Outskirts [May 14]

Having covered the city yesterday, today am covering places a few kilometres away from Leh and Leh Palace (within Leh, that was not covered yesterday).

MMT had booked an SUV and the driver Abdul arrived at 9.30 am in his Mahindra XUV. Abdul, a jolly fellow, all of 34 years was born in Nubra, but his family migrated to Leh due to lack of opportunities in Nubra. His father was a labourer and his is a story of economic migration now that he has become a driver. After completing his 10th in a English medium private school, he started working to earn money for his family. 

Abdul took me everywhere the itinerary mentioned and more. By the end of the day I had an headache with all the climbing at each attraction, in an oxygen deficient environment. But I recovered in sometime. 

We headed on the Srinagar - Leh highway. Most of the attractions to be covered today are on this road. A view on the way.

We started off with the Hall of Fame. It is built in tribute to the Indian soldiers. Here I built an better understanding of the wars we fought in the last 75 years. And this centre is updated with information as recent as 2020 when Operation Snow Leopard happened at Galwan (a conflict with Chinese army). Outside there are displays of military vehicles such as this armoured reconnaissance vehicle imported from Russia.

Inside there are exhibitions on the life and culture of Ladakh. I found this pretty interesting. I will be traveling through some of these places including Chang La, Khalsar, Shyok.

Nomadic herdsmen (Changpas) from Tibet were probably first settlers in Ladakh. Then came Mons, Aryans, Dards. These and later migrants found Ladakh attractive due to its position as a Gateway to Central Asia. However Tibetian empire disintegrated and there was a large Tibetian migration in about 800 -900 AD. So a Tibetian royalty installed himelf as the first King of Ladakh. Later in 1400s, Islam arrived from Kashmir, Baltistan and Central Asia. The royalty in Ladakh accepted Islam and some of the great Ladakhi rulers were both Buddhists and Muslims. Then in 19th century Dogra Empire invaded Ladakh. The Dogra's had a pact with the British and so Ladakh remained under the Dogra's until India's independence, when it became a part of the state of J&K. In 2019 Ladakh became the largest Union Territory of India and was no longer part of J&K. As per Abdul, initially some Ladakhi's, specifically Buddhists, celebrated this. However later they learnt their taxes are now higher and are now unhappy. 

Also defence personnel, in service, describe the conflicts with Pakistan and China. Operation Vijay was explained in detail with a 3-D map. Also on display are the equipments army uses in the harsh weather such as suits and ice scooters.

And I found this missile graphiti funny enough to be included. 

Inside this complex there is a memorial sight for martyrs.

Once out of this complex we were back on the road for the next stop - Spituk Monastery. This was not on the itinerary but Abdul anyway stopped there. The views from the top were worth the climb. You can see the airport and the air base from here.

And of course a lot of mountains.

There is no greenery in Leh. But in the outskirts one can see green patches.

Then we headed to Gurudwara Shri Pathar Sahib. Legend has it that a demon tried killing Guru by rolling down a rock but the rock deformed (see pic below) to not hurt the Guru.

We are supposed to wear this yellow scarf when we enter the temple.

And then we get to see beauty - 

I had lunch there - Gurudwara Langar. This is the first time I was having Langar and it was clean and tasty food. It was crowded for sure.

Then I climbed the stairs to reach a prayer/meditation hall. It was peaceful there and there was a cool breeze atop.

Abdul was not having lunch since he had heavy breakfast,  which was essentially dinner leftovers from last night.

We then headed to magnetic hill.

Here There is an illusion that your vehicle with engine switched off is moving uphill. Abdul demonstrated it to me.

Then we headed to Sangam. This is the meeting point of Indus river and Zanskar river. As you may know India got it's name possibly from the Indus.

The river is weak now as most of the snow is yet to melt. Melting accelerates in June-July. So no point in rafting now as water level is low. Many say the water color of these 2 rovers are different. 

I sat there for sometime and listened to the sound of gushing water.

Post this we moved to Shanti Stupa. It is built with Japanese architectural influence. There are many Shanti Stupas world over, but this is world's highest. Shanti Stupas stand for world peace.

To reach here as well we have climb stairs.  On the way uphill there is a bhudist temple where I tried to meditate, only to be distracted by a tourist who picked a phone call killing the ambience. The climb is tiring for some tourists. But again the view is worth it.

While I do put up such pics, they don't do justice to the magnificence of these mountain ranges, that we get to sense, when we are there.

Once I descended Shanti Stupa, we came back to Leh city to see Leh Palace. This 400 years old palace, now in a dilapidated condition, was built by Senge Namgyl. He is considered to be the most revered ruler of Ladakh.

The palace has 9 levels and 100s of rooms. Recovery and repair is still going on. One can go upto level 8. From there we have great views of the city of Leh.

Having checked out everything and more as per the itinerary I asked Abdul to drop me in the city market. The Leh-Manali road is still closed while the Leh-Srinagar highway has reopened the day I arrived, so tourists have started pouring in.

I wanted to try Rogan Josh now that I am in J&K. As per Abdul's suggestion I headed to Wazwan Restaurant for the same. The Mutton flesh is totally different from what I have had in Mumbai. I couldn't feel the fibres in the meat here. For a moment I was wondering if I am biting into liver instead of flesh. I rechecked and felt good.

I headed to the hotel having ticked off Leh for now. On the way I saw Dolma Ammai :). Malayalees who have watched the movie "Yodha" will get this reference. 

I reminded the hotel staff that I am checking out tomorrow morning. Off to Nubra!