On the Doorstep of Central Asia§

Y

 

For those unfamiliar with the location, Ladakh is a remote high-altitude district north-east of the main Himalaya mountains and geologically a western extension of the Tibetan plateau. It is sandwiched between the vast ranges of Karokaram and Himalaya and minor ranges of Ladakh and Zanskar, straddling the main Indus River valley. The name is derived from Ladags meaning “The Land of High Passes” (la=pass, dakh=land). Ladakh is still disputed to be Western Tibet by the Chinese (a north-eastern chunk – Aksai Chin – is part of China since 1962) and culturally this is quite true. It has been said that Ladakh is a more accurate representation of Tibet before the Chinese takeover of Tibet than Tibet itself. To the west of Ladakh is Kashmir valley, to the north-west is Baltistan, controlled by Pakistan since 1947, and further north-west is Afghanistan. From 1974 Ladakh, relatively insulated from modern conditions by its tough physical environment, emerged into the modern world when it was opened up to tourism. Ladakhis (or Tibetans) and Indians have a religious heritage in common but even this is historical rather than a living connection since Buddhism has been virtually dead in India for seven hundred years. By language, culture, climate and history, the Tibetans from north of the Himalayas have much more in common with Mongolia and and even Siberia than India though that is not completely true of Tibetans (the Ladakhis) south of the Himalayas. Tibetan Buddhism incorporated elements of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism (Tantric Buddhism) but has several unique features such as reincarnation lineages of llamas and that Buddha can manifest in human form. In general most elements are similar to others, namely interpretation of sutras can only be interpreted by religious master and tantric because enlightenment is accelerated by use of certain external rituals and objects (e.g. are mandalas – certain cosmic diagrams assisting in spiritual development the symbols which are prevalent in all gompas and monasteries, mudras and mantras, prayer wheels, specific daily offerings of water, yak butter – these days replaced by regular vegenated oils, and specific dances performed during festivals). There is also a significant Shiite Muslim population mostly in the Kargil area.

For hundreds of years Leh had stood on the caravan routes of many nations but remained intact in its identity of rich tapestry of cultures and trade. From China and Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, Kazakhstan and Kashmir, Iran and Russia, the traders passed with their salt and borax, wool and dried meat, silks and spices, semi-precious stones and gold but all more importantly Pashimina wool the shawls  which made Kashmir famous. Camels, horses and donkeys moving traditional goods along rough and treachourous mountain trails for hundreds of kilometres. Vestiges of the Mongolian Bactrian camel are found in the Nubra valley parts of which are so surreal in its desert and high mountains. Reena, myself and the kids took a little excursion on these camels on the sand dunes on the outskirts of Deskit.

 

 It is an amazing land. Travel China-wards to the Pangong Tso, and you’ll see the largest salt-water lake in Asia. The water’s unbelievably clear and appears in bands of colour: blue-green, and deep blue. Head for Nubra, and mountains which look like colourful riot. The rock here is purple, pink, crimson, bright green- and gold. Between Deskit and Hundar you will find sand dunes. Go towards Kargil, and the village of Batalik was the fabled point from where Alexander’s armies turned back, with some Greeks apparently deciding to forego the long trek home.

 

 And all along, right through Ladakh, are old stupas, chortens and mani walls. In the most inaccessible of places, devout hands have carefully carved verses on polished stones, or painted religious text onto squares of thin cloth. The piety isn’t misplaced; this land’s a harsh one; the roads are treacherous, and every little prayer helps. As does every little exhortation: all along the highways are the yellow signboards set up by the Border Roads Organisation. Many of them are sweet (“Ladakh is the pride of our country”), some philosophical (“Child is the father of man”) and some downright wacky (“Be Mr Late not Late Mr”). Pretty entertaining, and all supposed to encourage drivers to go slow. Especially along the passes- Khardungla, Changla.

 

 I liked Leh. It is surrounded by mountains and desert but is very green. Poplar and willow trees are everywhere. The fields are full of wheat and barley. During the day it’s quite hot, at night it’s cool. There are few clouds and the stars are very bright. Venus stands out very clearly. Overlooking the city is the Ladakhi palace and the Namgyal fort. The palace is deserted and the royal family lives in the Thikse gompa these days. Nearby is Shanti Stupa, a Buddhist monument built by the Japanese, on a hill overlooking the town. We staggered up the steps in between bouts of pouring rain of a thunderstorm and were rewarded by awesome views over the town. Finally we visited the Sanskar gompa just on the outskirts of Leh. It was a quiet enclosure among the living quarters of the llamas. As the most pronounced AMS symptoms faded we managed to slowly hobble around town. Old ladies, soldiers, shop keepers and children seemed universally delighted that we had made the journey to their “country” and greeting us with a friendly “Jullay” and a smile. The uncommon hospitality and the Star Wars landscape combined to give this place an unreal sense of mystery; it was easy to imagine smugglers and raiders (or the more menacing bin Laden and his ilk) plotting in the hills. During the days we weren’t traveling out of Leh we had a chance to explore the local food – Tibetan, Chinese and the German bakeries (for some reason almost all bakeries in Leh were named German bakeries). The food was cheap. We bargained for curios and spent time in very expensive internet café (Rs 10 for 5 mins). There were also some nice book stores to browse in the main market.

 

Cultural Ladakh

 A jeep tour of the neighbouring towns and monasteries gave us a taste of the surrounding country. The next day we visited a set of monasteries and gompas on the east, crossing the Indus once and the subsequent day we visited the beautiful gompas of Lumayuru and the Alchi almost halfway to Kargil. Hemis is the wealthiest,best known and biggest gompa of Ladakh.The annual festival of the Hemis gompa is held in summer. It also has the largest thanka(scroll painting on silk or brocade) in Ladakh which is unfurled once in 12 years. The Thikse monastery closer to Leh is one of the largest and architecturally most impressive gompas.The gompa has images,stupas and wall paintings of Buddha which are exquisite. The Shey palace is believed to have been the seat of power of the pre-Tibetan kings. A 7.5 metre high copper statue of Buddha,plated with gold,and the largest of its kind,is installed in the palace. The road to Lumayuru was spectacular. The Indus river merged with the Zanskar river and the flow of water very rapid at points. The road was rough and one way at points along the cliffs and have to give right of way along the edges to approaching traffic. The road to Lumayuru was blocked because of a big army convoy so our driver decided to take a different route. The location of Lumayuru is quite dramatic. The prayer wheels line the edges and the gompa carries big gilded Buddha. We continued to Alchi, Ladakh's oldest intact monastery, hidden in a bend of the Indus. The dramatic two-hour drive from Leh is worth the trip in itself, although Alchi's original 11th century murals and statues are stunning (one of the few that survived iconoclastic destructions the Islamic invasions).

 

Pangong Tso

We left Leh early for a long day on the road. Pangong Lake straddles the Indian and Chinese border. The area is military sensitive and requires inner line permits – and have to be cleared at numerous checkpoints along the way. We made it to Chang La around 11am (the third highest pass in the world). The road down past the Himalayan range to the salt marshes was quite dramatic. Yaks, wild horses and nomadic herdsmen and their tents dot the green landscape. At the road descends the greenery disappears, salt marshes and sandy terrain fill the landscape. As we approach the Chinese border – it is not difficult to find the hidden bunkers and tanks along the edges of the valleys. There is a small restaurant at the lake – offering tea and Maggie noodles. The salt lake is biggest in Central Asia and the changing colors it exhibits at the passing of each cloud is very beautiful. We spent about an hour and half at the lake and then headed back to Leh.

 

The worlds highest motorable road or is it? (Road to Nubra)

It is certainly an interesting ride up Khardung-La with constant reminders from BRO – “speed thrills but kills”. Took us more than 2hrs to cover 38km from Leh to the top with a army checkpoint stop at South Pulu. At the top one is invited by the army to take a free cup of tea – to help with AMS and soothe frayed nerves. At Khardung top one is at 18380 ft about 300ft higher than Everest Base Camp – not bad for a local trip. Although it is claimed it is the highest motorable trip in the world, there is another road which also stakes its claim at the Uturuncu Volcano in Bolivia (19360ft). We took a tea break at North Pulu. Anav threw stones in the water along with his adoring grandparents. When we continued we got stuck at a road block which took about half and hour to clear. The road followed the Shyok river the banks of which were wide and dry sand – from far it was difficult to distinguish the muddy river. In two hours we reached Deksit. We took rest in a farm guesthouse in the middle of barley fields with running streams on the sides and snowcapped peaks gracing the edges of the valley. Later in the afternoon we went to Hundar to a monastery in the middle of the fields and streams. The monastery was closed – but some local kids found the keys for us. The gompa had a beautiful gilded Buddha and paintings. The kids even gave us a receipt when we paid them for opening the gompa. Later around 4:30 we went to the sand dunes and took a little excursion in the desert with the kids on Bactrian camels. The next day we went up the Deskit gompa which had one of the finest locations and views. Each inner gompa led to another one progressively at the top. At the top of the monastery was a little library. After lunch we made it back to Leh in about 2 ½ hours.

 

§ This travelogue is as important as a photograph and captures our first impressions. You could skip to end if not interested in reading personal digressions or experiences or opinions or check out the photos by clicking on the title on here