Langza is a small village at 4,400 metres, perched on a hillside above the Spiti Valley with a large stone Buddha statue watching over it from the slope above. It is famous among palaeontologists and fossil-hunters for the marine fossils — ammonites, crinoids, and other sea creatures — found scattered in the rocks and soil on the hillsides. The entire landscape was once the Tethys Sea, and the fossils here date back 500 million years.
Villagers collect and sell fossil specimens, ranging from rough ammonite imprints to polished spiral shells that make striking souvenirs. The walk up to the Buddha statue and beyond along the ridge gives sweeping views across the valley and toward the 6,000-metre peaks beyond. Langza is about 15 kilometres from Kaza on a rough road and makes an easy half-day trip, particularly worthwhile in combination with the nearby villages of Hikkim (home to the world's highest post office) and Komic.