|
Tourist Places
Leh is
having a airport which connects it
to the rest of the country. Besides
this there is regular bus service
from Srinagar which operates during
summer when the Zojila Pass remains
open for traffic. One can also get
there in Taxis and Jeeps via The
Srinagar-Leh Highway or the
Manali-Leh Highway. Leh offers a
variety of accomodation to suit
almost every pocket or preferen ce
The areas of tourist interest are
varied and many. Some of them are as
follows:
Cultural Tourism
Visits to the major Buddhist
Monastries and other cultural or
heritage sites are the principal
tourist attractions of central
Ladakh and Zanaskar. Most of the
region's principal Gompas are open
throughout the day and a caretaker
Lama is available to show visitors
around. Some of the less visited
establishments have special opening
hours , as in the case of Namgyal
Tsemo, Shey Palace, and the Stok
Palace Museum.Most of the monstries
charge a small enterance fee. The
monastries constitute the fountain
head of Ladakh's Buddhist religion
and culture.
Fairs
and Festivals of Ladakh also attract
a large number of Tourists. Many of
the annual festivals of Gumpas take
place in winter as it is a
relatively idle time. The dance
dramas take place in the court yards
of Gumpas and Lamas wearing
colourful robes and startling masks
perform mimes representing various
heads of the religion. The biggest
and the most famous monastic
festivals is of Hemis which falls in
late June-July and is dedicated to
Padam Sambhava. Other festivals held
in summer are of Lama-Yuru, in early
July, Phiyang in late July, Tak-Thok
after Phiyang and Karsha in Zanskar
after Phiyang. Spituk, Stoke,
Thiksey, Chemreay and Matho have
their festivals in winter.
Adventure Tourism
Ladakh offers great scope for
adventure activities amidst
landscapes of breathtaking beauty .
The most popular and established
among these are
trekking,mountaineering, and river
rafting.
Trekking
Trekking includes short day long
walks up and down mountain slopes to
visit isolated
 villages or monastic
settlements or across the ridge to
enjoy landscape. Or long transmountain treks involving weeks
of walking and camping in the
wilderness. The most popular treks
are:
Lamayuru in the Indus Valley to
Darcha in the Lahoul across Zanaskar
takes nearly 3 weeks.
The
10 day Markha valley trek and the 11
day Lamayuru-Padam trek and Stok
Kangri round trek arer the most
popular among the numerous options
available.
Perhaps the most exciting trek in
the world is Hemis-Markha-Padum Trek
for 13 days and this calls for
elaborate arrangements.
Various New Areas have also been
opened in forms of circuits . The
maximum time allowed on these
circuits is 7 days and foreign
groups are allowed to go only in
groups and accompanied by a
recognized tour operator. The
detailed information regarding going
to these circuits can be had from
the offices of J & K Tourism located
across the country. These circuits
are:
The DROK-PA area circuit:
Khaltase-Domkhar-Skurbuchan-Achinathang-Hanudo-Biama-Dah
and return.
The Nubra Valley Circuits:
Leh-Khardungla-Khalsar-Tirit-Tegar-Sumur-Panamik
and return.
Leh-Khardungla-Khalsar-Deskit-Hundar
and return.
The Pangong Lake circuit
:
Leh-Karu-Changla-Durbuk-Tangse-Lukung-Spangmik
and return.
Tso-moriri lake Circuits
:
Leh-Upshi-Debring-Puga-Tso-moriri-Korzok
and return , Leh-Upshi-
Chumathang-Mahe-Puga-Tso- moriri-
Korzok and return
Depending upon the time and budget
you can afford, ask the Tourist
offices at Leh, Kargil or Padum to
design a trekking prgramme for you.
River
Rafting
A
range of rafting options are
available on the Indus and its major
tributaries. The best stretch for
the professionally guided runs in
white water is on the Indus between
Spituk and Saspol.Beyond Saspol
river becomes difficult. The most
difficult and exciting option for
river running is on the Zanskar
along its spectacular course through
the Gorge in the Zanskar mountains
between Padam and Nimo.
Mountain
Climbing
The
area most frequented by tourists is
the Nun-Kun Massif in the great
Himalayan range and is easily
accesible from Kargil-Padum road. he
area nearest to Leh is the
Stok-Khangri Massif in the Zanskar
mountains, south of Leh. North of
Leh, across the Ladakh Range and the
Nubra Valley, lies the Karakoram
range. The climbing season extends
from mid-May to mid-October, the
ideal period being from June to
September.
|
The annual
festival of the gompa is held in summer in
honour of Guru Padma Sambhav's birth
anniversary. It also has the largest
thanka(scroll painting on silk or brocade)
in Ladakh which is unfurled once in 12
years.Hemis was built in 1630 A.D.during the
reign of Sengge Namgyal and flourished under
the Namgyal dynasty. 
Namgyal in the later half of the 16th
century A.D.and looks like a place from a
distance.The gompa belongs to the Red Cap
sect of the Buddhists. Hundreds of icons of
Budha are kept on wooden shelves.
