About Sikkim

For nearly 900 years, from the middle of the 10th century, Ladakh was an independent kingdom, its ruling dynasties descending from the kings of old Tibet. The kingdom attained its greatest geographical extent and glory in the early 17th century under the famous king Singge Namgyal, whose domain extended across Spiti and western Tibet right up to the Mayum-la, beyond the sacred sites of Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.

Gradually, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was politically stable, Ladakh became recognized as the best trade route between the Punjab and Central Asia. For centuries it was traversed by caravans carrying textiles, spices, raw silk, carpets, dyestuffs, narcotics, etc. Heedless of the land’s rugged terrain and apparent remoteness, merchants entrusted their goods to relays of pony transporters who took about two months to carry them from Amritsar to the Central Asian towns of Yarkand and Khotan. On this long route, Leh was the midway stop, and developed into a bustling entrepot, its bazars thronged with merchants from distant countries.

The famous pashmina (better known as cashmere) also came down from the high-altitude plateaux of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet, through Leh, to Srinagar, where skilled artisans transformed it into shawls known the world over for their softness and warmth. Ironically, it was this lucrative trade that finally spelt the doom of the independent kingdom. It attracted the covetous attention of Gulab Singh, the ruler of Jammu in the early 19th century, who sent his general Zorawar Singh to invade Ladakh in 1834 AD. There followed a decade of war and turmoil, which ended with the emergence of the British as the paramount power in north India. Ladakh, together with the neighbouring province of Baltistan, was incorporated into the newly created state of Jammu & Kashmir. Just over a century later, this union was disturbed by the partition of India, as a result of which Baltistan became part of Pakistan, while Ladakh remained in India as part of the State of Jammu & Kashmir.

PEOPLE
Like the land itself, the people of Ladakh are generally quite different from those of the rest of India. The faces and physique of the Ladakhis, and the clothes they wear, are more akin to those of Tibet and Central Asia than of India. The original population may have been Dards, an Indo-Aryan race down from the Indus and the Gilgit area.
But immigration from Tibet, perhaps a millennium or so ago, largely overwhelmed the culture of the Dards and obliterated their racial characteristics. In eastern and central Ladakh, today's population seems to be mostly of Tibetan origin. Further west, in and around Kargil, the people's appearance suggests a mixed origin.

The exception to this generalisation is the Arghons, a community of Muslims in Leh, originated as a result of marriages between local women and Kashmiri or Central Asian merchants. They exhibit a marked dominance of the Indo-Aryan trait in their physique and appearance, though culturally they are not different from the rest of the Ladakhis.

In geological terms, this is a young land, formed a few million years ago. Its basic contours, uplifted by tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia by the process of erosion due to wind and water, sculpted into the form that we see today.

Today a high-altitude desert, sheltered from the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the Great Himalaya, Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist on its south-east plateaux of Rupshu and Chushul, in the drainage basins or lakes of Tso-moriri, Tso-kar and Pangong-tso. But the main source of water is winter snowfall.

Dras, Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flanks receive heavy snow in winter, this feeds the glaciers from which melt water, carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the rest of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun to melt the glaciers and liberate their water.

Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 ft (2,750 m) at Kargil to 25,170 ft (7,672m) at Saser Kangri, in the Karakoram Range. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 27C in the shade, while in winter they may at times plummet to minus 20C even in Leh. Surprisingly though, the thin air makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitudes. It is said that only in Ladakh can a man sitting in the sun with his feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same time!

RELIGION
Ladakh was the conduit through which Buddhism reached Tibet from India and in the process it got deeply entrenched in the region from the very beginning. There are ancient Buddhist rock engravings all over the region, even in the areas like Dras and the lower Suru Valley which today are inhabited by an exclusively Muslim population. The divide between Muslim and Buddhist Ladakh passes through Mulbekh (on the Kargil-Leh road) and between the villages of Parkachik and Rangdum in the Suru Valley, though there are pockets of Muslim population further east, in Padum (Zanskar), in Nubra Valley and in and around Leh. The approach to a Buddhist village is invariably marked by mani walls which are long, chest-high structures faced with engraved stones bearing Buddhist mantra, and by chorten (commemorative cairns)
Many villages are crowned with a Gompa or monastery, which may be anything from an imposing complex of temples, prayer halls and monks' dwellings, to a tiny heritage housing a single image and home to a solitary lama.

Islam too came from the west. A peaceful penetration of mainly the Shia sect spearheaded by Islamic missionaries, its success can be attributed to the early conversion of the chieftains of Dras, Kargil and the Suru Valley. In these areas, mani walls and chorten are replaced by mosques, small unpretentious buildings, or Imambaras, which are imposing structures with a quaint blend of Islamic and Tibetan styles, surmounted by domes of metal sheet that gleam cheerfully in the sun. There are also pockets of Sunni Muslims among which the Dards of Drass and the Arghons of Leh are the largest groups.

CULTURE
Fairs and festival
Many of the annual festivals of the Gompas take place in winter, which is a relatively idle time for majority of the people. These take the form of dance-dramas in the gompa courtyards. Lamas, attired in colourful robes and wearing masks, perform mimes symbolising various aspects of the religion such as the progress of the individual soul and its purification or the triumph of good over evil. Local people flock from near and far to these events.

The biggest and most famous of the monastic festivals is that of Hemis, which falls in late June or early July, and is dedicated to Padmasambhava. Every 12 years, the gompa's greatest treasures, a huge Thangka, is ritually exhibited. Its next unveiling is due to take place in A.D 2004. Other monasteries, which have summer festivals, are Lamayuru (early July), Phyang (late July/ early August), Tak-thok (after Phyang) and Karsha in Zanskar (after Phyang). Like Hemis, the Phyang festival too involves the unveiling of a gigantic thangka, though here it is done every third year.

Spituk, Stok, Thikse, Chemrey and Matho have their festivals in winter between November and March. Likir and Deskit (Nubra) time their festivals to coincide with Dosmochhe, the festival of the scapegoat, which is celebrated at Leh in late February. Dosmochhe is one of two New Year festivals, the other being Losar, which falls around the time of the winter solstice.

The Monastic Festivals
The monastic festivals are annual events of the major monasteries which the local people eagerly look forward to attending, both for attaining religious merit and as a means of social entertainment. These are generally held to commemorate the establishment of a particular monastery, the birth anniversary of its patron saint or some major events in the history and evolution of Tibetan Buddhism. People turn out in the thousands to attend these festivals in their colourful best, making every event a carnival of colours.

Chhams – the ritual dances
The core event of the monastic festival is a highly choreographed ritual dance-drama known as ‘Chhams’, which is directed by the ‘Chham-spon’, the mystic dance master of the monastery. The dances are performed not only to dramatise the esoteric philosophy of the event for the benefit of the lay devotees, but also by way of ritual offerings to the tutelary deities of the monastery and the guardians of the faith. A select group of resident lamas of the monastery, dressed in brightly patterned brocade, robes, perform these dances in the courtyard of the monastery. They also wear masks representing various divinities, which are mostly found in the form of statues in the "Gon Khang", the room dedicated to the guardian divinities. Some of the dances also feature masks representing famous characters from historical episodes or Tibetan fables. The more fearsome ones represent powerful divinities in their various manifestations, mostly representing the Dharmapalas or protectors of the faith. The dancers, holding ritual instruments in hands, step around the central flagpole in the monastic courtyard in solemn dance and mime, in tune with the music of the monastic orchestra. The ritual instruments and the hand gestures or mudras of the dancers symbolise different aspects of the dance-drama. In between the more sombre sequences, relief is provided by a group of comic performers who jump into the scene in the guise of skeletons and other characters, performing comic and acrobatic feats. These also wear masks representing various divinities and religious or historical characters.

Destruction of the evil
As the ‘Chhams’ approaches its end on the second and last day of the festival, the climactic scene is enacted, in which the votive offering, a grotesque human figure made from dough, is ritually cut into pieces and scattered in the four cardinal directions. This figure symbolises the enemy of Buddhism as well as the embodiment of the three cardinal evils in the human soul viz. ignorance, jealousy and hatred. Accordingly, its destruction represents killing of the enemy of Buddhism and the purification of the human soul from the three evils. This ritual is known as ‘Dao Tulva’ and has many interpretations: cleansing of the soul from evils, dissolution of the human body after death into its elements, or a re-enactment of the assassination of the Tibetan apostate king Lang-dar-ma by a Buddhist monk in 842 AD. In fact, the long-sleeved dress and the huge hat worn by leader of the Black-Hat dancer, who executes this ritual in most festivals, represents the dress used by Lang-darma’s assassin to conceal his identity.

Pilgrimage of the deities
The ‘Rimpoche’ or head lama incarnate of the monastery conducts the rites and ceremonies of the festival. He sits on a high throne placed in the centre of the long veranda that runs along one side of the rectangular courtyard facing the huge, elevated gates of the monastery’s main prayer hall or Du-khang. This room actually serves as the green room for the artists during the festival.

The lamas of the monastery and the monk musicians in their full ceremonial attire, sit on carpet-covered cushions on either side of the throne in the veranda, according to their hierarchy.

The Rimpoche leads the lamas in the recitation of the mantras associated with the ‘Chhams’, thus creating the appropriate ambience for the dancers to enact the role of the deities whose guise they adopt. For the lay devotees, however, seeing the masked dancers serves to familiarise themselves with the kind of deities they are to encounter during the 49-day- ‘Bardo’ or transition period between death and rebirth in one of the six forms of existence, depending upon one’s karmic existence.

The festive atmosphere
The monastic festivals also provide the local people an opportunity for socialising, trading and entertainment.
On this occasion, makeshift markets spring up overnight near the monastery, to which people throng. During the summer festivals, the visiting people organise picnics, overnight excursions, and all-night signing and dancing parties.
For the more devoted villagers, however, the event is essentially a pilgrimage to the monastery and its various temples, for it is during this period only that they can see all the images and figures, which are otherwise kept veiled.

The 10-Year Calendar of Monastic Festivals
The monastic festivals of Ladakh are governed by the Tibetan calendar which is luni-solar. So the dates vary form year to year, requiring astrological calculations to determine each year’s calendar. Traditionally, at the end of the year, the astrologers prepare a new calendar of festivals so that it is available as the New Year ushers in. But in the absence of long-term calendars, visitors face problems in planning trips to Ladakh to witness these events.
In order to address this problem, the J&K Tourism Department has had a 10-year calendar of festivals, for the period 2000 AD to 2009 AD, prepared by an astrologer, which is included in this site for the convenience of visitors visit our festival calander.

The Ladakh Festival
It is a major event organized every year by the J&K Tourism Department, in collaboration with the local communities and the district administrations of Leh and Kargil from 1st to 15th September. Its main objective is to revive and promote the richness, depth and pageantry of Ladakh’s centuries-old culture, traditions and folk heritage for world-wide appreciation and enjoyment.

The inaugural function is held on grand scale at Leh with a spectacular procession in which various cultural troupes and village contingents participate in full ceremonial costumes, singing songs and performing various types of dances to the tune of the traditional orchestra. At the Polo ground, where the procession terminates, the participants break into a variety of folk and popular dances, presenting the best samples of the region’s performing arts.

Among the regular programmes, the most colourful and interesting are the village archery festivals held in selected suburban villages of Leh. Every villager is required to formally participate in these events in accordance with the established social code.

Every male participant is expected to try his skill with the bow and arrow in alternate rounds of archery and dancing while the ladies have to join in as many rounds of the mandatory folk dances. Other programmes of the festival include a series of evening musical concerts, mask dances by lamas of selected monasteries and mock marriage ceremonies complete with all the associated traditions.

A major polo tournament called the "Ladakh Festival Cup" is also held as part of the festival in which polo teams from different parts of the region participate. Visitors to Ladakh during this period will have the opportunity of witnessing this ancient sport of the western Himalayas being played in its original, wild style with fewer rules and frenzied crowd involvement. Yet another interesting programme is the staging of a typical Central Asian trade mart in Leh Bazaar, complete with caravans laden with traders’ goods, while skilled artists dressed in period-costumes play the role of merchants engaged in trading, bartering and associated activities.

The festival is also simultaneously organized in different parts of Kargil district. These include traditional archery tournaments, besides presentation of programmes showcasing the cultural heritage and traditions of different ethnic groups of the area. Of particular interest are the cultural programmes presented by the Brok-pas people based on their ancient social customs and ceremonies. Among the programmes presented by the Dards of Dras is the game of polo, the ancestral sport of the Dards of the western Himalayas. Similar programmes are also held in Zanskar Valley, where the high point is the traditional sport called "Saka", in which a number of colourfully attired horses are used in a quaint racing competition.
The Ladakh Festival is a unique project of the State Department of Tourism to patronize the revival and promotion of Ladakh’s age-old traditions and customs, its cultural heritage and the performing arts. For the visitors to Ladakh, the festival provides an opportunity to witness and experience the lifestyle and cultural ethos of a people who have lived for centuries on the crossroads of Asia, receiving and harmonising socio-cultural and religious influences from their neighbouring societies.

Road Journeys
The Journey from Kashmir
The main overland approach to Ladakh is from the Kashmir Valley through the 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway, which follows the historic trade route, also known as the ‘Treaty Road’. It generally remains open for traffic from early June to mid-November. This road journey provides the best possible introduction to the land and its people. At one step, as you cross the Zoji-la pass (11,500-ft./3,505 m), one passes the lushness of Kashmir into the barren contours of a trans-Himalayan landscape. Drass, the first township over the pass, inhabited by a population of mainly Dard origin, has the local reputation of being the second coldest inhabited place in the world. But in summer when the pass is open and travellers are going through, the standing crops and clumps of willow give it a gentle look. After Drass, the valley narrows down to almost a gorge. Yet even here it occasionally opens up to allow small patches of terraced cultivation, where a small village population ekes out a precarious existence.

On leaving Kargil town, the road plunges into the ridges and valleys of the Zanskar Range, over a huge mound of alluvium known as Khurbathang plateau, now made fertile by a huge irrigation system. Form here it descends to the Pashkyum area and passes through several roadside villages before entering Mulbek, with its gigantic rock carving of Maitreya Buddha and a gompa perched high on a crag above the village. Mulbek is the transition from Muslim to Buddhist Ladakh. Two more passes, Namika-la (12,200 ft/3,719 m) and Fotu-la (13,432 ft/4,094 m) follow the exit out of Mulbek valley.From Fotu1a, the road descends in sweeps and turns, past the spectacularly sited monastery of Lamayuru and the amazing wind-eroded towers and pinnacles of lunar-landscape rocks, down to the Indus at Khalatse - a descent of almost 4,000 ft / 1,219 m, in about 32 kms. From here the road follows the river, passing villages with their terraced fields and neat whitewashed houses, the roofs piled high with neat stacks of fodder laid in against the coming winter. Here and there one notices the ruins of an ancient fort or palace or the distant glimpse of a gompa on a hill. And at last Leh is visible, dominated by the bulk of its imposing 17th century palace.

The Road journey from Manali
The 473 km Manali- Leh Road is open for about three months in the year from early July to September. For much of its length, it passes through areas so barren that it is entirely void of habitation. Lahoul district, through which the road passes, is a typically trans-Himalayan landscape. The first major pass in this road, the Rohtang pass (13,000 ft / 3,978m) which is crossed soon after departure from Manali, cuts through the Pir Panjal range of the Great Himalayas. Lahouli houses are built in the Ladakhi pattern, out of sun-dried bricks. Whitewashed and flat-roofed, they stand among the irrigated fields of the villages, which cling to the mountain slopes. Beyond Keylang, the region's main town, the road follows the Bhaga River up towards its source, passing a few more villages, the last till the territory of Ladakh is entered. Now it hairpins up to the Baralacha-la (16,050 ft / 4,892m), which is a tri-junction, with a trail from Spiti also joining in from the southeast. This is the crossing of the Great Himalayan Range, the watershed between the Indus and the Chenab. Now the barren landscape becomes positively lunar with dusty plains stretching into the distance.

The Zanskar Range, which lies next on this road, is crossed through two more passes, the Lachulung-la (16,600 ft / 5,059m) and the Taglang-la (17,469 ft / 5,325rn). Between these two, there is nothing but rock and sand, rolling hills and broad plains scoured by dust devils. An occasional pasture here and there provides nourishment for the flocks of the nomadic Chang-pa herdspeople who are the region's only inhabitants, apart from the seasonal entrepreneurs from Leh and Lahoul, who erect tents and shacks at various points along the road, to cater to the needs of travellers. Once over the Taglang-la, the descent to the Indus starts, and soon one passes the first village, Rumtse. The road follows the Gya River down to the Indus at Upshi, from where it is plain sailing to Leh, past the Indus valley villages of Karu, Stakna, Thikse, Shey and finally the Tibetan village at Choglamsar, before entering the town.

Air Travel
The flight route to Leh presents the visitors with a spectacular panoramic view of snow-capped ranges spread out below, and the thrill of identifying particular landmarks. The twin peaks of Nun and Kun stand out high above the others. Tso-moriri lies intensely blue among bare brown hills. The Zanskar River snakes through the mountains, and one route of flight takes you directly above the Zanskar valley, with villages and gompas clearly visible. Far to the northwest, the giants of the Baltistan Karakoram dominate all the other peaks and ranges. Indian Airlines operates regular scheduled flights to Leh from Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar. Jet Airway, a private airliner, also operate daily flights between Delhi and Leh.