One of the classic trekking tours of the region, rough tough and wonderful views every day for 3 weeks. The gateway to Zanskar valley
Highlights include :
Leh : the main town of the region, is dominated by Sengge Namgyal’s 9-story Palace, a building in the grand tradition of Tibetan architecture, said to have inspired the famous Potola in Lhasa. Down in the bazaar, the main sites to visit are the Jo-Khang, a modern ecumenical Buddhist temple, and the imposing Mosque dating from the late 17th century. For locals and visitors alike a stroll along the main bazaar observing the varied crowd and peering into the curio shops is an entrancing experience.
Hemis: It is the wealthiest , best known and biggest Gompa of Ladakh. Its popularity stems from the major annual festival held here in summer. The festival is in honor of Guru Padma Sambhav’s birth anniversary. It also has the largest Thanka in Ladakh, which is unfurled once in 12 years ( next in 2004 ). Hemis was built in 1630 during the reign of Sengge Namgyal , an illustrious ruler of Ladakh. It flourished under the Namgyal dynasty for the royalty favored for Drugkpa Sect, which managed the monastery. It is divided into two, the Assembly Hall on the right and the main temple on the left. The hall, Dukhang, is also used as a ‘ Green room ’ by the dancers during the festival. The temple is known as Tshogkhang. The verandahs have a surfeit of frescoes among them the Buddhist Wheel of Life ( Kalachakra ) and the Lord of the four quarters, besides rows of prayer wheels.
Thiksey: The 500 year old Thiksey monastery, perched on a hill high above the Indus. Has about 100 yellow cap monks. On the right of the entrance to the main courtyard, a New chapel houses an enormous 15 meter high, seated Buddha figure. The morning prayer can be witness around 6 AM, but there are also prayers closer to noon, preceded by long mournful sounds from the horns on the roof. The monastery mountain is best ascended on foot although there is also a new road up to the monastery. The temple of Zan-la is beside the car parking area on this road. On the walls of the Gompa courtyard are some interesting Tibetan calendars. In the chapel is a picture near the central Chamba statue, of Tsung-Khapas, the founder of the Tugend ( Gelupa ) sect. Some steps run up to a roof balcony from which there is access to the rooms of the Head lama.
Shey: The old summer Palace of the kings of Ladakh, Shey ( 15 km. From Leh towards Hemis ) was built more than 550 years ago by Lhachen Palgyigon, the king of Ladakh. It stands next to the remains of a larger construction on the east side of a hill, which runs south-east towards the Indus. From the Palace you can see over the fertile Indus plain, north-east to the Thiksey Gompa and over the Indus to the Zanskar mountain range. Hundreds of Chortens of the most diverse from and size stand on the barren plains to the north, separated from the fertile riverbank along the Hemis road. The old palace Gompa has the largest golden Buddha statue in Ladakh.
Alchi: On the banks of the Indus is the Alchi Gompa, dating a thousand years back. One of its walls features thousands of miniature-sized pictures of the Buddha. Three large sized images made of clay and painted brightly are its focal attraction. No longer an active religious center, it is looked after by monks from the Likir monastery.
AGRA : At the time of the Moguls, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Agra was the capital of India, and its superb monuments date from that era. Agra has a magnificent fort and the building which many people come to India solely to see-the Taj Mahal. Agra became the capital of Sikandra Lodi in 1501, but was soon passed on to the Moguls, and both Babur and Humayun made some early Moghul constructions here. It was under Akbar that Agra first aspired to its height of magnificence.
TAJ MAHAL : If there's a building which represent a country - like the Eiffel Tower of France, the Sydney Opera House for Australia - then it has to be the Taj Mahal for India.
This most famous Moghul monument was constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the `lady of the Taj'. It has been described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, for the emperor was heartbroken when Mumtaz, to whom he had been married for 17 years, died in 1629 in childbirth, after producing 14 children. Construction of the Taj began in 1631 and was not completed until 1653. Workers were recruited not only from all over India but also from central Asia, and in total 20,000 people worked on the building. Experts were even brought from as far away as Europe - the Frenchman Austin of Bordeaux and the Italian
Verona of Venice had a hand in its decoration. The main architect was Isa Khan, who came from Shiraz in Iran.
AGRA FORT : Construction of the massive Agra Fort was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565, and additions were made up until the time of his grandson, Shah Jahan. While in Akbar's time the fort was principally a military structure by Shah Jahan's time it had become partially a palace. There are many fascinating buildings inside the massive walls which stretch for 2.30 km, surrounded by a moat over 10 meters wide. The fort is on the banks of the Yamuna River.
FATEHPUR SIKRI : Between 1570 and 1586, during reign of Emperor Akbar, the capital of the Moghul Empire was situated here, 40 km west of Agra. Then, as suddenly and dramatically as this new city had been built, it was abandoned. Today it's a perfectly preserved example of a Moghul city at the height of the empire's splendor - an attraction no visitor to Agra should miss.
Legend says that Akbar was without a male heir and made a pilgrimage to this spot to see the saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. The saint foretold the birth of Akbar's son, the future emperor, Jehangir, and in gratitude Akbar named his son Salim. Furthermore, Akbar transferred his capital to Sikri and built a new and splendid city. Later, however, the city was abandoned mainly due, it is thought, to difficulties with the water supply.
Although a Muslim, Akbar was known to be very tolerant towards other religions, and he spent much time discussing and studying them in Fatehpur Sikri. He also developed a new religion called Deen Ilahi which attempted to synthesize elements from all the major religions. Akbar's famous courtiers, such as Bibal, Raja Todarmal and Abu Fazal, had their houses near his palace in the city.
