Leh : Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, Hall of Fame, Spituk Monastery

After acclimatization on Day 1, our journey on Day 2 started on bike.  We explored places within Leh on our own. We asked locals for directions and one of them was kind enough to lead us to Leh Palace by himself(though my husband initially suspected that he was going to kidnap us because of the narrow shortcut roads the stranger lead us to). We visited Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, Hall of Fame and Spituk Monastery on Day 2.

Shanti Stupa:

Shanti Stupa was built as a symbol of peace(Peace Pagoda) by a Japanese Budhist. It's location, scenic view and the temple itself do really inspire peace and silence. It hosts Buddha idol and stages of Buddha's life over a two level structure. We sat there for some time with absolute silence around us. There's an actual shrine and a cafe nearby with a great view.

Shanti Stupa
Shanti Stupa
View from Shanti Stupa
View from Shanti Stupa
Shanti Stupa View
Shanti Stupa View
Shanti Stupa Buddha Depictions
Shanti Stupa Buddha Depictions
Shrine at Shanti Stupa
Shrine at Shanti Stupa
View from the Shanti Stupa Cafe
View from the Shanti Stupa Cafe

Leh Palace:

Leh Palace is the former royal palace of the Ladakh King, Namgyal. Namgyal monastery is nearby the palace, which we couldn't visit. It has nine levels with beautiful views along with the view of Shanti Stupa. You would need a ticket to visit the place. It hosts few pictures and paintings, but we couldn't see much as it was quite dark and the lights were off(power cut problems?). There is also a shrine inside the palace, which looked quite mystical hosting a God with several heads and another with several hands(probably Bodhisatva and Mahakala, as far as I can remember) along with the Buddha statues. I expected Buddha, but this was the first time I saw other Gods in a Buddhist shrine. The shrine also had several old books wrapped in cloth.
Leh Palace
Leh Palace
Leh Palace Entrance
Leh Palace Entrance
Inside Leh Palace
Inside Leh Palace
Shanti Stupa from Leh Palace
Shanti Stupa from Leh Palace

Hall of Fame:

Hall of Fame is a museum and a war memorial - it has enormous amount of information about wars, soldiers, weapons and Ladakh history. It also has "Shaurya Sthal" as a tribute to the fallen soldiers in wars.
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Entrance
Hall of Fame Entrance
Shaurya Sthal, Hall of Fame
Shaurya Sthal, Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Museum
Hall of Fame Museum

Spituk Monastery:

Though Leh Palace already introduced me to the concept of other Gods apart from Buddha, I wasn't prepared for the huge eight handed statues, demon looking ones and Kali - all of whose faces were covered with a veil. The faces are unveiled only during the annual Spituk festival. It was dark by the time we visited the monastery and I was little spooked by the entire experience! Like all the places in Leh, this one provides great views with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the wind.

Spituk Monastery
Spituk Monastery
Spituk Monastery
Spituk Monastery
Spituk Monastery View
Spituk Monastery View
Spituk Monastery View
Spituk Monastery View

There are many more local places within Leh city which you can visit like Namgyol monastery, Shankar gompa, etc. But it would be great to sit in peace and enjoy the views and silence at each place you visit without any hurry. Leh is one place where I stopped worrying about missing out on a place I won't be able to visit, because every place I visited was beautiful with breathtaking views. Complete your trip by evening as it gets dark very soon, especially if you are on bike, it gets super cold too.

~

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