The town of Kaza, Kaze or Kaja is the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the state of Himachal Pradesh in the Western Himalayas of India. Spiti, which is a part of the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal, is a high altitude desert having close similarities to the neighbouring Tibet and Ladakh regions in terms of terrain, climate and the Buddhist culture. Kaza, situated along the Spiti Riverriver at an elevation of 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) above mean sea level, is the largest township and commercial center of the valley.
The town is divided into the old and new sections. The new town contains the administrative buildings. The Tangyud (Tang-rGyud) Gompa dates to the early 14th century and is built like a fortified castle with massive slanted mud walls and battlements with vertical red ochre and white vertical stripes. It is on the edge of a deep canyon and overlooking the town of Kaza, 4 km from the town. Approaching it from the south one sees Kyu-ling (Skyid-gling), the stately palace of the Nono on the other side of the river.