Beauty of Himalayas: Leh

Leh is high region in the Himalayan range and it was earlier the capital of Himalayan region of ladakh but now it is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It connects Srinagar and Manali via different highways. In earlier days Leh was an important route for trading Cannabis, silk, salt, grain between Kashmir, Tibet and also between India and China. The first royal residence in ladakh was on the top of Namgyal peak and it is now completely ruined fort built by Tashi Namgyal. The Leh palace is one of the most spectacular buildings of Leh and it was built by King Sengge Namgyal. In the midst of 19th century, it was abandoned when it was attacked by Kashmiri forces. Buddhism and Islam are the two religions which are in majority but there are other religions like Hinduism, Christianity and other religions but they are quite a few in number.

For those who are lovers of adventure sports, Leh offers rafting excursions from Phey to Nimmu. This would be an experience of lifetime and a day to be remembered. Now let’s come to the shopping and markets in Leh. Pearl Market nearby Indo-Tibetan Border force is an excellent place to buy pearls and semi precious stones. For women you must visit Ladags apricot store on the main road. The store is known for the local products and beauty products. Ladakh art palace is one place where you would get original jewellary at reasonable costs and this shop is fully run by Ladakh people. That is all about Leh. I have given an overview of the place and it’s my advice to you to visit this place only once as this hill station is different from others.

This is a valley which lies in the Northeast of Ladakh valley. The Shyok River which is the tributary of Indus River meets the Nubra River to form a large valley which separates Ladakh and kakoram ranges. This valley is a cold desert in high altitude with no vegetation. Life is very tough for the people of this range as this place is an international border but from tourist point of view it is a must watch.

This is a very interesting place located 30 km away from Leh district and it is also known as ‘Gravity hill ’which is exactly located is Leh-kargil-Srinagar Highway. Many tourists come here by car to experience something strange viz. the surrounding of this place produces an optical illusion that the downhill slope is an uphill slope and thus if you are traveling by car, you would get a feel that your car is moving against the gravity.

It is one of the very few monument of Leh and the hence a must watch for everyone visiting the place. It was built by king Sengge Namgyal and was his royal palace. In the mid 19th century it was abandoned wheh Dogra force took over the control of Ladakh and these days it has been under the control of Archeological survey of India and it is open for the public. The palace museum has a museum which houses crowns, jewellary and ornaments which are more than 450 years old and they are worth watching.

It is Buddhist Stupa on a hill top in Leh. It was built in 1991 Buddhist Bhikshu Gyomo Nakamura. This Stupa is a major tourist attraction because of its religious significance as well as the landscape. The Shanti Stupa features the photograph of current Dalai Lama and was built to promote the peace and celebrate 2500 years of Buddhism.

It is yet another Buddhist monastery in the city and is situated 15 km away from Leh. It was founded by Lama Lhawang during the 14th century and for some time it was also used the residence of ladakhi royalty of Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh.

This is a beautiful Gurudwara which was constructed in the memory of Guru Nanak on the Leh kargil road. It is said that guru nanak went to many distant places including Tibet and japan. Buddhist monks consider Nanak as a saint, so in the year 1517 this gurdwara was built by Buddhists to honor the visit of Guru Nanak to Ladakh.