Page 143 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

LAD AKH , JA MMU & K ASHMIR  141

hilltop, so close to the
airport that the wings Festivals of Ladakh,
of landing aircraft come Jammu & Kashmir
perilously close to its
walls, is the 15th­century Hemis Festival (Jun/Jul),
Spituk Monastery, the Hemis. Of all Ladakh’s
oldest establishment monastery festivals (see
of the Gelugpa sect in p144) the one at Hemis
is the most famous. This
Ladakh. It houses the religious performance
library of Tsongkapa, with colourful masks and
the sect’s founder, and costumes, offers a wonder­
a shrine devoted to the fully authentic experience
goddess Tara (see p145) in of Buddhist culture.
her myriad manifestations.
Situated in one of Ladakh’s
most charming villages,
Phiyang Monastery, is
one of only two that
represent the Drigungpa
An archery contest near Leh sect. It was founded by
Ladakh’s 16th­century
depending on the season. Down ruler, Tashi Namgyal, supposedly
the hill in the village of Skara, as an act of atone ment for the
the massive mud walls of the violence and treachery by
19th­century Zorawar Fort catch which he came to the throne. Masked dancers performing at the
the eye. Another lovely walk is Among its many treasures is a Hemis Festival
up past the Moravian Church to large and interesting collection
the serene village of Changspa of Kashmiri bronzes of Buddhist Sindhu Darshan (11–13
with its ancient chorten. From deities, dating back to the 13th Jun), Leh. This festival is
here a road turns towards the century, or possibly even earlier. held annually as a homage
beautifully maintained 19th­ to the Indus. Held on the
century Sankar Monastery, P Leh Palace river banks, it includes
with its impressive images Open daily. 8 Book in advance. exhibitions, polo matches
of Avalokitesvara and of Vajra­ & and archery contests.
Bhairav, Guardian of the  Namgyal Tsemo Ladakh Festival (20–26 Sep),
Gelugpa order (see p143). Open daily. 8 Book in advance. Leh and Kargil. Subsidized
by the Tourism Department,
Environs E Ecological Centre this is held for a week in the
Choglamsar, 10 km (6 miles) Open Mon–Fri. Tel (01982) 253 221. Sindhu Sanskriti Hall, as well
south of Leh, is the main  Jokhang as in Kargil and some select ed
villages. Apart from the
Tibetan refugee settlement Open daily. traditional masked dances,
in Ladakh. It includes the Dalai  Sankar Monastery the events include polo
Lama’s prayer ground, known Open daily. & matches and archery contests
as Shanti Sthal, an SOS – both being popular
Children’s Village, the Central  Spituk Monastery traditional sports in the region.
Institute of Buddhist Studies, Open daily. & Photography with A handicrafts exhibition is
a solar­heated hospital and permission of the lama­in­charge. also held.
workshops that promote  Phiyang Monastery Thikse Festival (Oct/Nov),
colourful Tibetan handicrafts. Open daily. & Photography with Thikse. The annual festival of
Dramatically situated on a permission of the lama­in­charge. the Gelugpa sect takes place
in a beautiful setting. The
precise dates of monastery
festivals are fixed according
to the Tibetan lunar calendar
and vary every year.
Milad-ul-Nabi (Apr/May),
Srinagar. The Prophet’s
birthday is celebrated
with special fervour at the
Hazratbal Mosque, when
its sacred relic, a lock of the
Prophet’s hair, is displayed
to devotees.
Spituk Monastery’s labyrinth of shrines linked by narrow passages

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