The Karakorams are the most vertical of all the Mountain Ranges in the World. A large part of the Karakoram falls within India but most people are unaware of it. We explain.
The Tengpora Durga : From Kashmir to Manhattan to Germany !
The Story of the of the highly revered idol of Tengpura Durga which went missing from Kashmir in the early 1990’s during the Militancy and later appeared at an Antiques showroom on Manhattan in New York and then onto a renowned Museum in Germany and finally back home to India and Kashmir.
The Potatso National Park in Yunnan
The Shudu Lake at the Potatso National Park in Yunnan.
The Potatso or Pudacoa National Park In China was the first National Park of China and is situated at an altitude of an average 3400 m. The Park contains dense forests, Lakes and Wetlands. Its also a part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Area World Heritage Site.
The Great First Bend of the Yangtze River
The Great First Bend of the River Yangtze is situated near the town of Shigu in North Western Yunnan. It is the point at which the Yangtze (called the Jinsha at this stage) takes a u turn and heads north and goes onto become the heart and soul of the Chinese Civilization. And it all starts at this bend.
The Ganden Sumtseling Tibetan Monastery in Yunnan
The Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery, also known as Sungtseling and Guihuasi is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city of Zhongdian at elevation 3,380 metres (11,090 ft) in Yunnan province, China. Built in 1679, the monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan province and is sometimes referred to as the Little Potala Palace.
Herodotus's Legendary Fox Sized Gold Digging Ants
Herodotus was a famous Greek historian of the ancient times who lived around 500 BC and he was born in Asia Minor in the Persian Empire. He was referred to as the Father of History as he wrote a lot of history and tales of the unknown from lands far off. One of his most intriguing account was the one of the legendary Gold digging ants, as big as Foxes, which lived in the high Himalayas in a land he called Dardae.
Kashmir Collection at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Metropolitan Musuem in New York is one of the largest Art Museums in the World. The Museum has a great collection of Kashmir Art.
The Kashmiri Spy in Tibet
The painting from the Qing Era shows the Induction of the 9th Dalai Lama, Lungtok Gyatso, in 1808 as its watched by the Ambans and Qing officials on one side and by Tibetan Clergy and other Tibetans on the other side.
The Story of a Kashmiri Spy in Tibet during the time of the British Empire. This Gentlemen was the first person to spy for the British in what latter became a routine affair with “Pandits” like Nain Singh Rawat doing their bidding.
Amarnath Yatra pics from 1920 by Ralph Stewart
The Amarnath Cave Entrance in 1920
Ralph Randles Stewart was an American botanist who spent a lot of time collecting Plants and taking Photographs in the Western Himalayas in the early part of the 20th century. In 1920 Ralph went on the Amarnath Yatra and took pics of the same giving us a priceless treasure and a window into how things were in these Mountains a hundred years back.
Driving in the Himalayan Mountains
We get many queries on People wanting to drive in the Himalayas and asking for Tips and advice on the same. Here are the basic things you need to keep in your mind while driving in the Mountains. And these are especially relevant to driving in the Indian Himalayas !
The Karakoram Anomaly
In this time and age of Global warming and changes in the overall global weather patterns one of the most established fact is the shrinking of the Polar Ice Caps and the reduction of Glaciers in the Glacial non Polar Regions of the World. However there are certain Glaciers in the Karakorams which are growing and this has been termed as the Karakoram Anamoly by the experts.
La Dvags : Ladakh The Land of Passes
Ladakh, the word comes from the derivation of the of the Tibetan word for the region “La Dvags” which literally means the Land of Passes. Of course there are N number of Passes within Ladakh so we try and enumerate the Passes which connect Ladakh with its neighboring Regions and well as the Passes within Ladakh connecting the different areas in Ladakh. We try and list them up
The Curious Case of the Baltis of Dehradun
The story of Balti people, originally from Baltistan, who now live in Vikas Nagar near Dehradun. They operate seasonal Dhabas in the Kargil District both in Kargil and Drass. We find out how they ended up in Dehradun
The Gurudwara and the Hindu Dharamshala at Leh
The Gurudwara and the Hindu Dharamshala at Leh. A link back to the time when Punjabi traders connected the Trans Himalayas with the Indian Plains. Mostly from Hoshairpur they were major players in the trade with Central Asia via Ladakh. And some are still there
Kishtwar : At the Himalayan Crossroads
Kishtwar is a region in the Jammu division of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to its unique location just under the shadow of the Great Himalayas and at the place where the religions and cultures of the Himalayas meet. They give Kishtwar a unique flavor which remains largely unexplored.
The Battle of Basgo
There once was Battle fought in Ladakh where a Mughal Army in support of the King of Ladakh fought against a joint Mongol Tibetan Army which had laid siege to the Fort of Basgo. The Mughals were supported by allies such as the Raja of Kullu wheres as the Mongol-Tibetans had support from the Raja Bushahr.
The Brave Shen - Pa
The last stand of General Zorawar Singh, the Dogra General who conquered Ladakh and Baltistan at the behest of Raja Gulab Singh and Maharaja Ranjit Singh. An outstanding General who wrote new annals in the history of Mountain Warfare who went down fighting in his last Battle on the frozen Plateau of Tibet.
On Flight of Fancy to Leh
A commentary on the Flight from Delhi to Leh which takes one over the Himalayan Range. It is one of the most spectacular Aeroplane journey for the sights it offers. Starting over the Plains, then over the Lower Himalayas or the Shivaliks, then over the Middle Himalayas / Pir Panjals and finally over the Great Himalayan Range itself before finally landing in the Trans Himalayan landscape of Ladakh.
Drass : Hembabs / Hembaps
Drass is supposedly the “Second Coldest Inhabited Place in the World”. Do take that with a pinch of salt. Traditionally Drass was known as Hembabs with the word "Hem" meaning the same as it does in "Him" of the Himalayas. Basically a place which gets a lot of snow as this area got the most snow in the whole region.
Bulbulik Music School, Gojal Valley, Gilgit
The Bulbulik Music School in Gojal Valley, Gilgit is making efforts to revive musical traditions that are on the verge of extinction. Run by Gulmit Educational and Social Welfare Society, Bubulik is named after nightingales which are frequently mentioned in Persian and Urdu poetry. The school takes its name from Wakhi folk culture known as Bulbulik. Shepherds of lowland areas sing while they travel to the highlands to send messages back home. Taken from the Dawn