076 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2017
PHOTOGRAPHYGETTY IMAGES, ISTOCK, KAREN DIAS, SARAH NORRIS
GETTING THEREVIRGIN AUSTRALIA OFFERS
FLIGHTS TO INDIA WITH ITS CODESHARE
PARTNER SINGAPORE AIRLINES. TO BOOK,
VISIT WWW.VIRGINAUSTRALIA.COM OR
CALL 1 3 67 89 (IN AUSTRALIA).leopard enthusiasts — Ladakh is home to a sizeable population
of the world’s most elusive big cat. Then, in 2009, the area
became a must-visit for Indians following the release of the
immensely popular 3 Idiots movie, which was partly shot here.
“In the 1970s, there were two taxis and one hotel,” says
the Ladakhi king, His Excellency Raja Jigmed Wangchuk, over
a traditional lunch of mutton cooked two ways. “Now there
are 12,000 beds in Leh alone.” The king himself ofers rooms
at the Stok Palace where he resides. Guests can stay in the
Queens Room or Royal Suite, or in one of several newly opened
heritage villas, set among old apricot, walnut and willow trees.
Alongside Leh’s hotels, there are cafes and shops that
stock hiking gear and souvenirs. Jigmat Couture, the town’s
first homegrown fashion house, sells high-quality wool and
pashmina clothing, sustainably sourced from nomadic yak,
goat and sheep herders; Kalasha is the place to go in search of
beautiful pashmina shawls, rugs and carpets.SPIRIT OF PLACE
Ladakh is an enormously spiritual place. In fact, it’s easier to
find enlightenment than it is to seek out an ATM. Colourful
prayer flags flutter everywhere, sending religious invocations
out into the world, and the landscape is dotted with what
seem to be hundreds of whitewashed stupas and gompas
(Tibetan Buddhist monasteries). Even road signs ofer (comical)
guidance. “After drinking whiskey, driving is risky,” says one.
Another, “Darling I like you, but not so fast.”
But it’s the chanting that seems to permeate everything. At
Chamba Camp Thiksey — the luxury accommodation on the
A&K tour — the sound of early morning prayers floats from
nearby Thiksey Monastery. You can experience it in person,
too. Watch as two young monks blow a conch from the rooftop
and then join older monks in the prayer hall as they recite
hymns and drink yak-butter tea. It’s ofered to visitors and,
although it’s worth trying once, it’s unlikely you’ll trade your
flat white for this oily, yet watery, drink.
The Buddhists of Ladakh regard His Holiness the Dalai
Lama as their supreme spiritual leader, and his visits see
thousands of enthusiastic locals line the streets. He has made
several trips to the area, including in July when he visited
Diskit Monastery, the oldest and largest in the Nubra Valley, on
the other side of the perilous Khardung La. He was also there
in 2010, when he consecrated the colourful 32-metre Maitreya
Buddha statue, which was built to promote world peace.
The A&K tour has guests bunker down in Chamba Camp
Diskit after an outing to the monastery and statue. Like its
sister in Thiksey, it’s run by The Ultimate Travelling Camp,
popping up between May and October. The camps are
elegant and luxurious, and with stately, colonial-era furniture,
the word ‘glamping’ is inadequate. Tents come with king-sized
four-pillar timber beds, copper sinks, chandeliers and a patio.
Food is plentiful — perhaps too abundant — and turning down
the ofer for more is almost harder than trying to eat it.
One afternoon, Ladakhi filmmaker Stanzin Dorjai Gya is
invited to host a screening of his documentary, Shepherdess
of the Glaciers. It won the grand prize at the Banf Film
Festival in 2016, and is a moving biopic about his 50-year-DETAILS
Abercrombie
& Kent http://www.
abercrombiekent.
com.au. Chamba
Camp Diskit
Tsokra, PO Diskit,
Nubra; http://www.tutc.
com. Chamba
Camp Thiksey
Ki Ki Naga, Near
Govt. High School
Thiksey, Leh/Manali
Rd, Thiksey;
http://www.tutc.com.
Jigmat Couture
Tsaskan Complex,
Shagaran, Leh;
http://www.jigmat
couture.com.
Kalasha Opposite
Hotel Chospa, Old
Leh Rd, Leh;
+91 1982 257 644.
Stok Palace
Heritage Hotel
Stok Palace, Leh;
http://www.stokpalace
heritage.com.old sister and her punishing life as a
shepherd in the merciless mountains.
It captures a side of Ladakhi life that
is slowly disappearing — most people
decide to move of the land, or head to
major cities in pursuit of an education.
Even so, between the flat-topped,
mudbrick houses and terraced fields,
traditional ways of life still dictate. In
the warmer months, villagers rely on
an ancient system of melting glaciers
to keep their crops alive. As water flows
down the mountains, an elected water
sherif, called a churpon, is responsible
for allocating the resource fairly. It’s a
brilliant system and, thankfully, it means
the Ladakhis don’t have to endurethat
road in pursuit of a bucket of water.