Shanti Stupa
Location: Leh, Ladakh Region, J&K
Also Known As: Peace Pagoda
Opened In: 1983 By Dalai Lama
A relatively new addition to the rocky skyline around Leh is the toothpaste white Shanti Stupa above Changspa village, 3km west of the bazaar. Inaugurated in 1983 by the Dalai Lama, the "Peace Pagoda", whose sides are decorated with gilt panels depicting episodes from the life of the Buddha, is one of several such monuments erected around India by a "Peace Sect" of Japanese Buddhists.
The Dusky Beauty
The site of the Stupa is particularly atmospheric at dusk, when the drums played at evening Puja seem to set the pace of growing shadows as the sun sinks behind the mountains in the west.
How to get there
The Shanti Stupa can be reached by car, or on foot via a steep flight of five hundred steps, which winds up the ridge from the end of Changspa lane.
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Zanskar
Walled in by the Great Himalayan Divide, Zanskar, literally " Land of White Copper" has for decades exrted the allure of Shangri La on visitours to Ladakh.
Zangla
Zangla is the nodal point on the popular Padum Strongdey Zangla Karsha Padum round trip, which covers most of the cultural sites of Zanskar.
Zongkhul
Zongkhul falls on the Padum-Kishtwar trekking trail, just before the ascent of Omasi-la Pass begins
The Suru Valley
Diving two of the world's most formidable mountain ranges, the Suru Valley winds south from Kargil to the desolate Pensi La the main entry point for Zanskar.
North of Leh : Nubra Valley
Until 1994, the lands north of Leh were off limits to tourists and had been unexplored by outsiders since the nineteenth century.
Drass Valley
Drass (3230 m), 60 km west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar, is a small township lying in the centre of the valley of the same name .
Shyok Valley
The Shyok River receives the waters of the Nubra and Changchenmo rivers. It rises from the Khumdang glacier, which can be approached from Shyok.
Salt Valley
The Salt Lake Valley is one of the widest open areas in Rupshu. It can be approached from Leh across the Tanglang La pass.
