The Spiti sub-division is even more difficult than Lahul in terms of, terrain, climate and habitation. It is less accessible and less developed than Lahul with which it stands back to back. It is vastly different from the regions that surround it, and thus it has its own mountain ranges. Within it also ruggedness of terrain is the rule, level areas are few and of limited extent. Spiti mountain ranges belong to the Great and Middle Himalayas. The sub-division lies at a mean elevation of about 4570 metres. The average elevation of the mountain ranges is over 5,485 metres above sea level which is somewhat higher than what is found in Lahul. The valleys in Spiti are some 610 metres higher than Chandra and Bhaga. The Tsarab valley has a minimum elevation of about 4,270 metres and the lowest parts of Spiti valley are considerably higher than 3,350 metres above sea level. The drainage of the northern waste of Tsarab flows into the Indus, while that of the main Spiti valley, and its tributaries, join the Satluj.
The name Spiti (Tibetan: sPiti) means "middle land" : the land between India & Tibet. Local people divide spiti into four units based on aspect and elevation : |
SHAM (lower region) which lies on both sides of the main river between its confluence with Lingti and its junction with the Pare Chu. |
PIN which lies on both sides of the Pin river. Pin is the home of chaumurti horses and the mysterious Buzhen lamas, famous for performing a unique trance ritual in which demons hiding in a rock are banished after a long ceremony in which the rock is broken on the chest of a monk. |
BHAR (middle region) which is the local name for the Spiti valley lying between the point where Shillah Nullah meets the main river about 3 kilometers above Kaza and Sham. Bhar owes its importance to Spiti's biggest monastery, Kye Gompa, and to its second most beautiful, the Serkhang of Lhalung in the Lingti valley. |
TUD (higher region) which includes all portions of the territory above Bhar.This region includes several minor but important villages like Hansa, Kyoto and Lossar which have preserved the traditional life-style of the Spitians.
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| Rivers, Lakes, Peaks, Glaciers & Passes |
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