Ladakh

Ladakh: a little corner of the Tibetan Plateau that belongs to the Republic of India. The land which at the altitude of around 3500 metres above sea level is closer to heavens than almost any country, where barley is the staple food because nothing else would grow there,where it seldom rains because few clouds break through the barrier of the Himalayas but there is enough water in rivers flowing from the Himalayan glaciers and fields of barley must be watered every day, only then they are green. The land where the old religion of Tibetan Buddhism is still practised because the Chinese hungweibins did not reach here, where the ages-old monasteries still stand, where ancient sutra libraries are still full and the sutras are even paraded in processions through villages carried by boys.

I visited this land over thirty years ago and took a few pictures with my old 35mm film camera. I visited Leh, the capital of the old kingdom, where the castle similar to the Potala in Lhasa towers above the city. I visited Spituk monastery that rises over the valley of Indus and Shey monastery where a library of ancient books is kept.  I haven't been there ever since, I guess it might have changed in the meantime. Perhaps the pictures may be even more interesting for this reason.  

Leh seen from the royal castle.

A street in Leh.

The valley of Indus seen from the roof of Spituk monastery.

Ancient sutra library in Shey monastery.

Sutras paraded in a procession through a village.

Prayer flags in Ladakh.

Old stupas in Ladakh.

Only the fields that are watered every day are green.