Entries about hill

Jammu – Nagrota lie on the National Highway 1A (NH 1A) that connects the Kashmir valley to Jammu and the rest of India. NH 1A number now does not exist and old NH 1A is now a part of NH 44 after renumbering of all national highways in the year 2010.

The Jammu – Nagrota road further leads to Srinagar which is 295 km and is expected to reduce by about 80 km after commissioning of Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, new Banihal road tunnel and other small tunnels. These tunnels will also help keep the highway open during winter avalanches. It is one of the two road links (other being Mughal road) that connects Kashmir Valley with the rest of India. The traffic on the highway is controlled by two control rooms, one in Srinagar and other in Jammu.

Jammu is the largest city in the Jammu Division and the winter capital of state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is situated on the banks of the Tawi River.

It is surrounded by Shivalik range to the north, east and southeast while the Trikuta Range surrounds it in the north-west. It is approximately 600 kilometres (370 mi) from the national capital, New Delhi.

The city spreads around the Tawi river with the old city overlooking it from the north (right bank) while the new neighborhoods spread around the southern side (left bank) of river. There are five bridges on the river. The city is built on a series of ridges.

View of the Trikuta Hills where the famous Mata Vaishno Devi temple is located.

Nagrota is a town located in the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir state in India. It is located on National Highway 1A (NH1A) between Jammu city and Udhampur.

Nagrota along with Kashmiri Pandit migrant town of Jagti straddle the national highway, with a few additional minor roads.

Nagrota is the first shrine stoppage for Mata Vaishno Devi. The Kol-Kandoli temple is situated here.Nagrota has an extension of Jammmu Industries having Oil Depots and Godowns.

Thiksay Gompa or Thiksay Monastery is a gompa (monastery) affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located on top of a hill in Thiksey village, approximately 19 kilometres east of Leh in Ladakh, India. It is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and is the largest gompa in central Ladakh, notably containing a separate set of buildings for female renunciates that has been the source of significant recent building and reorganisation.

The monastery is located at an altitude of 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) in the Indus Valley. It is a twelve-story complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. One of the main points of interest is the MaitreyaTemple installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970; it contains a 15 metres (49 ft) high statue of Maitreya, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two stories of the building.

Inside
Steps on the right side in the main courtyard leads to the new temple that houses a huge statue of Buddha. The statue was built at the behest of His Highness, the Holy Dalai Lama, when he visited the monastery in 1980. The staue, 15 m tall, is the largest Buddha figure in the Ladakh and took around four years to build. Local craftsmen used clay and gold paint to make this image of Maitreya Buddha or the Future Buddha. Directly above this temple, there is a small room where lamas impart education to local boys. Some of these boys are later chosen to become lama

Coming back to the main courtyard, the steps directly across the new temple will lead upto a wall with murals of two Tibetan calander with Wheel of Life. To the right of this wall is the main prayer room consisting of many handwritten and painted books. A small room right behind the main prayer room houses a huge image of Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha). Two smaller image of Bodhisattava are placed on its side. To the left side is the eleven headed Avalokitesvara. The Lamokhang temple on the rooftop is the place where only males are allowed to enter. The Thiksey library, a repository of numerous volumes, including Kangyur and Stangyur, is also on the top. Currently, the monastery, home to around 80 monks, is the main monastery for atleast ten other significant monasteries of Ladakh. Prominent amongst these are Diskit, Spituk, Likir, and Stok.

Festival
The annual festival of Thiksey is celebrated in the 9th month of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. The festival is marked by the famous as well as sacred mask dance or Chham.

VIEW FROM THE AIR !!

Leh , was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Leh district. The town is dominated by the ruined Leh Palace, the former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace-the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 metres (11,562 ft), and connects via National Highway 1D to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via the Leh-Manali Highway.

Leh Palace is a former royal palace overlooking the Ladakhi Himalayan town of Leh. Modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, the palace was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century. The palace is open to the public and the roof provides panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding areas. The mountain of Stok Kangri in the Zanskar mountain range is visible across the Indus valley to the south, with the Ladakh mountain range rising behind the palace to the north.The Palace Museum holds a rich collection of jewellery, ornaments, ceremonial dresses and crowns. Chinese thangka or sooth paintings which are more than 450 years old, with intricate designs, retain bright and pleasing colours derived from crushed and powdered gems and stones.

Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district, Ladakh, in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu, Gyomyo Nakamura and part of the Peace Pagoda mission. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama. The stupa has become a tourist attraction not only due to its religious significance but also due to its location which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

Khardung La

Khardung Pass, la means pass in Tibetan is a high mountain pass located in the Ladakh region of the India. The elevation of Khardung La is 5,359 m (17,582 ft) and it is the world's highest motorable pass.

The pass on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies part way up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to public motor vehicles in 1988 and has since seen many automobile, motorbike and mountain biking expeditions. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry supplies to the Siachen Glacier.

The confluence of the Zanskar River and the Indus is 3 km southeast of Nimmu village in Ladakh.This place is the meeting point of two rivers Indus & Zanskar. This place is famous for water activities....

Magnet Hill is a so-called "gravity hill" located near Leh in Ladakh, India.The “magnet Hill” is located on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar national highway, about 30 km from Leh, at a height of 11,000 feet above sea level. The magnetic hill has become a popular stop for domestic tourists on car journeys..