The Magic of Ladakh,

Visitors 172

28 photos

I have been a lover and admirer of the mighty Himalayas since early childhood when I spent three years in a grade school in its foothills at Mussoorie. Ladakh represents the best of the Himalayas and with my increasing awe and understanding of the Buddhist culture, I have been itching to visit Ladakh for some time. I was blessed to visit Ladakh first in 2010 and then again in September 2012.

Ladakh brought me face to face with primordial nature. The high mountains with their fantastic forms, the deep blue skies with marvelous cloud formations and the beautiful pristine landscape carved by the Indus and Zanskar rivers, all presented a dramatic contrast and heightened sense of color for me. I was mesmerized by the experience of high altitude photography (sometimes above 15000 ft.)amongst some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen.

I was thrilled to photograph villagers harvesting barley fields in Lamayuru village, or nomads herding their Pashmina wool goats in high altitude of Lake Tso Moriri or enjoying the desert lands of Nubra Valley riding double hunch back camels left by the Mongols along the ancient silk road that passed through it.

Lastly, Ladakh also presented a fertile place for my love of photographing Buddhist architecture, worship sanctuaries, and monks-- for Buddhism is the predominant religion of the Ladakhi people. I was privileged to photograph several important Buddhist monasteries and temples including Thikse, Stakna, Chemdy, Matho around Leh, and the beautiful Gompas at Lamayuru and Korzok village (Lake Tso Moriri) and in the Nubra Valley. It was stunning to view the setting of many of these monasteries on high rocks and solitary mounds as captured in my photographs presented here.