Seat of Our Pants

The ruins of the newly renovated Leh Palace and the Namgyl Tsemo Gompa (a Buddhist monastery) both sit on the mountain above Leh. You have two choices for getting to these places. You can either hire a taxi to drive you up the mountain, or you can tackle the dirt track that zigzags across the mountain face. We opted for the later. It was a good way to test our acclimatization – and I’m happy to report that the ol’ lungs are doing just fine.

Leh Palace with Gompa in Background

The Leh Palace was a short walk up from the old town. The building was a maze of dark corridors and small doorways (Martin whacked his head, despite an explicit warning – silly Martin). Many of the corridors led to terraces, which offered stunning views of the town below. It also bore a striking resemblance to the Potala Palace in Tibet. Actually, Ladakh is often referred to as little Tibet.

The ascent to the Gompa was the tricky bit, but rewarding once we arrived. The views of the town and surrounding mountain ranges were spectacular. The sun was shining, Tibetan prayer flags were flapping in the wind and, once we caught our breath, couldn’t help but laugh at the grandeur of it all.

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