Today we were leaving Leh behind and starting the first part of what will eventually turn into a major roadtrip. Today we were covering the 115km from Leh to Lamayuru, a drive of about three hours (incl. breaks).

We had our first stop at Sangam Point, the confluence of Zanskar River and the mighty Indus – for great views.

This was also our introduction to BRO. BRO (short for Border Roads Organisation) is operating under India’s Ministry of Defense and responsible to build and maintain the roads, bridges and passes in India’s border areas (incl. Ladakh). Pretty much all of the streets – even in the wildest places – we were about to use in Ladakh were built by BRO – – and occasionally we would see the road construction gangs doing their work, often in the most remote locations, in a very basic setup and with limited tools. Then – of course – there are the many different BRO road signs with witty remarks reminding one to drive carefully.

The destination for today was the monastery in Lamayuru and the ongoing temple festival. We made it to the monastery in time to witness the mask dances and receive a a (traditional?) banana donation. As the dancing was moving on and the sun burning from above, some of us (including me) decided for a short walk up the hill behind the monastery to get an overview of the monastery and the surrounding valley.

Eventually we moved on from the festival, heading over to visit the main temple and check out the public areas of the monastery. As with many monasteries and temples on this trip, photography was not allowed inside the temple – hence no inside photos here.