31 July 2018
It feels as if you are in a different time period when you see the most jaw-dropping marvel The Phugthal monastery is like a honeycomb-shaped Buddhist monastery. One can also reach this place by climbing the Shingo La pass from Darcha (Manali-Leh Highway) side and come from Purne side. We ran from Padum to Ichar then to Cha and to here to enjoy running around the valley.
Zanskar was an incredibly isolated region cut off from the rest of the state by severe winters for half of the year. The entrance to every village has three Buddhist shrines that were often the only visible sign of human habitation. The Phugthal gompa was perched on a cliffside high atop the Tsarap river which could be reached only foot. When we were running towards Cha, there were plans going on to lay roads till the village from Padum. Unlike the conventional hikers, we were equipped with 4-5kg backpacks and were able to speedhike everywhere, run at times where there were linear stretches.
It was a natural cave in a cliff and the monastery is built around the natural cave which served as an ideal place for the monks.
The fertile green land on the opposite side of Phugthal gompa shows sign of civilization and is in stark contrast with the barren landscapes on the other side.
After spending some time in the monastery, we ran back towards our destination which is the Phirtse La pass. We spent some time at the rope bridge documenting the place and walked on the opposite of the valley towards Khangsar and Purne. We were hungry and our plan was to grab some tea as soon as we reach the neighboring village. The sound of flowing Tsarap put me in meditative state. I was enjoying running and climbing along the trail.
The sun at this altitude was really harsh and one could experience severe sunburns at this temperature. We filled in some water to get hydrated and headed towards the next village.
Once we reached Khangsar, we were hoping have some tea to drink but it was silent so we headed to the next village hoping to get some tea.
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