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Day
1
Arrive
Leh, transfer to hotel. Overnight in hotel Afternoon walking tour
of the city to get acclimatize.
Day
2
Full
day sightseeing with guide and pak lunch to HEMIS THIKSEY and
SHEY monasteries.
SHEY:
Situated
on a hillock l5km. Upstream from Leh was once the residence of
the royal family . According to tradition, it was the seat of
power of the Pre Tibetan kings. A 7.5 meter high copper statue
of Buddha, plated with gold, and the largest of its kind is installed
here.
THIKSEY:
Spectacularly sighted, Thikse is one of the largest and architecturally
most impressive gompa. There are several temples in this gompa,
containing images stupas and wall paintings of Buddha which are
exquisite.
HEMIS:
It
is the wealthiest , best known and biggest gompu of Ladakh. Its
popularity stems from the major annual festival held here in summer.
The festival is in honor of Guru Padma Sambhav's birth anniversary.
It also has the largest Thanka in Ladakh, which is unfurled once
in 12 years ( next in 2004 ). Hemis was built in l630 during the
reign of Sengge Namgyal , an illustrious ruler of Ladakh. It flourished
under the Namgyal dynasty for the royalty favored for Drugkpa
Sect, which managed the monastery. It is divided into two, the
Assembly Hall on the right and the main temple on the left. The
hall, Dukhang, is also used as a 'Green room ' by the dancers
during the festival. The temple is known as Tshogkhang. The verandahs
have a surfeit of frescoes among them the Buddhist Wheel of Life
(Kalachakra ) and the Lord of the four quarters, besides rows
of prayer wheels.
Day
3
Morning
visit STOK, late afternoon visit LEH PALACE / SAMKAR monastery
and SHANTI STUPA. Overnight in hotel.
STOK:
Visible
in the distance, at the top of a huge moraine of pebbles swept
down from the mountains, the elegant foru-story. Stok Palace stands
above barley terraces studded with threshing circles and whitewashed
farmhouses. Built early in the nineteenth century by the last
ruler of independent Ladakh.
LEH
PALACE :
Looking
for all the world like a miniature version of the Potala in Lhasa,
Tibet, the palace was built in the l6th century.
SANKAR:
A
relatively modern monastery, it is closely associated with the
Spituk monastery and serves as the residence of the head priest
- Kushak Bakula. A number of gold icons are to be found here.
Day
4
Full day trip to KHARDUN6 LA, overnight in hotel Khardung-la is
the highest road head in the world.
Day
5
Departure
transfer to the airport for flight to Delhi / Jammu / Chandigarh
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