Excursions :

Religious and Historical Places
Buddhism is the religion of the majority of Leh District's population. The most attractive features of the Landscape of Leh are the Buddhists Gompas ( Monastries). The Gompas are situated on the highest points of the mountain spurs or sprawl over cliffsides, located in vicinity of villages and provide focus for the faith of Buddhists. These Many Gompas celebrate their annual festivals in winter marked by gay mask dances. Gompas have a wreath of artifacts. There are also some religious places of Muslims which constitute slightly more than 15% of the district's population.

The famous religious places include : MONASTERIES

Hemis
Situated 40 Kms from Leh, Hemis is the wealthiest, best known and biggest Gompa of Ladakh. The annual festival of the gompa is held in the summer in the honour of Guru Padma Sambhav's birth anniversary. It also has the largest thanka (scroll painting n silk or brocade) in Ladakh which is unfurled once in 12 years. The next unfurling will take place in 2004. Hemis was built in 1630 A.D. during the reign of Sengge Namgyal and flourished under the Namgyal dynasty.

Alchi
The Gompa is situated on the banks of the Indus , 70 kms from Leh and dates a thousand years back. One of its wall features thousands of miniature sized pictures of the Buddha. The focal attraction of the gompa are three large sized images. The gompa is no longer an active religious centre and is looked after by monks from the Likir Monastery.

Spituk
The gompa stands prominently on the top of the hillock, 8 km from Leh, and commands a panoramic view of the Indus valley for miles. Many icons of Buddha and five thankas are found in the 15th century monastery. There is also a collection of ancient masks, antique arms, and an awe inspiring of Mahakaal.

Phyang
The monastery is situated 17 kms from Leh, on the Leh- Kargil road. It was built by Tashi Namgyal in the later half of the 16th century A.D. and looks like a palace from a distance. The gompa belongs to the Red Cap sect of the Buddhists. Hundreds of icons of Buddha are kept on wooden shelves.

Shey
15 kms upstream from Leh, the palace was once residence of the royal family. The palace is believed to have been the seat of power of the pre-Tibetian kings. A 7.5 metre high copper statue of Buddha, plated with Gold, and the largest of its kind, is installed in the palace.

Thikse
The Thikse monastery is spectacularly situated 19 kms from Leh. It is one of the largest and architecturally most impressive gompas. The gompa has images stupas and wall paintings of Buddha which are exquisite.

Other monasteries f equal importance include Chemrey 45 Kms from Leh, Stakna, Matho, Sankar, Stok and above all Lamayuru, the oldest religious centre of Ladakh.

Jama Masjid, Leh
The historical mosque is situated in the heart of Leh town. It was built in 1666-67 A.D. consequent to an agreement between the Mugal Emperor Aurangzeb and the then ruler of Ladakh, Deldan namgyal. Since then it has been repaired and extended several times. The Mugals has facilitated withdrawal of Mongol army from Ladakh. Although Muslims had arrived in Ladakh as early as in 15th century, he Muslim shrines were constructed later than that. A couple of years ago, the jama Masjid was dismantled and a new mosque was constructed in its place, using modern mansonry skills.

Masjid-e-Shah-e-Hamdan
In Shey village, 15 km upstream from Leh, there is a small mosque of great historicalvalue. The mosque was built by one of the greatest preachers of Islam in Kashmir , Mir Syad Ali Hamdani, popularly known as Shah-e-Hamdan. He had arrived in Ladakh about seven centuries ago .

Zogila Pass
Zojila is one of the highest mountain passes of the world.The strategic Srinagar-Ladakh highway passes through the 11,578- foot high Zojila Pass which lies on the lower depression of the Himalayan ranges, about 100 km from Srinagar. The pass attracts the heaviest snowfall during winter and as such it remains closed to traffic for nearly six months in a year. The accumulation of huge quantities of snow over Zojila Pass , presents the biggest hurdle to traffic on this road. The 434-km long highway is Ladakh's lifeline and after Kargil skirmishes in 1999 with Pakistan , the government has stepped up the pace of road construction because of the strategic significance of the area.

Khardungla Pass.
At 18,380 ft. the world's highest motorable road & gateway to siachen Glacier is Khardungla Pass. It is just under 40 km north of Leh by road on the way to the Nubra and connects Leh to the Nubra Valley . Although one needs a permit to visit the Nubra Valley itself (very cheap-a couple of hundred rupees or so from any travel agent in Leh), it is not necessary to have a permit just to ride to the top of the pass. The ride itself is quite good, providing good views towards Leh, and at the top one can see the Karakorum range to the north of the pass, and then by turning 180 degrees see the Himalayas back towards Leh. The descent from the checkpoint is fantastic because it is so long!

ZANSKAR
About 20 Kms. south-east of Rangdum stands the Pazila watershed across which lies Zanskar, the most isolated of all the trans-Himalayan valleys. The Penzila Top (4401 m) is a picturesque table land adorned with two small alpine lakes and surrounded by snow covered peaks. As the Zanskar road winds down the steep slopes of the watershed to the head of the Stod Valley, oneofZanskar's main tributory valleys, the majestic "Drang-Drung" glacier looms into full view. A long and winding river of ice and snow, the "Drang-Drung" is perhaps the largest glacier in Ladakh, outside the Siachen formation. It is from the cliff-like snout of this extensive glacierthatthe Stod or Doda River , the main tributary of River Zanskar, rises.

Zanskar comprises a tri-armed valley system lying between the Great Himalayan Range and the Zanskar mountains; the three arms radiate star-like towards the west, north and south from a wide central expanse where the region's two principal drainages meet to form the main Zanskar River . It is mainly along the course of this valley system that the region's 10,OOO strong, mainly Buddhist population live.

Spread over an estimated geographical area of 5000 sq. kms., Zanskar is surrounded by high-rise mountains and deep gorges. The area remains inaccessible for nearly 8 months a year due to heavy snowfall resulting in closure of all the access passes, including the Penzi-la. This geographical isolation together with the esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here has enabled its inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity. To-day, Zanskar has the distinction of being the least interfered with microcosms of Ladakh. and one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet . Closer observation of the living conditions evokes admiration for a people who have learnt to live in perfect harmony with the unique environment.

Within the mountain ramparts of this lost Shangrila stand a number of ancient yet active monastic establishments. Some of these religious foundations have evolved around remote meditation caves believed to have been used by a succession of famous Buddhist saints for prolonged meditation in pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment.

Kargil:
The western parts of Ladakh comprising the river valleys, which are drained and formed by the Himalayan tributaries of the high Indus , constitute Kargil district. Prominent among these are the spectacular valleys of Suru and Zanskar , which lie nestled along the northern flank of the Great Himalayan wall. The smaller lateral valleys of Drass , Wakha-Mulbek and Chiktan constitute important subsidiaries.

This region formed part of the erstwhile Kingdom of Ladakh . In fact it is believed to be the first to be inhabited by the early colonizers of Ladakh, the Indo-Aryan Mons from across the Great Himalayan range, assorted Dard immigrants from down the Indus and the Gilgit valleys and itinerant nomads from the Tibetan highlands. Also, being contiguous with Baltistan, Kashmir , Kulu etc. these valleys are believed to have served as the initial recipients of successive ethnic and cultural influences emanating from the neighbouring regions. Thus, while the Mons are believed to have introduced north-Indian Buddhism to these valleys, the Dard and Balti immigrants are credited with introducing farming and the Tibetan nomads with the tradition of herding and animal husbandry.

About 15,000 sq. kms. in area, Kargil district has an agrarian population of approximately 120,000 people, who cultivate the land, along the course of the drainage system, wherever artificial irrigation from mountain streams is possible. About 85 % are Muslims, mainly of the Shia sect, Islam having been introduced to the original Buddhist population around the middle of the 16th century by missionaries from Kashmir and Central Asia . Their descendants, locally titled Agha , are mostly religious scholars who continue to hold sway over the population, even as the age-old traditions of Buddhist and animistic origin are discernible in the culture. Many elements of the ancient supernatural belief systems, especially many traditions connected with agricultural practices, are still followed with subdued reverence.