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Day 01 DELHI - LEH:
Flight from Delhi to Leh. Assistance & transfer to hotel.
Afternoon free for acclimatisation
Day 02 LEH -
SANKAR MONASTERY - LEH:
Visit to Sankar
Monastery in the morning. This monastery belongs to the Gelugpa
(Yellow Hat) Sect. In the afternoon visit Leh Palace. Rest of
the day at leisure.
Day 03 LEH - STOK
- MATHO - LEH:
Visit to Stok and Matho Monasteries. When monarchy was
abolished in Ladakh, the royal family was compensated by the
palace in Stok. The palace, built in 1814, houses rare royal
ornaments in its museum. The last king of Ladakh died here in
1974. Return to Leh. Afternoon at leisure.
Day 04 LEY/SHEY -
THIKSEY - HEMIS:
Shey was the former summer palace for the kings of Ladakh.
Shey houses the 12 m tall Sakyamuni statue built during the
reign of Senge Namgyal.
45 kms south of Leh lies the most famous monastery in Ladakh,
the Hemis Gompa. The monastery belongs to the Drukpa Kargyud
order of Tibetan Buddhism. Every year the Hemis festival
commemorates the birth of the Indian sage Guru Padmasambhava.
The festival is held from the 9th-11th days of the fifth Tibetan
month (usually sometime between June and July). The biggest
thangkas (religious icons painted or embroidered on cloth) are
displayed every twelve years by the Hemis Gompa. The next event
is scheduled in 2004.
Day 05 LEH - LIKIR
- ALCHI:
Leave for Alchi in the
morning, via Likir. The name Likir is a distortion of the word
Klu-Kkhyil or "spirits of the water.This 14th Century monastery
belongs to the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) Sect. Also known as the
Choes-kor or "religious enclave", the Alchi monastery was built
in the 11th Century by a famous scholar, Rinchen Zangpo. The
abandoned monastery is maintained by monks from the Likir Gompa.
Alchi has murals which predate the Tibetan style of painting,
along with Tabo (Spiti Valley) and Phugtol Gompa (Zanskar
Valley). The murals are the sole survivors of a style of
painting prevalent in the first millennium.
Day 06 ALCHI -
RIZONG - LAMAYURU - ALCHI:
Half an hour to Rizong
Monastery with packed lunch. Nearby is Chomoling, an exclusive
village of nuns. Drive on to Lamayuru. Situated on a drained
lake the monastery at Lamayuru is known for its scenic beauty.
The monastery is the oldest in Ladakh, dating before the 10th
Century, and is built on a sacred Bon (:the pre-Buddhist
religion) site. Lamayuru used to be an asylum for criminals,
though not any longer!
Day 07 ALCHI - DA
HANA - ALCHI:
Drive back along the
Leh-Srinagar highway towards Da Hana.This Dardi village lies
very close to the Indo-Pakistani border. The Dard tribesmen are
one of the purest Aryan tribes in the region.
Day 08 ALCHI -
PHYANG - SPITUK - LEH:
Drive back to Leh. En
route visit the picturesque Phyang Gompa.
Day 09 LEH -
TAKTAK - CHIMRE - LEH:
Drive along the Leh-Manali
road to Chimre Gompa.Taktak is a Nhyingma (Old Sect) monastery.
Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated in a nearby cave.
Return to Leh.
Day 10 LEH -
KHARDUNG - LA/LEH:
A two & a half hour
drive to the second highest motorable pass in the world. On a
clear day, one can enjoy the scenic beauty of the Karakoram
range. Return to Leh.
Day 11LEH - DELHI:
Transfer to Leh
airport & assistance on arrival in Delhi. |
