Ladakh Picnic Places Information, Jammu And Kashmir
Following places are recommended for picnic places in Ladakh:
Alchi Gompa : 66kms to the west of Leh, this monastery consists of six temples which contain a chorten, seated Buddhas and exquisite paintings. Over ten centuries old, the painted walls depict the events of Budhha's life, lamas and musicians.
Choglamsar : A place full of flowers and plants which grow fantastically at such altitudes. Plo and golf grounds are another variety. From Choglamsar to the summer palace of the king, it is an exhilarating journey through beautiful trees and fragrant flowers.
Hemi Gompa : 43 kms, situated in a side vaine off the main Indus valley. Colourful flags flutter on the four pillars in the courtyard against the backdrop of white walls and a blue sky. The monasteery contains gold statues and stupas decorated with precious stones. It has a superb collection of thangkas, including the largest which is exhibited once in every 12 years. Every June, a colourful festival marking the birthday of guru Padmasambhava is held here. Masked dancers accompained by loud music are supposed to fight away the demons.
Lamayuru : 125 kms, on the Leh-Srinagar road, this is the oldest known monastery of the region dating back to the 10th century.
Likir Gompa : 61kms. A few kms from Alchi, a scenic raod through rocky mountains ans rivers, takes one to this Gompa which contains a number of enormous clay statues of the Buddha in different forms. Founded during the 12th century, Likir was the first royal monastery to be eastablished in Ladakh under direct Tibetan influence.
Phiyang Gompa : 20 kms, On Leh-Srinagar road is this Gompa of the red sect of the Buddhists. It possess excellent statues and thangkas.
Samkar Gompa : 2 kms, the only monastery built on the valley level, is the seat of the yellow sect of Buddhists. It has a formidable collection of miniature statues of pure gold and a number of wall paintings. This is a modenr monastery with electricity, yet it is an ancient edificewhich has a huge statue of Buddha Sayumuni in a sitting posture. Wrought of copper and brass, gilded with gold, silver and studded with precious stones.
Spituk Monastery : 9 kms, on Leh-Srinagar highway, built on top of small hill overlooking river Indus and 500 years old, this monastery has some prized thangkas and huge statues of Goddess Kali, whose faces are unveiled once every year. This chamber also contains an ancient collection of masks.
Stakhna Monastery : An unmetalled road branches off from the highway to lead to Stakhna monastery, amongst the oldest in Ladakh. The monastery consists of old thangkas from the 10th century. From the top a splendid view of ther Indus, Thiksey Monastery and surrounding mountains can be had.
Thiksey Monastery : 19kms, this 15th century monastery comes en-route to Hemis. It has 12 storeys and consists of 8 temples and about 250 resident lamas. The chambers are full of statues, stupas, thangkas, ancient swords and Tantric wall paintings.
Saspul : Over the river from Alchi on the main road village, Saspul has small white and red cave temple nearby.
Leh Gompa : Leh Gompa houses a large golden Buddha, many painted scrolls, murals and old manuscripts.
Hemis High Altitude National Park : 35 kms. This 600 sq.kms area is home to some of the most exotic and rare flora and fauna species, many of which are on the endangered list like shapu, bharal, ibexc, snow leopard etc.
Accomadation is available at the camping sites. for reservations contact the Divisional Forest Officer, Wildlife Warden, Leh.
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