Chapter-(12)
of my Blog
Driving
through NH-3, From Udaipur to Jisspa Via
Trilokinath—Moosing---Shansha---Tholang---Tandi---Keylong---Jisspa
Day—(16), 25th July 2015
Today after satisfyingly
visiting Udaipur and Trilokinath, we drove back towards Keylong town. We drove back on the
same route through which we had driven the previous day. I.e.via
Moosing---Shansha---Tholang---Tandi. Once we reached back at Tandi village, we
drove straight to the Petrol Bunk and refilled the fuel to its full capacity,
because knowing well that the next Petrol Bunk would be at Leh City, that is
365 Km away from Tandi.
After refilling fuel we drove towards Keylong and Jisspa.
Keylong
Keylong is situated at an
altitude of (10,100 ft) above MSL and is 9 Km from Tandi. It has a population of
(14,128).
 |
Entrance to Keylong town
|
 |
Aerial view of Keylong town
from different angles
|
Keylong is the most populated and busy village of the Lahaul valley.
As far as communication facilities are concerned, there are police and telegraph
radio nets, telephone exchange at Keylong and postal service throughout the
valley. There are three light-TV transmitter has been installed one in
Sumnam village, second in Baring & third in Udaipur. In the past Keylong
was home for the Moravian missionaries.
During summers Keylong is
very green looking refreshingly striking against a backdrop of brown hills and
snow clad peaks. Because of this panoramic setting Lieut. Col., the Honble C.G.
Bruce, M.V.O. likened Keylong to a barbaric jewel--a roughly cut emerald in a
bronze and silver setting. There can not be a better simile to describe the
lush green charm of Keylong during summer's. "It is an oasis of green
fields and willow planted water courses surrounded by brown hills and snowy
heights".
There is a Cricuit House, a
P.W.D. rest house, a Sainik Rest House, a Tourist Bungalow and many hotels
which provide accommodation to the tourists. Several eating joints and
restaurants are also there for every taste.
Three of the best known
monasteries Tayul, Kardang and Sha-Shur are within a few kms. from this
village. Tourists may also like to visit the temple of the local
deity Kelang Wazir in the house of one Sh. Nawang Dorje.
 |
Aerial view of lush-green Keylong
town across River Bagha
|
On the opposite side of Keylong town, at the foot hill of opposite side tf
Keylong town across the Baga Rive there is a Keylong faces the famous Kardang
Monastery, the largest and most important monastery in Lahaul, of the Drukpa sect
of Tibetan Buddhism , which is on a slope across the river from Keylong.
Sights near Keylong include
the Kardang, Shasur, and Tayul monasteries, all within a few kilometres of
Keylong. There is also a small temple dedicated to
the local deity Kelang Wazir in the house of Shri Nawang
Dorje that may be visited upon arrangement.
The annual Lahaul Festival
is held here each July with a big, busy Market and a number of cultural
activities. In end of August it became very busy
History of Kardang, Shasur, and Tayul monasteries
The monasteries are believed
to have been built in the 12th century and houses a large library of
Buddhist literature, including the Kangyur and Tangyur scriptures in the
Bhotia or Sherpa Language. There is also a good collection of fine Thankas,
musical instruments such as lutes, drums, horns, as well as old weapons. There
are colourful frescoes and murals.
 |
Aerial view of Kardang
Monastery across River Bagha
|
The Kardang monastery was in
ruins until it was renovated in 1912 CE by Lama Norbu Rinpoche (died 1952),
who, with Lama Kunga, turned it into "a proper educational and training
establishment."
In the first room is a 4 foot (1.23 metres) high silver Chaitya or Chorten preserving the skull and ashes of Lama Norbu. To the right of it are statues of Padmasambhava and Tara Devi, and in the back, one of Tagden Shakyashree, guru of Lama Kunga. 103 volumes of the Kangyur are kept here, while behind are 64 Tantra books on various subjects. The second room is the main Prayer Hall with an eleven-headed statue of Avalokitesvara. On a high pedestal at the right are some of Lama Norbu's castoff garments and with a skull in front. In the third room is a six foot wooden prayer wheel with a brass bell on it. There are now about thirty monks and nuns (chomos) in the monastery, and two British nuns have studied, meditated, and been initiated in recent years.
The monks and nuns have
equal rights, and the monks have permission to marry. The monks spend the
summer with their families working their fields, in the winter they return to
the monastery. There is a huge prayer drum in the monastery with the sacred
six-syllable mantra, “OM MANI PADME HUM”, written a million times on strips of
paper. It also has a Narbo as its head Lama.
Because the monastery is on
the southern bank of the Bhaga River, it gets very little sun, while Keylong on
the opposite side gets far more as it is facing south. Because of
this the Moravian Christian mission, which was established here in
1857, was later moved across the river to Keylong.
 |
| Inner View of Kardang Monastery |
Modern story by monastery
head Lama Paljor Larje.
The old monastery temple was
fully destroyed by rain at 1998. The new temple was rebuilt at 1999-2009 by
present monastery head Lama Paljor. The previous monastery head - Lama Apo
rinponche came from Tibet about 1959. He became monastery head in 1970. Lama
Paljor larje was his disciple since he was 13 years old. Khantse rimponche lead
the monastery when Apo rimponche died in 1981. Lama Paljor Larje lead the
monastery from 1999 onward.
.jpg) |
Exterior view of Kardang
Monastery
|
The new temple has two
floors. Each floors have one room.
The ground floor is place
for laymen. It has a number of very old statues and paintings. When a
laymen enters to temple he sees three main statues on the front: Buddha
Shakjamuni statue on the middle, Buddha Vajradhara on the left and Buddha
Padmasambhava on the right. On the right side of the main the laymen may see
the statues including the following:
Buddha Amitabha
Tara
Maha sidha (siddha) Shakya
Shri
Marpa - great buddhist text
translator
Yogin Malarepa
Gampopa
Lama Norbu rinpoche - both
statue and stupa with his relic
There are some of statues on
the right side:
Buddha Avalokiteshvara
Heruka deity
Vajrayogini
Maha sidha (siddha) Shakya
Shri
Yunjin rinpoche
Kunga rinpoche - both statue
and stupa
Apo rinpoche - stupa,
previous monastery head
Painting The temple has a
number of old cloth paintings: Tibtain tradition painting, Kalachakra deity
painting, Buddha Jataka, Melorepa stories and so on. Molarepa story is
estimated as 400 years painting.
The ground floor ceiling has
a number of tradition painting compositions. The Guru-yoga mandala on the right
and Chakrasambara mandala on the left surround the Buddha Akshobhya figure.
This painting as well as all new paintings in and outside the temple were made
by Lama Paljaor himself, who is a master of traditional thangka painting.
The monastery has a number
of very old books and commentaries.
 |
Breath
taking Aerial view of Keylong town
|
By the time we finished
sight seeing around Keylong and its Monasteries, it was evening time. For the
night we didn't want to stay at Keylong, because it’s very busy and noisy town.
So, after finishing our evening tea and eats at Keylong, we drove straight towards Jispa village which is comparatively quieter and peaceful village. We
had planned to stay for the night here at Jispa itself.
Jispa
Jispa is situated at an
altitude of (10,500 ft) above MSL and has a population of 332.
 |
| Entrance to Jispa |
Just on the edge of the
river Bhaga is a small PWD rest house. Near this the river is shallow and
plenty of trout fish can be caught during summers. The place is virtually an
angler's delight. Good juniper plantation is around this village.
Jispa is usually promoted
by travel operators as a necessary halt on the way to Ladakh when
coming from Manali. Not only are the subsequent distances to Leh and Tso Moriri
too much to cover on the same day, but also to enable travelers get acclimatized to the high altitudes of the region. Jispa is located at a height
of 10,890 feet above sea level in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.
To be fair to this village,
it could well be a destination in itself. When you sleep at night, and all you
hear is the Bhaga river along which this village is located, you will know the
reason why. But for an occasional vehicle passing by, including some
oil tankers at three in the night, Jispa is as quiet as you can hope an
inhabited place in India to be. With views as beautiful as you can wish them to
be.
 |
| Breath taking Aerial view from Jispa |
You have not only the river
flowing through that is originating from
“Suraj-tal” near the Baralachala Pass, a few hours drive further on, but the
surrounding peaks covered with mist and clouds creating a postcard picture
look. Step out early morning for a walk with a drizzle on your face,
and soak in the rich greenery around, and wonder why few recommend Jispa for a
holiday. You could spend days here, walking along the river or picnicking
at spots of your choosing within a few hours driving around. You can also visit
the Jispa Rural Museum housing reminders of the history and way of life of the
residents of the Tod Valley of the Lahaul district (where Jispa is located),
and also buy handicrafts made by local women; we missed seeing it as it was
closed.
As common all over Ladakh,
Jispa too has some Buddhist chortens (stupas) conveying the usual sense of
serenity. As do the Buddhist flags fluttering all over. And then there are the
Ladakhi style steps cut on a log of tree that promise to be a stairway to
Heaven, if you can climb these without support.
 |
| Chortens (stupas) |
 |
| Our Butterfly tinny car |
 |
Mountaineering
and Allied Sports
Hostel Building at Jispa |
By the time we reached
Jispa, it was already evening time and was getting darker, so we thought it’s
better to check in immediately at any of the affordable place or hotels. We were
informed that there is a Hostel of the Himachal Government's and the name of
the hostel is “Himalayan mountaineering institute”. This hostel is adjusant to
the main highway road itself and it has rooms as well as Dormitory. The names
of the official in-charge of the Himalayan mountaineering institute at JIspa were Mr. Rudra Singh and Sri Ramnaath. Both of them were very cordial, humble
and helpful.
There at the hostel we met
Ranjan and Team from Mumbai, who were getting ready to climb Yamnu Peak. There
was another Cyclists-team of 21 cyclists from Mumbai who were adventuring by
cycling all along to Leh. Hats off to these tough adventurers.
 |
Close-up pictures of cluster
of Mountaineering Bikes
|
 |
| Enthusiast cyclists peddling through toughest terrain to reach Leh
My next chapter-(13) of my Blog will be uploaded soon.
|
