Just About Everything

Red fox cubs with mother I could not complete the Himachal Pradesh series without posting some exciting sightings. Credits for all these pictures go to my cousin Soma Jha. Bharal IBEXES - walking down the rocky slope Leopard cat-Himachal Pradesh-India A huge Kashmir rock Agama

Purple Sunbird in my garden This week was quite exciting in terms of sighting birds. Not in terms of sighting uncommon birds though. Typically I only get to see crows and sparrows in my garden so I was elated to spot some other varieties as well. I was lucky to sight purple sunbirds in my garden, and also a kingfisher, and a black kite near my house. All this from the comfort of my terrace! What fun! These pictures are not great, I wasn't really prepared for birding, and took these snaps from a 7X camera. Purple sunbird female white throated Kingfisher Black Kite

Kibber village, Spiti Himachal Pradesh Kibber village is around 15 kms from Kaza . It is a picturesque little village located at an altitude of 4300 metres in Spiti valley Himachal Pradesh, India. What makes this little village so very pretty is the sylvan surroundings. It is quite an amazing and magnificent sight actually, a midst all the snow, you suddenly come actually these green-green fields and blue sky. Agriculture is the major livelihood for the villagers in Kibber. Kibber also has a monastery and a wild life sanctuary. Agricultural land in Kibber Kibber, Spiti Valley Gete near Kibber Near Kibber village Kibber village homes Spiti, Himachal Pradesh Kibber

Buddha I can’t complete this series on Himachal Pradesh without mentioning two more places that are worth visiting, Kaza and Kibber . Kaza is around 12 kms from Kee Monastery. You can approach it from Shimla. It will be a long drive, you can't complete it in one day, you might need to halt in a couple of places before reaching Kaza. Kaza is a small but popular town at an altitude of roughly 3700 metres in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. It is the commercial hub of Spiti valley. Because of its central location it connects all the remote areas of Spiti valley with the outside areas. It is quite popular with trekkers and mountaineers who often camp in Kaza. Near Kaza, there is a Buddha which is so lifelike. There is something so enigmatic about it. The other must visit places close to Kaza are the Kee/Ki monastery and Kibber village. There is also a Buddhist monastery, Tangyud Monastery, around 4 kms from Kaza. Kaza, because of its geography, has so mu...

Kee Monastery This Tibetan monastery is located in a place called Kee or Ki in Himachal Pradesh in India. The best way to reach Kee is by road. It is around 12 kms from Kaza. Located at an altitude of 13,700 feet, Kee monastery dates back to the 11th century. This monastery has survived a lot of attacks and destruction over the years, it has been repaired and revived to some extent by the Archaeological Survey of India. The monastery walls has a lot of paintings and murals.There is a very good collection of books and Buddha's images in this monastery. The ground floor houses the assembly hall and living quarters for monks, and the floor underground is used for storage purposes. Somehow Kee reminds me of Ladakh. The landscape looks so much like Ladakh. I will continue to bring some of these less visited destinations in Himachal Pradesh in the next couple of posts. This post is a part of a series of posts on my cousin's Himachal Pradesh trip. Kee monastery Hima...

1000 year old Tabo monastery Tabo is another beautiful scenic little town located in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. Tabo is located at an altitude of 3050 metres. From Chandigarh it will take you 8 hours by road (around 490 kms).It is around 45 kms from Kaza. From my cousin Soma who went for a trip to Himachal Pradesh recently, I found that Tabo is indeed quite a special place, not only because of its scenic beauty but also because it houses a Buddhist monastery which is over a 1000 years old. But that is not what lends it the uniqueness, the fact that the monastery is made out of mud is what totally amazed me! I found out from Wikipedia that his Holiness the Dalai Lama considers this monastery in Tabo as one of the holiest monasteries in the world. I am sharing some pictures of the Tabo monastery. These pictures are courtesy my cousin Soma Jha. Tabo monastery Monastery in Tabo made out of mud Buddhist monastery in Tabo ...

Geu Village Did you know that a small little village in Himachal Pradesh houses a naturally preserved 550 year old Mummy? This village is completely off the beaten track. You will not find it on the list of places to visit in Himachal Pradesh. Geu is in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh at an altitude of 10,000 feet, in the border of India and Tibet. Located around 350 km from Shimla, you will need to travel by road to reach Geu. It is very close to a place called Sumdo which you will pass if you are going to Tabo from Nako. Close to Sumdo there is a left turn on the highway NH 22, Geu is around 12 kms from there. Geu has started receiving a few visitors because of a 550 year old mummy that this village houses. The mummy is of a 45 year old lama who was meditating when the avalanche must have struck him. This mummy was found in one of the eight stupas in the village which were severely damaged after the 1975 earthquake in this region. There is no preservati...