Head Count: around 200

The Skinny: India claims Kibber as the highest village in the world accessible by road. This seems to be disputed by many but Kibber is, in any case, a friendly and interesting little village at over 12,000 ft in elevation. Winters force Kibberites inside their sturdy stone homes from October to May, while summer months are spent growing crops and animals to last the next long winter.

What Thar Be: Not much as far as tourist sites stand within Kibber, but the views are amazing and many footpaths offer entrance to a landscape with snowy mountains and deep gorges. All local animals are tended in shifts, grazing together in nearby fields and returning to town at dusk. Every night we enjoyed the scene of squawking goats, baying donkeys, lumbering yaks, and confused sheep all trying to find their own pens for the night.

Digs: We stayed at the Norling Guest Houseat the entrance to town, where the food blew us away. It was better than anything we'd eaten in months.

Vittles: see "Digs" section...

Hooch Factor: The man working at the Norling brought us some local brew called Chang, made from fermented rice. It was not very good, and we didn't drink much of it. Fermented millet is worth a pull, but more popular in north-eastern India.

Navigability: No need, and no way, to drive within village.

Sliding In and Out: Kibber to Chota Dara is a diffucult and rocky road, with beautiful mountain scenery, glaciers everywhere, but really rough riding.