Ladakh, the dream horizon (Part 2)

Article and photos: Le Thang

We had been traveling for half a day, through the passes that were beautiful and enchanting, but also a little scary. The sharp turns across the mountainside took us higher and higher, the temperature dropped, and it started to get colder. I saw the first snow-capped peaks, far away on the horizon, where the winding road went deep into the vast patches of light and dark. My friends, their eyes lit up, the car rushed forward with so much excitement.

The local driver stopped the car on the side of the road, in the middle of a green grass valley, which is quite rare in this land. We got off the car in excitement, after half a day of swaying through many mountains and hills. The steppe was beautiful and poetic. I came across a nomadic family traveling by horse, another man herding goats on the grassy slopes, all of them looked extremely lovely. The strangeness of their appearance or the difference in language, customs and habits brought us great curiosity. I took many photos with them and with them alone, before sipping a cup of tea on the roadside and continuing the journey on the steppe.

It took us two days to get from Srinagar to Leh. We reached the town of Kargil, entering Ladakh. Kargil is a large town, dividing the distance between Srinagar and Leh. Kargil was a battlefield in the 1999 blitzkrieg between India and Pakistan. We heard that Kargil was not really safe, so we decided to go another 60km to the peaceful village of Mulbek to sleep there and continue our journey the next morning.

Mulbek dusk, windy, distant horizon storm, the scene became mysterious. We had a plan from home, that when we set foot in Ladakh, you guys would cut each other's hair, and there could not be a more suitable time to do it than now. The brothers took turns cutting their hair, in the cold wind and darkness gradually covering the valley at an altitude of nearly 3,000m.

I woke up when everyone was still fast asleep. Mostly because it was hard to sleep up high, and partly because I was anxiously waiting for the first rays of sunlight to spread down the valley. And when the sun just appeared on the mountain top, that enchanting light made me speechless. Each ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds, creating magical light and dark spaces. I can’t remember how I took those photos there and how long it took. All I know is that those were the most magical frames I have ever seen and recorded.

We were crossing the 4,300m pass after leaving Mulbek. It was a bit unsteady, experiencing the altitude for the first time and the dry, cracked feeling. As we got closer to Leh, the terrain became less and less green, just vast expanses of rock and snow. Ladakh is a Buddhist land, and I started to see more colorful flags and monasteries on the mountains. We were heading towards Lamayuru – the largest and most famous monastery in Ladakh, a must-see on this trip.

Lamayuru is considered the oldest monastery in Ladakh, built around the 10th century by a monk named Napora. Lamayuru is located in a beautiful location on the mountainside, the surrounding terrain is very unique and interesting. We stopped the car and admired the ancient temple from afar, where the winding roads lead us. Then we continued to go inside the monastery, visit the architectural complex, admire the surrounding scenery and interact with the monks and Ladakhi people living here.

We left Lamayuru with regret after lunch at the lovely little restaurant outside the monastery. We wished we had more time to stay and watch Lamayuru in the sunset. But it was still a long way to go and we would reach Leh before dark. We continued our journey, leaving Lamayuru behind. The roads were still as beautiful as in a dream. We experienced many surprises and astonishment, because the landscape was so amazing, changing so much that no section was the same. Sometimes I felt like I was walking through the terrain and geology of Mars, Jupiter or the Moon, if there was no road there.

The car sped along in the golden afternoon sun. The roads were less winding, now straight and seemingly endless, with clouds and rocks leading to the horizon. And as the snow-capped mountains began to appear in the distance, I knew that it was the Himalayas, the foothills of which would soon be the city we would reach. And then we entered Leh, like travelers, as the sun sank behind the mountains.

The Thanh