Saturday, May 2, 2009

Lamayuru - the moon land

Lamayuru


Lamayuru has a mystique that no other Ladaki monastery can equal. Spectacular setting of moon landscape; rugged cliffs and scree slopes that surround its towering mud-brick pile, a lost Shangrila amidst the stark mountains. This may be due to its location that is remote and isolated but not secluded, a stopover point in Ancient times for travelers on the Kashmir road.


If you plan to visit the monastery you have an option of taking the Kargil bus that leaves Leh early in the morning; the journey takes the better part of the day.


Lamayuru and village and its fields lie below the monastery, sprawling across the slopes and floor of the corrie that encloses the area and through which Drogpo, a stream, flows. The terrain all around is amazing: the cliff on which the monastery stands, a promontory-like spur, is heavily eroded, ites sheer sides jagged and bare. The ancient chortens and mud-brick houses, village homes and, higher up, monks’ quarters, blend seamlessly with it all, almost as though they aren’t manmade but part of the nature landscape.


There is mythical story that the Lamayuru corrie was once a great lake and this may well be true; the ‘Moonland’ depression close by, geologists believe, was certainly one. The great sage Arhat Nyimagong, the story goes, used his spiritual powers to open a crack at the side of the basin and drain the lake. Prophesying that a monastery would come up above the depression, he planted corn on its edges that ripened in the shape of swastikas. That, it is said, is why the Lamayuru monastery is properly called Yang-drung Gompa, yang-drug being the Tibetan word for swastika.


Some historians however see in the name indications that Lamayuru was once a religions centre of the ancient Bon faith of Tibet. Yang-drung is how an orthodox faction of the Bon religion is referred to; it flourished once in the lands to the west of Tibet, so Lamayuru could fit the bill. There are no remains now of the Bon temples that may have existed but Lamayuru’s Buddhist antiquity is in little doubt.



There is lot more to discovery at Lamayuru… Join us on our Ladakh Adventure. We are leaving Mumbai on May 29, 2009 evening by Rajdhani train.


Juley to the land of Lama

If interested in joining us click here.

Click on the picture below for see more pictures of Lamayuru the moon land


Monday, March 9, 2009

Ladakh Expedition - How high is your Lakshya?

How high is your Lakshya?

You have trekked the Sahyadris
Tried Nilgiri Hills
Experienced Himalayas
Now live your Dream Adventure
A Trans-Himalayan Expedition in Ladakh

Trek to Stok Kangri with Nature Knights.
Hoist the flat of your destiny sky high over 20,000 feet.

For details check us out at www.natureknights.com

A Trans-Himalayan Bag Packing Journey

A Trans-Himalayan Bag Packing Journey

An Expression of Independence
Experience
The Prayers, The People; The Place..
With Nature Knights in the Land of Lama
Express Yourself

Don’t forget your Bag; Diary and Camera..
You will be forgiven to leave your Mobile behind

Few Hi Lights

Explorations of Moon Land (Numbra Valley)
Highest Motorable pass in the world – 18400 feet
The Rare Bacterian Camel Safari at Hundur
Monastries (Alchi, Liker etc)
Basgo Palace and Leh fort where time seems to stand still
Magnetic Hill (see the amazing miracle of nature)
Exploring the villages Deskit and Hundur
The People and the Cluture

For Details check us out at www.natureknights.com

Friday, March 6, 2009

Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Safari

The Place, People, Culture and a Journey

Nature Knights takes you to

Highest motorable passes in the world
Highest and largest plains in the world
Highest salt water lake in the world

Join us,

On The Incredible Trans-Himalayan Safari, to a spiritual land like no other…


For details on the events kindly periodically check.

http://www.natureknights.com/