Best Time to visit Hikkim village: Detailed Travel Guide

 In Adventure, Beach, Best Time to Visit, Holidays, Homestays, How To Guide, places to eat, Places To Visit, Spiti, Things to do, Travel, Travel Facts

Planning to visit Hikkim Village in Spiti Valley, but confused about the best time to visit the Hikkim Village, whether to delve into to valley at its summer solstice or when it’s a snow kingdom. So here, is a complete travel guide for Hikkim Village to transform your weekend getaway into a dreamy vacation.

Hikkim Village In Summer

The best time to visit Hikkim Village is during the summer months. Summer months are pleasant in Spiti Valley as compared to winters which are harsh and unbearable. From May to September, the temperatures in the region reach a maximum of 20-25 degrees Celsius, making it an appropriate weather condition to explore the Hikkim Village in Himachal Pradesh and nearby areas. Spiti Valley tour packages are among the most preferred for some amazing and at the same time challenging adventure activities like trekking, camping, stargazing, and mountain climbing. Summer months are the most appropriate for these activities.

June to September is considered the best time to visit Hikkim Village due to the various cultural and traditional festivals that are held in Hikkim Village, Key Monastery, and Tabo Monastery. These festivals allure the tourists to witness the fanfare of the valley that adds zest and zeal to the landscapes of the Hikkim Village. The Cham dance is the festival’s major attraction, in which all of the Lamas participate and perform traditional dances while dressed in colorful costumes and masks of animals and birds. This event is conducted in honor of God to thank them for a blessed year and prosperity in the Spiti Valley. 

Hikkim Village in Winters

hikkim-village-in-winters

Winters are not considered the best time to visit Hikkim Village. Although the valley in winter is a frosty fantasy.  Winters in Spiti Valley experience sub-zero temperatures with the area completely covered with a thick snow blanket. Due to abundant snowfalls, the village is completely cut off from the rest part of the world, blocking all the roads and passes leading to the Valley. Those travelers who can acclimatize to severe winter weather conditions can plan to visit Spiti Valley for adventure and to experience the snowy paradise.

However, Winters are considered appropriate for those to want to capture the sight of the snow leopard in the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary. Snow Leopards during the winter season move down to lower regions of the valley in quest of prey and hence sighting snow leopards becomes quite predictable. 

Top Places to Visit in Hikkim Village

  • World’s Highest Post Office
  • Key Monastery
  • Komic Village
  • Kaza
  • Langza Village
  • Kibber Village

Let’s explore these places to visit in Hikkim Village and nearby areas.

World’s Highest Post Office

The most well-known attraction in Hikkim Village Spiti Valley is the post office. This post office has gained the title of “Highest Post Office in the World.”Tourists visit this post office to send postcards to themselves, as well as friends and family members. The best time to visit Hikkim Village Post Office is when you meet the postmaster since he is the only person who has worked here since the office’s founding and delivers letters to adjacent villages on foot. 

Since this Post Office has grown in popularity, the Public Worlds Department has refurbished the old structure into a new postbox-shaped and colorful building to attract more visitors. Spend some time in this post office, chatting with the postmaster and asking about his struggles working in such a hard environment. 

Key Monastery

key-monastery-in-spiti-valley

Key Monastery in Spiti Valley is the main religious training institution for Lamams, with around 200 Lamas. The Buddhist monastery, perched at the summit of a hill 4166 meters above sea level, is 1,000 years old. 

The monastery is ornamented with paintings and murals dating back to the 14th century, including Chinese and Tibetan influences. The Key Monastery has also preserved religious manuscripts and sculptures of God’s deities, which are highly religiously significant. The monastery is known for its Pasada-style construction. Pasada architecture is distinguished by two or more stories and typically takes the shape of a fortified monastery. It is well-known for its historical paintings, one-of-a-kind thangkas, and ancient weapons. The major attraction here is the pictures of Gautam Buddha in dhyana (meditation) posture are a must-see. The monastery also has a sizable collection of musical instruments, including trumpets, cymbals, and drums of ancient times.

In addition to the gorgeous landscape provided by the monastery, situated at the top of the hill, this is an architectural masterpiece that provides insight into the culture and traditions of the Buddhist faith. The best time to visit Hikkim Village and Key Monastery is in the month of July when an annual cultural festival is organized that attracts tourists due to the unique traditional dance forms that are performed during the festivities.

Komic Village

komic-village

Komic Village in Spiti Valley, at 4587 meters above sea level, is the world’s highest village. Wouldn’t it be thrilling to visit the highest point in the world? Komic village astounds visitors with its stunning view of the Himalayas and exquisite valley. The most notable sight in this village is the signboards that proudly proclaim the village’s designation as the Highest Village in the World. Adventurers visit the location only to photograph themselves in front of this renowned signboard. Visitors like visiting Komic Village to experience the region’s natural beauty as well as the peace and tranquility of the valley.

The best time to visit Hikkim Village and Komic Village is during the summer months when the temperatures are excellent for exploring the places and admiring the beauty that cannot be conveyed in words but must be felt. Komic Village is 3.2 kilometers from Hikkim Village, and the easiest method to traverse this distance is to take the hiking path, which adds an extra dimension of beauty to the trip.

Kaza

Kaza Temperature

Kaza in Lahaula and Spiti is located at an altitude of 3,800 m and is the district headquarters of Lahaula and Spiti. Since Kaza is a major town in the Valley, tourists can expect to have a great number of hotel options here. Kaza is the best place to experience the authentic cuisine of Spiti Valley. Several cafes and restaurants serve the best cuisine of Spiti Valley. 

Kaza can be reached from Shimla and Manali via taxi, own car, or by biking expedition. In Summer, state transport buses operated many times throughout the day from Manali and Shimla to Kaza. Those tourists who wish to undertake a trek from Kaza to Hikkim, Langza, and Komic Village can have their reservation done at Kaza. Kaza has a several trekkers community that help people take up Jeep Safari, Trekking, Yak rides, climbing, and camping activities.

Kaza also has a large market for handcrafted souvenirs manufactured from Lamas using traditional processes and materials. The best time to visit Hikkim Village Kaza is when 

Langza Village

langza-village

One of the best places to visit near Hikkim Village is Langza Village in Himachal Pradesh. Langza Village is situated at a distance of 8km from Hikkim Village and is known as the Fossil Village. Langza is an archeologist delight, as it is rich in fossils of marine animals. Now you might wonder how marine animals are related to mountains. Millions of years ago, even before the great Himalayas, this region was the Tethys Sea, when this sea was submerged, the Himalayas were formed and what was left behind were the marine animals that over the years converted into fossils. 

If you understand the importance of finding fossils just look for one, admire the astonishing thing but be mindful of not carrying it back with you. The sale and purchase of these fossils are not for the ecological balance. 

One of the well-known landmarks of the Langza Village is the iconic tallets Buddha status that is believed to be the protector of the Village and the surrounding areas. The landscape and the beauty of the Langza village can leave you spellbound and the fossil connection with the village will surely influence you to plan the trip at the best time to visit Hikkim Village and Langza.

Kibber Village

kibber-village

Kibber Village in Spiti Valley is known as the location that is connected with the highest motorable road in the world and is famous for Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary and Kibber Monastery. It is located near the Chimcham Bridge which is the highest man-made bridge in the world.

The Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary is the best place to visit near Hikkim Village which is home to many endangered species of flora and fauna. Red Fox, Tibetan Woolly Hare, Ibex, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Wolf, Tibetan Wild Ass, Lynx, Pika and Snow Leopard. Tourists flock to Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary to have a sight of the big cat snow leopard. Earlier it was hard to have sight of snow leopards but recently the number of leopards in the region has increased and one can expect to capture the snow leopard in its natural habitat. 

You might require the help of locals to spot the trails of snow leopards as these camouflage so perfectly in the natural surroundings, that it becomes impossible to spot them. The best time to visit Hikkim Village and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary is during the winters because during this time snow Leopards come down to the lower regions of the valley in search of food and hence can be spotted quite easily. The region is home to several endangered plant species that are employed in the manufacturing of traditional medicines, cosmetics, and cattle feed. Some of these plants are significant components of the Traditional Tibetan Medicinal Healing System. 

Suggested Read: Spiti Valley Travel Journal

Things to do in Hikkim village

  1. If it’s been a while since you haven’t posted a letter, then do it at Hikkim Village. Hikkim village has the world’s highest post office. This iconic place is the only way the people of the world are connected with the rest of the world. So when you visit Hikkim Village, post a postcard or letter to your family and friends from this iconic place.
  2. Have a stroll through the lanes of the Langza village and don’t be surprised if you step on a unique thing, well this unique thing is nothing but fossils. Langza village has uncountable fossil gems underneath it. These fossils are of marine animals and are thought to be millions of years old. 
  3. Lahaula and Spiti Valley are known as the “land of lamas,” and the existence of old monasteries adds to their allure. Key Monastery, Kungri Monastery, and Sakya Tangyud Monastery are Spiti Valley’s oldest monasteries and have considerable religious significance in Buddhist culture. These monasteries are embellished with paintings, murals, and sculptures of Buddhist deities that depict the region’s culture, heritage, and religious sacred scriptures. 
  4. Hikkim Village boasts a challenging and enchanting trekking trail. This trek route connects Kaza to Hikkim, Langza, and Kibber Village. This trek can be completed in 2-3 days, with a night stop in one of these villages. This strenuous trekking trail offers amazing panoramas of the snow-capped Himalayas, diverse flora and wildlife, the shimmering Spiti River, and a mystical valley.
  5. Fill your night with the glittering and shimmering millions of stars that offer an unparalleled view of the night sky. Hikkim Village in Spiti Valley is the best place for stargazing and is astronomers’ delight. Milky Way galaxy and even some planets can be here with the naked eye. Do not forget to carry high-resolution cameras or a telescope to capture the spellbinding night.

 Suggested Read: Reasons to Visit Spiti Valley

How can tourists reach Hikkim Village?

Kaza is the nearest big town in Spiti Valley to Hikkim Village, Himachal Pradesh. The nearest airports to Kaza are Kullu Manali Bhuntar Airport and Chandigarh Airport, while the nearest railway station is Shimla. There are two routes to Kaza: via Shimla and Manali. The Manali route is shorter and has smoother roads. After arriving in Kaza, one may go by vehicle or by trek to reach Hikkim Village, which is 16 kilometers away.

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What are the key attractions in and around Hikkim Village?

The major places to visit in Hikkim Village and nearby locations are the Iconic World’s highest post office, Key Monastery, Langza Village, Komic Village, Komic Monastery, Kibber Village, and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary,

Are there any cultural festivities or events tourists can witness in Hikkim?

The Cham festival is held in Hikkim and at the monasteries in the surrounding region in July. During the festivities, residents reunite with surrounding villages and celebrate the summer months after months of hibernation throughout the winter. This celebration attracts tourists from all over the world to experience the Cham dance, which consists of donning large birds and animal masks and colorful garments while praising God for a blessed year.

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