Ladakh Diary 2 – Sights of a Mountain Town

We got up late in the morning. We needed this sleep badly! After suffering sleepless night in Sarchu – blame it on AMS – we had a refreshing slumber. But the problem started after we got up. I am fond of good filter coffee. So is Brinda. To some extent you can say I am little fussy with my coffee. It has to be perfect. But, where can we get this here? I somehow agreed for the compromise. Opted for Nescafe instead of “Chai” as we were not sure how the “chai” would have tasted. When I called up room service the “Kancha” – all the waiters being Nepali - confirmed that they can serve Nescafe. We heaved a sigh of relief. The instruction to “Kancha” was clear – to get hot boiling milk, Nescafe and Sugar separately! I could not trust the skills of these guys in coffee making.
Previous day, Deleks, our Man Friday from Ladakh Safari had confirmed that we should take things leisurely till we get properly acclimatized in Leh. Drink lot of water, he said as we saw him off in the evening with confirmation that the cab to take us around the Leh would be at hotel at 10 AM.
Coffee kick started the day for us. Hotel Namgyal Palace - where we stayed - is a new hotel in Leh with good and spacious rooms. Not a “Star” hotel but a decent hotel with good sheets, towels and excellent service. The room had French windows which gave a glimpse of the colorful garden. The many flowers which I found difficult to grow in my house in Bangalore were growing as if it was wilderness!
The breakfast was light - a cup of serial and two toasts. We wanted to keep it light as it was first day and we did not want to take chance. The packed lunch was already in the car. We could feel the rarified Leh atmosphere with less oxygen as we climbed ten steps to reach the parking. We were already feeling tired.
Zigmet, our driver was a young bloke. A ladakhi who stayed in his village 15 Kms from Leh. We got into the Innova to start our tour of Mountain town.
Leh is a small town. A big valley town on the banks of Indus and surrounded by mountains. It could be as big as a small suburb in a Metro. What immediately struck me was the cleanliness on the roads. The roads were spic and span and we could hardly see any rubbish. Ladakhis are generally very friendly and are able o converse in Hindi quite well. We started with Stok palace located off the Leh – Manali road. The sun was bright and was playing hide and seek with the clouds. The mountains were bright with the tallest peak in Ladakh range – Stok Kongri (the tallest peak in the pic) - basking in glory. It was a pleasant drive to the palace. The road side is interspersed with white “chortems” of all sizes and huge prayer wheels. We halted to take pictures of beautiful chortems built by Dalai Lama. As we exited the Leh town, we were now driving through fauji area. Army and Paramilitary forces have a huge presence in Leh.
The Stok palace is on a small hillock overlooking a green valley next to Indus River. The setting of the palace is very romantic. The mountains as back drop, the river in the fore ground with green fields with a dash of yellow in between. A slow climb – no exertion pls J - of few steps led us to the entrance of the palace. This is the palace where present maharajah and his family stay. A four storied mud structure, it had a colorful and carved entrance. The windows were colorful as well. Not an architectural rave, it made up as a pleasant place. The palace has a museum which is not worth its salt. The balconies of the palace provide you a panoramic view of Indus valley.
Thiksey Monastery is the next stop, said Zigmet. Touted “Mini Potola palace”, the monastery is located in beautiful setting. The best part of monastery hopping in Leh is that you will get to see the surroundings differently. Thiksey again was on a small hill. Thanks to good road, the car was able to climb up till the entrance. But the climb form here was quite steep. We had to stop couple times with gulps of water before we reached the courtyard. The monastery looked deserted with very few monks as most of them had left for Nubra where Dalai Lama was camping. Thiksey being the second largest monastery in Ladakh, was well maintained. The courtyard leads to the two shrines. The walls are painted with Buddhist tangkhas and look very colorful. The piece-de- resistance was the 40 feet statue of “Maitreya – the Future Buddha”. It is a beautiful sculpture with a pleasing face of Maitreya. Notice the intricate work on the crown. Climbed up to the terrace of the monastery to get the awesome views of the surroundings.
We were feeling tired and when we went back to the car it was relief. After gulps of water, we were moving towards Shey palace – the old palace of maharajah – a mud palace being restored by Archeological survey. The palace is on a steep hill and will be tough to climb if not properly acclimatized. We climbed, but stopped at least three times. The palace is in dilapidated condition and being restored. There is shrine inside with a 30 story tall statute of Buddha.

It was nearing lunch time and we were also tired. The lunch was on the banks of Sindhu. It s a pleasant place for a chilled beer and lunch – I missed beer though…... Thank god there weren’t hoardes of tourists in this place – as there is no boating in the river - the place was very quiet and we could hear the sound of water flowing over pebbles. The water was very cold. Every year the Ladakhi government conducts “Sindhu Darshan” festival at this place. A peaceful lunch and a bit of rest….. we were raring to explore the other parts of the town.
Our next stop was the “Hall of fame” museum. This place on Kargil road was a pleasant surprise. Excellently curated by Army, it brought tears to our eyes as we saw the pictures of martyrs who had laid down their lives in various wars for the country in the region. The galleries depicting the Kargil war and Saichin are well done. Apart from exploits by the army and air force, it also showcases the flora and fauna of the region. The touching moments were when we read the last letter by Capt Vijayant Thapar who laid down his life in Kargil war and was awarded Maha Vir Chakra. This is one place no visitor to Leh should miss.
Our last stop before calling it a day was the City Palace. This one jetting out of the heart of city is again a mud palace. Being restored by Archeological Survey of India, it is in better shape than Shey palace. The roof top of the palace gives one a panoramic view of Leh. A climb from the palace is the “stand alone” gompa – Tsemo Gompa which gives you breathtaking views of Leh and surroundings. Ideal during sun set!
As we came back to the hotel, we called Badri Prasad – the Kancha - for a cup of coffee. The coffee was never refreshing more!