Monasteries along the Indus

We decided to drive in the opposite direction from Leh, along the Indus to visit the monasteries there. The photo above is taken at the confluence of the Indus (on the left) and Zanskar  rivers (in the centre).  The landscape was bleak but spectacular.

The first monastery we stopped at was Likir which is one of the oldest and best maintained monasteries in Ladakh.  It is famous for the 75 foot tall statue of Buddha.  Likir means "Naga encircled" - it is believed that 2 serpent spirits protect the monastery.  Likir is a "Yellow Hat" monastery.

The monastery was built like a fort so that the local people could retreat to it as a sanctuary during war.  There are fields at the base, and above them are the monks' residences and then finally at the top are the temples and assembly hall.  Around 120 monks live in this monastery.

After Likir, we drove on to Alchi, where we eventually stopped for lunch in the garden of a lovely little restaurant right outside the monastery.  The village of Alchi is very green, in contrast to some of the other areas of Ladakh and is full of apricot trees and donkeys.  Alchi monastery is one of the most important Buddhist centres in Ladakh and is around a thousand years old so the influence of Tibetan culture is obvious.  There are various shrines and temples covered in amazing wall paintings with thousands of miniature pictures of the Buddha as well as huge clay models.

Our final stop of the day was at Phyang monastery.  At first we thought this monastery was closed/deserted, but eventually we met a monk who opened up various temples and let us in.  In fact the monastery is home to 100 monks and is building a lovely new temple at the back.

People of Ladakh

Tsemo Gompa and Leh Palace

We could see the Tsemo Gompa from our guesthouse so feeling ready for a challenge after 4 days in Ladakh we decided to hike up to it.  It was about 40 minutes uphill and it was pretty exhausting.  Right at the top of the mountain there were some stupas and prayer flags.  Our guesthouse is somewhere below in the valley (I tried to identify it but couldn't).

The view from the Tsemo Gompa was amazing - there was a little platform that you could walk on all around the outside of it.  In both photos you can see the Shanti Stupa over on the far hill.

From the Tsemo Gompa it was a downhill (but not easy!) walk to Leh Palace.  This is a nine-storey building dating from the 1550s.  It was built by the Buddhist kings of Ladakh and was once the world's highest building.  The palace's inward leaning walls are in the same architectural tradition as the otala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

We once again walked down into Leh, did some shopping and had lunch.

Monasteries and Palaces on the Roof of the World

On our third day in Ladakh we felt ready to take a taxi out to some of the more remote regions in order to visit monasteries.  Our trip took us to Hemis and Thiksey Monasteries and Shey Palace.

Stakna Gompa

Hemis Monastery is the largest monastic institution in Ladakh and dates from 1630. This monastery has more than 200 branches throughout the Himalayas and more than 1,000 monks.

Hemis is situated in a craggy, red-rock canyon and is home to Ladakh's Drukpa Buddhists.  It has a superb central courtyard full of colourful timbers and tall masts with prayer flags.

After Hemis we drove to Thiksey Monastery.  Thiksey is on top of a large rocky outcrop and is comprised of layered, whitewashed Tibetan-style buildings.  It's one of Ladakh's biggest monasteries and includes a restaurant where we ate our lunch.  

The main gompa contains a prayer chamber with a 14 metre high Buddha in an ornately detailed headdress.  This temple was consecrated by the Dalai Lama.

Our final stop of the day was at Shey Palace.  This was once Ladakh's summer capital, though it is now abandoned.

Walking to the Shanti Stupa

On our second day in Ladakh we decided we'd do a longer, but still local, walk as we were still getting used to the altitude.  We decided to walk first to the Donkey Sanctuary behind the Silver Cloud, and then walk on to the Shanti Stupa.

The Donkey Sanctuary is for donkeys that have been rescued from mistreatment or end-of-career abandonment.  I'm guessing many of these donkeys have been used for trekking (carrying all the luggage) but there were also some baby donkeys there.

The walk from the Donkey Sanctuary to the Shanti Stupa started off lush and green, but very soon the road became quite barren.  I found it quite a tough walk up to the Stupa.

The Shanti Stupa was built by Japanese monks to promote world peace.  We could see this stupa from our room in the Silver Cloud and also from our balcony.  It was lit up quite beautifully at night.

We walked down into Leh from the Shanti Stupa.  It was 500 steep steps down!

First Day in Ladakh: Walking from Sankar to Leh

Because Leh is at altitude, we knew we had to take it easy for the first 2 days in order to acclimatize.  We therefore spent the first day simply walking down the hill from Sankar (where we were staying at the Silver Cloud guesthouse) to Leh.  On the way we passed many religious sites, for example stupas and prayer wheels.

In Leh we wandered around the town (which was being dug up in a beautification project) and walked down to a cafe called Bon Appetit for lunch.  We grabbed a taxi back up the hill to the guest house.

Leh was once the hub of a bustling caravan trade between the Punjab and Central Asia and between Kashmir and Tibet.