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Published: August 9th 2007
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What can I say... new morning, brilliant sun in Leh...
Better mood already and some facts about Ladakh and Leh... Ladakh is a high-altitude plateau north of the Himalaya situated geographically in Tibet. It's a miniature version of Tibet, the people are Tibetan in their culture and religion, and there are many Tibetan refugees. The Ladakh and Zanskar regions of India, although not politically part of Tibet and China, lie on the outer regions of the Tibetan plateau. These regions share a spiritual center in Tibet, and remain among the last outposts of Tibetan Buddhism. Yep, when you look at the faces, they don't resemble to be indian, but tibetan... and when you see how far and detached Ladakh is from the rest of India you know why that is the fact. Actually, there is still very strong community of tibetan refugees, and buddhism is a majority religion (more than 80%). Not to even mention a very strong presence of indian army, which has outposts every few kilometres...
Leh used to be an important stopover on trade routes (old trade route through Nubra valley was closed in 1949) along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to
the west and ultimately between India and China. The region was completely closed for outsiders until 70's, when also the roads towards Srinagar and Manali were built. Well, the region and the city of Leh lost some importance in the last 100 years, but today is a tourist hub for trekkings and all kinds of outdoor activities in the region.
The town is dominated by the royal palace, known as Leh Palace. This was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century, but was later abandoned when Kashmiri forces besieged it in the mid-19th century. The royal family moved their premises south to their current home in Stok Palace on the southern bank of the Indus. The Leh Palace is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, the stables and store rooms are located in the lower floors. Above Leh palace, on a cliff, there is a buddhist monastery with excellent views over Zanskar mountains in the south and especially Stok Kangri (one of the highest peaks near Leh). I visited both places in the afternoon, just to have a great afternoon light when I was on the top of the monastery... eh, colours of
the sky to remember...
In the morning, first destination was Shanti stupa. It is located on ridge about 1km from Leh through the village of Changspa. It was built by a Japanese order (as a part of several peaces stupas in the world) and has wonderful views over Leh and the Indus valley - not even to mention snowy mountain range on the north with visible road towards the Khardung La pass - highest motorable mountain pass in the world. The stupa istelf was built in 1980s and is an interesting monument decorated with colourful paintings and enshrines large statues of Buddha.
After two acclimatisation ascents and sightseeing it was time to get something to eat... near the old post office (well, there is no post office there now - actually, i couldn't find one in Leh, just one, very battered mailbox) there is a great place to have a tandoori prepared meals... not so cheap, but tasty chicken... 😊
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