Perched at an altitude of nearly 13,668 feet, Key Monastery is one of the oldest and most iconic monasteries in Spiti Valley. Surrounded by the rugged Himalayas, its peaceful atmosphere and rich Buddhist heritage make it a place where you can simply pause and soak in the serenity of the mountains.

After spending some time exploring the monastery, we stepped out knowing that the skies here would be incredibly dark after sunset. We parked our car near a cliff and waited. From there, we could see the Spiti River quietly carving its way through the valley between the villages. Before the wait began, we enjoyed a cup of the famous sea buckthorn tea, which was both refreshing and much needed in the chilly mountain weather.

As the monastery slowly transitioned from daylight into twilight, we waited for the stars to appear. When darkness finally took over, we caught our first glimpse of the Milky Way. The sky was unbelievably clear, and seeing the bright band of our galaxy stretching above the monastery was a moment I’ll never forget. I quickly set up my Sony A7 III camera, mounted on a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i star tracker and a Leofoto tripod, and started capturing the scene.

Unfortunately, our clear skies didn’t last long. Just as we were planning to capture more images, clouds rolled in and completely covered the stars. It was disappointing, but we were grateful to have captured a few frames above this beautiful monastery before packing up for the night.

Although the clouds cut our session short, we left with a few images and countless memories. Looking back, that was more than enough.

Gears Used

📷 Sony A7IIIa

🔭 Sigma 24-70 f2.8 DG DN Art lens @24mm

⚙️ Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro

🔭 Leofoto LS-285 C Tripod

⏲️ Aodelan Intervalometer

Capture Details

⚪ 7 Frames x 60 Seconds

🔊 ISO 640 | F2.8

🗻 Foreground shot in Blue Hour

📍Location: Key Monastery, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh

⬆️ Altitude: 13668 Feet

🌌 Sky Bortle Scale: 1

✨ SQM: 22

🌤 Weather Condition: Clear and Windy

Processing Details

Stacked in Sequator

Post Processing in Photoshop