Ladakh Range Local Customs

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The various Moastaries and Gompas. They are peppered all around the Ladakhi landscape and give shape to it.
A whole lot of them are within an hours drive from Leh.

There are some basic do's and dont's when you are visiting them... it may be better to be pre-informed.

Every buddhist household will maintain a prayer room in their house. This is the place for ceremonies, prayers and meditation in the house. Poorer household will have a similar arrangement, but integrated in a rregular room or in a niche in the wall. Very solemn places, normally.

When you are in a monastery or inside it, near "chortens", prayer wheels or any other religious objects (these can also be sacred mountains or lakes) always move in the clockwise direction not to ofend local people.

One in a while the Dalai Lama comes up from Dharmsala to meet with the Ladakhi locals and Tibetan refugee community here. Once in the blue moon these are big events that gather thousands of people. Whatever is said there is impossible to understand without an advanced interpeter or an excellent understanding of the Tibetan language, rites and texts. nevertheless, it is an interesting experience to be there and see the attention and devotion of the attendees.

While travelling around the mountains of Ladakh you will see numerous stupas, gompas and monasteries.

It is custom to pass these on the left hand side. This will create an impression of respect to the locals and will not upset the gods.

The organisation International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC for short) has a Ladakh project connected to the Ladakh Ecolgogical Development Group. Together they have published a neat brochure called Tourism for Change - Some Guidelines for Visitors to Ladakh.

Over two pages very sensible and specific advice and guidelines for visitors are listed, focussing on:
Supporting the local economy
Cultural sensitivity
Trekking and environment
Monasteries.

Instead of me regurgitating what they are, look at their web side and find more interesting information, too. And visit their office in Leh.

ISEC UK, Foxhold, Dartington, Devon, TQ9 6EB, UK.

OK, we all know the warning.. never drink tab or river water in India... Well, ow I?m hapy to inform you that you can... there's a wonderful brand of mineral water out, called Ladakh Indus. So you see, you can now drink Ladakhi water without being worrie about nasty parasites and bugs. Of all the mineral waters I tried in India... it's the one with the best taste. Ladakh rules, I guess!

Often, around Ladakh, you will see some long walls covered with flat stones bearing some strange inscriptions. These are called mani walls, and basically they are Tibetan prayer walls. The stones are prayer stones and the inscription is a mantra - most often "om mani padme hum". These walls have growns generation over generation, and are considered sacred, so you should not touch the stones - you shouldn't walk around them anti-clockwise either