Kibber

Getting there

Kibber is at the end of the road that climbs from Kaza past Key Monastery: 19 km from Kaza, and about 8 km from Spiti Villa. Taxis from Kaza usually combine it with Key and Chicham Bridge in half a day.

The village and the sanctuary

Kibber’s houses sit on a treeless plateau, with terraced fields of barley and peas around them. It is one of the highest villages in Spiti that people live in through the winter.

The village is the gateway to Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, set up in 1999 over about 2,220 km² of cold desert: the only cold desert sanctuary in India. Blue sheep (bharal) graze the slopes above the village most of the year, and in winter snow leopards come down after them. That is why winter trips such as Winter Spiti are based around Kibber. No sighting is ever promised.

Good to know

• An old trade route runs north from Kibber over the Parang La, at about 5,578 m, towards Ladakh. It is a serious trek, not a walk.
• Phone signal is patchy beyond Kaza; carry cash.
• In winter the road up from Key depends on the snow that week.