Finally!!
It was a monster ride, the road is non existent, the mountains are huge but it was all made possible as the weather held for us the entire time. The week we were in Spiti, the weather was clear and the temperature steady. As we left, it all went back to normal - snow, cold, slushy roads, etc.
Spiti was a new area for all of us on the trip and nothing could have prepared us for the beauty of its villages and the landscape. It is jaw dropping! I nearly drove off the mountain road a few times as I was just staring at some insane feature.
Being an old culture it was really interesting to see the animistic traditions existing with the reformist Buddhist traditions. Over here you will find monasteries belonging to the Sakya sect and all monasteries, except the Mudh area, are built as fortresses. Reading the history of the area, it has had its share of war and killings. Being always fought over by the guge and Indian kings, Spiti rarely had a chance to govern itself. But due to its inaccessibility, the ancient culture and artefacts got preserved. But how long that will last is another questions. Our Government isn't known for a sensitive response to art or any sort of preservation. Case in point being the Precambrian/Cambrian fossils that could be found while walking in the Kibber - Komik area. The locals and tourists have pocketed nearly all of them with our Government's token law saying it is illegal to remove fossils. Another case being the roads and the dismal quality of labor that is put to work in these areas.
When you travel through these remote areas where the terrain and weather are harsh, you realise the strength of human spirit and the strong beliefs in religion. People survive on belief. The more hard your life, the more elaborate the set of beliefs that make up your view of God, the world, of your place in society. In these areas time stands still, centuries make no impact only we, as visitors, insist on doing so. We wake up the locals by telling them what year it is and that all they believe in, is cute. Patronizing.
The beauty of Kunzum La, the gruffness of Rohtang Pass, the openness of Spiti and her people is a story that reads well. The story is spiced by the monasteries, the history, the local myths and mellowed by the huge, gentle mountains that keeps Spiti far away from the hordes of tourists and corporates, not for long.
It was a monster ride, the road is non existent, the mountains are huge but it was all made possible as the weather held for us the entire time. The week we were in Spiti, the weather was clear and the temperature steady. As we left, it all went back to normal - snow, cold, slushy roads, etc.
Spiti was a new area for all of us on the trip and nothing could have prepared us for the beauty of its villages and the landscape. It is jaw dropping! I nearly drove off the mountain road a few times as I was just staring at some insane feature.
Being an old culture it was really interesting to see the animistic traditions existing with the reformist Buddhist traditions. Over here you will find monasteries belonging to the Sakya sect and all monasteries, except the Mudh area, are built as fortresses. Reading the history of the area, it has had its share of war and killings. Being always fought over by the guge and Indian kings, Spiti rarely had a chance to govern itself. But due to its inaccessibility, the ancient culture and artefacts got preserved. But how long that will last is another questions. Our Government isn't known for a sensitive response to art or any sort of preservation. Case in point being the Precambrian/Cambrian fossils that could be found while walking in the Kibber - Komik area. The locals and tourists have pocketed nearly all of them with our Government's token law saying it is illegal to remove fossils. Another case being the roads and the dismal quality of labor that is put to work in these areas.
When you travel through these remote areas where the terrain and weather are harsh, you realise the strength of human spirit and the strong beliefs in religion. People survive on belief. The more hard your life, the more elaborate the set of beliefs that make up your view of God, the world, of your place in society. In these areas time stands still, centuries make no impact only we, as visitors, insist on doing so. We wake up the locals by telling them what year it is and that all they believe in, is cute. Patronizing.
The beauty of Kunzum La, the gruffness of Rohtang Pass, the openness of Spiti and her people is a story that reads well. The story is spiced by the monasteries, the history, the local myths and mellowed by the huge, gentle mountains that keeps Spiti far away from the hordes of tourists and corporates, not for long.
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