Discover India - Lahaul and Spiti

Lahaul and Spiti

Stark Splendour
Two sub-divisions, Lahaul and Spiti comprise this trans-Himalayan district of Himachal Pradesh. Step out of Manali, cross the Rohtang Pass at 3980 metres on an ancient trade route and it seems we are in another world.

A mustard field stands out
in this otherwise bleak landscape

Lahaul, on the other side of the pass is at once stark and forbidding and yet, its arid, almost lunar-like land has a strange haunting beauty. Everything about the place is high - the passes, the mountains, the sapphire-like lakes, the fast flowing river s. Scattered over this ethereal landscape are Buddhist monasteries whose antiquity seems lost in the shadows of long centuries. Along with the fascination that the terrain holds, these monasteries are its main attraction - and Lahaul has eighteen of the m. While the route from Manali to Leh through Lahaul has been declared an 'international tourist circuit' and along one of the highest highways in the world is fairly traversed, other parts remain - to put it mildly - off beat.

The influence of Tibet and Ladakh is strong in the region and is known as Guru or orgian Rimpoche, the Precious Master. lt wasthe great religious leader and tantric, Padmasambhava, who began the synthesis of Mahayana Buddhism's practises, yogic trantricis m and the native Bon religion of Tibet. The combination of ritual, faith and content has created whatwe recognize today as trans-Himalayan Buddhism.

The confluence at Tandi

A young Lahauli girl with a perfect backdrop

At the crest of the Rohtang Pass, a panorama of bare snowfields and glaciers unfolds. The Sonapati glacier and the sacred twin peaks of Gyephang are visible from here. A short distance from the pass is the lake of Dashair (Sarkund) which, along with the Suraj Tal and Chandra Tal, seem to epitomize the mystique of the region. Past the Rohtang, the racing waters of the River Chandra come up for view and then the flat-roofed houses of Khoksar provide an introduction to Lahauli living. This is followed by Gondhala and its distinctive eight -storeyed tower; 18 kilometres ahead, is Keylong, the district headquarters. An oasis of vegetation in this cold desert, Keylong has a variety of accommodation.

The route to Leh goes over the 8 kilometre long Baralacha Pass at 4982 metres. This area is the watershed of Lahaul's main rivers - the Chandra, the Bhaga and the Yunam. And here, the paths to Zanskar, Ladakh, Spiti and Lahaul meet. On this track Himac hal Tourism runs at ented colony with comprehensive facilities at Sarchu.

A meandering stream and green paddy fields, Lahaul

Baralacha La

Near Tandi, wherethe Chandraand Bhaga meet to become the Chenab and flow through the Pattan valley is the Guru Ghantal gompa (monastery). Regarded as the oldest monastery in Lahaul, it is said to have been founded by Padmasambhava himself. The main imag e is a marble head without a body.

Legend has it that this head was seen rising out of the sandy bank where the Chandra and Bhaga meet. Without waiting for the rest of the body to appear, someone lopped it off. There are terra-cotta images of other saints and also said to be locked in a dark airless room is the visage of the demon Tsedak who once ravaged the area till he was captured. In mid-June, a major festival is held at Guru Ghantal. Apart from the feasting and dancing, the devout circumambulate a trail of 29 kilometres around th e sacred mountain of Drilburi that rises above the gompa. The monastery of Toopchiling is also close by. The highly revered Kardang gompa is also close to Keylong and has a large library of Buddhist Kangyur and Tangyur scriptures. Shashur gompa is a ba re three kilometers from the district headquarters and was founded by Deva Gyatsho in the 17th century. The famous festival of Shashur Tseshe is held here every June. A dance-drama is enacted by the monks dressed in colourful costumes and elaborate mask s. Although erroneously, it is often called 'the devil dance' and it originated in the 10th century when it provided the cover to kill Lang Darma, king of Tibet and a sworn enemy of Buddhism.

Tayul means the 'place that is chosen', and so it must be for the main prayer wheel at the gompa is said to rotate on its own accord at certain times. Six kilometres from Keylong, it has a statue of Padmasambhava that is almost five meters high while its library houses 101 volumes of the sacred Kangyur text.

Clay figurines and frescoes, Tabo Monastery

Mountain greys envelop the mountains at Chini

In the Pattan valley, Shansha is another important shrine. Gyephang one of the most revered deities of Lahaul, is believed to have been born here. Deeper up the valley, the temple of Triloknath is revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike and both-pay homag e to a single image. The Hindus regard Triloknath as Lord Shiva in his manifestation as the'Lord of the Three Worlds',

while the Buddhists regard the image to be that of Avalokiteshvara, the personification of compassion and infinite light.

Some of Lahaul's other fascinating monasteries and temples are at Udeypur, Gemur, Jalma, Gwazang, Lapchang and Piyukar.
The Spiti sub-division has its headquarters at Kaza where hotels, rest houses and a Himachal Tourism camp are available. Skirting the Bara Shigri glacier, Spiti or the 'Middle Country', is connected to Lahaul by the Kunzum pass at 4,551 meters. The othe r route is from Shimla and through Kinnaur.

Kaza girls, Spiti

Young monks, Tabo

Along the former route, the first time visitor may well feel briefly disconcerted. For one, it is the terrain - mile after mile of the cold desert and mud formations that resemble abandoned castles.

There are only tiny patches of cultivated land or plantations of poplar and wiIIow but that, as environmentalists say, it had best be. Then its the visual perspective. From the highway in the narrow Spiti valley, one is either looking down at the rushi ng waters or up to a distant gompa or snow clad peak. But it has a magnetism that few places can parallel and one can only wonder if that sage of yore had Spiti in mind when he spoke in the Puranas (ancient text), "in a thousand lifetimes, I could not te ll you the wonders of the Himalaya". Here, where the snows are heavy and it hardly ever rains, the people of Spiti are largely followers of the Geluk-pa (Yellow Hat) sect of Buddhism, while those of Lahaul mostly belong to the Drug-pa (Red Hat) Sect.

Often called the 'Ajanta of the Himalayas', at a cursory glance Tabo seems nothing more than a cluster of mud huts in a village with a population of less than 400 persons. Admittedly large and well made, but still mud huts with a couple of new buildings berthed alongside. Once you are inside and your eyes get accustomed to the dim light, here are art treasures born of faith that, perhaps, of which even an enterprising Ali Baba would have never dreamed. The walls are lined with exquisite frescoes and stucco statues. Above the monastery are the caves in which monks once lived and these are also richly endowed with these art treasures.

Farmers at work in a village, Spiti

In terms of sanctity, Tabo is next only to the Tholing gompa in Tibet and this year in June-July it celebrates in millennium and a Kalchakra ceremony will be conducted by the Dalai Lama. Fifty kilometres from Kaza, Tabo has rest houses and essential acc ommodation. At the time ' of the Kalchakra, several tented colonies including one by Himachal Tourism will be available.
Built along a hard-to-climb promontory, the Dhankar gompa is another one of Spiti's major monasteries. This was once the site of the ruler of Spiti's - Nono's residence. Again perched on an escarpment, Ki is another fascinating monastery and is practica lly en route to the highest villages of the region Kibber (4,205 meters) and Gette (4,270 meters). The Thang Yud gompa is also close to Kaza.
The Pin Valley and the stream with the same name, feed the Spiti. It lies below the Kungri glacier. A national park, the Pin valley it is home to the snow leopard, the ibex, the bharal and thar.

GETTING THERE
LAHAUL-SPITI
The best time to visit is between May and October. Rest houses and tented accommodation are available at select stations. Kaza and Keylong have hotels. A four wheel-drive vehicle is recommended.