Gem of Ladakh Tour - Journey along Indus River in Ladakh

On arrival at Delhi airport you will be greeted by your leader and transferred to your hotel accommodation, close to the city centre. You will be briefed about your program and assisted with Delhi sightseeing options. The rest of the day is free to explore the city.

In the morning we transfer to the airport for the flight to Leh. This flight offers panoramic view as we cross the Pir Pinjal, Himalaya, Zanskar and Ladakh ranges .

Rest of the day at leisure to acclimatize to the high altitude and rarefied air. Lunch, dinner and overnight stay at the Hotel .

The Historic Old Town of Leh is generally called mkhar-yog, referring to the residential houses and community spaces below the 17th century Leh palace. Earlier, the houses were surrounded by a fortified wall with gates in different directions. It is said that there were only 120 family houses, which were categorized into two equal parts popularly known as Skyanos tukchu (tukchu means 60) and Gog-sum tukchu. The palace stands imposingly along the edge of a hill, with other houses built carefully on the gradient, in order of the importance of positions held by each family in the royal court, the most important being the Lonpo (Prime Minister) house right at the foot of Palace.

A remnant of dividing wall between the two parts (Skyanos and Gog-sum) still exists; however, the main protective wall around the town has almost entirely disappeared, except for some remains hidden in the labyrinths of narrow alleyways and buildings both modern and old. On the peak of the hill stands the Tsemo castle, a much older fort of predecessors of King Singe Namgyal, who built the nine-storied Leh Palace or Lehchen Skumkhar.

Old Town Leh, below the 17th century palace Lhachen Palkhar, is a melting pot of different cultures that stems from the vision of Ladakh’s most famous king, Singe Namgyal.

The palace was an active administrative building with meeting halls, performance spaces, etc. Below the palace were the residences of subjects that served under the royalty. As trade between Ladakh, Tibet, Central Asia, Kashmir, etc., grew and gained importance, Leh was made the capital because of its strategically important location. The vibrant trade exchanges also led to cultural exchanges. Through the ages, Leh has seen the emergence of a close-knit community that has lasted till date. Because of the cultural amalgamation that took place in this region, it is often termed as the Crossroads of High Asia.

The palace was built on a hillock that actually gave Leh town its name—the shape of the hillock is like a local basket called Tsemo, which is also spelt Le. The hill also looks like a sleeping elephant, and the nine-storey palace was built on the head side of it, as it was considered auspicious.

Overnight in Leh

Matho Monastery  lies about 26 km south of Leh on the other side of the Indus River and offers spectacular views of the Ladakh Mountain Range from its perch on top of a ridge. Matho gompa was first established in the 16th century by Tungpa Dorje after he had travelled extensively in Tibet. It is the only representative monastery in Ladakh of the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. This is a particular religious order, centered on the Sa-skya Monastery in Tibet, which was founded in 1075 AD. Today the gompa has about 60 lamas and 30 novices from the larger monasteries and Museum .

Hemis Gompa is one of the most important in Ladakh, the largest and also the wealthiest. It was built in 1620 by the king-architect Singe Namgyal, a great patron of Buddhism. He filled Hemis with golden statues, stupas set with precious stones and thangkhas brought from many places, including Tibet. The lamas of Hemis were associated with the Ladakhi royal family and became quite prosperous, owning much land and supervising many smaller, scattered monasteries. Although only about a dozen lamas actually live here, Hemis has several hundred lamas attached to its subsidiary monasteries.

The Rimpoche or spiritual head of Hemis is a reincarnation of the monastery’s founder Stagtshang Raspa. The last Rimpoche was a reincarnation who, as a five-year old child, was being taught in Tibet when the Chinese invaded. There has been no communication with the Rimpoche since the 1960s. During the 1975 festival, Drugpa Rimpoche, a 12-year old youth, became the new Rimpoche as a new incarnation. Hemis is the location for numerous religious festivals throughout the year, although the most important one is in summer (July 4 and 5 this year) when a huge thangkha, one of the largest in the world, is hung in the courtyard. It takes about 50 monks to carry the thangkha to its place and unfold it. The thangkha is made of fine heavy silk and embroidered with pictures of various gods as well as of the founder of Hemis. The dances in front of this thangkha represent the forces of good, symbolized by legendary heroes and saints, overcoming demons. Eventually, the violence of the demons is overcome by the superiority of virtue resting on wisdom and the demons are driven from the courtyard. Spectators watch these dances from the upper storey verandahs around the courtyard. Hemis also has a thangkha, reputed to be the largest in the world, that is displayed once every eleven years. It was last shown in July 1992. The hands of the artist who painted this thangkha are preserved at Hemis as holy relics, though they are not shown to the public.

Thiksey Gompa is the most picturesquely situated monastery in Ladakh, perched high on a hill above the Indus. Its buildings are arranged at various levels, leading up to the private apartments of the incarnate lamas on the summit. From here one commands a magnificent view of the valley. The gompa possesses a rich and beautiful collection of hundreds of hand-written or painted prayer books. A new temple contains a 15-meter tall Buddha statue, constructed in 1970 to commemorate a visit to Thiksey by the Dalai Lama. The statue, made of clay and covered with gold paint, is the largest Buddha figure in Ladakh and took four years to construct. Inside, the statue is filled with the Kandshur and the Tandshur – volumes of Buddhist canonical texts. The statue was made entirely by local craftsmen and represents Maitreya, (“compassion” in Sanskrit) the Buddha of the Future. The prophecy made of the Future Buddha is that the world will be undergoing such chaos that He will teach compassion to the people.

  Overnight in Leh. 

Post Breakfast we drive further to visit Lamayuru, Belongs to Dripung Kagyu (Red Hat)

Nestled in Lamayouro, Yuru or the Lamayuru Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. Perched at an altitude of 11520 ft., the monastery is one of the fascinating places to visit in Ladakh. The oldest gompa is also one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh famed as Tharpa Ling which means the ‘place of freedom’. Nearly 150 monks belong to the monastery and 30-40 still reside at the gompa belonging to the Red-Sect of Buddhism. The monastery lures spirituality learners and tourists who wish to spend some time at a beautiful location amidst the sacred aura. The gompa also serves as the meditation center. Tranquil ambiance and scenic location of the monastery is mesmerizing.

After visiting Lamayuru monestary continue driving  towardfs Kargil highway after short druive you then turn left via Chigtan Castle.

The Chiktan Fort or Castle  – it is a ruin – positioned on a high hill overlooking the town of Chiktan. A demanding steep  walk will take you the  top for spectacular views of the r farming area and mountains. Chiktan Castle is located deep inside a valley, by the Indus river, with the mountains in the background. It is composed of rammed earth and stone masonry with mud mortar. Following the designs of architect and carpenter Shinkhen Chandan, the castle used timber to support the ceilings of the structure as well as to frame the doors and windows.

These villages are called Aryan villages. The unique and flamboyant lifestyle and traditions of this Indo-Aryan race make it stand out & one of its kind left. They are believed to be descendants of Alexander Army who after conquering India were heading back home and they were so tired that some of them decided to stay back in this area. They consider themselves the purest form of Aryans. 

 Thus the region is known ast he land of Aryans. Due to lower altitude these villages are more warm and lush green. Marrying within the community to preserve their blood has let them retain their distinctive features as they have fair completion and blue eyes as a result their population is limited to thousands only. 

These villages are called Aryan villages

Overnight at Dha Hanu  Camp. ( Aryan Valley )

This morning, walk to the villages of Dah and Beema to learn about the intriguing “love festival” still practiced here. Drokpa means nomad in Tibetan, and the Drokpa people are believed to have migrated from Gilgit long before Islam had reached that area. Their culture and religious practices are very similar to the ancient pre-Buddhist religion known as ‘Bon-chos,’ and they are strictly an endogamous tribe with ancient rites and rituals. Their dress of undyed woolen tunics with edges adorned with geometric designs, chunky tribal jewelry, and hats heavily bedecked with dried flowers is striking. Be prepared for modernization that has reached even these remote areas.

After lunch, drive via Dhomkhar. Skurbuchen Domkhar rock art sanctuary is located in Leh’s Domkhar hamlet, right on the banks of the Indus River. The location is well-known for prehistoric artwork created by tourists. The major source of income for the people in this region is apricot and apple cultivation. This is a destination for folks who appreciate the historical artwork of our forefathers. There are various rock-carved sculptures that are considered to be between 2000 and 4000 years old.

The tower-like tall structure of SkurbuchanKhar, the Monastery, and various stupas that dot the landscape, and Khaltse towards Tingmosgang – it is one of the largest villages of Ladakh. Tingmosgang Gompa was built during the time of Gragpa Bum, who was the younger brother of Takspa Bum – Lde, who were the seventeen kings of the Ladakhani empire. When the Fifth Dalai Lama passed away, the regent who was ruling Tibet sent the head of the Drukpa order in 1684, and a treaty of Tingmosgang was signed between these two countries, Ladakh and Tibet. Overnight at a homestay in Thimisgaoun.

Likir is a small village located about 55 kilometers from Leh. This is where the monastery is located and is also named after the village. The name Likir means “The Naga-Encircled,” and it represents the bodies of the two great serpent spirits, the Naga-rajas, Nanda, and Taksako. In order to reach the village, you will have to leave the highway and take the 5 kilometers long narrow road.

The Likir Monastery was first built in the year 1065 and then rebuilt in the 18th century. It sits on top of a small hill outside the village in a very picturesque location, at an altitude of 3,700 meters. The monastery is perhaps best known for its 25 ft. (7.6 meters) gold-covered Buddha statue and the village famous for its potters.

After visiting the monastery and village, continue driving to Leh.

Overnight at Hotel

Post breakfast we drive to Nubra Valley. The road journey from Leh to Nubra Valley passes over Khardung La (The Highest Motorable Road In The World) at 5,602 Mtrs / 18,390 Ft, around 39 km from Leh. From the pass, one can see all the way south over the Indus valley to seemingly endless peaks and ridges of the Zanskar range, and north to the giants of the Saser massif. Nubra Valley is popularly known as Ldumra or the valley of flowers. It is situated in the north of Ladakh between the Karakoram and Ladakh ranges of the Himalayas. The average altitude of the valley is 10,000 Ft. above sea level.  Upon arrival in Nubra we check in at our Camp / Hotel in Hunder for Overnight stay. In the evening you can walk around the tiny villages to see how the locals live in this part of the world. A visit to a Ladakhi home can be arranged. Dinner and overnight at the Camp.

Nubra Local Sightseeing  . A short walk around the village will be an interesting option. Overnight in Nubra.

Diskit is the main village or headquarter of Nubra Valley, which has small market consisting of a row of shops and about 500 years old Gompa on the hilltop. 

Hundar is a beautiful village to stay with lot of trees and you will really enjoy your stay at Hundar. It has a small monastery and ruined fort above the village.

After breakfast drive to Turtuk(which is first time opened for the tourist in 2010) which is a place captured by Indians in the war of 1972 with Pakistan, en route visit Tyakshi (it is the border which divides India and Pakistan),reach Hunder by evening. Overnight in Nubra 

Check out from the Camp we drive back to Leh in the late afternoon via Khardungla Top. On arrival at Leh you will check in to your Hotel. In the afternoon you can rest and relax. In the evening you can stroll around the market place.

The flight back over the Himalaya usually takes off early morning therefore much of the morning in Delhi is free to rest, relax and reflect. Late Evening transfer to airport to board on ward flight