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Leh, a one-time departure point for yak trains
travelling into Central Asia, is located in a small valley just to
the north of the Indus Valley. These days it is part strategic
military centre and part tourist town. It's main claim to fame is
the Leh Palace. It was built in the 16th century but is now deserted
and badly damaged, a legacy of Ladakh's wars with Kashmir in the
last century. The main reason for making the climb up to the palace
is for the superb views from the roof. The Zanskar mountains, across
the Indus River, look close enough to touch. The palace was sold to
the Archaeological Survey of India by the Ladakhi royal family and
an ambitious renovation project is under way. Try to get a monk to
unlock the preserved, but now unused, central prayer room; it's
dusty and spooky, with huge masks looming out of the dark. It's
worth escaping from the handicraft shops and backpacker restaurants
to stroll around the meandering laneways of the Old Quarter and
catch a glimpse of what the town used to look like before it began
to accommodate tourists.
A popular day trip from Leh is the 20km (10mi) excursion to the
Tikse Gompa, which is picturesquely sited on a hilltop overlooking
the Indus River. It has an important collection of Tibetan-style
books and some excellent artwork. It's also a good place to watch
religious ceremonies. The Hemis Gompa, 45km (30m) from Leh, is the
largest and most important in Ladakh. It is famous for its Hemis
Festival, which usually takes place in the second half of June or in
early July. It features two days of elaborate masked dances watched
by crowds of eager spectators. For those who haven't pumped enough
adrenalin simply getting to Ladakh (see Getting There & Getting
Around), white-water rafting trips on the Indus River can be
organised through several agencies operating from Leh, and there are
trekking opportunities in the Markha and Indus valleys.
Getting to and from Leh can be a matter of timing: flying up there
between the months from June to September is usually not a problem,
but come the winter months it may be a different story. If the
weather conditions are right you can fly to and from Delhi, Jangmur,
and Srinagar. There are only two bus routes out of Leh and both
suffer from the uncetainty principle: buses may not turn up so you
can't buy tickets until the evening before departure. If planes
can't fly and buses don't turn up, there's always the long-distance
jeeps and taxis which are more expensive than the buses but have the
advantage of being there. |
India
