The milky way at night
Its an amazing night sky at 15000 feet. The milky way anbd so many stars
Everyone in Ladakh is proud of where they live
A temple in Leh
The temple lights up in the golden sunset fore those interested in climbing the steep hill -- but there is a road on the other side.
grotesque figures or religious significance are everywhere in Leh
Friendly people everywhere
Clearly hard working in a tough environment
A beautiful view
You can see for miles from the roof of the monastery
The long horns
The monks blow their long horns to finish the puja and welcome the morning on the roof of Thikset monastery
A beautiful two story Buddha statue at Thikset
Buddha radiates in the early morning sun
Thikset monastery from down below
The original version of multistory housing long before......
Prayer flags are everywhere
Butter candles and an old monk
The stark landscape of the Nubra valley is offset by beautiful monasteries highly decorated inside and out.
A young monk sipping tea during class in a dark classroom
I'm not so sure this one is listening to the lesson
These monks outside Leh were happy to talk and educate us
The large drums, the pages of scrip, the bell and the beads are all classic
the barley harves in Lamayuru
Harvesting the barley was and important central activity in Lamayuru in the fall
Proud of her large collection of barley, but it still needs threshing
A stark landscape but along the river it is fertile and produces lots of barley
Another woman harvesting barley with the monastery in the background
The years take a heavy toll on the hands, but this lady is still working
The old lady with the hands
Threshing is hard work with old fashioned rakes
But the women are proud of their work at the end of the day
Religion has a strong hold on these people
In the winter there's no running water, electricity is only sometimes and since the town is at 11000 feet it's cold. Deep faith is important
A fancy metal prayer wheel against the backdrop of the mountains and snow covered peaks
The monastery at Lamayuru sits majestically above the town
And you thought you'd been on roads with hairpin turns before?
Sheep coming out from their corral to graze for the day
A nomad milking her sheep. Look at how they are lined up
Once the sheep are lined up they are held by a single rope, but how does she get them to line up
a long line of sheep all holding position as they are milked
To get to the nomads you have to cross a high pass, but this is the one to Nubra valley
Things look pretty good inside the tent with the nomads
But outside things don't look quite so rosie
Along the Indus river the land is fertile and lush, but the mountains are bare
A woman in traditional costume with beautiful jewelry
The sense of time and place in the faces is remarkable
And for all the hardships life must represent, smiles and joy
even the dogs are skinny
Interesting patterns in the ice forming over a creek
Beautiful reflections in the lake at 15000 feet with a crystal clear blue sky
The tectonic plate crunching that formed the Himalayas is evident in the vertical strata
Two monks climb to a gompa high on the hillside in Hunder
Even the smallest temple has figures and offerings
An unusaual dragon face in this small temple.
Beautiful colors painted on the walls. Symbols of??
Dried flowers on a window sill
These dried flowers decorate a prayer wheel in Diskit
