The World’s Highest Post Office

In an urban locale, post offices might seem like a thing of the past. But in places like Hikkim, situated in the world’s most isolated regions, its post office is the area’s only connection to the world.

World's Highest Post Office

It’s an arduous journey. High mountain passes, unspoilt skies and snow-capped peaks. Trodding this road are two postmen, who make this 46km round-trip on foot each day, delivering mail to Kaza, the capital of Spiti Valley. Serving four or five villages in northern India’s Spiti Valley — where cell phone reception is low and internet has not yet arrived — the Hikkim Post Office is the region’s only connection to the rest of the world.

Spitians come here in small numbers, depositing money, sending a letter or neatly-wrapped packages from remote communities located nearly 14,500 ft above the sea.

Postmaster Rinchen Chhering has been here since its inception in 1983. Under the slow turn of the skies, he and his dedicated postmen have worked here for over thirty years, carrying out the difficult work to keep their communities connected to the world at large.

Communal affinity, harmony with nature and strong Buddhist faith have helped the region flourish in a simple, but fully cultural landscape. Lurking behind every mountain peak and rock formation is a story handed down by generations. One such legend reportedly attributes changes in the colour of a mountain’s peak to the many moods of a deity.

One of the settlements connected by the post office is Komic, a village that’s home to around 150 dwellers. Situated at an elevation of 4,587m, Komic is also one of the highest villages on earth accessible by road.

Inside this idyllic region, one would find around a dozen houses, a school for five students and an ancient monastery acting as the dwellers' spiritual compass. For the monks who reside here, as well as those in the surrounding hamlets, the post office has another integral role to play. When they undertake pilgrimages to other holy sites overseas, monks rely on its services to get their passbooks, passports and other documents in order.

Monasteries which dot the landscape are also crucial, allowing residents to have a place where they can gather and pray together. Here, the residing monks pass on centuries-old knowledge, a message of compassion, community and generosity that strengthens the social, cultural and spiritual lives shared by the inhabitants.

On the other hand, a more globalised change has also slowly begun to creep into Hikkim and its nearby dwellings. While the community continues to thrive in isolation, most of the younger generation have now relocated to larger cities in search of better work.

For those who remain however, this connectivity becomes all the more crucial, integral, and at times, their only link to the external world. But even this comes with complications. Extreme weather and snowfall in the region bring the post office’s operations to a halt for nearly six months during a year.

But as soon as the skies clear, the next batch of mail is dispatched diligently by the postman. They set off with the same pin code: 172114, each on a different journey. But these letters also seem to bear a bit of Spiti itself. Camaraderie, connectivity, resilience - all become stamps of the region’s distinct terrain which bring us closer to understanding, connecting, and thanks to the postal office, even perhaps communicating.

Spiti's inhabitants