The Monasteries of Ladakh
In the very far north of the country and only an hours flight from Delhi is located the remote and culturally distinct region of India with breathtaking ancient towns, monasteries and some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the world.
Ladakh, often thought of as a smaller version of Tibet, is a
The Ladakhi people have endured centuries of invasions from the Mongols of central Asia, the Baltis from Baltistan that lies to the west, the Dogras from the south and occasionally, even the Tibetans from the east. Today, their mixed ethnic origins are reflected in their faces and in their resilience as they confront rapid modernity that threatens to overwhelm their ancient culture.
A visit to some of Ladakh’s principal monasteries, particularly during the time they hold their colourful festivals is something that I had wanted to do for long. With anticipation, I took the remarkable flight that takes you from Delhi to the almost surreal landscape of Ladakh in an hour. This surely is one of the most sensational scheduled flights in the world, taking you right over the top of the Greater Himalaya and a spectacular landscape of glaciers, snow covered peaks and fertile valleys before descending to land at the airport at Leh. Due to the effects of high altitude, it is a good idea to spend the first day or two at leisure with some easy walks to the local bazaar. The old part of Leh is a maze of narrow streets, temples and bazaars and is a great place to explore.
Leh was the ancient capital of Ladakh and its kings once commanded a huge territory stretching from Baltistan in the west to almost as far as Lhasa in Tibet to the east. Leh, was for centuries at the centre of the trade in fine pashmina wool, once worth its weight in gold. Heavily laden yak and pony caravans brought in pashmina from Tibet, turquoise, coral and silver from Yarkand and Kashgar in central Asia, spices and fabrics from India and silk from Kashmir. The Yarkandi and Kashmiri merchants of Leh were renowned for their immense wealth. William Moorcroft and John Trebeck, two English explorers visiting Leh in 1836, were stunned to see a town of such wealth located in the midst of what was obviously arid desert land.
The Royal Palace which dominates the town is reminiscent of the Potala in Lhasa and the Tibetan Buddhist style monasteries, large white painted stupas (chortens), prayer flags and mud brick houses with flat roofs are a dramatic change in style from other Indian cities.
Given the large number of Indian and overseas tourists that visit Leh during the summer months, there are a wide range of hotels to choose from. One of the oldest and best known is the Lharimo Hotel, run by the Kalon family. After a comfortable nights rest, I started my monastery exploration the following morning with a visit to the Sankar Gompa (monastery). This gompa belongs to the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat order of Tibetan Buddhism and houses a beautiful impression of the Buddhist deity, Avolokiteshwara Padmahari with a thousand arms and heads. The hill on which the nearby Shanti (Peace) stupa is located offers excellent views of Leh town, parts of the Indus River Valley and the imposing 6100m (20,100 ft) high peak of Stok Kangri that dominates Leh.
Standing behind Leh town and the bazaar like a sentinel is the Leh Palace. This imposing building rises from the edge of a hill overlooking the town. Built in the 17th century, Leh Palace was occupied by the Ladakhi royal family until the 1830's. Today the palace is deserted and is being restored section by section by UNESCO.
Leh is located besides the Indus river that enters India from Chinese Tibet and then flows through Ladakh before crossing over into Pakistan controlled areas. Both up and downstream of Leh are located a string of important Ladakhi monasteries. A short walk up the road from the Lharimo Hotel is Leh’s central taxi stand from where I hired a Tata Sumo vehicle for the drive to Shey, further east along the Indus valley. Shey, the old 'summer palace' of the kings of Ladakh, was built about 550 years ago by the first king of Ladakh. From Shey Palace you can see over the fertile Indus plain northeast to Thikse Gompa and over the Indus valley to the Zanskar mountain range to the south.
From Shey I continued eastwards to Thikse Gompa. This 500-year-old monastery, perched on a hill high above the Indus and has the largest number of monks in Ladakh. On the right of the entrance to the main courtyard is a chapel with an enormous 15 mtrs (50 foot) high-seated Buddha figure. About 100 yellow-hat monks belong to Thikse.
The next day, a drive west on the arid and high plateau following the Indus river downstream brought me to Alchi, one of the largest ancient monastic complexes and important Buddhist centre in all of Ladakh. Founded in the 11th century by Rinchen Zhangpo, one of the early Tibetan preachers who brought Tibetan Buddhism to this part of the world, Alchi has recently undergone major restoration work under UN sponsorship. The 1000-year old paintings inside the main temple are some of the oldest of their kind and quite distinct from the murals present in the later built gompas.
On my return towards Leh, the guide made sure that we stopped to see the location where the grey waters of the Indus river meet the blue waters of the Zanskar River flowing from the remote Zanskar region of the Greater Himalaya. A detour from the main road brought us to Likir Monastery (gompa) set on an isolated ridge. This magnificent gompa, overlooking the village of Likir, was founded in the 14th century and the head lama here is the younger brother of the Dalai Lama.
Hemis is perhaps the most important of the monasteries of the Indus valley and was founded about 350 years ago by Stagtshang Rinchen, who was invited to Ladakh by the ruler King Singe Namgyal. Hemis gompa is dramatically hidden in a cleft the mountains and while driving to Hemis, you actually do not see the monastery until you are almost directly in front of it. Hemis also has a gigantic thangka or painted scroll, one of the largest in the world and the most important in Ladakh.
The 10th day (Tsechu) of the Tibetan lunar month is celebrated here as the birthday of Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), considered to be the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. The Hemis gompa celebrates the event in the form of a two day festival during which the resident Lamas (monks) perform sacred masked dances. The festival in Hemis showcases the best of cultural heritage of the region. Splendid masked dances are performed to the accompaniment of cymbals, drums and long horns. A colourful fair, displaying beautiful handicrafts, is also one of the highlights of the Hemis festival.
Taking a day off from visiting monasteries, I took a half-day jeep tour up the hairpins of the Ladakh Range that stands behind Leh driving along the road to the Nubra Valley to visit the Khardung La Pass located at a height of 5470mtrs (18,400 ft). Khardung La is the highest vehicle accessible pass in the world. The views of the Zanskar Range and the Indus Valley on the way up are amazing as are occasional sightings of yaks on the high pastures below the pass itself. For most visitors, this is perhaps the highest point that they will have travelled to in their lifetime. My week long journey to ‘Little Tibet’ ended the following day and I flew south with a promise to return.
QUICK FACTS:
WHY GO THERE: One of the most culturally disctinct parts of northern India, a trip to Ladakh and the Indus valley will give you an insight into the peace loving Tibetan Buddhist traditions that flourishes in Leh and the villages of this high altitude arid landscape of high snow peaks and brown earth. Festival dates are available on: http://www.reachladakh.com/festival_dates.htm
GETTING THERE: The easiest route is to fly to Leh airport from Delhi or else take the adventurous overland two to three days road trip along the famous Manali-Leh ‘highway’ from Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
WHERE TO STAY: Hotel accommodation and local travel arrangements are best arranged online with Ladakhi tour operators. A list of hotels is available at the official Ladakh Tourism website- http://leh.nic.in/Tourism.htm. Local transport can easily be booked either through your hotel or the local central taxi stand.
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