Shanti Stupa is situated at a height of 4267 meters overlooking the Leh city, it gives a panoramic view of surrounding snow capped mountains . Situated at a distance of about 5 km drive able road from the Leh city or one can reach here by climbing 500 steps . The location of Shanti Stupa is such that it is visible from all over Leh city.
It is built as a two level structure, a flight of stairs leads to the first level where a Dharmchakra (as in white strip of Indian national flag) with two deer on each side, features a central image of Lord Buddha in golden colour sitting on a platform turning the Dharmchakra wheel, the second level depicting the birth of Buddha, defeating of devils in meditation and death of Buddha along with many small images of meditating Buddha, all embossed in vibrant colours.
Hemis Gompa in Hemis town 40 km from Leh city , it is a famous monastery founded by King Senge Nampar Gyalva in 1672 AD, every year in the month of July a colorful festival is held in the compound attended by not only the locals but people from all over the world. Hemis gompa is also believed to have been established in 1630 by Lama Tagstang Raspa and built by Palden Sara under the patronage of King Sengge Namgyal on a site previously sanctified by the construction of a cave hermitage dating from the 12th century.This monastery is the oldest one in the area belonging to the Kargyu school.
This two-day festival depicts a dance-homage to the birth anniversary of Lord Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche. The festival is the largest and biggest of the Tibetan Buddhist Gompa festivals in Ladakh. It is celebrated across three days from the 9th to the 11th day of the fifth month of the lunar Tibetan calendar, vibrant and endless dances are accompanied by discordant sounds of cymbals, large-pan drums, small trumpets and large size wind instruments. The lamas get transformed into demons and gods , bang on drums and crash symbols together as others gyrate and leap to fight off demons.
Thikse Gompa( Monastery) is 19 km from Leh at an altitude 3600 meters from Sea , it is a Tibetan Buddhist Monastry establised in early 15th Centenary of Gelugpa School. It has a resemblance of Potala Palace in Lahsa. It is a Twelve Story structure , built as a Fort Monastery it is the largest structure in Ladakh, its position is such that is gives excellent East and West view of Indus plains , Matho Gompa in the East, Royal Palace of Stok across the Indus and Shey Palace to the West have excellent views.
The main attraction is fifteen meter tall Maitreya Buddha statue largest in Ladakh besides Buddhist art stupas, Thangkas, wall paintings and arms. Sherab Sangpo one of the Six disciples of Tsongkhapa founder of Gelugpa school carried bone powder and drop of blood of his Guru Tsongkhpa and a small statue of Amitayus as a gift for king of Ladakh in early 15th Centenary in 1433 with the help from King a small monastery in a village of Stagmo, to the north of the Indus river was shifted to this place , legend is when Sangpo after the prayers, offering kept in a plate were taken away by two crows, later it was found the offerings with plate were lying at a stone in an undisturbed condition , it was taken as a divine directive to build a monastery here . Thikse became prominent second to Hemis Monastery in Ladakh.
Shey is on Leh Manali road , located near Thikse monastery on a hillock about 15 kms from Leh. Large number of rock carvings, stupas and monastries are on this road , it has also the biggest Chorten field with hundreds of various size of shrines scattered across the desert land scape.Shey Palace and Gompa complex was built in around 1650 AD by the King Deldon Namgyal used it as a summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh, it is in ruins now. Shey Monastery was built in the memory of his father Singay Namgyal within the palace complex.
It is famous for the giant statue of Shakyamuni Budha second largest in Ladakh made of Copper with gold plating. Dogras of Jammu invaded Leh in 1834 Namgyal King abandoend Shey and made Stok acrossed the Indus river as their permanent residence.
Pather Sahib gurdwara is located on Leh-Nimu road 25 km from Leh , this place is equally respected by Buddhist Lamas,Hindu and Sikhs.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji traveled to Nepal,Tibet and Sikkim during 1515 – 1518, on his return to Srinagar he stopped here and came to know about a demon who troubled the people in this area and wanted his help , to bring him on the right path Guru Ji sat here in meditation, upon knowing , the demon rolled a big rock from the height to kill him but the rock upon touching Guru Ji’s body became soft as hot wax the demon thought he had killed him and came down to kick the rock away , to his surprise his own feet got embedded in the soft rock and also saw Guru Ji alive , he realized his mistake touch Guru ji’s feet , asked for the forgiveness and promised to serve the people for good , since then until 1965 the local people preserved the rock and worshiped it they fondly call Guru Ji as Nanak Lama.
The construction of road by the army in 1965 it was seen as a hurdle in making the road and wanted to remove it but this rock could not be moved , mean while the driver of bulldozer and Army Officer Commander of the team dreamed of some one instructing them not to remove it from this place , upon knowing the story from the locals the Indian Army constructed a Gurudwra and till now it is managed by them.
It is an important Tibetan refugee centre for the study of Tibetan literature and history.
Sankar Gompa the official residence of the head of Gelukpa Sect of Buddhists in Ladakh The Kushok Bakula Renpoche he died in 2004, this monastery is branch of Spituk Monastery.
The main entrance of Courtyard attracts the visitors for its beautiful decorations. The left wall is having a “Wheel of Life”, held by Yama. The other side is the Dukhang, decorated with paintings of Guardian of the Four Directions, a throne reserved for the head monk of monastery. This Buddhist monastery have fabulous collection of exquisite paintings and murals of the Guardian divinities of the Four Quarters of Heaven, the Old Man of Longevity, the Wheel of Life and Sakyamuni Buddha with his sixteen sages and thirty-five benevolent Buddhas. There is also statue of Avalokiteshwara Padmahari with 1,000 heads and arms and Yamantaka (God of Death).Sankar Gompa also treasures Kanshur, 108 volumes of Buddha’s teaching and idols of three Buddhas – Sakyamuni, the Present Buddha and Maitreya (Future Buddha).
Matho Monasteryis located in village Matho about 26 Km from Leh City on Leh – Manali road just opposite the Thiksey Monastery on the banks of Indus river , founded by Lama Dugpa Dorjee in 16th centenary belongs to Sakya Order only one in Ladakh, it is famous for its 400 years old Thankas which were brought from Tibet. Inside the Lhakhang all the wall murals were painted in 1977 and are very colorfully done.
The right entrance wall shows a White Mahakal, to the left of this is a painting of the Four Headed Sarvavid the guardian aspect of Vairocana (the Teaching Buddha). The wall murals on the left side of the Lhakhang depict various lamas of the Sakya sect while the right wall shows the various manifestations of Sakyamuni. The central panel of the right wall depicts Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa and Mila Ras-pa, The central statue is Sakyamuni, surrounding the statue are numerous small Buddha statues.
Spituk Gompa monastery is located at a distance of 8 km from the town of Leh , is perched on a high hill overlooking the Indus river.The name “Spituk”, meaning exemplary, a translator,Rinchen Zangpo, said that an exemplary religious community would develop here, thus give the name Spituk for the monastery. It was founded by Od-de, the elder brother of Lha Lama Changchub Od in the 11th Century.
It was originally established as Kadampa school after some time the monastery started functioning under Dharmaraja Takspa Bum – Lde Lama Lhawang Lotus and introduced order of Tsongkhapa (Gelukpa), today the monastery functions under the Gelukpa order. Three monasteries ,Stok, Sankar and Saboo are the branches of Spituk Gompa all these monasteries are the successive reincarnations of Skyabsje Bakula Rinpoche.
Stok Palace was built in 17th centenary by King Sengge Namgyal but after some time Royal family shifted to Shey Palace which was constructed in 1655. When the Dogras army under Zorawar Singh of Jammu invaded Ladakh in 1842,the Namgyals shifted back to Stock across the Indus river and made it their permanent residence.It is located at 14 km from Leh across the Choglamsar bridge on river Indus.
The Royal Palace is a four-story structure , sporting a mix of ancient and modern architectural style, on top floors are the Royal family residence , the lower floors which were used as stables and stores are now converted into a museum having rich collections of royal jewels , ornaments, ceremonial dresses , crowns and centuries-old pieces of royal jewellery. Sooth paintings which are more than 450 years old paints prepared by crushed and powdered Gems and stones , the brightness of colors give a look of a new , the ancient headdresses still worn on important occasions , thought to have originated in Tibet, are encrusted with slabs of flawless turquoise, polished coral, lapis lazuli and nuggets of pure gold interesting collection of Buddhist art, weaponry, coins, seals, antique ritual objects are at display. The best display is the knotted swords, legend is once someone questioned the credentials of the Royal Oracle in the presence of the King , to display his supernatural powers he pulled out the sword of the King and tied a knot with it .
If one gets the chance to visit the Nubra valley , it is the highest motorable road in the world, Khardung-La, highest point 18500 ft The road only opens in July end, August to October, rest of the time it is under snow and thick fog.
Nubra valley situated 150 km from Leh at an altitude of 10,000 feet above sea level . It was also known as Ldumra (Valley of Flowers),Shyok river and Siachan river flows through a high altitude desert to form a large valley there is no rain fall, rare precipitation but land is fertile near the river beds and produce Wheat, Barley,Peas,Mustard, a variety of fruits and nuts, including Apple, Walnut, Apricot and Almond.Nubra Valley is also called the Food Bowl of Ladakh.
The people are of Balti origin, by faith majority of them are Buddhist with few Muslims ,Karakoram pass connects with Xinjiang region of Tibet China in the northwest of valley , in the north is Siachin Glacier, people live here are fair complexion with blue eyes , different from Ladakhi features who are with Mongolian features. It is said they belong to a Greek Tribe who came in search of Jesus Christ tomb never returned and settled here.
To reach Nubra from Leh one is to drive on worlds highest motorable road and cross the Khardong-La pass , travel to Nubra need a permit, which only allows travel as far as Hunder and Panamik for a maximum of seven days. Tourists are to hand over photocopies of permit on both sides of the Khardung – La and also by the bridge to Sumur. Khardung La is one of the highest motorable passes in the world joining Indus Valley (Leh) and Nubra Valley and Shoyok Valley. Built in 1976 by Indian Army and Border Road Organization.
Mulbek is located on a Srinagar – Leh NH 1 D National Highway 45 km from Kargil and Leh is further 197 km , it is at an altitude of 3304 meters from sea, just a kilometer from the town is the famous statue of Chamba the figure of Maitreya Budha on the main National highway.
The scholars believe it to be of 8th centenary but there is a thought it is of a Kushan period about 2000 years old.
There is an inscription on a near by rocks orders from the King Lde for not to sacrifice a goat at the altar of a deity, there is also an inscription that this order of King is too hard if goat is not sacrificed what will the deity say.
Shergol It is a picturesque village of the Wakha river Valley it is situated across the river, right of the Kargil-Leh road. This village is full of Popalar trees, orchards of Walnut and Apricots The main attraction is a cave monastery which is visible from a far as a white speck against the vertically rising ochre hill from which it appears to hanging out. Below this small monastery is a larger Buddhist nunnery with about a dozen residents. The village is accessible by the motorable road that branches off from the Kargil-Leh road, about 5 km before Mulbek. Shergol is a convenient base for an exciting 4-day trek across the mountain range into the Suru valley. It is also the base for visiting Urgyan-Dzong, a meditation retreat lying deep inside the mountains surrounding the Wakha River valley.
After crossing the Namik La pass and Futula pass 13600 ft higest pass on Srinagar - Leh highway is the first of the typical Ladakhi gompa.
Alchi monastery is situated on a low land unlike the other monasteries which are constructed on high lands or hilocks it is situated on a down stream 70 kms from Leh about 6 km from the main Leh Srinagar Highway on the banks of Indus river in the Alchi village at a height of 3100 meters from sea , it is one of the oldest well preserved dates back to about 1000 years, main attraction is thousands of minature paintings of lord Budha on a wall three large clay images of Budha in bright colours,past 500 years no religious activity has taken place here it is looked after by a monk from the Likir monastery.
The monasteries of this period did not belong to any of the established Tibetan schools, they were initially brought under the control of the Kadampa Sect. When the condition of the monasteries deteriorated, they were mostly taken over by the Gelukpa Sect.
Alchi is part of three villages the other two villages are Mangdu and Sumnda Chun. It was built between 958 AD – 1055AD by the great translator Guru Rinchen Zangpo, assembly hall and the main temple is three storied are built in Kashmiri style, Manjushri is the third temple, there is a huge statue of lord Budha , walls of temple have the oldest preserved paintings of that time and reflects the Hindu and Budhist artistic and spritual details, there were 108 monasteries built in the trans Himalyan region to spread Vajrayana Budhism from Tibet also known as Lamaism, Kashmiri artists were engaged to create sculptures and paintings.
Likir Gompa Monastery is situated at 52 km from Leh little away from Leh-Srinagar highway near Saspul village, it was built in the regime of King Lahchen Gyalpo in 1065 AD under the supervision of Lama Duwang Chosje of Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. New addition to the monastery was made in 1999AD is the 23 metre (75 ft) tall a statue made of gilded gold of Maitreya (the future) Buddha in sitting posture on the roof . It is one of the best kept monastery in Ladakh .
The name Likir means “The Naga – Encircled”, representing the bodies of the two great serpent spirits, the Naga-Rajas, Nanda and Taksako. This monastery originally belonged to the early Kadampa order of Tibetan Buddhism ,Lama Lha-dbang-chosrje student of Tsongkhapa converted the lamas to the reformed doctrines of the Gelugpa order in 15th centenary . This monastery is also popularly known as “Klu-kkhyil”, which means water spirits. It is believed that the monastery is the first in Ladakh to have been constructed by Tibetan monks.
Ladakh is located in the North-Eastern part of Jammu & Kashmir state in India; it is a remote Tibetan plateau, primarily Buddhist and Tibetan in its culture and in a very clear contrast to rest of Kashmir, indeed to the rest of India as well.
In this region there is a long narrow valley known as Zanskar even more isolated than Ladakh. Little Tibet, The Moon land and The Last Shangri-La are the alternate names for Ladakh; Himalayas are the most effective barrier to rain. A very few clouds creep across their massive height and as a result this land is barren beyond belief, The Plants and green belt are near the rivers that carry water from glaciers in the peaks of the Himalayas.
This area is connected to rest of India by a 434 km road from Srinagar , passing through Zozila pass with a overnight stop at Kargil , the first village after the Zozila is Drass the second highest, coldest habited place , Kargil was once an important trading post. It was from here that one could turn south to Zanskar or go to Ladakh, en route to Leh one passes through village Shergol which is the dividing line between Muslim and Buddhist areas.
Around Leh are the Age old Buddhist Monasteries and two highest motorable roads in the world the Chang-La Pass (17586 ft.) the Khardung-La pass (18400ft) the crystal clear water lakes, Pangong, Tsmori, Tsokar etc with breath taking views.