Family..
I shot these pictures at Orchha about a month ago. The youngest kid was was hyperactive and never rested for a moment.
Travel Wise – The Hoysala Trail – February 13, 14
After a short gap, ‘The Tour of Less Known Hoysala Kingdom’ from Travel Wise is back again. We will be going on a tour on the weekend of February 13th, in which I will take a small group through some less known but beautiful temples around Belur and Halebeedu, built by the Hoysalas. The tour is not just about going from place to place, but involves knowing a lot about the dynasty and the temples. We will also do a walk inside a coffee estate and find out everything about growing coffee.
We had received great response in earlier editions of the tour, and the feedback was excellent. See details of the tour on travelwise.in. The group size will be small, between 8 and 11, so register early.
Click on the image to see large version. See related posts at the bottom of this post to know more about the places we visit.
Ladakh – Monasteries – Spituk Monastery
Spituk was the first monastery I visited in Ladakh. A few pictures from the visit.
Spituk Monastery, like all monasteries in Ladakh, is located on a hill overlooking the village. River Indus flows behind the monastery, beyond which are the tall mountains capped with ice. On the other side of Spituk is a very different landscape where the wide valley of Indus is used in constructing the Leh Airport and the army installations. At less than 10km from Leh, Spituk it is almost ready to be consumed by the expanding town.
The colourfully painted doors of dukhang (prayer hall) in Spituk Monastery.
A mural of Virupaksha (also called Chanme-Zang), the lord of the west direction. The front wall of the prayer hall in every monastery is usually painted with images of guardians dieties of four directions.
Colourful decorations in the prayer hall of Spituk Monastery.
A monk wearing the traditional yellow hat of the gelug pa lineage at Spituk Monastery.
A statue of Tara (also called Dolma), a female Bodhisattva. Spituk Monastery has a room dedicated to images of Tara, called Dolma Lhakhang or the Temple of Tara