Leh - Changla, Thiksey Monastery, 3 Idiots school, Shey Palace

November 21, 2019

Leh - Changla, Thiksey Monastery, 3 Idiots school, Shey Palace

On Day 5, we checked out from out hotel near Pangong and started our journey to Changla. If it was cold and slightly snowing at Pangong, it only intensified more towards Changla.

Changla:

We reached Changla in an hour and I loved it more than Khardungla for two reasons - despite snowfall, Changla was far better than Khardungla in terms of cold and Changla had wide open space compared to Khardungla to just walk around. There is a temple of Changla Baba adorned with many Tibetan prayer flags. Changla is at 5360mts, but it is claimed as the second highest motorable road just as Khardungla is claimed as the highest motorable road.

There's also a small cafe nearby, where we had coffee. Check for army convoy timings and start early to avoid getting stuck in traffic. We were stuck here for more than an hour because of the slow moving convoys.

Changla Baba Temple

Changla Baba Temple Entrance

Changla Baba Temple View

Changla

Changla Area

Changla entrance

Snow at Changla

Thiksey Monastery:

After descending Changla and after about three hours, we reached Thiksey Monastery. It had several blocks with several shrines for Buddha, lamas, fierce guardian dieties, Tara and of course, 15 meters long Maitreya Buddha occupying two storeys. The monastery structure is the largest in Ladakh providing beautiful views.

Thiksey entrance

Thiksey

Thiksey Monastery

Inside Thiksey

Thiksey Window View

Thiksey Dieties

Thiksey Wall Murals

Thiksey Buddha

View from Thiksey

3 Idiots school:

Okay, this is my least favorite from all the awesome places I got to see. I had high expectations for this school, but after visiting it, I realized that it has been closed long ago because of disturbing tourists and all you can see now is just a 3 idiots movie wall.

3 Idiots school

3 Idiots wall mural

Shey Palace:

By the time I visited Shey Palace, I have seen almost everything in Leh: the snowy mountain passes, several monasteries with majestic Buddhas, aqua blue and green water streams and sand dunes. Despite all that, Shey palace became my favorite with the most scenic view and pleasant ambience. When we visited, there were hardly any people, so it was quite peaceful. As we were approaching the core temple, we could hear low drum beats and the accompanying rhythmic chants of a monk. There were wind chimes outside the shrine swaying gently to the wind, which just completed the melody. I could have sat there forever, if not for my husband(generally at any other spiritual place, it's the other way around). The Buddha here is Shakyamuni, about 12 meters tall, occupying three storeys.
It's not just the monastery, but Shey village itself was too beautiful and way too clean. And Shey Palace gives the absolute amazing views of the village. So here comes a flood of photos.