About the Blog: This travel blog is an account of our visit to two very beautiful hamlets in Spiti Valley – Hikkim, known for housing the World’s Highest Post Office; and Komic, which is the world’s highest village connected by a motorable road.  Read on to know more about these places. And we have also included some practical information and places to stay at Hikkim and Komic.

The roads were bumpy, the sky was blue and we could see unfathomable vastness in front of us. Not to mention, the mountains with their staggering heights looked absolutely breathtaking. After all, we were in Spiti Valley – a place that you have to see with your own eyes. The day started great with us exploring a remote and beautiful part of Spiti valley, the Mud village. And now we were heading towards some of the highest places in the world – Hikkim , where lies the world’s highest Post Office and Komic, the highest village connected by motorable roads. And after that we will be heading towards a very serene village in Spiti, Langza.

From the very moment we entered Spiti Valley, we have been totally bowled over by its surreal landscape. We had heard of this place before and even seen so many pictures. We had even visited Ladakh, whose topography is quite similar to Spiti Valley. But once we were here, it was anything beyond our expectations. I totally understood why it is said that you have to visit Spiti at least once in your life.

Hikkim, Komic and Langza are three villages located near Kaza town and usually done as a day trip from Kaza. In case you are doing just that, then I would suggest you to visit Langza first, then Komic and keep Hikkim as the last destination of the day. Look at the map and you will understand why I say so. However, we were staying at Langza for the night and so started our exploration with Hikkim first. Let the journey begin!

Mud to Kaza

We started from Mud village after our breakfast and took the same route as the previous day. The Pin river kept us company for a long time till we reached Attargo. We crossed Lingti waterfall again and drove by Kaza town. And then our journey towards Hikkim started.

Kaza to Hikkim

Hikkim is located about 15 km from Kaza town. As we were driving through the rugged terrains of Spiti, we just had to marvel at the starkness and ruggedness of the landscape. The mountain ranges were all covered with snow.

After about half an hour of driving, we stopped at a viewpoint to take some pictures. In Spiti, you can stop at any corner and deem it as a viewpoint. Afterall, everything looked gorgeous. As we were gazing at the mountain views, suddenly a strong wind started blowing and right in front of us, there was a small whirlwind of dust and stones. All the travelers who were there looked at it in awe. We just witnessed a nano tornado!

After the surprise and amazement were over, we continued our drive towards Hikkim. It was just 10 minutes away. Looking at the vistas surrounding us, we drove and soon we arrived at a small settlement. We had arrived at Hikkim.

Hikkim

Hikkim is located about 4440 m (14567 feet) above sea level. As we reached Hikkim, we were welcomed by a signboard of the World’s Highest Post Office. Next to it was a small café selling tea and snacks and also postcards. And just beyond the signboard, there was a trail that would take you to the World’s Highest Post Office.

But before wandering to the post office, we stopped for a moment and looked around. Hikkim is captivating. There are layered fields reflecting shades of green and yellow and brown with the snow-capped peaks of Spiti guarding the village. On top of that there is the rustic charm of Spitian life. We just stood there for some time admiring and acknowledging the vastness of the place.

World’s Highest Post Office

Well, Hikkim is famous for housing the world’s highest ‘permanently structured’ post office at an altitude of 14,400 feet. Without wanting to burst the bubble, there is another post office located higher than Hikkim – Mt Everest Base Camp postal service of Qomolangma in Tibet (17,060 feet). That post office is not a permanent structure. Nevertheless, the moniker of ‘world’s highest post office’ for Hikkim is still a bit disputed. But does that really matter to mountain lovers and travelers? The thrill of visiting the place coupled with the joy of sending a postcard back home makes Hikkim so special.

We had been admiring the village and its surroundings for a long time and now we walked towards the post office. At first we came across a small house that has the post office signboard as well as the post box. But we realized that the actual post office is somewhere behind that structure. So we walked a little further beside the fields and came across another small room.

Meeting the Post Master of Hikkim Post Office

And there we met Rinchen Chhering, the postmaster of Hikkim post office. He has been the postmaster here since 1983.

“Roads get closed, but this post office does not”, this is what Chhering told us.

He has two other helpers who help him with his work and delivering letters to nearby villages like Komic, Langza and even Tashigang. The helpers come from Kaza everyday. They deliver letters to villagers 12 km away and sometimes they even have to walk to deliver these letters.

It was enlightening to speak to Chhering. We actually came to know a lot about the place and its people. Now that we were at World’s highest post office, we wanted to send a postcard back home from there. So, we bought a few postcards and sent a letter with a ₹10 stamp on it. We did not know whether the letter would reach its destination or not, but we were just happy to send it anyway. However, Chhering assured us that the letter will definitely reach its destination.

And do you know what? The letter had arrived at our address just about 10 days after we were back from our Spiti Valley road trip.

How to reach Hikkim?

Hikkim is located about 15 km from Kaza. It is usually visited as a day trip  from Kaza along with Komic and Langza. So you will probably head here with your car or bike.

If you want to reach here by public transport, there is a bus from Kaza at 5 PM every Monaday to Wednesday. This bus goes to Komic, which is 3 km ahead of Komic. The bus also covers Langza on the way. The same bus leaves Komic at 8 AM the next morning towards Kaza.

You can also hitchhike and if nothing works, you can always hike.

Where to stay in Hikkim?

There are no hotels and guesthouses in Hikkim. Accommodations are limited only to homestays. Please note that these places are very remote and you will get only basic facilities here.

Here’s a couple of homestays, though I cannot guarantee the correctness of the contact numbers. You can always approach a house and request them to host you. They do so happily.

• Tsedup’s House (+919873146404)
• Hikkim Himalayan Cafe and Homestay (+919459040980)

Hikkim to Komic

After the world’s highest post office, we started towards the world’s highest village connected by a motorable road. Komic is located about 3 km from Hikkim and hardly took 10 minutes to reach there. Once again, we reached a place that was almost desolate with only a few houses and a big monastery.

Komic

Komic is known as the highest village in the world connected by a motorable road and it has a signboard stating so. Once again, the veracity of this claim might be a bit disputed, but who cares! We felt we were at the highest village in the world. The wind was blowing pretty strongly and we simply looked around the small village dotted with just a few houses.

Komic is located at an altitude of 4587 m, which is apparently higher than Annapurna Base Camp. It is a small village with just 10 to 15 houses all spread out.

The main attraction of the village is the Tangyud Gompa, a big structure that you will not miss once you are there. This monastery is almost 800 years old. It is said that this monastery was originally located at Hikkim and was shifted here after it was destroyed by the earthquake.

The monastery was another wonderful example of Tibetan Buddhist architecture. The place was calm and serene and the monastery had an extensive library of scrolls. It also had some beautiful thangkas and wall paintings.

And then we came across a board of ‘World’s Highest Restaurant’ at Komic. It was a small restaurant and we could not resist the temptation of having a cup of tea from the world’s highest restaurant!

Just like most of the villages in Spiti Valley, life at Komic is also difficult, especially in the winters. During the winter, temperature gets down to as low as -30 degree Celcius and the village gets disconnected from the rest of the world. Water is also scarce in the village making their life tougher.

How to reach Komic?

Komic can be reached from Kaza in Spiti Valley. Usually, a trip to Komic is done from Kaza along with Hikkim and Langza. Komic is about 25 km from Kaza.

If you want to visit Komic by public transport, there is a bus from Kaza to Komic at 5 PM every Monday to Wednesday. The bus leaves Komic the next morning at around 8 AM towards Kaza.

You can also hitchhike to Komic. And if nothing works, you can always hike.

Where to stay at Komic?

 There are no hotels and guest houses at Komic. Usually, Hikkim, Komic and Langza are done as a day trip from Kaza. But if you wish to stay here, you can simply approach a house and request them to host you. They will happily do so. As of late, there are a couple of homestays in Komic village.

After Komic, we headed towards another very beautiful and rustic village of Spiti Valley – Langza. Read about our experience at Langza in our next post!

Last Words…

Did you like this post? Have you visited Spiti Valley? Please share with us your experience there in the comments below.

Are you planning to visit Spiti Valley? You can read our Spiti Valley Travel Guide to help you plan the trip. If that is not enough, let us know if you have any questions.

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