Hemis Tsechu and Thiksey (Day 6)

 At around 4 am, my older daughter and I decided to take a stroll. Apparently, she had come out earlier and seen the beautiful Milky way unadulterated by light diffusion- electricity is through generators and is available only for 3 hours in the evening until 11 pm. Post that, the whole area becomes pitch-dark. 

We walked towards the lake to see the sunrise. We sat there by the bank, listened to some soft music in the stillness of the night. The pictures that we clicked during this time were unbelievable and unreal. 

As the sun rose, the rays fell on the mountains brightening only the peaks making them look like lights from huge flashlights. 

After sunrise around 5.30 or so, we walked back to our tents, and caught up with some sleep while my husband and younger one spent some time by the lake. At around 7 am we woke up, had breakfast and got ready to leave to Leh via Changla Pass at an altitude of 17,800 feet above sea level. As usual, we took a few pictures as we bade farewell to the beautiful aquamarine blue water body

Changla Pass

We left Pangong Tso, reached Durbuk and took a left turn after Durbuk to Leh (a right turn at the T-junction will take you back to Nubra Valley). An hour later we reached the Changla Pass, the 3rd highest motorable road in the world. The drive for 20 kms towards Changla was very scary, only skilled drivers could drive on these roads. We could see signs of Avalanche warnings every hundred meters. To add to the fear, Paljor was talking about how vehicles get hit by avalanches while waiting in the traffic on these mountains. He finally added – ‘Ye sab kismat ke upar’ (All these depend on luck / fate!!)

We spent only a few minutes at Changla as my little one was getting breathless and turning pale by then. We quickly clicked a couple of photographs and descended. Changla to Leh was a good 2-hour drive. The roads for 20 kms before and after Changla were in very bad condition. As we descended to Zingral, the condition of the road was much better (thanks BRO for keeping these roads motorable). 

Hemis Monastery and Tsechu

We passed through Sakthi and Karu. At Karu, we went straight ahead to Hemis, 40 kilometers before Leh. Hemis is home to the richest and the most popular Monastery in Ladakh.

 The annual Hemis Festival dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava is held every year to mark His birth anniversary. Masked dances, called Chaam, are performed by the monks depicting the winning of the good over the evil. We were lucky as this year it coincided with the day we were visiting Hemis. 

Witnessing the Chaam was a very different experience. There was a huge Thangka of Guru Padmasambhava (4 storeys long) hung in the courtyard and the monks performed Chaam in the courtyard. The monastery also boasts of one of the finest museums. There was a humungous collection of utensils and equipment apart from the theme that described the various deities including the Guardian deities, sculptures that have been recovered from various parts of the country and nearby. After giving our salutations to the deities in the main temple and enjoying a major part of the Chaam dance, we left. The entire monastery wore a festive look with many small shops and games. It looked like a carnival of sorts. 

We headed towards a small restaurant called Buddhist Kitchen at the intersection of Leh and Pangong Lake roads. Lunch was Thangthuk, Thukpa, Noodles, Aloo paratha 

Thiksey Monastery

After lunch we headed to another huge monastery at Thiksey - Thiksey monastery, built in the 15th century. This monastery is built like the Potala Palace in Tibet. This monastery has a 2 storey huge statue of Maithreya Buddha. Also there is a separate temple for ‘Tara’ a boddhisattva who is believed to have been born out of the tears of Avalokiteswara. We met a Lama who had apparently lived for a short while in a monastery in KushalNagar, Bylakupe in Coorg District. For those who don’t know, there are a few Tibetian settlements and monasteries in Bylakupe in Kushal Nagar (Coorg district). The Lama also showed us the path of Indus from Pakistan, the location of Pakistan, China beyond the mountains and explained to my daughters on how Indus was originally called Sind and how Ladakh was the center for Silk Trade, how and why the natives of Ladakh resemble a mix of people from Mongolia and Afghanistan. He also talked to us in Kannada!! 

Rancho School

It was already close to 5 pm and the next destination was the ‘Druk Padma Karpo’ school more famously called as the ‘Rancho School’ from the movie 3 Idiots (it appears in the last scene). We saw the façade of those places that were shot in the movie. The main school is out of bounds for visitors. On a different note, the school is supposed to be the most eco-friendly school in the whole of Asia with many awards to it. 

It was well after sunset (sunset is around 7.15 pm) by the time we reached the hotel. We wanted to visit the sound and light show of the Hall of Fame but had no energy left. We checked into to the same hotel that we checked out from when we left for Nubra Valley, had a wonderful buffet dinner and were in our rooms fast asleep in under an hour. 

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Ready, Set, Go

Leh, Here we come (Day 1)

Salute to the Army! (Day 2)

Khardungla and Nubra Valley (Day 3)

Panamik and Samstanling Monastery (Day 4)

Pangong Tso, Tso Beautiful (Day 5)

The Palace and the Market (Day 7)

Julley, Leh (Day 8)