- Sino's Travel Journal




Sunset @ Leh City (PANO)
 



Leh City (PANO)
 



Fotu La

Fotu La (Hindi: फ़ोतु ला) or Fatu La is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in the Himalayas Zaskar Range in India. At an elevation of 4,108 metres (13,478 ft), it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zoji La.
Fotu La is one of two high mountain passes between Leh and Kargil, the other being Namika La.
Moving eastwards, the highway begins to descend towards the town of Lamayuru after Fotu La. There is a Prasar Bharati television relay station serving Lamayuru located on the pass.
 

Last edited:


Khardung La

Khardung La (Khardung Pass, la means pass in Tibetan) at 5,359 m (17,582 ft) elevation is a high mountain pass located in Ladakh region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The local pronunciation is "Khardong La" or "Khardzong La," but, as with most names in Ladakh, the romanised spelling varies.
The pass on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988 and has since seen many automobile, motorbike and mountain biking expeditions. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry supplies to the Siachen Glacier.
Khardong La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia. About 10,000 horses and camels used to take the route annually, and a small population of Bactrian camels can still be seen at Hundar, in the area north of the pass. During World War II there was an attempt to transfer war material to China through this route.
 



Khardung La
 



Zoji La (PANO)

Zoji La (Hindi: ज़ोजि ला or ज़ोजि दर्रा) is a high mountain pass in India, located on the Indian National Highway 1 between Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range. Though often referred to as Zojila Pass in the foreign press, the correct English translation is Zoji Pass or simply Zojila, since the suffix 'La' itself means pass in several Himalayan languages. In modern-day North Indian languages, 'La' (ला) and 'Darra' (दर्रा) are both used interchangeably to mean pass.
Zoji La is 9 km (5.6 mi) from Sonamarg and provides a vital link between Ladakh and Kashmir. It runs at an elevation of approximately 3,528 metres (11,575 ft), and is the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway. It is often closed during winter, though the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working to extend traffic to most parts of the year. The Beacon Force unit of the BRO is responsible for clearing and maintenance of the road during Winter.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Zoji La was seized by Pakistani raiders in 1948 in their campaign to capture Ladakh. The pass was captured by Indian forces on 1 November in a daring infantry assault codenamed Operation Bison, which achieved success primarily due to the surprise use of tanks, then the highest altitude at which tanks had operated in combat in the world.
 



Zoji La (PANO)
 



Village (PANO)
 

Last edited:


Village
 



Village
 



Village
 



Diskit Monastery

Diskit Monastery also known as Deskit Gompa or Diskit Gompa is the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery (gompa) in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh, northern India.[1][2]
It belongs to the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Changzem Tserab Zangpo, a disciple of Tsong Khapa, founder of Gelugpa, in the 14th century.[3][4] It is a sub-gompa of the Thikse gompa.
Lachung Temple and Hundur Monastery are also located nearby, the latter is below the main road near a bridge.[3][4]
The monastery has statue of Maitreya Buddha in the prayer hall, a huge drum and several images of fierce guardian deities. An elevated cupola of the moanstery depicts a fresco of the Tashilhunpo Monastery of Tibet.
The Monastery administration runs a school, with support from a Non-Government Organization (NGO) known as the "Tibet Support Group", which has computer facilities and teaches scienece subjects, in English, to Tibetan children of the region.
A popular festival known as Dosmoche or the "Festival of the Scapegoat" is held in the precincts of the monastery in February during the winter season, which is largely attended by people from villages of the Nubra Valley since the other regions in Leh are inaccessible during this period due to heavy snow fall.
 



Took at the gigantic statue of guru Rimpoche (PANO)
 

Last edited:


Sunset @ Nubra Valley

Nubra Valley is about 150 km north of Leh, the capital town of Ladakh, India. Local scholars say that its original name was Ldumra (the valley of flowers). The Shyok River meets the Nubra or Siachan River to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh and the Karakoram Ranges. The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The common way to access this valley is to travel over the Khardung La from Leh. Non-locals require an Inner Line Permit (obtainable in Leh town) to enter Nubra.
 

Last edited:


Sunset @ Nubra Valley
 



Sunset @ Nubra Valley
 

Last edited:


Sunset @ Nubra Valley
 

Last edited:


Nubra Valley