Ladakh and the Hemis festival
This is a magical place and I thank my friend Justin for suggesting it. I had a wonderful time at the Ladakh festival and it has inspired me to visit more Himalayan regions in the future. Thank you Peter, Nate and Swapnil for sharing the experience with me. Ladakh “the land of high passes” was almost an afterthought. The road from Nepal to Tibet was closed due to the 2015 earthquake and also getting to Everest was impossible. It was the greatest experience I have had for a long time to visit this wonderful Buddhist mountainous part of India. The lovely city of Leh is surrounded by mountains and also by beautiful Buddhist temples set in high places majestically overlooking the roads from their lofty heights. Ladakh is a high altitude desert where the main source of water comes from the winter snowfall. The people are mainly Buddhist or Muslim. The local women wear woven long skirts and are bundled up so severely that they all look extremely fat. they wear a lot of turquoise jewellery which has particular significance. Fluttering prayer flags line the mountain passes. I was lucky enough to be there to see the monks dance at the Hemis festival which is in June. the speed at which they could spin despite their long skirts, cloaks and heavy face masks was impressive.
