The sun rose on day six of our Spiti Valley adventure with another beautiful day in the market town of Kaza. It was going to be a special day, as we were going to visit the Kee Monastery. The Kee Monastery had been plastered on every postcard, poster and tour agency since we had entered the valley, so the hype was real! Filling up on egg and onion parathas in the Himalayan sunshine outside our Zostel, we boarded our minivan and headed off through the winding mountain roads.

As we drove up the valley, the Kee Monastery came into view. Rising like a spike, with buildings clinging to all sides of a rock spire, the Kee Monastery looked like something from fantasy. If you had told us that JRR Tolkien had visited the Spiti Valley, we would believe it in a heartbeat. The Kee Monastery rose out of and dominated the valley below, it was like Minas Tirith was standing in the the plains of Gondor. We wouldn’t have been surprised if Aragorn hadn’t rode out to meet us!

The white and red buildings of the Kee Monastery rise out of the Spiti Valley.

It is an incredible structure, a beautiful white and red spire of colour in another wise bleak and barren landscape. Surrounded on all sides by the ever present Himalayan mountains, the Kee Monastery looks like the seed of a mountain just waiting to grow.

We approached from the valley floor, and drove up to the monastery gates. In order to get a better view of this incredible place, we decided to take a short hike up to a colourful shrine that overlooked the monastery. Surrounded on all sides by prayer wheels and left offerings of fruit and water, the three golden Buddhist statues gaze out across the valley and the monastery. The view from here was fantastic, but we could see a trail that led further up the mountainside. Surely, we reasoned, the view from there would be even better!

Heading up the loose stone pathway, we did begin to question the wisdom of our choices. The Kee Monastery itself sits at 4166 metres above sea level and we were now hiking further and further above it. Our guide remained at the bottom and one by one, our expedition group was getting smaller as people ran out of breath. We continued on, breathless and light headed, until we reached the viewpoint. It was phenomenal!

A huge sweeping vista of the Spiti Valley is spread out in front. Far below are farmers fields and the river whilst the Himalayas rise in the background.

The valley stretched out from left to right, bordered on both sides with the towering white peaks of snow capped Himalayan mountains. The enormous river bed wound down the centre of the valley, the river itself a tiny ribbon of blue amongst the grey and rocks. Above this on the flat valley plain, new fields were being prepped with a wash of green fields replacing the dark browns of the valley. But above all of this, dominating the view and catching the eye, was the Kee Monastery.

The white, red and gold buildings of the key monastery rise out of the Spiti Valley

Now far below us, the monastery was dwarfed by its surroundings, but still drew the eye as its red, golden and white buildings sparkled against the muted colours of the valley. A pop of colour in this beautiful yet barren landscape. After catching our breath and taking many photos, us and our two brave companions just sat down to drink it all in. Eagles wheeled through the sky below us, but up here, there was nothing but silence, save for the occasional sigh of the wind. It was one of those times, in one of those places where it's almost dreamlike. You just stop, stare and try to convince yourself that you are actually there!

It turns out it is a lot easier to go up this mountain than come back down. The loose stone created a near ski slope style descent. With only a few minor tumbles we rejoined our group at the shrine and headed into the monastery itself.

Two burgundy clad Buddhist monks stroll up the path towards the Kee Monastery in India's Spiti Valley.

Following a gaggle of burgundy robed monks we entered through the gates.

The white washed stone buildings of the Kee Monastery grow out of the cliffside in a higgledy piggledy manner.

The Kee Monastery has a long and turbulent history.

Built somewhere around 1008 CE the monastery has been destroyed by Mongol armies, ravaged by several Khans, damaged by a Sikh army, burned by fire in the 1840s and nearly flattened by an earthquake in 1975.

This frequent impromptu demolition and rebuilding is why the monastery buildings seem to bud outwards with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Compared with the tranquillity of the viewpoint, the monastery was a hub of activity.

A class of monks sit gathered on a rooftop of the Kee Monastery in India's Spiti Valley.

Chanting filled the halls, whilst monks, tourists and an Amazon Prime film crew bustled through the tight corridors and steep staircases. We passed beautiful wooden carvings, colourful paintings and wound our way up through intricately inlaid rooms before emerging back into the daylight at the top of the monastery. From the roof of the monastery, we had a perfect view up and down the valley. Below us, we could see monks of all ages, sitting in their classes, chanting, debating and meditating. Back in the van we left the beautiful Kee Monastery behind and headed deeper into the valley.

A mountain road winds deeper and deeper into the mountainous landscape of India's Spiti Valley.

The road left the valley floor and started winding itself deeper and deeper into the Himalayan mountains. Deep in the heart of the Spiti Valley, we found ourselves standing at a yellow suspension bridge. The Chicham Bridge is (controversially) the “highest suspension bridge” in the world. At an elevation of 4144 metres above sea level, this bridge spans a deep, rock gorge. Before its construction in 2017, locals either had to travel 3 to 4 hours out their way, or make a frankly terrifying crossing in what can only be described as a basket attached to a zip line! Today, the bridge is a popular selfie spot and is colourfully decked out in prayer flags and surrounded by food trucks. We stopped for photos, momos and a cup of sea buckthorn tea before moving on.

The highest suspension bridge in the world spans the valley at Chicham in India's Spiti Valley

Before heading back to Kaza, our tour leader Gyalli wanted to show us the village he grew up in. A short drive past the Chicham Bridge, and unbelievably higher still, we stopped at an incredible crossroads. With Gyalli’s small village behind us, mountains and valleys spread out in a cross all around us.

The wind was incredible, whipping into your face like icy paper cuts, whilst in any direction the landscape just dropped away thousands of feet down to the valley below. If you asked a child to draw a mountain valley, this would be it. A near perfect V of mountains, dropping down to a winding river below. Like so much of the Spiti Valley it was an incredibly bleak landscape, a high altitude desert with very little plant life or colour, but again, like so much of the Spiti Valley, it was utterly beautiful.

We were so high up now that snow lined the road. This was very exciting to several of our group as snow is very uncommon in Delhi and Mumbai. A quick snowball fight and lots of photos later it was time to descend back down to Kaza.

A river valley winds far below the deep slopes and towering Himalayan mountains in Himachal Pradesh's remote Spiti Valley, India.

We arrived back in Kaza in time for a late lunch in one of Kaza’s cosy cafes (Cafe Piti). The rest of the afternoon was free, so we decided to take a climb up to the prayer flags and Buddha that stood on the hill overlooking Kaza.

A golden Buddha sits atop of a hill overlooking the small market town of Kaza in India's Spiti Valley.

Starting in the colourful monastery below, we headed up uneven concrete steps, past a school of very young monks before clambering up to the prayer flags.

The view from here was amazing. The statue of the Buddha, being in the place of honour overlooking the town and valley.

From up here you could see all of the life of Kaza. Monks were washing their robes, whilst farmers toiled near the river below. Off to our right, a dust devil was spinning its way down the valley, whilst to the left a dust plume and rumble of engines signalled the arrival of a gang of Royal Enfields.

A dust storm sweeps up the river valley past green fields and snow capped Himalayan mountains in the town of Kaza in India's Spiti Valley.

Heading back to town, we hunted through the shops and bought ourselves a cute Spiti Valley keyring to commemorate our time in Kaza. Outside the shops we encountered our friend Dilpa, she had been following us every time we had come into town, but today had plucked up her ten year old courage to have a chat. We learnt from her that she lived in Kaza and went to school just outside the town. We also learnt that she has fantastic English speaking skills and was utterly adorable!

The busy market street of Kaza in India's Spiti Valley.

The rest of the day was spent packing our bags for the next day and chilling in the cosy Zostel common room with the rest of our group. A couple of sneaky beers later and another delicious dinner it was time to turn in for our final night in the incredible town of Kaza!