Leh and around, Ladakh, India (August-September
2022):
Gompas, palaces, caves, and more
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To see photos
I took in Leh and around Leh
on previous trips, click on the following links:
- 2016:
Leh, Stok palace, Matho, Chemre, Takthok, Hemis,
Leh:
Views over the eastern
part of Leh, below the Leh
palace.
Leh palace.
Traditional thangka shop
in the old section of Leh.
Houses and lanes in the
old section of Leh.
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West of Leh:
- Spituk gompa.
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- Saspol caves.
Five caves in Saspol contain rare Buddhist paintings from the 14th-15th
centuries. The ˝main˝ cave contains the most impressive ones.
The beautiful panorama
over the Indus valley seen from the caves.
Paintings in the main
cave.
[Representations of Avalokiteshwara
(on the left of the photo) and Manjushri and Maitreya
(on the right).]
[Representation of Amitabha in Sukhavati (paradise).]
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- Mangyu gompa.
Located at the end of a
narrow road in the village of Mangyu, this gompa is
one of the oldest in Ladakh. Its earliest structures date back to the 12th-13th
centuries.
House in Mangyu.
Exterior views from the
gompa.
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Traditional lamps filled
with oil in the gompa's courtyard.
Entrance doors of three
of the four distinct temples (prayer rooms) in the gompa.
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Statues and wall
paintings in the prayer rooms.
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Large painted
clay statue of Maitraya Buddha (~3-4m high).
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Paintings on the left side of the
statue.
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Clay statue of a
four-armed Maitraya Buddha (~3-4m high), with
Indian-influenced red palms, in another (very small) room.
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East of Leh:
- Shey complex.
Ruined fort of Shey built on top of a rocky hill, above the palace and
gompa of Shey.
View over the
alluvial plain below the fort of Shey. The plain is dotted with many stupas.
View over the Indus
valley from the fort of Shey. The palace and gompa of
Shey are partially visible in the left side of the
photo. A new statue is under construction next to the gompa.
Left: Head of the giant
statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the Shey
gompa. Right: Old wall painting in the Shey
gompa.
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- Thiksey gompa.
View from its base.
Visiting monks.
Beautiful mural frescoes
in the gompa.
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Old prayer hall in the Thiksey gompa.
Mural paintings in the
old prayer hall.
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Monk making torma. Torma
are figures, often conical in shape, made of barley flour and butter, and used
as offerings during Tibetan Buddhist rituals. But there are multiple variations
in their shapes and compositions, depending on their use.
Finely decorated head of
the 12m-high Maitreya Buddha statue in the new prayer
hall of the Thiksey gompa.
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- Matho gompa.
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Statue of Buddha and two
disciples in the new prayer hall of the Matho gompa.
- Stakna gompa.
Founded in the late 16th
century, this gompa is the only Bhutanese Drukpa Kagyu monastery in Ladakh.
In the main prayer room
of the gompa: (left) young monk sorting offerings on the altar and (right)
statue depicting Cakrasamvara
embracing his yogini consort Vajravarahi. This statue is said to
symbolize the powerful union of compassion, the essence of Cakrasamvara,
and wisdom, embodied in Vajravarahi. However, a
Ladakhi friend with a solid sense of humor told me that it is also intended to
encourage Tibetan Buddhists to do everything with passion.
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Statue of Ngawang Namgyal (center), also known as the Bearded Lama,
the unifier of Bhutan, surrounded by statues of successive Stakna
Rinpoche.
Two kanglings,
ceremonial flutes made out of human tibia or femur.
- Chemrey gompa.
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In the main prayer hall.
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- Takthok gompa.
The apt name ˝takthok˝ of this monastery means ˝rocky
roof˝, emphasizing that much of it is inside a natural cave.
Main prayer room in a
cave.
Statues in the main
prayer room.
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Masks and statue in a
smaller room.
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Striking murals
representing Cakrasamvara embracing Vajravarahi.
Portion of a large mural
fresco in the courtyard of the gompa.
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- Gotsang retreat gompa.
At roughly 4000m in
elevation this small gompa is reached after a 45-minute uphill hike from the
much larger and more famous Hemis gompa. It includes
a cave where Tantric master Gyalwang Gotsang (1189-1258) is believed to have meditated.
Buildings of the Gotsang gompa. The meditation cave is accessed via the
partially visible building on the left.
The age-blackened
meditation cave is now framed by recently painted walls.
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Illuminated statues in
the meditation cave.
- Pangong Tso.
Situated at an elevation
of 4225m this beautiful saline-water lake is divided between Ladakh and Tibet,
and disputed between India and China, with both militaries having vessels
stationed there. The latest engagement between the two militaries happened as
recently as August 2020, with casualties on both sides. The lake is
nevertheless visited by many Indian tourists, in part because some famous
Bollywood movies were shot there.
Unfortunately, large
tourist camps on the shores of the lake seem to compete in ugliness to better
attract the attention of visitors and get more guests! I spent one night in an
unassuming friendly homestay of the somewhat less touristy southern village of Merak, before trekking in the Ladakh Range south of the
lake (see here).
View over the northern
part of Pangong Tso.
Reflection on Pangong Tso at Merak.
Peaks of the Pangong Range overlooking the southern shore of Pangong Tso,
seen from Merak.
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