If you love motor adventure and want to romp about the streets of the highest village of the world, Kibber in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India should be your next ideal destination. Located at an altitude of 4200 m, the densely populated Kibber village welcomes you with its picturesque locales. Connected by tarmac roads, Kibber can be reached by taking a bus from the nearby Kaza or a jeep on hire from its taxi stand. Once you step down in Kibber, you can undertake pleasurable trekking expeditions to some of the most exquisite spots around this village.

What to see

Your first stop should be the Buddhist Ki Monastery located at the upper end of Kibber. This spectacular building contains a big carved prayer wheel inside along with a number of interesting frescos that you can explore. Surprisingly, this sacred place is where teacher of the present Dalai Lama expired in 1980s. Look out for the prayer flags fluttering over this monastery and the several small cairns decked up with rams horns.

You can bend your steps towards the village Chichum that you can reach across the Parilungbo canyon. This trek will take you a 2-3 hours’ duration that you can shorten by opting for the bridge joining the slopes of the gorge. However, a shortcut will deprive you of the wonders that you would have otherwise experienced on the way. You can take an even longer trek from Kibber to Ladakh through the traditional trade route that will require a minimum three nights’ halt. Gete and Tashigang villages are the other spots that you can touch.

If you desire an easy hiking expedition during your stay at Kibber, the Dangmachan peak standing tall at 5157 m should interest you. This hike will take you along highland pastures that are not directly visible from the village itself. However, the captivating sights of 6000 m+ Shilla and Chau Chau Kang Nilda peaks are just perfect for photography. A clear night at Kibber will reveal a marvelous naked eye view of the Milky Way that you cannot simply forget.

Khibber has a unique tranquility reverberating about its pure and fresh natural environs. Owing to its close location to the Tibetan border, it is mostly inhabited by Tibetan Buddhists whose warmth and peace-loving natures perfectly synchronize with the stretches of greenery of the cultivated lands of this village.

What is very interesting about the architectural style of the houses of Kibber is that they are made of stone in place of the usual adobe brick and mud. This imparts a rather rocky look to the inhabited parts of Kibber. If you go around the village, you will find a post office, a civil dispensary, a telegraph office and high school in the village. There is a clear water source in Kibber that reportedly originated when the funeral rites of the lama were being performed there.

The fully electrified Kibber village has immense tourist potentiality, the reason why there are so many guesthouses throughout this village. Some of these like the famous Norling Guesthouse have restaurant facilities that contain ready stocks of beer. If you want a room with an attached bath, go for the second floor accommodations that are slightly costlier than an ordinary room. Supply of beer and hot water are provided on request. Even if you fall short of your own supplies, you can replenish your stores by buying basic provisions from the shops of Kibber.