OK - almost time to pack up and head out. We set off at 8am tomorrow (Wednesday) and have been busying ourselves buying up last minute supplies before the off.
Yesterday afternoon, we left Leh town for the first time and headed off to visit two local Gompas (Monasteries). The first was Matho Gompa, like most others it is perched high on an outcrop of rock, overlooking its village and watercourse. It has been in existence for over 600 years and the drive out to it was impressive enough, even without what lay within. The scenery surrounding Leh cannot be done justice by mere words - it's one of those places that has to be experienced first hand to get a full measure of it. The Stok range of mountains, immediately to the south of the Indus valley along which runs the Manali - Leh - Srinagar highway, soared above us to permanently snow-bound peaks above 6000 metres, or about 20,000 feet. The valley itself is predominantly high desert punctuated by splashes of green around villages situated on the lower level slopes of the mountains on either side, built along tributaries of the Indus. The locals use an ingeniously simple but effective form of irrigation to water their crops that involves moving earth to divert the flow along the minimalist leats that are so perfectly constructed they look almost natural. They share the water to ensure that all villagers get sufficient. In one village we passed a bus that was boarding for the long trip to Manali - no sitting or standing room inside so the remaining customers were climbing onto the roof. We crossed the Indus via an ancient cantilevered bridge bedecked with prayer flags and headed up to Matho. The gompa sits at 11,500 feet and climbing the few flights of steps to the entrance was alarmingly draining. We were welcomed in by the keyholding monk and ushered into the various chambers. This was my first visit to a gompa and I was not prepared for the staggeringly detailed and beautiful artwork within. Completed to incredible detail over huge areas of wall, ceiling, pillar and roof, the only comparison one can make is with the Vatican Museum in Rome, save for the fact that here, as in all gompas, trained monks complete the artwork rather than commissioned 'masters'. In one library room sat a gold chorten, encrusted with gemstones and liberally coated in turquoise. Surrounding it were silk tapestries of exquisite complication. Painted columns and roof trusses, together with hundreds of ancient sanskrits - again all hand-written - made up the room. This was not unique to Matho, or Stakna, which we next visited. Both had several rooms like this and it would have been easy to get saturated by it all and start to lose focus on what was on show. Happily, Kim and Lhakpa (our Nepali head guide) are both knowledgeable on many aspects of the different buddhist sects and were able to explain the meaning behind several of the frescoes. This short piece does little to fully put across the affect entering a place like Stakna or Matho has - I could have stayed for hours, just sitting looking at the walls and ceilings. This is, of course, what the monks do, quietly meditating as they contemplate this life and the next to come.
And when they're not meditating, they can stand outside and take in the fabulous views offered from their elevated perspective. Matho itself reminded me a little of the rice terraces of northen Luzon in the Phillipines. The terracing was shallower but extensive and the backdrop, on one side of the Stok range and on the other of the Indus and Northern Ladakhi mountains, was something of which one would never grow weary. I do regret not reading more about the history of Tibetan Buddhism before travelling out here, such that I could be better equipped to take in and more fully understand more of what is portrayed within the Gompa walls.
Today, we have been out from about 9 until 2, completing an 'acclimatisation walk' up to the Leh Palace and then further to the Fort. In all, a total climb of only about 500ft but in a short, steep burst in the full glare of the hot sun. The catch-phrase for this trip is going to be 'slow and steady', I think! With a sensible pace and plenty of short stops, however, I think we'll be fine. The palace is undergoing a comprehensive re-fit and, once complete, will be a must for a visit. The fort, while small, was impressive and the tiny gompa within housed a Buddha so large as to be unbelieveable that it could fit - the architecture cleverly included a small extended roof section in the centre of the building, hidden to those outside.
We took a more leafy route walking back into town and stopped in at a carpet and pashmina merchant known to Kim (I'm sure she's on commission) to look at some amazing rugs (both in detail, quality and price....) and to enjoy some delicious saffron tea. I may, or may not, have made some purchases!
Tonight, we shall feast for, tomorrow, we depart for the 5 hour jeep ride to the trek start point. For those with access to maps of the area, we stop tomorrow night at Hanupatta before moving on towards Photoksar, Zangla and then the exploratory phase towards Lingshed and finally through to Rangdum where we meet up with our jeep once more. We should be on trail for 3 weeks, so there'll be nothing more for that period.
Thanks for reading this far, and I will - if able to write or move - post again when we return to Leh.
Until then - adieu.
