Our trip to Ladakh

Day 2: We started with Shey palace then went to Druk white lotus school which was used for shooting in 3 idiots. The school has got many awards even before being featured in 3 idiots. They are doing excellent job for the local kids. They do have hostels for kids who cannot travel daily as they live in remote villages in Ladakh. Most of the people come there because of the 3 idiots fame. After this we went to Hemis gompa and it was closed for lunch. We had lunch in a near by restuarant and waited for them to open. The paintings in the Gompa was very beautifull, they have a museum which has many antiques. We left Hemis and decided to visit Thiksey gompa on the next coming days[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]. After this we went to Stok palace. They
have unique collection of costumes worn by Namgyal dynasty which is the royal dynasty of Ladakh. They have beautifull jewelry used by Ladakhis in the olden days. The present generation of the Namgyal dynasty lives there in a seperate portion of the palace. It started raining and we drove back to our hotel in Leh.

1. Shey Palace

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2. A room full of lamps in Shey Palace



3. Durk White Lotus School



4. Hemis Gompa



5. Prayer wheels inside Hemis Gompa

 

1. Buddha Statue inside Hemis Gompa



2. Beautiful paintings inside Hemis Gompa



3. Outside Hemis



4. Stok Palace



5. This is how Ladakhis carry their kids

 

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Day 3 We were going to our much awaited place the serene Pangong Lake. We left the hotel after the break fast. We travelled through the passes and reached Changla. It was very cold and army was giving complimentary tea for the travellers. It was advised not to stay more than 20 mins there. We just stayed there for 10-15 mins and then started our journey to Pangong. We stopped for lunch in a Ladakhi guest house come resto. Even though it was a small place it was super clean and the resto was so colour full.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]We had our lunch and then continued our journey to the lake. We reached the lake by late in the noon. We stayed in the Watermark camps. The weather was very cold. We had a quick dinner and stayed in our tents. The tents does not any heaters, just the thick blankets and it was sufficient. I wonder how would be the weather in winter, hope to visit Ladakh in winter once to get the feel of it...I was struggling to get sleep in that cold weather.

1. There is a old Ladakhi saying that the weather in Ladakh is so harsh that only best of friends or worst of enemies will visit Ladakh



[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]2. Way to Chang la

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[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]3. Innovative Boards by BRO

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[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]4. Chang La

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[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]5. Chnag la baba Mandir

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1. Ladakhi Guest house cum resto



2. Ladakhi Shepherd



3. First Glimpse of Pangong Lake



4. Water Mark Camp, Pangong Lake



5. Beauty Of Pangong

 

Day 4 The next day we woke up to see there was some shortage of water. Some how managed to get some hot water to freshen up. We had break fast walked along the lake for some more time and then left to Leh. Only one third of Pangong lake is in India and the two third belongs to China.


We again travelled to Chang La and reached Thiksey by late in the noon. Had a quick lunch near the Thiksey gompa and then entered the monastary. The Maithreya statue in Thiksey is spectacular. Haven't seen such a statue of Buddha before. We walked through the building terrace spoke to the other travellers and then left to Sindhu ghat.Sindhu ghat which is a river bank for Sindhu river. Sindu river is one of the longest river in asia which originates close to Mansarovar Lake and Mt Kailash in Tibet and then enters India and then Pakistan by flowing through the Leh Valley.

1. Beautiful Views Of Pangong Lake







2. Flowers near Pangong



3. Thiksey Gompa

 

1.Thiksey Gompa







2. View from Thiksey Gompa



3. Sindhu Ghat

 

Thanks @KashmirFlower @g3sudha and @premabarani