The Indus River

We traveled along the Indus River from Leh to the turn off onto the Alchi road and again, Monday, from the Alchi road to the fork in the highway that took us to Lamayuru. We had seen the river in the distance from Leh, but we picked up its route near one of the multitude of military bases that we passed on our journey on the Leh – Srinagar highway, and followed high above the water on the well developed roadway.

We stopped to look at the confluence of the Indus and the Zanskar Rivers not far outside of Leh. We also saw a heard of cattle, including an enormous yak, in the distance on the opposite side of the river. At this point, the banks of the river are wide and fertile, but it passes through narrow gorges, flowing within massive cliffs as well.

Judy wanted to put her hand in the water of the Indus, but near Leh the river is fenced, and the approach is a wetland, as well, making touching the water practically impossible. Travelers on the Leh – Srinagar road are well above the surface of the water, with no realistic way to descend.

Carol and Martin, however, are geniuses in figuring out how to get to seemingly inaccessible places.

After our first visit to the Alchi monastery, we set about circumambulating the complex. Circumambulation of sacred places is an important part of Buddhist practice. We set out in a clockwise direction on the well developed path around the monastery, which follows the bank of the Indus for a stretch. Here, we could see snow-capped mountains and the river (and the power plant construction site), so we decided to shoot the video clips that the person heading up the social media project at TLU had requested. What could be better than both mountains and the river that fed some of the first human civilizations? While Martin, Judy and I worked on the video clips, Carol was looking around and found a trail that led down toward the river bank.

After we took photos with a Ladakhi lady in traditional dress who asked to be photographed (and gave her 20 rupees for her work), we followed Carol down the slope. We ended up in a field of rocks just above the shore. With Martin’s help we found a congenial place to clamber down to the water. We have now both touched the Indus and have in at least a small way become part of one of the world’s greatest rivers. (We have photos of this, but as I may have mentioned in an earlier post, I have insurmountable obstacles to uploading photos until I get home.)

I’m not much of a rock climber, so this jaunt was a challenge for me, but it wasn’t too hard and was definitely worth it.

Gym Source