Spiti Valley

The Spiti Valley is a remote mountain desert region in the north-east of Himachal Pradesh, along the Indo Tibetan border. It is a part of the Lahaul and Spiti District. It lies in the Indian Himalayas. Apart from the green mountains found there, the Spiti valley has a dry landscape. Spiti valley starts from Sumdo region. Eventhough the valley is not wide there are villages and fields where people cultivate vegetables and barley.

The valley is split into eastern and western valleys and is connected on the eastern side with Ladakh and Tibet, and on the western side with Kinnaur District and Kullu District. Kaza is a sub divisional headquarters of Spiti Valley. A beautiful salt water lake, Tso Moriri lies to the north of the Spiti valley. The Spiti River flows through the Spiti valley. The valley is connected to Ropa Valley of Kinnaur by the Manirang Pass and to Lahaul by Kunzam Pass. Spiti Valley is also known as the Valley of Monasteries and it forms one of the Trans-Himalayan frontier regions of India. The Spiti Valley has about 30 monasteries, of which Key Gompa is the oldest and the largest one.