Ladakh Tour

Home | About Us | FAQ | Site Map | Contact Us

    Google Search   www Indo Vacations      
About Ladakh | Reach Ladakh | History | People | Festivals | Review | Tours | Wild Life | Pilgrimage | Places | Adventure

   Ladakh > Places in Ladakh > Central Ladakh
 About Ladakh
 Ladakh Information
 Ladakh Arts and Crafts
 Archery and Polo
 Ladakh Glaciers
 Ladakh Mandalas
 Ladakh Passes

 Reach Ladakh
 Reaching Ladakh
 Ladakh Ancient routes
 Ladakh Travel Tips
 Travel from Srinagar to Leh
 History
 Ladakh History
 Ladakh People
 Ladakh People
 Dalai Lama
 Cultural Tourism in Ladakh
 Ladakh Festivals
 Ladakh Festivals
 Ladakh Review
 Ladakh History and Society
 Buddhism and Iconography
 Guru Padmasambhava
 Ladakh Tours
 4 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 5 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 6 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 6 Days Lamayuru Trekking Tour
 7 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 10 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 11 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 14 Days Ladakh Trekking Tour
 15 Days Ladakh Biking Tour
 22 Days Ladakh Tour
 Best of Ladakh Tour
 Discovery of Ladakh Tour
 Impressions of Ladakh Tour
 Ladakh Biking Tour
 Ladakh Camel Safari Tour
 Ladakh Cycling Tour
 Ladakh Jeep Safari Tour
 Ladakh River Rafting Tour
 Ladakh Short Tour
 Ladakh Sikkim Bhutan Tour
 Ladakh Sikkim Kashmir Tour
 Ladakh Tour
 Ladakh Travel Tour
 Ladakh Trekking Tour
 Land of Ladakh Tour
 Markha Valley Trekking Tour
 Padum Trekking Tour
 Trekking in Ladakh Tour
 Trekking Nubra Valley Tour
 Zanskar River Rafting Tour

 Ladakh Hotels

Ladakh Hotels

Central Ladakh

Central Ladakh: the Cultural Heartland

 
Spituk, Central Ladakh
 

The geographical backbone of Central Ladakh, the Indus Valley, particularly from Upshi down to Khalatse, is also the region's historic heartland. All the major sites connected with the former kingdom's dynastic history are here, starting with Leh, the capital city since the early 17th century when Sengge Namgyal built its nine-storey palace. A few kilometers up the Indus is Shey, the most ancient capital, with its palace and temples, their vibrantly coloured murals cleaned and restored in the mid 1980. Basgo, situated down the river and right on the road and Tingmosgang, a short way up a side-valley, served as capital cities when the country was temporarily divided into two parts in the 15th century, and both have the remains of forts and temples dating from the period of their brief glory. Stok, just across the river from Leh, is the village with which the deposed royal family was compensated for the loss of its throne. Its palace houses a museum of artifacts associated with the dynasty, and there is also a small Gompa. Partly as a result of royal patronage, the central area of Ladakh has the greatest concentration of major gompas. Of the twelve situated on or near the Indus, the Lamayuru is believed to have been a sacred site for the pre-Buddhist religion known as Bon. Phyang, Hemis and Chemrey were all founded under the direct partonage of members of the ruling Namgyal dynasty. Phyang represents an act of penance by the 16th century King Tashi Namgyal for the violence and treachery by which he reached the throne. Hemis, together with Hanle near the Tibetan border, was founded at the instance of King Sengge Namgyal, and Chemrey by his widow as a posthumous act of merit for him. Stakna, dating from a slightly earlier period, was endowed by the Namgyal kings at various times. All these belong to the red-hat Kar-gyut-pa sect of Tibetan monasticism.

The reformist Ge-lugs-pa (Yellow-hat) sect is also well represented in central Ladakh by Thikse, Likir, Ridzong and Spituk, the last of which has daughter houses at Stok, Sabu and Sankar. Ridzong, the only gompa which is not yet approachable by a motorable road, is situated a few kilometers up a side-valley at Uley-Tokpo. It was founded only a century and a quarter ago by a devout layman-turned-lama, with the purpose of giving full expression to the strict monastic rule of the Ge-lugs-pa. While the paintings and images in its temples may, to some extent, lack the aesthetic and antiquarian interest of those in the older establishments. This gompa nevertheless has an indefinable atmosphere of peace and dedication which reflects faithfully the inwardness of the Buddhist Way.

The smaller but much older Bying-ma-pa and Saskya-pa monastic sects are represented respectively by Tak-thok and Matho gompas. Takthok, at the foot of the Chang-la, incorporates one of the many caves in the Himalaya where the Indian Buddhist apostle Padmasambhava is said to have rested and meditated on his journey to Tibet. Matho Gompa has a slightly rundown structure, but a vibrant religious community. It is famous for its festival of the oracles which takes place early in the year, usually in the first half of March.

But the jewel among central Lakakh's religious sites is Alchi. Abandoned centuries ago as a place of regular worship, it has been lovingly maintained by the monks of Likir, the nearest functioning gompa. Known as Chos-kor, or religious enclave, it comprises of five temples, the Du-khang (assembly hall) and the three storey Sum-tsek. Its murals, paintings dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, pre-date the Tibetan style of painting that is present in all the other gompas. Some of them are reminiscent of the paintings of the far-off Ajanta Caves and are presumed to be almost the sole survivors (along with some in Phugtal Gompa in Zanskar, and Tabo in Spiti) of the Buddhist style current in Kashmir during the first millennium AD.

 
 
 
 

Ladakh Tourism & Tours
Copyright ©, Indo Vacations®. All Rights Reserved.