8Key Monastery, India
High in the Spiti Valley of the Indian Himalayas lies Key Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery that has stood for over a thousand years. At an altitude of 13,668 feet, Key Monastery offers a stark, barren landscape surrounded by snow-capped peaks and rugged terrain. The monastery’s architecture resembles a fortress, with layers of small white buildings stacked against the mountainside. It serves as a spiritual center and a school for young monks, while its remote location provides visitors with a peaceful retreat from the outside world, with breathtaking vistas of the Spiti River below.
