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Tourist
Sights in Ladakh |
Posted:
Jun 24, 2003 11:42 AM |
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In Leh and
Ladakh, there are many tourist sights and things to see here. I would like
to name several of them in this posting. I will start with the Leh city, and
then branch out to the east, west and north. Finally, I will list specific
treks available here.
Leh: Main Bazaar, Fort Road, Old Leh Road and Chanspa Road. These four roads
form the center of tourist activity here in Leh. And, are there ever the
tourists here this year! After last year’s tensions with Pakistan and the
lack of tourists, we NEED a good tourist season here. And, it is looking
very promising. I just wish that all of these tourists had the sense to
dress appropriately for the culture here. Tie-dye, off-color hair, and
ladies with legs and entire arms showing are not right for this place.
Besides the usual businesses that are open year-round, there are now many
hotels and guesthouses, more restaurants than before, and many Kashmiri
shops selling tourist items. AND, THE GERMAN BAKERIES ARE NOW OPEN AGAIN! My
favorite bakery is the Pumpernickel, which is run by two Sikh’s. Just
tonight, I again had their Mango Crumble, which is my favorite. It is like a
pie with a crumbled top to it. The Amdo Café has excellent Chinese spring
rolls, the Budshah Inn has out-of-this-world Kashmiri chicken and mutton
dishes, and the Tso Kar and High Life restaurants have superb Tibetan food.
But, my favorite are the momo’s which are like steamed dumplings in
America’s Chinese restaurants. And all of my Kashmiri friends are back, and
expecting me to buy things like Pashmina, carpets, paper mache, thonkas,
jewelry and almost anything else that they have.
Leh: Old Leh. Old Leh village is something like what you imagine of Old
Jerusalem or such places. There are few streets wide enough for more than
motorcycles. So, it is foot traffic in a maze of paths and walkways between
buildings. Many dogs abound, and the smell of urine is predominant. I love
going there and trying to get myself lost and then finding my way back out
to a familiar landmark. In Old Leh is also the polo field where they play
polo in the festival in September. They also have cultural events there, and
a huge display on Independence day (August 15th). I also like the Moti
Market, which is back in there. You can buy almost any kind of clothing
there, as well as practical items; and at locals’ prices not tourist prices.
I bought several cassettes and CD’s of Ladakhi pop music in there!
Leh: Old Palace and Namgyal Fort. The old palace sits right above Old Leh on
the hillside. It is smaller, but similar in appearance to the Potala in
Lhasa, Tibet. In fact, the one here predates the potala by 30 years, and
they modeled the one in Tibet after the one here! It is in disrepair now,
though, so it is hard to get permission to go very far inside. Some monks
still live up there and put on cultural shows, and (of course) charge
tourists to see the temples there. Above the palace is the Namgyal fort,
named after the famous Namgyal dynasty, of which I have met a few members.
The fort sits about 400 feet above Leh, and I go there almost every month at
night around the time of the full moon.
Leh: Shanti Stupa. This stupa sits on the west side of Leh city, just
opposite the palace. It is on a small hill. It is also out of place, as it
is a Zen stupa built by the Japanese (who had the money). Zen is not
practiced by Ladakhi’s. But still, the view is excellent from there, and
this is another place I frequent during full moon.
North: Khardung La. 41 Road kilometers north of Leh is the Khardung La. It
is billed as the highest motorable road in the world at 18,600 feet, and is
actually kept open year-round by the army. But, there is a volcano in the
Andes that has a road higher. Still the views are great. 41 road kilometers
translates into about 20 if you follow the drainage and avoid the
switchbacks. I walked back to Leh that way once in 4 hours!
North: Nubra Valley. The next valley north of Leh is across the Khardung La.
And, this is the Shyok River Valley and the Nubra area. An “inner-line”
permit is needed for this, though, and is easy to get. In the Nubra, there
are some quiet villages, a hot springs, some gompas (monasteries) and
2-humped camels to see.
East: Choglamsar. 5 kilometers east of Leh is this village, which is home to
several thousand Tibetan refugees. This is also the place where the Dalai
Lama is now on retreat. There is a huge park there where he will be speaking
to 20,000 people for 4 days next week. My favorite ponymen also live here.
East: Shey. 10 kilometers. The old palace and temple are here, before Leh
became the capitol of this area. It is actually one of 4 or 5 places that
had palaces at one time. This one is unique, though, because of the huge
40-foot inside Buddha that sits 3 stories high.
East: Thiksey. 15 kilometers. Just beyond Shey is Thiksey and the largest
monastery in Ladakh. This one also has a huge Buddha statue. The setting is
beautiful with the monks’ houses sitting right on the cliff. I used a
picture of this hill one year as a Christmas card photo.
East: Stok. 15 kilometers. The same distance as Shey, but southeast of Leh.
From Choglamsar, it requires a bridge crossing of the Indus River. Stok is
on the opposite hillside, and is the base for climbs up Stok Kangri, the
tallest peak in this area. There is an old palace here also, which I was not
impressed with. Mostly because a huge crane and radar tower will be in ANY
photo you take of the building. The also charge too much for their museum.
East: Matho. 20 kilometers. Beyond Stok is Matho. Not much to see here,
except for a gompa. During their festival in March, though, they have an
oracle that goes into a trance and runs along and jumps from the balconies
of that gompa. He cuts his tongue and arms with a sword, drinks boiling
water and other things while in this trance. I saw it, and thought it was
fake. He was drugged, to be sure, but not in a spiritual trance. But a lady
in the audience DID become possessed by demons for about 5 minutes, and THAT
was real!
East: Hemis. ??? Not sure of the distance, but I’d say maybe 35 kilometers.
Huge gompa and the largest festival of the year are here. This will be on
July 9th and 10th, and I’ll probably avoid the throngs of tourists going
there. This is the most influential gompa here, and they rule villages a
LONG ways away. There is also supposed to be evidence of Jesus visiting here
during the 20 years of silence about him in the Bible. But, the book I’ve
read about this had very flimsy evidence about this and I don’t believe this
to be more than just wishful thinking.
East: Pangong Lake. This is a jeep tour that is a 2-day trip to this lake.
It is 100 miles long, and stretches into Tibet (Chinese territory). I’d like
to cross the border here sometime, but I’m told it is a long shot, or
perhaps a “Burntfoot shot.” This trip, though, is supposed to be beautiful.
I had one friend who did it and was stranded there an extra day due to a
snowstorm on the pass.
East: Tso Kar and Tso Moriri. These are the other jeep tours this direction
that you can take. The Tso Kar is a salt lake, and Tso Moriri is fresh
water. I will be trekking by these two lakes in July on my Changtang trek,
and hope to see the nomad people that live in this remote area. Also some
rare bird species said to be over there.
West: Spituk. 3 kilometers. An old palace is here also. I’ll have to see
that yet before I leave.
West: Phyang. 12 kilometers. The next village west of here. I’ve hiked over
the hill on the trekking route there twice. Once was by moonlight overnight,
and the other time was daytime in winter on snow (see snow leopard post).
The gompa there is good, but that is about all there is to see.
West: Basgo. ??? From here west, I’m not sure of distances. But, I will take
the villages in order. Basgo has an old palace that is being renovated as a
World Heritage Site. Travel agencies overlook this in favor of the next two
places I’ll mention, but I like it better than the others. It is an old
palace that is in ruins, but inside are three temples that include excellent
paintings. And, one of them has a HUGE Buddha larger than the one in Shey,
and built by that builder’s father.
West: Likir. Likir has a gompa up the valley that has excellent Buddha
statues inside the four temples, as well as a huge 75 foot one outside the
gompa. This is the only outside Buddha that I know of here. I have not seen
any other gompa, either, with as many statues. And, there is a museum with
paintings going back 500 years on cloth. Great view across the valley.
West: Alchi. Alchi is across the Indus from Likir, but you have to go the
long way through Saspol to get to the access bridge over the river. Alchi is
the one gompa low by the river, rather than on a prominent hillside. As a
result, this one was not destroyed by Muslim invaders in the 1600’s and has
wall paintings and statues dating back a thousand years.
West: Dah-Hanu Valley. This one also needs an inner-line permit. Very steep,
narrow gorge of the Indus here, and a nice place to relax at the various
villages.
West: Lamayuru. A great setting for a monastery here. No great paintings or
statues; just a picturesque building that is on many postcards. Quiet
village with 4 guesthouses to stay at.
West: Mulbekh. This is the last Buddhist area before Kargil.
West: Kargil. 212 kilometers. A muslim area, but pretty safe now. Mosques
are interesting, but watch for pickpockets. Pakistan shelling of this area
has now died down.
South: Zanskar. 370 kilometeres. To get to Rangdom Monastery and Padum
requires a horrible 2-day bus trip or a 9-day trek in from one of the two
roads (Leh and Manali). A nice area that is half Buddhist and half Muslim in
a peaceful valley.
All of the following treks are scenic, so I will give sketch details, and
you can contact me for more specific information. Check “Trekking in Ladakh”
by Charlie Loram. It is a Trailblazer guidebook.
Trek: Markha Valley – 8-10 days. Moderate
Trek: Lamayuru to Chilling – 5 days. Moderate
Trek: Lamayuru to Alchi – 6 days. Strenuous
Trek: Lamayuru to Padum – 9 days. Strenuous
Trek: Padum to Darcha – 9 days. Moderate
Trek: Likir to Temisgam – 3 days. Easy
Trek: Nubra via Digar La – 6 days. Moderate
Trek: Nubra via Lasermo La – 5 days. Strenuous
Trek: Stok Kangri. 3-4 days. Strenuous
Trek: Karnak/Rupshu 17-24 days. (I’ll let you know in August)
Trek: Stok to Spituk. 4 days. Moderate
Trek: Back routes to Padum. 15 days. Impossible before September due to high
water and 50+ fords
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I Love the Mountains |
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