Z is for zzzzzz

Caught this little monk sleeping standing up at one of the monasteries in Ladakh. He remained in this position for about 10 minutes after which he woke up to his head nodding off !

He saw me observing him keenly with my camera in hand and he ran off sheepishly :P 

P is for Pangong Lake !

Lets go back to Ladakh today, to Pangong lake, that is more famously known as the lake where the movie three idiots was shot. 
The lake is mesmerizing and its beauty simply takes your breath away. I really have no words to describe it. So I will just leave you with a few pictures.

Frankly I don't think they do justice to the beauty of the lake but I have tried ! 

 The Lake is supposed to change color almost every hour depending on how the rays of the sun fall on it. 

Can you see the different shades of Blue and green in these pics ! 

I also loved the play of shadow and reflections caused by the sun.

A single cloud in an untarnished bright blue sky ! 

I liked the way the sun lit up these mountains ! 

Pangong Lake is huge, only 25% of it is in India and the rest is in China. 
we walked along the lake for over 2 hours, mostly in silence, lost for words and totally in awe of the incomparable beauty around us. 

Pangong is a remote area.The only way to communicate with the outside world is through a satellite phone at the army camp nearby. Not many people want to spend the night there, But we did and it turned out to be one unforgettable night!

We were far far away from humanity and we could almost hear the silence.
At night the stars seemed so bright and so close to us that we felt we could almost touch them.

In the morning we were rewarded with one of the most glorious sunrises I have ever seen ! 

N is for Nubra Valley !

During my Ladakh trip, I was really excited about seeing the Nubra Valley. It is a high altitude cold Dessert and was once a part of the ancient Silk route.

Nubra valley was undoubtedly beautiful, but what I had not accounted for was the sheer climatic and geographical diversity that I would see there.

To reach Nubra Valley from Leh, One has to cross Khardung La - The highest Motorable road in the world. 

When we left Leh, the snow was still far away.

Then the snow came closer 

And closer. Till the road was like a black snake slithering  through masses of snow.

And then our car was bumping over snow ... 

With so much snow around us Siachen didn't seem too far away ! 

 

Finally we were at Khardung La ! 

The snow was there knee deep ... 

And then we left Khardungla behind 

 As we drove downwards towards the Nubra Valley, the snow that we had played in only an hour back, started receding again ... 

And within a matter of 2 hours we were driving through sheer stone and barren land. 

At Khardungla we were wearing every piece of woolen clothing we possessed and were still freezing. Now as we neared Nubra, the temperature rose steadily and were stripped off all our woolens till were just in our jeans and thin T shirts. 

When we saw the Nubra Valley, we were in for another surprise! It was an oasis of Greenery in an otherwise dry and barren land. 

The valley is fed by the Shyok river and that is the reason why it is so green.

We wanted to see the sand dunes the valley is famous for, and for that we had to drive till the Hundur village. 

Driving over this long flat road surrounded by mountain ranges was an amazing experience.  

Sand Dunes at the Nubra Valley ! 

Nubra valley is also famous for the two humped Bactrian camels – One of the two places in the world where these camels are found.

I have never ever seen such Climatic and Geographical diversity in my life.We had driven down from the highest motorable road in the world and in a matter of 3 Hours we had actually reached a place with camels and sand dunes - All behind a back drop of snow clad mountains. 

It was Incredible !

M is for Monasteries !

I love visiting Monasteries and have been fortunate enough to see quite a few of them in Himachal Pradesh and off course in Ladakh. The biggest difference between the Monasteries in both these places is that the ones in Himachal are all bright and vibrant colors. On the other hand most of the Monasteries in Ladakh  are rather austere.

The terrain is totally different too. Himachal Pradesh, though at a very high altitude is very green. The Himalayas there look very friendly and benign.  Ladakh on the other hand is nothing but barren landscape and black jagged sharp edged mountains that look rather menacing !

We started off with the Lamayuru Monastry near Alchi. To reach Alchi, we passed the Confluence of the Indus and Zanskar river.

A prayer flag flutters over the confluence of the Indus and the Zangskar river - The dark muddy one is the Indus and the one in lighter shade is the Zangskar. You can clearly see the confluence.

 Lamayuru is supposed to be near what was a glacial lake centuries ago. The Lansdscape there is Known as the Moon Landscape. 

When You see it, you  do get an impression that you are not standing on Planet earth but have been taken to another planet.The landscape is eerily like that of the surface of the Moon. It has  a beauty and grandeur of it own. 

The landscape continued to be brown and muddy with no sign of greenery. A few houses clung precariously to the side of the mountain.

The Lamayuru Monastery signified everything Ascetic and Austere.

The young lamas added some color and cheer ! 

The Meditation Chamber for the monks - It stands alone symbolizing abstinence  and solitude.

The inside of the Monastery was bright and colorful, contradicting sharply with the drabness outside !

The next Monastery we visited was the Likir Monastery.
On our way, we saw prayer flags everywhere. Guiding and protecting us on our Journey !

The Likir Monastery, as compared to Lamayuru was a little more colorful ! 

I loved the windows and the corridors ! 

The windows in the above corridor opened to a magnificent view ! 

The colorful drums inside the prayer room ! The yellow robes are worn by the monks and they leave them behind after they finish their prayers. It seems as if the robes are guarding their  places !

The Likir Monastery is most famous for the 23 meter high gilded gold statue of Maitreya or the Future Buddha.

Thursday Challenge -The Hemis Festival at Ladakh !

Today"s Thursday Challenge is "CULTURE" (Food, Dance, Clothing, Festivals,...) 

Last summer I had the opportunity to see the Hemis festival in Ladakh.
 It is one of the most visually enriching and vibrant festival I have ever seen. 

The Hemis monastery is one of the finest and richest in Ladakh. Situated on the outskirts of Leh – around 40 km from the city, Hemis monastery is most famous for the festival it holds annually for two days during the summer.

The monastery started getting crowded from early morning and it was choc a block with not only tourists but locals who had come from far flung villages to see the festival.We actually had to climb on the wall to get a clear view ! 

 Highlight of the festival are the masked dances called Chamm which are performed by the Lamas of the monastery. 

The costumes and masks are brightly coloured  and very elaborate. Since the faces of the lamas are hidden behind the masks, it’s their movements  as well as the elaborately decorated and painted masks that actually depict the nature of the character and the emotions the dancer is portraying.  

Most of the dances portrayed the victory of Good over evil !