A day’s bus ride east of the Rohtang Pass, Spiti offers fewer long distance routes but for the Pin Valley trek. We started 24 kms southeast of Kaza, taking the trail which heads south along
the right bank of the River Pin past a string of traditional settlements and monasteries to Ghurguru, where it forks into two; the northern path over the Pin-Parvati pass to Manikaran in
the Parvati Valley and the southern one to Wangtu in Kinnaur via the Bhabha Pass. A number of short routes explore the region around Kaza, taking in villages like Kibber, the world's highest village with a drivable road and electricity, and is a hunting ground for fossil seekers.
    Millions of years ago, Spiti lay submerged under the Tethys Sea and remnants of its geological past are evident in the unique landscape and the diverse fossils found in the valley. Geologists have found fossils of ocean creatures in rocks here, indicating that those rocks were once underwater, before the Indian continental shelf began pushing upward.

Most mountains are devoid of any greenery, with only loose brown soil that easily comes crumbling down the road, causing landslides. The mountain peaks are dressed in snow, standing tall against azure blue skies. While trekking in the valley, one often comes across nomad families shepherding scores of sheep on their way to high altitudes in search of tiny grass that grows on the little stretches of flat land. These nomads are easy with smile, though they lead a tough life.
    We spent our night at Komic village, which offers homestays just like Langza, Kibber, Lhalung and Dhankar. Villages are built around occasional springs, streams and flat land. Komic, we were told by our hosts, is cut off from the rest of Spiti for greater part of the year. The pristine environs of this quaint village are complemented by an ancient monastery belonging to the Sakyapa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Visits to meditation caves, ruins of an earlier monastery and the sightings of wildlife are some of the attractions of this village.