to town looking for some sort of connection to the outside world.  Apparently, this whole area restricts the use use of cell phones, satellite phones, Internet for some reason.  We rode in the dark … really dark …the stars were amazing.  A little sense of loss to realize that we do not get to see this every day where we live.