Hi All,

I visited Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir state some time back. Sharing my experience of this travel with everyone.

My tour was organized by a yoga and meditation centre, and was very well organised tour.

We were total 35 travellers. I hardly knew anyone there, this gave me good enough time to be with myself, and also to develop cordial relation with new people who came from different countries and backgrounds.

People go to Leh-Ladakh for various reasons – mainly for trekking, bike riding etc.

My main goal to go to Ladakh was to see nature, monasteries and have ample meditation time. And my goals were fulfilled in very good extent.

First view of Leh airport was mind blowing. Runway is so much different from our city runways.. Sky is mostly clear and blue color is very vibrant. 😊

First look of airport:

Now before I go into details of my visited places, one advise for all travelers:

Before anyone goes to Leh-Ladakh region or any other very high altitude region, one must have a very good night sleep the earlier nights, and your body must NOT be tired. Also when you reach Leh, the first day should always be spent taking ample amount of rest. Drinking lots and lots and lots of water is a MUST for all! Doing so, your body can adjust to the high altitudes more easily. So rest and drinking ample amount of water is MUST!

In the evening, we visited Shanti Stupa, Buddhist stupa, located at a hill top. There is a Japanese temple inside.

It gives a scenic valley view of Leh.

In above picture, the whole mountain top is shining with golden sun light, and rainbow can also be seen. This is a view from Shanti Stupa. A never seen before thing for me!

Next day morning we visited Tibetan Hemis monastery which had existence even before 11th century.

It has a huge statue of Tibetan guru Padmasambhav.

Had this mesmerizing view of Indus River on the way. It's like a painting:

Hemis monastery, their guru’s statue:

During our stay, we also visited other famous and respected monasteries among Tibetans: Shey Palace, Tiksey monastery, Likir monastery, Spituk monastery, Phyang monastery, and also Pathar Saheb gurudwara where guru Nanak ji stayed.

All monasteries are very beautifully located in natural surroundings and have marvellous huge and small statues of Buddha, future Buddha and lama gurus.

Architecture is unique and you can find hand painted very minutely detailed paintings, covering whole monastery walls everywhere.

Many paintings are hundreds of years old paintings and nicely preserved. All have vibrant natural colors and fresh look.

Future Buddha:

I must say, every monastery is very neat and clean and very well-maintained by local Lamas.

We also visited Alchi village.

Alchi village has very-very old 11 century preserved temples. You can feel inside the temple that how old and unique temples are they. Photography is prohibited, you must personally visit these oldest temples of this region to see and feel its uniqueness. This village has good market to shop for local souvenirs, and also has many apple trees. We plucked and ate fresh apples after taking owner’s permission 😊 😊

Nature’s walk in and around the area is must for every traveler who visit Leh, Ladakh.

It’s a great way to see local way of life and have a good view of hills, small clear water streams flowing inside villages, apple trees, apricot trees and markets of Leh, Ladakh.