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Spiti Valley

India

South Asia shoestring ~$25/day
How to get there

Fly to Delhi or Chandigarh, then two days by bus or jeep over some of the highest motorable passes in the world.

Where to sleep

Village homestays run by Buddhist families — dinner around the kitchen stove is the whole point.

What to expect

A Tibetan world inside India: thousand-year-old monasteries clinging to cliffs, a mummified monk, snow leopards in winter, and a moonscape at 4,000 meters.

First move on arrival

Sleep in Kibber or Langza, visit Key Monastery for morning prayers, and post a letter from Hikkim — the world's highest post office.

When to go

June to September

One phrase to carry

Julley — hello, thank you, and goodbye all at once.

Read before you go

A Journey in Ladakh by Andrew Harvey — the inner and outer Himalaya at once.

Getting weirder nearby

The Pin Valley — snow leopard country and the trail toward Kinnaur.

One honest warning

Altitude is the real danger here — ascend slowly and take rest days. The roads close entirely in winter.

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