Important Details
About Komic Village
Komic Village of Spiti Valley shot to fame because of the title of “Highest Village with motorable road” this however is not true.The village of Komic however is at a very high altitude of 4587 meters.To put it into perspective Mont Blanc which is the Mecca of european mountaineers and is the place where all european mountaineers go, is at a height of 4,810 meters. Going by this data the village of Komic is pretty chill.However if you were to visit the land of lamas because of facts and figures that would be not going by the spirit. Komic village has the Tnagyud Monastery,which has lot of interesting stories associated with it ,which also explain the name and the existence of the village.Komic lies in the Kaza-Langza-Hikkim-Komic Circuit.The population of the village is estimated at around 60-65.The village gets buried under deep snow in the winters and life gets very harsh in this period.
How to reach Komic Village
Komic village can be reached via manali and the Shimla route.The Manali route closes around october due to heavy snowfall at Rohtang la and Lahul.In summers though it makes for a very good and scenic route.THis being said the road conditions are not very good if compared to Shimla route.However the variety and the dynamics of this route are very different from the other route.In winters though there is no other option and one has to take the Shimla-Reckongpeo-Kaza circuit to reach Spiti.In winters if you want to cover Langza-Hikkim-Komic then you can either book a cab if you have company,that will be cheaper on your pocket.If you are solo, well then the cheapest way would be hitchiking or you can probably talk to fellow travellers in your homestay at Kaza and see if there is spot for one person.Another way would be to stand at the bus stand and see if any taxi has an empty seat and is covering this circuit.
Kaza to Komic Village
Reaching Komic from Kaza can be divided into two parts.Summer and Winters.In summertime the bus from Kaza runs for Komic at 5:00 PM from the Kaza bus stand.The bus goes through Langza-Hikkim and reaches Komic at 6:30 PM.The bus leaves for Kaza in the morning the very next day for Kaza at 7:30 AM and follows the same route.So if you are going by the bus you will have to stay the night at Komic or whichever village you decide to get off.
Activities in Komic Village
There isn’t much to see in Komic apart from the Tnagyud Monastery which is very distinct from other monasteries in Spiti and only two of it’s kind exist in Spiti.
Tnagyud Monastery
I feel it is the story and history of a place that make it unique and appealing.Here goes the story of Komic. A long time a ago in the distant land of Tibet there a prophecy that a monastery shall be built in Spiti at a place which have the following specifications.The mountains behind the monastery should have the Shape of a mountain lion on the left and a beheaded eagle on the right.The area should have four springs nearby.The area where the monastery shall be built must be the shape of the eye of a Snow cock.(“Ko”-Snow cock, “Mic”- Eye).The tnagyud Monastery is one of the to monasteries that belong to the ‘Sakya sect’ of Buddhism.
Snowleopard of Komic
So the Snowleopard of Komic has been staying for a long time in the Tnagyud Monastery ,the monks clean it once a while and visitors are allowed to see it.It had lived a glorious life in the mountains of Spiti and after his death serves as a stuffed display.One interesting fact is that women are not allowed to see or even go near the enclosure where the snow leopard is kept.So don’t go around waving your baton of feminism and respect the local culture and traditions.
Homestays in Komic Village
As we all know there are no hotels in the remote areas of the Spiti Valley and we would like it to stay that way.The way forward is supporting locals and staying at their homestays and not returning back to the hole you have booked in Kaza the same day.
There are three Homstays in Komic. Tanpa Homestay- 9459483143. Gompa House- 9873146404, Padma Homestay-9459357872.The safest bet is the Monastery because most people don’t run homestays in winters so you could go to the Monastery talk to a monk and stay there for some amount of money.
If you don’t find an operational homestay in Komic you can visit Hikkim or Langza. You will surely find a homestay there.
Camping in Komic
The world is your playground and Spiti is your campsite.Just make sure you are not camping on somebody’s land,If you see a house from where you are camping go ask and take permission to camp.It is good to camp near the village,not too near.So you can go there in times of emergency.
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