Lamayuru is one of the most ancient monasteries in Ladakh, the oldest surviving structure dating to the 11 th century CE. What makes this monastery particularly fascinating, is its location, amidst what is today called the “moonscape”, for the spectacular natural rock formations, which truly are “out of the world”! As per legend , there once existed a huge lake in this area, populated only by the Nagas (serpents). It was prophesized that there would be a great monastery built here. This prophecy came true when the great acharya Naropa (756-1041 CE) arrived. He emptied the lake, meditated for many years inside a cave, and built the first monastery here. The present structure is a new one, built around the cave where Acharya Naropa is said to have meditated. This legend seems to fit well with the geological formations seen in the area, which suggest this was a paleo-lake, which disappeared around 1000 years ago. Lamayuru is about 130 km from Leh , and the Indus River flows along th
On my recent visit to Corbett as part of the Club Mahindra Bloggers Trip, we
spent some time at Nainital. After roaming around the streets for a while, we
took the ropeway to get a glimpse of the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas.
The ropeway idea was just a lark, to spend some extra time at Nainital, but it
turned out to be full of surprises - from the beautiful aerial view of the
Naini Lake.....
To the snow capped mountains
visible even to the naked eye!
A board announced the availability
of "powerful binoculars" to get a better view of the snow clad
peaks....
But the binocs turned out to be a
pair of normal ones encased in an impressive - looking case, making them look
much bigger, and I guess, more 'powerful'! And the long queue waiting for a
peep proved their popularity!
The ropeway seemed to be quite
popular, since we had to wait more than half an hour for our turn, and the
whole place was filled with tourists having fun, which meant that there was
quite a lot of noise! We moved away from the crowd, seeking some peace. Anyway,
most of us had our own binoculars, certainly more 'powerful', and we were
rewarded by the sight of many birds too - Verditer Flycatchers, Rufous
Sibias, and Himalayan Whistling Thrush, among others.
As each of us got busy with our cameras, clicking away at
either the landscape or the birds, time flew past, and it was time for us to
resume our journey down the ropeway. As we began our downward journey in the
cable car, the sun began its descent too……
A ropeway is no longer a novelty in India. There are many
tourist spots which now boast of cable cars. But this journey reminded me of
the simple thrills of a ropeway – the feeling of being high up and looking down
at the ground through a new perspective. But above all, our ropeway ride served
to help me filter out the noise and crowd and make the most of a beautiful
place!
I decided to use this post for Sky Watch Friday instead of a single picture as usual. Hope you liked it! For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Sky Watch Page.
I am envious. I will make it up some day.
ReplyDeleteNice post about a lovely post. Good one Anu.
ReplyDeletewww.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com
The shots are very lovely, Anu. The ropeway ride must have been awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you all had a good time and caught a lovely sunset too.
ReplyDeleteLovely place to be .
ReplyDeleteI hope u do :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
ReplyDeletehad a wonderful time, mridula! and the sunset was much better than what i could capture!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely! u shd go !
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful, Bindhu, but the views more than the ride itself!
ReplyDeleteThose were stunning pictures. Loved the sunset series best of all and the birds.
ReplyDeleteThe font is better now. Thanks. :)
nice pics Anu
ReplyDeleteTHanks a lot, Zephyr!
ReplyDeleteThanks Shrinidhi!
ReplyDeleteHey! It reminded me of my trip but I had not been on the ropeway! The next time I go I will get my own powerful binoculars :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteThe photos are extremely beautiful
wonderful and the powerful binoculars is a nice laugh :)
ReplyDeleteand by the way, there is round dust spot visible in many of the photos, probably need to clean you camera once :)
and the sunset photos are beautiful and you are an opportunistic birder :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kanthi!
ReplyDeleteThanks Santosh! I realised that too, but still wondering how to clean my lens... tried it once,but doesnt seem to have made much of a difference!
ReplyDeleteNow, thats a nice term.. opportunistic birder... and fits me perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThe first picture is simply breathtaking, Anu. May I use it as wallpaper for my laptop? Please, please ...
ReplyDeleteSure, Sudha! will send u the large image by mail. the one on the blog might be a smaller sized one...
ReplyDeleteWow' great photos kindly chk here also http://www.gonainital.com/
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeletethe is one of the best photo-descriptive way i have seen ever....great work...
ReplyDelete