Leh

A building in the grand tradition of Tibetan architecture said to have inspired from the famous Potala in Lhasa, which was built half a century later. The palace was built in the 17th century and had nine storeys , but it is now dilapidated and deserted. It was the home of the royal family until they were exiled to Stok in the 1830s. Within the palace are Buddhist wall paintings, centuries old 'tankas' or painted scrolls and other artefacts. Above the palace, at the top of the Namgyal hill, is the Victory Tower, built to commemorate Ladakh's victory over the Balti Kashmir armies in the early 16th century. This palace built for King Singge Namgyal, now houses the Ladakhi branch of the Indian Government's archaeological conservation organisation.

The view from the monastery above the Leh Palace is quite impressive. It is known as Namgyal Tsemo Gompa (monastery). The red monastery has some frescos, Buddhist scriptures, idols and a massive statue of the Maitreya Buddha (future Buddha).

The palace is always open for public visit and the restoration work is on. You can get to the roof of the Leh Palace, Ladakh to enjoy a panoramic view of the whole Leh town. From upon the roof of the palace, you can also view the mountain of Stok Kangri and some part of the Zanskar mountain across the Indus Valley (to south) and the Ladakh mountain ranges (to north).

Leh Palace

The old palace of the king of Ladakh overlooks the town from the south –west slope of the Tsemo. It has eight storeys and was  built by King Singe Namgyal in the 16^th century, at much the same time as the famed Potala of Lasa – which it resembles. The damage to the palace, one side is gaping open, stems from the Kashmiri invasions of the last century. Like the Shey Palace the Leh Palace still belongs to the Ladakhi royal family. Who now live in their palace in Stock.

Few of the palace wall painting are worth looking at since they have been scratched and smeared over the years. The small Khar Gonpa within the palace is also of little interest. In fact the main reason to make the short, steep climb up to the place is for the superb view from the roof, over which the coloured prayer flags wave in the wind, the lines of which begin on the blue-white-red-green-yellow Tarchok mast. In good weather the Zanskar range, snow covered until early summer, appears close enough to touch although it rises from the other side of the Indus.

Shanti Stupa:

Japanese Stupas made for world peace. Shanti Stupa  is located at Changspa, on the hilltop, and was inaugurated by Dalai Lama in 1985. Its state of the art work attracts a lot of tourists to Ladakh and is spectacular to watch. The Shanti Stupa can be reached by car, or on foot via a steep flight of five hundred steps.

You will enjoy the panoramic view of the chain of mountains and the peaceful little village of Changspa with typical Ladakhi houses built along a gushing stream, and the towering Namgyal Tsemo in the distance.

Hall of Fame near Leh is worth a visit for every citizen. It is a glorious museum constructed by Indian army. You can see the memorabilia, eminent defence personalities with biographies, images and weapons used during Kargil war and belongings of enemy soldiers found at war site. Another section of this building is entirely dedicated to Siachen and its heroes. On display are attires, multi layered shoes to keep their feet from frost bites, their daily instruments, their day to day food mainly frozen and packed, which is heated by lighting small balls of Hexamycin tablets, as fire is difficult to ignite at a temperature dipping -30 deg to -50 deg centigrade. It is mentioned on a board that 97% of the casualties in Siachen are due to cold and terrain.

Defying the Law of gravity. This place is close to the Gurdwara Shri Patthar Sahib. It has been noticed that when a vehicle is parked on neutral gear on this metallic road the vehicle slides up.

Magnetic Hill is a gravity hill located near Leh in Ladakh, India. The hill is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill and force passing aircraft to increase their altitude in order to escape magnetic interference; in reality, the effect is an optical illusion created by the gravity hill.

Imagine a vehicle moving up a steep mountain with its ignition off!

Sounds unbelievable, but it's true.

A hill near picturesque Leh has magnetic properties which attracts metallic objects, making vehicles move up at a speed of about 20 km per hour with their engines off.

The ``Magnetic Hill'' is located on the Leh-Kargil-Batalik national highway, about 30 km from Leh town, at a height of 14,000 feet above sea level. On its eastern side, flows the Sindhu, which originates in Tibet and goes to Pakistan.

A group of journalists, visiting Leh to cover the Sindhu Darshan Festival, were surprised when they had a first hand experience of the qualities of the ``Magnetic Hill''.

The local administration has put up a billboard near the ``Magnetic Hill'' for tourists stating that if a vehicle is placed on a particular spot on the road and the engine is switched off, it would not slide down but move up.

When the Swaraj Mazda in which the journalists went for sightseeing reached the particular point with ignition switched off, the vehicle actually started moving upward at a speed of more than 20 km.

Considering it as a mere fluke, the journalists made the driver of the Swaraj Mazda take the vehicle back to that point and place it there again. The same thing happened -- the vehicle moved up. The exercise was repeated several times with the same result.

Locals and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, who man the Ladakh border with China, even claim that to escape the magnetic impact of the hill, helicopters and aircraft have to fly at a relatively greater height. And aircraft which come into the radius of the ``Magnetic Hill'' face jerks, similar to those witnessed during turbulence.

A few kilometres from the ``Magnetic Hill'' is ``Gurdwara Patthar Sahib'' where Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of sikhs, had sat on meditation in the 17th century. The Gurdwara, which has its own religious importance for the Sikhs, has remained in the oblivion due to its location.

Maintained by the Army, the Gurdwara is more of a place of prayer for the locals, armymen and tourists. Not many Sikhs from other parts of the country visit the place.

It is said when Guru Gobind Singh was meditating here, an evil soul threw a large stone from the hill top at him. The stone did hit him, but Guru Gobind Singh was not hurt. However, the mark of the Guru was left on the stone which is still lying at the Gurdwara.

The religious place remained unexplored for a long time and was developed only after the army deputed its personnel for the maintenance.

The ``Magnetic Hill'' is one of the several unique things which one can find in Ladakh. The hills and mountains in this Himalayan region bear different colours -- from snow-laden white mountains, to black, grey, green, red and orange, one can see them all.

References

• The Hindu
• Wikipedia

GURDWARA SHRI PATTHAR SAHIB

The Shrine known as Gurdwara Patthar sahib is situated about 25 kms. Short of Leh town on the Leh-Srinagar road. Built in the everlasting memory of Shri Guru Nanak Dev, the great prophet who sanctified the place by his sacred visit during the year 1517 while on his second missionary tour. The Guru reached here via Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet, Yarkand and Leh after having spiritual discourses with the Sidhas at Mount Sumer (Central Himalayas).