Moonland..?
We are going there…
Reeaaallyyyyyyy….!! (with the big smile)
Its gotta be fun.
This is the first time I heard of it.
Then I saw it.
And it was out of the world.
I mean I know that does look out of the world that is why it is called moonland. But I do have to exaggerate because it was magnificent.
Moonlands of Lamayuru…
Now the reason for the name:
Geological upheavals during the continental drift caused a unique stratification near Lamayuru giving rise to a spectacular landscape known as the ‘Moonland’ of Ladakh.
Yungdrung Tharpaling Monastery (གཡུང་དྲུང་ཐར་པ་གླིང་དགོན་པ), known today as Lamayuru Monastery.
Once upon a time, Lamayuru was inundated in a lake, or so the legend goes. Arahat Madhyantika prophesied that one day the lake would be dried and a monastery would be made here.
In the 11th century came a Buddhist saint to meditate in a nearby cave, mystical Mahasiddha Naropa, who with his prayers miraculously invoked the water to dwindle away and made the place into a sacred land.
Well preserved cave is still standing and is the part of the main shrine of Lamayuru Monastery. In 1038, Rinchen Zangpo, a great translator, built five temples at Lamayuru, only one is in perfect condition today.
Monastery’s impeccable building stands hither…
I love looking at these murals at the entrance of the monasteries. I just sit there and let them take my mind on a journey through the story, they depict.
So far, i m just trying to figure out much about them, while reading here and there. You know the stuff.
Tantric Protectors…
Human ant house monastery as I call it, which seems to be on the mounds of earth.
To add all up just like ants, Monks live in a community and work for the greater good. They function as parts of a whole.
While driving upto Lamayuru you will cross Fotu la 4,108m (13,479 ft)
It is the Highest point on Srinagar-Leh Highway of the Himalayan Zanskar Range.
There is a rainbow colored mountain, which I found absolutely breathtaking.
Then there was a lone cloud on top of the mountain in the clear blue sky, which was adorable
The valley itself is so vast that i just kept my face out the window trying to take it all in and clicking away like a crazed dog wanting for air.
Mountains had so many beautiful arrays of color as if an artist poured mix of liquid acrylic color over few of them. Pure love from my side…
“I like the mountains because they make me feel small,’ Jeff says. ‘They help me sort out what’s important in life.” — Mark Obmascik