"KI KI SO SO-MOTTO OF LADHAK SCOUTS" a Leh Travel Page by mantru

Leh is located at 34.17° N 77.58° E[1]. Its average elevation is 3650 metres (11975 feet). Average annual rainfall is 50 mm. The temperature can range from well below -30°C in winter and to 40°C in summer.

Principal roads include the 434km Srinagar-Leh highway which connects Leh with Srinagar and the 473 km Leh-Manali Highway which connects Manali with Leh. Both roads are open only on a seasonal basis.[2]

The town is dominated by the royal palace, known as Leh Palace. This was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century, but was later abandoned when Kashmiri forces besieged it in the mid-19th century. The royal family moved their premises south to their current home in Stok Palace on the southern bank of the Indus. The Leh Palace is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, the stables and store rooms are located in the lower floors

Mandala' (Sanskrit maṇḍala "circle", "completion") is a term used to refer to various objects. It is of Hindu origin, but is also used in other Dharmic religions, such as Buddhism. In the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, they have been developed into sandpainting. In practice, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective.

In the various spiritual traditions, the mandala is frequently used as an object for focusing attention and as an aid to meditation. Its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises.

Its a hard weeks work !! the mandala that is in picture is completed in a weeks time by several lamas....the design aare like rangoli but very very intricate with spiritual meanings hidden behind the forms.......it was really wonderful to sit and see the lamas work......

Pangong Tso (or Pangong lake; Tso: Ladakhi for lake) is a lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4250 m (13,900 ft). It is 134 km (83.3 mi) long and extends from India to Tibet. Two thirds of the length of this lake falls in the People's Republic of China. It is 5 km (3 mi) wide at its broadest point. In winter, the lake surface freezes completely despite being salt water.

Pangong Tso can be reached in a five-hour drive from Leh, most of it on a rough and dramatic mountain road. The road traverses the third-highest pass in the world, the Changla pass, where army sentries and a small teahouse greet visitors. The spectacular lakeside is open during the tourist season, from May to September. A special permit is required to visit the lake. While an Indian can get his individual permit at Leh, non-Indian nationals need to be in a group of at least four. For security reasons, no boating is allowed. There is a small hostel as well as campsites and houses with primitive guestrooms in the village a few miles towards Tibet.

The lake is in the process of being identified under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. This will be the first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia under the convention.