Alchi - The place to do nothing
"Till Mulbek you can see the Muslim influence", said our guide. "From there on it is Buddhist country". We were starting from Kargil. We cross the river and Mulbek was the first stop in the day. We were to climb two high passes and pass through some moonscapes before we would land in the quaint and quite village of Alchi.
At Mulbek we stopped to look at the rock carving of the future Buddha. I think the fu
ture Buddha is known by the name of Maitreya. Seemed a lot like Lord Shiva statue. Very close in style of the Hindu statues that you see. A couple of small shops are present near the rock carving. As usual, irrespective of where we stop, irrespective of when we have eaten, Rajani and Harini need to buy something from a shop when they see one. That is their strategy for keeping the economy healthy. So we bought some stuff here as well and started from Mulbek.
There were two passes on the way that we needed to cross, Namika La and Fotu La. Unlike other high altitude passes, these passes were dry and there was no snow anywhere around. A pass is supposed
to help you cross from one side of the mountain range to another but at the passes that I have been earlier I have not been able to see both the sides clearly. In both these passes, you can stand besides the board which tells you the height of the pass (this is mandatory :) and you can see the ranges on both sides. The curving roads and the absolute lack of traffic of any sort heightens the sense of isolation. It is a lovely feeling , being there on the pass, with the wind blowing and absolute silence all around. Gayathri and I got down and took a few snaps. The kids were bored by the routine and sat in the car. There was a TV transmission tower on one of 
these passes.
From there we started for Lamayuru. You can see the Lamayuru monastery from a distance and it offers a lovely view. Most of the monasteries in Ladakh are built on the edge of the mountains. If you were to step out of any windows it is surely 'moksha' for you. The extern
al facade of these monasteries is not very striking. They look like normal mud houses built on the ledge of some mountain. The exact location of these monasteries, which makes you feel that it can topple down anytime, and the fact that it is not one building but a cluster of buildings which gives them the grandeur when you view them from a distance. We reached the monastery and as usual, the inside was very colorful and attractive. The view from the monastery was lovely as could be expected. Ranjani and Harini did the thing of spinning the wheel. They were liking this. We had our lunch at a hotel adjoining the monastery. Though the service was slow the food was good.
Our stomachs now full, we started for Alchi. Lamayuru is famous for its moonscapes. This comes after you cross the monastery and proceed towards Alchi. A short distance after the monastery we saw many rock faces. It looks as if someone has carved faces of people on the rocks but in truth these are carved by the natural elements. There were many such 'modern art' pieces on the mountains there. Next cam
e the moonscape. This is a large area, which is a part of these mountains, which are supposed to look like the surface of the moon. The color of this area differs from the adjoining mountains. It is very creamish in color and the surface is definitely strange to look at. As in many cases, no photograph can convey this strangeness. You need to be there to experience it.
We pass the moonscape and then starts the most fascinating and the frustrating part of that day's journey. The fascinating part first. As we drive along we start seeing mountains of different colors !! Looks like there are some mineral deposits in the rocks which give them color. Some of them give the mountain a reddish glow, while some give it a green
ish tinge. Depending on how the light strikes them, you get to see different shades. Now we are passing through a passage between mountains, not exactly a valley. The whole atmosphere suddenly changes. There is absolute silence. Nothing except the sound of our vehicle. No evidence that any life form exists on this planet. It is as if we have come to a totally uninhabited planet without having to take a spaceship!! Gayathri echoes my thoughts, "Wow. This is so lonely. As if no one exists." Experiences like this are something worth dying for. Especially to city folks like me.
Then comes the frustrating part of the journey. When at a distance we can see the turn we need to take to reach Alchi, we notice a convoy in front of us. We are on a mountain road were passing a vehicle is difficult and the rule here is that if there is a convoy in front of you, you will not pass it, for security reasons. It seems that some minister is going to Ladakh that day and for some strange reason he requires a posse of armed guards in
multiple guards to guard him in one of the safest places. So we crawl behind this cars, frustrated that we cannot move faster. The scenery is wonderful but the inability to pass a slow moving vehicle in front of you can give you an headache. Blame it on too much highway riding, if you will. Luckily for us this is not a Kerala highway where it is dusty and hot and you cannot pass !! The weather is cool and the scenery around is lovely so that saves the day and the headache. Finally we turn right while the convoy heads straight. The right turn gets us off the mountain and into vast space very typical of Ladakh. As few turns later, we enter the Alchi village.
Alchi is really small. There are very few houses and the monastery. We get to the hotel were we are to stay. They are still not fully ready. They don't anticipate the tourist rush till the first week of June so everything is still being done up. We dump our luggage and walk to the monastery. It is a lovely monstery and is well known in this part of Ladakh. There are some very old paintings, supposed to be done by Kashmiri painters. We speak with the monk there for some time and then come out. Gayathri and kids get back to the room while I walk around for som
e more time. The village ends after I cross a few houses!! I see some wonderful birds and there is quite a bit of greenery around. Looks like they cultivate peas here. At a distance I notice some ruined buildings. Must have been old forts or an old monastery which is in a state of disrepair. Alchi is a very small village but a very quite and peaceful one. I can imagine many people coming here to soothe their nerves. If you want to do absolutely nothing, Alchi is a very place to do it. I would highly recommend you to get to Alchi in case you are planning a Ladakh trip.
The next day would lead us to the highest motorable pass in the world.
"Till Mulbek you can see the Muslim influence", said our guide. "From there on it is Buddhist country". We were starting from Kargil. We cross the river and Mulbek was the first stop in the day. We were to climb two high passes and pass through some moonscapes before we would land in the quaint and quite village of Alchi.
At Mulbek we stopped to look at the rock carving of the future Buddha. I think the fu
ture Buddha is known by the name of Maitreya. Seemed a lot like Lord Shiva statue. Very close in style of the Hindu statues that you see. A couple of small shops are present near the rock carving. As usual, irrespective of where we stop, irrespective of when we have eaten, Rajani and Harini need to buy something from a shop when they see one. That is their strategy for keeping the economy healthy. So we bought some stuff here as well and started from Mulbek.There were two passes on the way that we needed to cross, Namika La and Fotu La. Unlike other high altitude passes, these passes were dry and there was no snow anywhere around. A pass is supposed
to help you cross from one side of the mountain range to another but at the passes that I have been earlier I have not been able to see both the sides clearly. In both these passes, you can stand besides the board which tells you the height of the pass (this is mandatory :) and you can see the ranges on both sides. The curving roads and the absolute lack of traffic of any sort heightens the sense of isolation. It is a lovely feeling , being there on the pass, with the wind blowing and absolute silence all around. Gayathri and I got down and took a few snaps. The kids were bored by the routine and sat in the car. There was a TV transmission tower on one of 
these passes.From there we started for Lamayuru. You can see the Lamayuru monastery from a distance and it offers a lovely view. Most of the monasteries in Ladakh are built on the edge of the mountains. If you were to step out of any windows it is surely 'moksha' for you. The extern
al facade of these monasteries is not very striking. They look like normal mud houses built on the ledge of some mountain. The exact location of these monasteries, which makes you feel that it can topple down anytime, and the fact that it is not one building but a cluster of buildings which gives them the grandeur when you view them from a distance. We reached the monastery and as usual, the inside was very colorful and attractive. The view from the monastery was lovely as could be expected. Ranjani and Harini did the thing of spinning the wheel. They were liking this. We had our lunch at a hotel adjoining the monastery. Though the service was slow the food was good.Our stomachs now full, we started for Alchi. Lamayuru is famous for its moonscapes. This comes after you cross the monastery and proceed towards Alchi. A short distance after the monastery we saw many rock faces. It looks as if someone has carved faces of people on the rocks but in truth these are carved by the natural elements. There were many such 'modern art' pieces on the mountains there. Next cam
e the moonscape. This is a large area, which is a part of these mountains, which are supposed to look like the surface of the moon. The color of this area differs from the adjoining mountains. It is very creamish in color and the surface is definitely strange to look at. As in many cases, no photograph can convey this strangeness. You need to be there to experience it.We pass the moonscape and then starts the most fascinating and the frustrating part of that day's journey. The fascinating part first. As we drive along we start seeing mountains of different colors !! Looks like there are some mineral deposits in the rocks which give them color. Some of them give the mountain a reddish glow, while some give it a green
ish tinge. Depending on how the light strikes them, you get to see different shades. Now we are passing through a passage between mountains, not exactly a valley. The whole atmosphere suddenly changes. There is absolute silence. Nothing except the sound of our vehicle. No evidence that any life form exists on this planet. It is as if we have come to a totally uninhabited planet without having to take a spaceship!! Gayathri echoes my thoughts, "Wow. This is so lonely. As if no one exists." Experiences like this are something worth dying for. Especially to city folks like me.Then comes the frustrating part of the journey. When at a distance we can see the turn we need to take to reach Alchi, we notice a convoy in front of us. We are on a mountain road were passing a vehicle is difficult and the rule here is that if there is a convoy in front of you, you will not pass it, for security reasons. It seems that some minister is going to Ladakh that day and for some strange reason he requires a posse of armed guards in
multiple guards to guard him in one of the safest places. So we crawl behind this cars, frustrated that we cannot move faster. The scenery is wonderful but the inability to pass a slow moving vehicle in front of you can give you an headache. Blame it on too much highway riding, if you will. Luckily for us this is not a Kerala highway where it is dusty and hot and you cannot pass !! The weather is cool and the scenery around is lovely so that saves the day and the headache. Finally we turn right while the convoy heads straight. The right turn gets us off the mountain and into vast space very typical of Ladakh. As few turns later, we enter the Alchi village.Alchi is really small. There are very few houses and the monastery. We get to the hotel were we are to stay. They are still not fully ready. They don't anticipate the tourist rush till the first week of June so everything is still being done up. We dump our luggage and walk to the monastery. It is a lovely monstery and is well known in this part of Ladakh. There are some very old paintings, supposed to be done by Kashmiri painters. We speak with the monk there for some time and then come out. Gayathri and kids get back to the room while I walk around for som
e more time. The village ends after I cross a few houses!! I see some wonderful birds and there is quite a bit of greenery around. Looks like they cultivate peas here. At a distance I notice some ruined buildings. Must have been old forts or an old monastery which is in a state of disrepair. Alchi is a very small village but a very quite and peaceful one. I can imagine many people coming here to soothe their nerves. If you want to do absolutely nothing, Alchi is a very place to do it. I would highly recommend you to get to Alchi in case you are planning a Ladakh trip.The next day would lead us to the highest motorable pass in the world.
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