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Cultural Tours >> Monasteries |
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Duration : |
8 Nights / 9 Days
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Destinations Covered : |
Ladakh |
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Upon arrival at Leh Airport you will met by Green Chili Holidays representative and Welcome in traditional Ladakhi style and transfer to your pre-booked hotel, rest of the day at leisure to acclimatize. Overnight stay at hotel
Later in the afternoon, visit Shanti Stupa , Stupa at Changspa was built by the Japanese Buddhist organization "The Japanese for World Peace" to celebrate 2,500 years of Budhism. It was inaugurated by His Holiness Dalai Lama in 1985. From there one can see the nice spectacular view of Leh town. Overnight stay at the hotel.
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After breakfast we depart for Sightseeing tour ofSpituk
Spituk monastery was built in 15th century during the reign of Grags 'bum-lde, these new Gelug-pa monastery was built like fortress on the summit of crags. Spituklies 5 kms south of Leh. Nesting at the foot of the crags are the flat-topped houses which go to form the village of Spituk.
Visit Hall of Fame near Leh is worth a visit for every citizen. It is a glorious museum constructed by Indian army. You can see the memorabilia, eminent defence personalities with biographies, images and weapons used during Kargil war and belongings of enemy soldiers found at war site. Another section of this building is entirely dedicated to Siachen and its heroes. On display are attires, multi layered shoes to keep their feet safe from frost bites, their daily instruments, their day to day food mainly frozen and packed, which is heated by lighting small balls of Hexamycin tablets, as fire is difficult to ignite at a temperature dipping -30 deg to -50 deg centigrade. It is mentioned on a board that 97% of the casualties in Siachen are due to cold and terrain.
After Lunch depart for a guided sightseeing tour of SankarGompa, located at a distance of approximately 3 km from the town of Leh. A subsidiary of the SpitukGompa, it belongs to the Gelukpa or the Yellow Hat Sect. The monastery also serves as the official residence of the Ladakh's head of Gelukpa Sect, known as The KushokBakul. There are time restrictions for visiting the Sankar Monastery of LehLadakh. You can visit either between 7:00 am and 10:00 am, or between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
Visit Leh Palace; is one of the most captivating architectural ruins that attract the attention of the tourists almost immediately with its majestic setting at the edge of the Namgyal hill and overlooking the town and at once looks like a reminiscent of Lhasa's Potala Palace. The Palace was built in the middle of the 16th century by King Singe Namgyal and still belongs to the royal family that now lives in the Stok Palace. The nine-storeyed monument is now in ruins. The palace remains locked and may be opened at request by a monk.Overnight stay at the hotel.
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After breakfast, depart for Alchi, enroute visit Phyang, located 6 kms away from the Srinagar-Leh highway and 17 km from Leh. It was built during the reign of King JamyangNamgyal in late 15th century by LamaKungaDragspa. Phiyang belongs to Dri-pungkagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. The man Assembly Hall which is now under conservation contains as main image Vairocana accompanied by Shakyamuni and various Kagyu lamas, and the walls are painted pleasingly with murals of Vajradhara and Five DhyaniBuddhas.
And we drive further to Likir,Likirgompa situated atop a windy cliff top overlooking the beautiful village of Likir, This Monastery is headed by the younger brother of Dalai Lama. According to tradition the foundation of Likir monastery goes back 11th century when it was a Bon center. But the real foundation seems to be not earlier than 15th century.
Then we drive and cross the River Indus and reach Alchi, Ladakh's most loved monastery. Over a century old, its wall paintings are very similar to those of the Tabogompa in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Unlike other monasteries, which are usually on a cliff top or cling to a mountainside, Alchi is at ground level and is nestled in the shade of a garden.
After visiting the Alchi Monastery we check in at your Camp / Guest House for Overnight stay.
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After breakfast start early morning drive to Lamayuru, and Ridzongand later back to Leh.
Lamayuru monastery belongs to Dripung Kagyu (Red Hat) like Phiyang. The oldest structure in Lamayuru is the SingeyLhakhang built by the founder of AlchiLotsavaRinchenbzangpo in 11th century. Lamayuru lower ladakhit's also called as sham.
After visit at LamayuruGompa, drive to RidzongGompa: RizongGompa is known as the paradise for Meditation. Guru Padma Sambhava is believed to meditated here for years. One can still find the small caves where Lamas used to meditate for years cutting themselves from the rest of the world except for a one feet square outlet window from where they accept the one time meal of the day.
Visit Rid-zong is the most recent of the Gelug-pa foundation in Ladakh. The monastery has been built picturesquely at the head of a gorge reached by a side-valley running north from the Indus near a village Uletokpo. Rid-zong is best known as best disciplined monastery of the whole of Ladakh.
Later drive back to Leh and check in at your hotel for overnight stay
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Excursion to Matho, Stakna&Stok
Post breakfast we will take you on an excursion trip to few more interesting monasteries of Leh and will start with a visit toMatho, lies 26 Kms south-east of Leh on the opposite bank of the Indus river. The monastery was founded by Lama DugpaDorjay in 16th century. Matho is the only Sakya-pa establishment in Ladakh.
Matho monastery is renowned mainly for its yearly festival, which takes place on the 14th and 15th of the first Tibetan month thus in late March or early April. It is known as Nag-hrang after the name of the local god (sa-bdag).
Visit Stakna is a small monastery, comprising the private apartment, all newly decorated in good Tibetan style, a Du-khang and the roms of monks and attendants. The Du-khang contains a silver gilt stupa, some seven feet high, set up by the present Head Lama Stakna Rinpoche.
After covering above two monasteries we will drive back to Leh and visit Stok Palace on the way. The castle was built on a hill at the end of village in about the year 1825 by kingTsespalTondupNamgyal. In stok there is also the sacred monastery of Gurphug, a branch of Spituk Monastery. On the 9th and 10th days of the first tibeten month of the festival called the "Guru Tshechu" is held during which the monks of Spituk Monastery come to perform the sacred dances. Overnight stay at the hotel.
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Today we will proceed for Indus Valley monastery tour.
Visit HemisGompa, This is the largest monastic foundation of Drukpa Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built during early 17th century with the blessing of Lama StagtsangRaspa (Shambunatha), by famous Namgyal dynasty king SingeeNamgyal.The two-day festival of monastic dance in June-July has raised the reputation of Hemis particularly high. The festival is dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, popularly known as second Buddha and responsible for spreading Buddhism in the Tibetan world.
Visit Tak-thok Monastery, is situated in Sakti Village, at a distance of approximately 46 km from the town of Leh. The site where the monastery is now situated, once served as the meditation cave of Mahasidhas "KungaPhuntsog". The name Takthok literally means 'rock-roof'.
Visit Chemday, The other monastery closely associated with Hemis is Chemday, which occupies an imposing position just to the south of Sakti village. The Du-khang contains images of stag-tshangRaspa, founder of the Hemis monastery and Chemday, and the last but one head-lama in this series of reincarnations. After finishing the sightseeing tour, drive back to hotel for overnight stay.
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Today we proceed for Indus Valley monastery tour With Mahabodhi Meditation Centre. We start with a visit to Shey the ancient capital of Ladakh. The monastery here has a huge gold-gilded statue of Buddha Sakyamuni with a large silver lamp burning in front of the statue, built in the memory of King SingeeNamgyal by his son lDeldanNamgyal in 1633 A.D. It is the only kind of statue made of Gold, Gilt and copper in entire Ladakh.
Visit ThikseyGompa an impressive complex rising tier upon tier on a hill above the village. The monastery has a beautiful 30mts high gold-plated statue of Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the future is one of the most beautiful monasteries of Ladakh,.
Later return back to Leh,enroute visitMahabodhi, Mahabodhi is the only centre in Ladakh to conduct Dhamma talks and meditation programs. Situated in the center of Leh city (which is away from the main bazaar and not too noisy) daily meditation courses are conducted for the benefit and happiness of the people those who come from within and outside India. Overnight stay at the hotel
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After Early breakfast, visit Sabu oracle for Prophecy Namgyal peak – Crowned by the now ruined fortress, houses Buddha's deity Maitreya. It was here that the bodies of the defeated Mughals were offered to deities in the medieval era
Rest of the day at leisure to explore the beauty of Ladakh on your own and time for last day shopping.
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| We thank you for your patronage and ensure a punctual transfer to Domestic Airport to catch the flight for your onward Destination |
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