We left Leh behind and finally started our way towards Zanskar. To get there, we had to cover over 450 kilometres. We have decided to take our time and go really slowly - visiting small villages on the way and enjoying the road.
Most of the road from Leh to Kargil goes along the mighty Indus river. One can take part in rafting adventure on the rivers flowing into the Indus. Here is the Zanskar river near Chilling village:
One day, just before entering the village of Alchi we spotted something very rare. Not further than one kilometre from the main Leh-Srinagar highway, right next to a large paddle of murky water we found snow leopards footprints! Many of them, really fresh, probably left in the early morning the same day.
Click on the picture to see the deatails!
We followed the snow leopard’s track for almost 300 hundred meters, after it disappeared into the wilderness.
In Alchi we visited definitely the finest of all Buddhist monasteries we had seen so far. The best of it was painted on the walls of the temple, thousands of miniature Buddhas and Bodhisattvas one next to the other. No photographs allowed inside, we respect that so if you want to see what we mean please check http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/photos/?c=y&articleID=87149052
In another village, Likir, we could enjoy a full spectrum of Buddhist deities, here is a protector almost in union with his partner:
Right in front of the monastery we were amazed by a gigantic Buddha statue:
What was special about travelling towards Zanskar, were the local people. Most of them, especially the woman follow the tradition and dress in Ladakhi clothes.
No, this is not Bolivia. This is India, ladies and gentleman!
Instead of travelling the main highway, we took the small, local roads as much as we could.
On the way to Kragil, almost in the middle, lies Lamayuru with its famous monastery, where an important master called Naropa meditated.
The place is a hot destination for many Buddhist pilgrims.
A stone-throw from the main temple we found a secret “Lion temple” with murals similar to what we have seen in Alchi.
The local people of Lamayuru were truly friendly. We stayed at the guesthouse of a local lady and we could experience a glimpse of the life of the Ladakhi people.
A nice and smooth road took us further towards Kashmir, with more and more adventures awaiting our arrival.
4 Responses to “Leh to Kargil”
Great! Keep on rocking!
Oficjalnie umieram z zazdrości! Trzymajcie się dzielnie, buziaki z Gda- Aga
Hello,
I represent India Perspectives, flagship magazine of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. For a feature in our upcoming issue, we urgently require a photograph of a Ladakh kitchen. It would be great if we could get the permission to use your photograph/s of the same.
India Perspectives is published in 15 languages and distributed in over 170 countries. For more details you can take a look at http://www.indiaperspectives.in
Looking forward to hearing from you at the earliest.
Best regards
Neharika
09871715548