Easy Tours India Ladakh Tibetan Buddhist Trail

Ladakh Tibetan Buddhist Trail

Private Tour with Personal Guide and Chauffeur Driven Vehicle


Detailed Itinerary

All tours are not created equal. If you are searching for great value on an excellent tour that includes top rated boutique lodging, we strongly recommend that you take the time to read the detailed itinerary below.

Day 1: Arrive at Leh on the early morning flight. Our services begin here. You are greeted at the airport by an Easy Tours Travel Facilitator and ushered to a chauffeur driven vehicle. You are then driven to your beautiful resort in a scenic village next to Leh, where you are assisted with your check-in. The next day’s plans are briefly reviewed and you are presented with your welcome package. Among other things, this package includes a beautiful handcrafted journal for your explorations, travel documents such as your hotel voucher, as well as copies of documents (such as our General Travel Guide) that were sent to you earlier.
You are at leisure for the rest of the day to acclimatize yourself to the altitude. We strongly recommend no strenuous activity for the first few hours. If you feel up to it you can explore the surrounding village and its incredible Himalayan vista’s. The local residents are relatively affluent and, unlike most of India, Ladakh’s villages are sparsely populated. The locals are very friendly and curious about foreign visitors and you may strike up an interesting conversation or two.




Day 2: Leh. Today you will enjoy guided visits to three of the most important religious monuments in the vicinity - Thiksey, Shey and Hemis Gompa.
Thiksey Monastery: 17 kms from Leh Thiksey Monastery near Leh - similar to Potala Palace in Tibet enroute to Hemis Gompa, the Thiksey monastery provides a panoramic view of the Indus valley from its vantage point on top of a hill. There are several temples and wall paintings of the Buddha. The most interesting time to visit is in the very early morning when the monks gather for prayers in the assembly hall known as “Dukhang” in the local language. The prayer ceremony begins between 6:00 & 7:00 am, and you will witness the chanting of sacred texts, accompanied by the rhythmic beating of the traditional drums. After the ceremony you will visit the Monastery followed by a hot breakfast at the Thiksey Monastery Restaurant.
Later, you continue towards Hemis, stopping en route along the banks of the Indus River, for a magnificent view and photo opportunity to capture the rays of the early morning sun.
Continue on to Hemis Gompa, built in 1630, it is the largest and wealthiest monastery in Ladakh. It is not visible from the road, as it is located in a side valley. Hemis has the largest Thanka in Ladakh, which is ritually unfurled once every 12 years. It celebrates a colorful Hemis festival attended by people from all over the provinces that come to join in the elaborate mask dances.
Returning towards Leh, you stop to visit Shey Monastery. Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh in days gone by. The palace, mostly in ruins now, was built first in 1655, near Shey village, by the king of Ladakh, Deldan Namgyal, also known as Lhachen Palgyigon. It was used as a summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh. The Shey Monastery was also built within the palace complex in 1655 on the instructions of Deldan Namgyal, in memory of his late father, Singay Namgyal. The monastery is noted for its giant 7.5 meter gilded copper statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is so named since Buddha was the sage (muni) of the Sakya people who resided in the Himalayan foothills, and whose capital was Kapilavastu. It is said to be the second largest such statue in Ladakh.
Return to your hotel or resort at the end of the day.




Day 3: Leh. Head out for a guided tour of the other main monasteries near Leh. First stop is Likir Monastery, situated a few kilometers before Alchi. A scenic road passing between the mountains and the river, takes one to this Gompa containing a number of enormous clay statues of the Buddha in different forms. Founded in the 12 century, Likir was the first royal monastery to be established in Ladakh under direct Tibetan influence.
Continue on to visit the Alchi Monastery that consists of six temples, which contain a chorten, seated Buddha’s and exquisite paintings. Over 10 centuries old, painted walls depict the events of the Buddha’s life, including lamas and musicians. These murals, dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, pre-date the Tibetan style of painting that is present in all the other Gompas. Some of them are reminiscent of the paintings of the far-off Ajanta caves and are presumed to be almost the sole survivors (along with some in Phuktal Gompa in Zanskar and Tabo in Spiti) of the Buddhist style found in Kashmir during the first millennium AD.
There is a break for a hot lunch (included).
Afternoon - Continue to Rizong to visit the Nunnery there (also known as Chomoling), that was the only nunnery in Ladakh until very recently when four more were built in the late 1990s. The nuns’ main tasks are almost entirely secular, being agricultural and labor intensive in nature in support of the monastery, with very little opportunity for spiritual learning or expression.
From here, you proceed a short distance uphill to the isolated and spectacular Rizong Monastery, beautifully situated in a gorge that forms a natural amphitheatre.
Return to Leh after your tour is complete.




Day 4: Leh - Departure. You are assisted with your check-out from your hotel and then you are driven to the airport where you are assisted with boarding your early morning flight to Delhi.
Our services end at Leh airport.




 
Inclusions:
* All 3 meals during your tour
* Applicable monument entrance fees as per the itinerary.
* Hotel check-in is at 2 pm & check-out is at noon for almost all the hotels
* All transfers and sightseeing by your personal crossover
* Complimentary WiFi in all vehicles, except for remote regions
* Availability of a Travel Facilitator at all destinations.
* Services of the best English speaking Local Guides.
* Easy Tours Facilitator for assistance on all arrivals/departures as well as hotel check-ins.
* Bottled water during sightseeing/excursions and long drives.
* All currently applicable taxes.


Not included:
* International Flights.
* Expenses of a personal nature like tips, laundry, telephone calls, drinks etc.
* Any extra meals (other than specified)
* Travel insurance, visa etc.
* Camera fees – still & video
 



Lodging


Itinerary Calendar
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