Tag Archives: ladakh

Ladakh: On the Snow Leopard Trail

Ladakh: On the Snow Leopard Trail

Text and Images: Devayani Khare (except where stated otherwise)
I flew into Leh, the capital of Ladakh in the last week of November when winter’s chill had set in.  The Indus river snaked its way across the sleepy town, and the Zanskar range created a jagged horizon against picture perfect skies.
After a couple of days’ acclimatization to Leh’s altitude of 13,500 ft above mean sea level, we set off northwestwards for Ulley – our destination to track the elusive snow leopard.
On our three hour drive through the Leh valley towards the ridges, we came across many small towns, military encampments, hilltop monasteries – like the Stakna (just visible to the right where the river disappears into the distance)…
…and beautiful snow-melt stream beds – sometimes frozen, sometimes a trickle, growing wild with heather and shrubs. We stopped off several times along the way for some birdwatching and to admire the spectacular panoramas.
By mid-afternoon, we reached Ulley – a village with a handful of wood-and-stone cottages, overlooking a valley carved by a glacier, fringed by the ice-capped Zanskar range.

Image credits: Kaafila Camps

Over a hot cup of tea in the colourful lounge, we were introduced to the concept of the Snow Leopard Lodge – run by the Kaafila Camps group and marketed by RARE destinations & experiences. Thanks to these partners, we were here on this snow leopard tracking adventure!

Image credits: Kaafila Camps

Over the next few days, we scoured the low ranges and high, the neighbouring valleys and villages – for a glimpse of the snow leopard. We stalked groups of its prey, like the bharal or blue sheep…
Watched groups of female urial – a species of wild sheep grazing placidly before heading to higher ridges to be serenaded…
…by the impressive males in mating regalia – black ruff and big horns! The ritual involves a series of head-butting matches on scree slopes between males to decide on who gets to mate with all the females.
We also saw other wildlife like the timid Ladak pika…
The Chukar partridge – an upland gamebird from the pheasant family…
Flocks of choughs…alpine and red-billed, that looked like shadows in the valley…
The lammergeier or the bearded vulture soaring high above the ridges to scavenge on the marrow from animal bones…
And the majestic golden eagle…
On the last day of our stay, we found fresh snow leopard pugmarks – our expert trackers told us that it was a female with two cubs that would have passed by in the early morning hours. As snow leopards are mostly active during dawn and twilight hours, the family would have sought refuge in the crags and we scanned the valley in vain…Yet the ‘ghost of the Himalayas’ eluded us. However, we were far from disappointed.With a geology sculpted by the birth of the Himalayas, rivers fed by glaciers,the subtle shades of winter vegetation like willow and heather, the incredible biodiversity, and the warmth and hospitality of its humble folk, Ladakh’s stark beauty was so much more than we could have expected.

After a couple of days’ acclimatization to Leh’s altitude of 13,500 ft above mean sea level, we set off northwestwards for Ulley – our destination to track the elusive snow leopard.
On our three hour drive through the Leh valley towards the ridges, we came across many small towns, military encampments, hilltop monasteries – like the Stakna (just visible to the right where the river disappears into the distance)…

When Two Souls Meet: Music from the Mountains of The Indian Subcontinent

“Only when you drink from the river of silence, shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain-top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

– Khalil Gibran

Music Makes Us Smile!

In the far reaches of Ladakh’s outdoors, one hears…the Indus and the Zanskar dribbling over pebbly riverbeds, the wind whisper and howl alternatively through the crevices in the Transhimalaya, and the bird song. Soft, incessant tweets that rent the air with symphonies so sweet, they move grown men to tears.

But if you move indoors, into the soothing dimness of the gompas, you will hear a a stirring hum – a soft crescendo of reverberation that has a music all of its own.  It’s called a singing bowl.

A lesson in making the bowl sing, is a lesson in life.

There is an art to making the brass bowl sing. One has to tap it just right on its rim, and then stir rhythmically until it almost mesmerises the stirrer as he or she meditates and goes into a gentle trance with the reverberations from its hum.

 

The Tibetan Horn is used as a cry to prayer, a cry to the community to gather, a cry to dispel the silence of this mountainous Shangre-La.

The Tibetan Horn is often used as a call to action

Much of Tibetan Folk Music has a spiritual overtone, and the Lama Mani troubadour tradition of singing a song for one’s supper, tells of many Buddhist parables through the medium of song. In accompaniment, the Buddhist Thangka paintings would depict the narrative of this otherwise oral tradition, and helped to create a legacy of learning.

A Buddhist Thangka painting depicts a goddess of music!

The Wangala Festival [http://megtourism.gov.in/garofest.html] is a terrific platform for the music of Meghalaya, much of which comes from the Garo Tribe. Dance, music and traditional games are performed at this annual gathering at Asananggre, near Tura, to celebrate the winter harvest. Garo tribals from as far as Bangladesh come from across the region to perform on their chigrings, sarenadas, buffalo horns and flutes.

In neighboring Kathmandu, The Nepal Music Festival [http://www.nepalmusicfestival.org/nmf/] which the spirit of People, Peace, and Progress. An annual event which takes place in December at Bhrikutimandap Park in the city, it’s become a powerful platform for Nepalese folk music.

A deep look into your soul: Swayambhunath temple, Kathmandu, Nepal

Music takes to its own in the mountains and while festivals like Wangala and the Hornbill Festival (http://www.hornbillfestival.com/)in nearby Nagaland are a showcase for tribal culture and music, other festivals like The Ziro Music Festival [http://zirofestival.com/] in Arunachal Pradesh in the East and Himachal Pradesh in the West, have become a platform for local and international talent in genres ranging from rock and ska, to psychedelic trance.  [http://www.festivalsherpa.com/the-sherps-ultimate-guide-to-music-festivals-in-india/]

The Hornbill Festival Line Up!

A short descent from the Himalayan heights of Arunachal Pradesh, Gauwhati in Assam is well known for its rock music scene and has spawned several of its own prodigy including local legends like Angarag Mahanta (Assamese: অংগৰাগ মহন্ত) better known by his nickname Papon.

The Ziro Music Festival Posters are an art unto themselves!

So whether you opt to meditate with your singing bowl, let your hair down by rocking it out, or to simply listen to nature’s orchestra, your Himalayan amphitheater awaits. Contact the team at Travel Scope to learn more about the Indian Subcontinent’s rich musical traditions.