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LADAKH: Little Tibet
HEMIS Monastery Festival
20 Days
"Ladakh is far too kaleidoscopic to be dismissed with a string of platitudes. Its people, even the meanest peasant, are imbued with a culture handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Personally I am in no doubt at all that Ladakh is the most interesting country to visit that one could imagine. It fulfills almost all the expectations of the traveler who is prepared to see it through his own eyes, to experience it through his own emotions, to comprehend it through his own sensibility." ~Heinrich Harrer
The Hemis Festival is one of the most remarkable celebrations in all of Tibetan Buddhism. Each year Hemis Gompa (Lone Place of the Compassionate Person) has a two-day festival. The momentous nature of this will bring Buddhist pilgrims from all over the mountain regions to witness the spectacular dram dances of Buddhism. Also, this year we will visit the once-restricted region of Pangong Tso Lake, whose iridescent blue is legendary throughout the Himalayan landscape. Ladakh lies within the specter of the most massive mountain ranges on Earth ... the Karakoram ... the Ladakh ... the Zanskar ... and the Himalaya. This region is a high-altitude desert plateau that is of great interest to people who are fascinated by the world's high places and the history of Tibet. As the cradle of Buddhism, the religion spread to Tibet. Today, it is only here that the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is found as a living, thriving religion. And where, a visitor has the opportunity to witness times past, through the thronged festival at the Hemis Gompa and accessible masterpieces of Buddhist art at Alchi Gompa. While Ladakh is, today, far more Tibetan than Tibet (because of the manner in which China has changed Tibet) the topographical and cultural resemblances to Tibet are only part of her appeal. Here you will evidence an intermingling of cultures, an astounding array of mountain vistas, an uncompromising monastic tradition and a people who will strike a chord of consonance in your heart. There is something spiritually stirring about the silence and isolation of the place.  |
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ZANSKAR: The Hidden Kingdom & Festival at Karsha Summer 2014 20 Days |
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The Zanskar region of Jammu-Kashmir State, in northern India, remains one of the most arresting geographical realms found anywhere in the Great Himalaya. Zanskar is so isolated that it can only be reached by road coming from the north or by foot from the other three points of the compass. The track over which we travel is one of the most rugged and demanding found anywhere and the scale of the scenery is simply unprecedented. Witnessing the ferocity of the Suru River brimming forth into the verdant valley expanse, bespeckled with idyllic villages, established at the foundation of sky-directed heights of the 23,000 foot Nun-Kun massif, will forever remain etched in your memory. The vertical nature of this world is alarming and the journey seems timeless before the landscape widens at Padum. Zanskar is purely exceptional! Ladakh lies within the specter of the most massive mountain ranges on Earth ... the Karakoram ... the Ladakh ... the Zanskar ... and the Himalaya. This region is a high-altitude desert plateau that is of great interest to people who are fascinated by the world's high places and the history of Tibet. As the cradle of Buddhism, the religion spread to Tibet. Today, it is only here that the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is found as a living, thriving religion. And where, a visitor has the opportunity to witness times past, through the thronged festivals at the Phyang and Karsha Gompas.  |
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