10D Ladakh Jeep Safari & the Hemis Festival!
The lush green Kullu-Manali valley is located in the Lower Western Himalaya in total contrast from the barren landscape of the Trans Himalaya. Blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, Kullu valley is rightly celebrated as the valley of Gods. Nestled between Dhauladhar and the Pir Panjal ranges, it is the cradle of great river Beas. About 80 km long, this lush valley extends from the gorge at Aut, a little town on the Highway to the Rohtang Pass (3978m). It harbors evergreen forest, alpine meadows, beautiful rivers and orchard laden with fruits. Its inhabitants are joyful and gentle.
The Hemis festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava (Gur Rimpoche) venerated as the representative reincarnate of Buddha. And so on this day, the Hemis Monastery observes a major extravaganza in his memory. The observance of these sacred rituals is believed to give spiritual strength and good health.
The Hemis festival takes place in the rectangular courtyard in front of the main door of the Hemis monastery. The ceremonies begin with an early morning ritual atop the Gompa where, to the beat of drums and the resounding clash of cymbals and the spiritual wail of pipes, the portrait of "Dadmokarpo" or "Rygyalsras Rimpoche" is then ceremoniously put on display for all to admire and worship. The most esoteric of festivities are the mystic mask dances. The Mask Dances of Ladakh are referred collectively as chams Performance. Chams performance is essentially a part of Tantric tradition, performed only in those gompas which follow the Tantric vajrayana teachings and the monks perform tantric worship.
Arrive Delhi airport, meet and greet by our Indian Tour Leader and a short orientation drive around Delhi before transferring to New Delhi Railway Station. We board the fast Shatabedi train leaving Delhi 1720 and arriving Chandigarh 2040. On arrival in Chandigarh transfer to Solitiare Hotel or similar.
After breakfast we drive 320 km (7-8 hours) to Manali visiting Himachal Darshan Photo Gallery, Brijeshwar Mahadev Temple, Rorich Art Gallery and Naggar Castle at Naggar. Rorich Art Gallery displays the artwork of both Professor Nicholas Rorich and his son. Naggar was the old capital of Kullu state before it was shifted to Kullu town in 1660. Overnight in Silmog Garden or similar.
We visit the Hidimba Devi temple, constructed in the middle of pine forest. Hidimba is the family Goddess of the Royal family of Kullu. There are natives hiring traditional dress, yaks to ride and photograph in the premises of the temple. We then visit Manu temple in the next village called old Manali. Manali is named after Manu Temple, which was traditionally called as Manu-Alaya which means "House of Manu". So later it was pronounced as Manali. According to Hindu mythology, human and nature have cycle of development and when it reaches its peak it is destroyed by natural calamity and only few people survive in this cycle. In the last destruction of the world, Manu was leader of the people who survived and he started the world from Manali. We will also visit the Tibetan monasteries and mountaineering institute. Free afternoon for shopping and own activities. Overnight in Silmog Garden or similar.
Optional Manali - Solang Trek at no extra cost
After breakfast trek 4 hours to Solang passing through old Manali, Gushal, Shanag and Burua villages on the way. We will also visit Hidimba Devi and Manu temple on the way. This trek offers good opportunities to meet the natives of Kullu valley in their homes and farms and apple orchards. Along the way, we are greeted by the people of the valley as all our guides are locals from the area. Overnight in Silmog Garden or similar.
After breakfast we will start our most scenic journey over the Pir Panjal range of the High Himalaya crossing Rohtang Pass (3978m) with fantastic views of the surrounding Chandra Bhaga range of peaks, mountain range and glaciers. Most of the peaks in CB range are above 5000m. From Rohtang, we descend into the Lahaul valley at Koksar check-point. After completing formalities to enter into the tribal area of Lahaul, we will follow the Chandra river to our next destination, a small town called Keylong - the district headquarter of Lahaul, passing through many traditional tribal villages with beautiful scenery with lot of waterfalls and huge glaciers and snow capped peaks. Overnight in Tashi Delek or similar.
After breakfast trek to Shishur Monastery, located just above Keylong town. On completion trek down to Keylong for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to visit the Kardang Monastery on the opposite side of Keyong. The afternoon is free for shopping and own activities. Overnight in Tashi Delek or similar.
Optional Kora Trek at no extra cost
Those of us who wish to acclimatize with a longer trek can do so with a trek crossing a small pass. We will start our day by walking from Keylong to Kardang monastery and crossing the Kardang pass above the monastery. The Kora trek as it is called is one of the traditional pilgrims trek of natives of Lahaul and it ends at Gondla around 15 km from Keylong on the other side of the hill. This takes around 5-6 hours. On completion we drive back to Keylong.
An easy day covering a short distance of 120 km or a 4-5 hour drive through Lahaul valley to Sarchu, over the second pass at Baralachala 4890m. The scenery changes again from the semi-barren Lahaul to barren landscape with different colours of the Trans Himalayan mountains on the other side of the Baralachala. Three rivers originating from this pass - the Chandra, Bhaga and Yanum.
The top of the pass is has stunning vistas of the Western Himalaya. Four valleys meet here and it was one of the trade post where the traders of four valleys used to bring their goods to barter one with the other. Traders of Changthang used to bring their fine pashimna in exchange for the salt, butter and other spices brought by the traders of Lahaul. You will also be visiting two small mountain Lakes Deepak Tal and Surej Tal on the way. Overnight in tented camp.
We start early on a 240 km, 7-8 hour drive to Leh crossing 3 of the highest passes on this route - Nakee La (5050m) Lachlung La (5100m) and Tanglang La (5360m). If we are fortunate we may meet some of the "Changpas" nomadic shepherds, who are traders who used to work for caravans in Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti. The area is rich in wildlife including the "Kyang" (wild ass), red fox and the rare, highly endangered, snow leopard.
The mountains and barren landscapes are reminiscent of moonscapes and hence this area is popularly known as Moonland. Overnight in Nirwana Palace or similar.
Our visit to Ladakh is not complete without visiting the Hemis Monastery. It is one of the largest and most important monasteries with an excellent library, well preserved wall paintings and Buddha figures. An early morning drive takes us to Hemis monastery to visit the Hemis festival where we will spend the whole day before driving back to Leh. Overnight in the Nirwana Palace or similar.
Early morning drive to Thiksey monastery to witness the morning prayer. After breakfast at Chamba Restaurant we walk towards Shey Palace and Stok Palace Museum for a visit. The afternoon is free for own leisure. Overnight in Nirwana Palace or similar.Optional 2nd visit to Hemis Festival at EXTRA COST
Those of us who are interested to visit Hemis monastery again can book our transport for the afternoon or to visit any other monasteries or sights.
Jeep hire cost is SGD $60 per jeep for max. 03 guests.
After an early breakfast we transfer to the Leh airport for our scheduled flight to Delhi where the day is free at our leisure. In the afternoon we transfer to Delhi airport for our departure flight for Singapore. |
