Leh Ladakh | India Tourism

India, Travel
Leh, the capital of Ladakh

I travels to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, staying a few days to get used to the difference in height and the beautiful temples and monasteries in the area today. "You're not really been without Ladakh Tibetan tea to have. This tea is mixed with yak butter and served with tsampa (balls made of flour and butter tea). It is a special experience to be invited by Ladakhi's in their shelter and you there, while talking with hands and feet, surrender to their tea.

Author - Ravinder Kumar

I do open my eyes and stand in the middle of the night at the airport of Delhi face to face with a cleaning lady, she's wearing a beautiful sari. A day later I get very hot, because I am face to face with a devout pilgrim, wrapped in incense fumes. A touch of color and atmosphere of Ladakh you probably know of the India-days in the Beehive, the hip tea garden in the city and the images of National Geographic. Now see, hear, smell, I feel dizzy and my head all at once. I need to sit and close their eyes for a moment. What will I see when I opened them to do?

Early in the morning I make a flight to Leh, which takes approximately 50 minutes. After the oppressive heat of Delhi, now I come over the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, in a fresh to Leh. Leh (3500 m), the capital of Ladakh, I stay a few days to get used to the difference in height and the beautiful temples and monasteries in the area today. Drink, drink and another drink is the remedy for altitude sickness. It is particularly difficult because the thin air. Main purpose of this trip is a spectacular festival Tak Tok, situated in Ladakh (northern India) and receiving the first degree in the Usui System of Reiki by Reiki Master Rebecca Bredenhof. In a meditation hall of a monastery, I receive four attunements (initiations) that awareness of Reiki open.

Packed camels
Until the beginning of this century Leh was an important trading center where caravans from China came to trade their wares. The wide main street reminds us of the days when hundreds packed camels, yaks and horses had to find a place in the bazaar. Leh is the only town in the valley with a market and the entire valley from the throngs of people of Ladakh are to boost their buying and selling to do. Women with high selling sheepskin hats and turquoise jewelry. You're not really been without Ladakh Tibetan tea to have. This tea is mixed with yak butter and served with tsampa (balls made of flour and butter tea). It is a special experience to be invited by Ladakhi's in their shelter and you there, while talking with hands and feet, surrender to their tea. The villages in the area with their apricot orchards are oases amid the bright, dry colors of the surrounding mountains. Firewood, manure and hay are on the roofs to dry, and everywhere waving holy mantras printed prayer flags. On the fields of barley and peas grown. At night there are many restaurants where I eat by candlelight because the electricity often fails.


Leh Palace

The town is dominated by the former Royal Palace, Leh Palace. It was built in the same style as the Potala Palace in Lhasa, but smaller. The building dates from the 17th century and has nine floors. It is in poor condition but has a beautiful location above the city. At the foot of the palace are some temples and gompas (monasteries), Soma Gompa which is the most important. High above the palace is the viewpoint of Namgyal Gompa and a fort on a goat path to reach. A visit to the gompa in and around Leh is very special because of the Buddhist sculptures and manuscripts, but perhaps even more because of the intense atmosphere that often hangs. Below, the main gompas briefly discussed. There are many more and the small gompa are often just as interesting, not necessarily by the art treasures, but the friendly monks.


During their stay in Ladakh, I get the opportunity to some of the most special gompas visit. Stok Gompa is 16 km upstream from Leh across the Indus. This palace houses the former royal family of Ladakh, but a part is opened as a museum, especially thangkas exhibits. These are religious images used to meditate and standard in all temples hang. Alchi Gompa is the most beautiful and largest of the valley with many paintings and carvings. It has beautiful Buddha statues and frescoes in Kashmiri style over the life of Buddha. It is a complex with five temples, the oldest from the 11th century. Alchi itself is a small picturesque village in the mountains.

Gilded Buddha

To the east of Leh, so upstream is Shey Gompa (15 km), the former summer palace of the kings of Ladakh with a 12 meter high gilded Buddha. A little further is the superbly Tikse Gompa with a 15 meter high Buddha. Across the river is the magnificent Gompa Hemis. Built in the 17th century and the largest and richest, but also the most touristy monastery of Ladakh. Hemis is famous for its festival of masked dances that are held in the summer.