-28 degree Celsius in Spiti Valley | Kibber Village

I went well prepared for winters in Spiti Valley, keeping in mind about the negative temperatures and dry weather conditions.

Kaza, the hub of Spiti Valley was my base camp throughout this one month trip, and let me tell you, Kaza was the coldest in comparison to all the villages of Spiti I visited.

It was my first day in Kaza. I was supposed to acclimatize and let my body rest after 4 days of no sleep and constant travelling but I couldn’t resist myself from exploring the pre winters.

Before it started snowing in the entire Spiti Valley, the first village I visited was Kibber. To witness and capture the pre winters, I borrowed a car from my friend living in Kaza and drove on the Himalayan road from Kaza via Key village to Kibber. It was a sunny day but not even the shining sun could warm up the temperature. I left Kaza at 9.30 am. Bone-chilling wind made me want to check the temperature and I was shocked to see that it was near -28 degree Celsius.

Winter in Spiti Valley is not at all an easy trip. One has to go through a lot of hardships and pain in such harsh conditions.
But people in Spiti are gems that you can find nowhere else in the world. They work all day – from doing dishes to washing clothes in the frozen Spiti river, but you will never see their smile go. People here will always be generous and kind, regardless of their hectic schedule and tough life.

I drove to Kibber village with many halts so I could take some memories back home, but the freezing wind kept on challenging me. As soon as I used to jump out of the car, my fingers and toes would go numb. I had to hop and shake myself up to get the warmth and click pictures. To tell you, I was wearing 4 layers of Merino Wool socks and 2 layers of specialized gloves for extreme winters. This dry winter in Spiti is so harsh that you can never feel warm outside your homestay even if covered with 4-5 layers of wool. But inside every house in Spiti, they have Bukhari in one room, which is like a living room, arranged in Old Tibetan style. Bukhari is a local heater that works by firewood and cow dung. It makes the room warm enough for you to sit in a t-shirt, whereas the temperature outside is dipping to as low as -30 degree Celsius.

I reached Kibber Village, 14200ft above sea level, after struggling with harsh winds and sinking temperatures and what I found out after I reached, was enthralling.

Stay tuned to know the complete story of my journey to Kibber Village, Spiti in Winters.

You can also read : A Miraculous Night | Langza in Winters