Ladakh: Sightseeing & Walks

This day is for taking in the sights of Leh and to use this as an opportunity to acclimatize further. We visit Thicksey Monastery, Stok Palace and the Central Asia Museum in the morning post breakfast. We arrive at our hotel for lunch. After some rest we visit the Hall of Fame and Shanti Stupa.

Thiksey houses one of the largest Buddhist statues, the 15-meter-tall Champa, the Buddha of Future. Thiksey is one of the most frequented and photogenic monasteries in Ladakh. About a hundred plus monks live here.

The Stok Palace is where the current royal family lives. The museum at the Stok Palace has an intriguing collection of Buddhist art, weapons, jewellery and artifacts, including thangkas painted with colours derived from crushed precious stones. Also on display are the ceremonial head dresses or ’peraks’ of the erstwhile rulers of Ladakh. These head-dresses are decorated with turquoise, lapis lazuli and coral and gold, making them an exotic sight.

One of Leh’s most remarkable buildings, this tapered four-storey stone tower is a 21^st century construction based on a historic Lhasa mansion, with the added flourish of a fortress-style drawbridge. Inside, exhibits are relatively limited but the top floor Faces of Ladakh mini-photo essays are thought-provoking.

Post lunch and some rest, we visit the Hall of Fame and head to Shanti Stupa which is a Buddhist white domed stupa on a hilltop in Changspa. We enjoy the panoramic view of the city at sunset. From here we can choose to leave the vehicles and walk down to Leh taking some quite back roads and into the Leh market to wander around at leisure. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Leh.

Post breakfast we start from Leh. On the way we pass the ‘Magnetic Hill’, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, the picturesque sangam of Indus & Zanskar river, to finally reach Lamayuru. We visit the Lamayuru Monastery one of the largest and oldest gompa in Ladakh. The monastery is very striking with its position on top of a beautifully eroded crag, complete with rock pinnacles and caves giving it a fairy tale look.

From here we travel to Nurla and check-in the hotel. Rest of the day is free. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Nurla.

The walk commences after crossing the Nurla bridge over the Indus river. Walking is the only way to get access to the village. The total duration of the walk is almost 3 hours. You start walking, from an altitude of 3000m, from Nurla and then gradually work your way uphill. You will pass through the abandoned “Doksa” (temporary shelter at the farmland). Here one can appreciate the ingenious method of irrigation all along the trail. After walking for an hour or so, you will reach the lower village of Tar, where only one family resides on their agricultural land, practising subsistence agriculture. The beautiful setting of the village with its poplar and willow trees, trails laid with wild roses and apricot trees, along with some ruined steps is calming and almost spiritual. After you continue walking for the next 20 minutes along the willow trees and wild lavender, you will come across the most amazing part of this walk. Here walking inside a tiny little forest of Myricaria and wild barberries that grow by the side of the brook, creates an amazing setting. You will now enter into a narrow gorge with spectacular shiny granite formations. After crossing a small bridge over the brook and walking for 20 minutes uphill, you will enter the main village of Tar; a small village that consists of 7-8 households practising subsistence agriculture along with some livestock. You will finish your walk at the top of the village at the side of the brook. We will arrange a picnic lunch at the side of the brook. We return to our hotel in Nurla on the same path. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Nurla.

Back on the road this time towards Khardungla pass (5602m/18,380 ft.), the world’s highest motor able pass. After a photography session and acclimatization break on the pass we cross it and head towards Nubra valley. Nubra valley is sandwiched between the Karakoram Mountains to the north and the Ladakh range to the south, in between lie the Shyok and the Nubra Rivers. The villages of Nubra valley are scattered along these two valley floors. This is a beautiful region that once formed a part of the Silk route into Afghanistan. Because of the lower altitude a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains are grown, creating an impression of abundance. We go to Hunder village and check into a hotel. After a late lunch the group sets off to visit the white sand dunes and if lucky one can take a ride on the double humped Bactrian camels. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Hunder (Nubra Valley).

After breakfast check out from hotel and drive to Turtuk.

Turtuk is made up of a couple of villages, one of the main ones being Pharol, which sits atop a hill. The popular place to stay in Turtuk, and perhaps the nicest, however, is the recently opened Maha guest house. It has all modern features and amenities including a little garden café, which serves snacks and tea to outsiders as well, not to mention that it lies hidden amidst the fields and narrow lanes of the village of Pharol, adding to its charm.

We trek to the village and the monastery at the top. On the way across the hanging bridge, there is a beautiful brook adjacent to the war memorial for those who fought the Indo – Pak war in Kargil. Pharol itself is a very calm place with agricultural fields of barley and apricot trees growing everywhere. A few houses and guesthouses dot the meandering lanes. Shy, yet friendly girls and children hop around the village, curious to know and meet the rare breed of tourists they come across. Their garb is very different from the rest of the locals in Ladakh, with bright, colorful, contrasting floral prints that stand out amidst all the greenery and stone houses.

At the edge of the hill, there is a cliff from which the entire horizon is visible, with spectacular views of the riverbanks, the underlying plains, and the peaks of Pakistan. Walking down to the plains across the military outpost, just a few kilometers before the Pakistan border, it is remarkable to sit and watch the sunset atop one of the many boulders as dusk sets in, absorbing the quiet yet somber beauty of Turtuk.

Evening we explore the village and visit to kings house. Dinner and overnight stay at guesthouse in Turtuk.

Post breakfast we start for Sumur so as to reach there by lunch. Enroute we visit Diskit Monastery. The Diskit monastery was founded by Changzem Tserab Zangpo in the 14th century. The Diskit monastery is situated on the hill, just above the flood plains of the Shyok River, on its right bank in the Diskit village (3144m/10,315 ft.) in Nubra Valley. Nubra River is a tributary of the Shyok River, which flows parallel to the Indus River on the northern side of the Ladakh Range. The valley was part of the caravan route between Tibet and China. Diskit village and the monastery in the valley have become the congregation centre for people of the region of the valley. Diskit is the headquarters of the Nubra Valley and thus has lot of government offices with basic facilities. From here we travel further to Sumur. We visit the Samstaling monastery.

Post lunch we visit Panamik side and return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Sumur.

Today post breakfast we set off for Pangong Tso, the world’s highest brackish water lake – Pangong Tso, 134 km long and 5 km wide at its broadest point, spans two countries, India & China (2/3^rd of the lake lies in China). Dinner and overnight stay at Deluxe Tented campsite in Pangong Tso.

We get up early morning, experience the sunrise at Pangong Tso. Post breakfast, drive to Chushul. Dinner and overnight stay in Deluxe Tented Campsite at Pangong Tso.

After breakfast we start our drive to Hemis. Hemis stands on the western bank of the Indus River. The monastery also boasts of a very rich collection of ancient relics. The Hemis Monastery also serves as the venue of an annual festival known as the Hemis Festival.  Dinner and overnight stay in a hotel in Leh.

After breakfast, we drive to the airport. Final Departure.

End of arrangements…