Visit to Lovely Leh in Ladakh Amongst the Himalaya Mountains in India

Himalaya mountain range in India has lot of beautiful places hidden within it that attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. Kashmir is the most famous region that covers all such places. However, there are some remote places, which are not very commonly visited and offer virgin beauty of Himalayas. Ladakh is one such place. Ladakh is situated at the height of 11000 feet from the mean sea level. It is very close to the Indo-China border and has started developing recently as a tourist place. Leh is the capital of Ladakh. Buddha religion is widely spread in this region. Though, this region is in the most remote corner of India, it attracts many visitors due to its breathtaking beauty.

Leh is connected by air from Delhi. Shrinagar and Chandigarh. The nearest railway station is Jammu, which is around 420 miles away from Leh. There are regular bus services available from Shrinagar. The road journey to Leh from Shrinagar is full of natural beauty and passes through the highest ghat in the world, which is called Fotu-la ghat. It takes around 14 hours to reach Leh from Shrinagar by bus. This would be the best option to reach Leh as it offers the most vital scenic beauty all through the way. There are many good hotels available at Leh like Golden Continental, Kang-lha Chan, Himalaya, Yak tail, Masila, and Bijju. The rates for these hotels range from Rs.2000 ($50) to Rs.5000 ($125) per day for double room. It is advisable to book your hotel accommodation in advance as there may be heavy rush during peak season here from October to December. You must carry sufficient warm clothes as there will be severe cold here during winter. Surprisingly summers are very hot here in spite of its height due to geographical reasons. The main languages spoken here are Ladakhi, Puric, Balti, Tibetan, and English. The population is very scarce here. Very heavy snowfalls occur here during peak winter that may result in to land slides, closing the entire traffic for even few days. You will see three main colors here at Ladakh. These are white, grey, and black respectively of snow, land, and the shadows of valleys. You may plan around 3 to 4 days stay here to cover all the site seeing places.

There are many places to be seen here at Leh. The most vital spot is the palace of Leh. This palace was built in 16^th century and it has a large treasure of old wall paintings. The next is the Leh mosque. This mosque was built in early seventeenth century by Deldon Namagyal in the memory of his Muslim mother. This mosque is situated in the middle of the city near to main market. This mosque's architecture is the mixture of Iran and Turki styles. Gomma Tsemo is the next spot, which is the most famous math of the royal family. There is a statue of Lord Buddha that is 24 feet high and is made of white marble. Namagyal Tsemo is the math that is located on the top of the valley and should never be missed. It has ancient hand written books and the paintings of Lord Buddha's time. Basgo Gompa is the Gompa that is built from earth and the bricks before around 400 years.

There is a statue of Lord Buddha made of gold and bronze, which is said to be 1000 years old. She Gompa is the next spot to be visited. This was the palace of the royal family to stay in summer. There is a small library, 40 feet high statue of Lord Buddha here. The statue is made of copper with the solid gold sheets coverings. Matho Gompa, which is situated near the city palace, is around 450 years old. The big fair of Lord Buddha followers is held here every year. There are many excursions that can be visited from Leh within a day. Alchi Gompa is situated around 30 miles in the West of Leh. The entire life story of Lord Buddha is engraved here on all the walls. Hamish Gompa is situated around 24 miles away from Leh. This is the most vital Gompa of Ladakh. There are around 1008 flags flying high from all the pillars. There are many gold statues and a very large collection of precious diamonds here. All such places can be visited in a hired car or taxi from Leh. When you visit Ladakh, make sure to carry some dry fruits, chocolates etc that can give you instant energy at the height of around 12000 feet. The China border is only around 18 miles away from Leh. However, no visitors are allowed to go to the border in view of security reasons.

If you are fond of adventurous tourism, Ladakh is the most ideal location for you to visit. You shall find the nature in its most prime, virgin, and natural form here.