A photographic journey from the past to the present, from the tribal regions deep in India to the beautiful destinations that shows the veracity of the largest democracy in the world today.

Incredible India in pictures depicting Indian diversity in cultures, heritage, history, archaeology, literature & religion, from tribal communities to popular settlements.

The Dhankar Monastery is one of the many that you would see in the Leh Ladakh region of India. Deeply influenced by Tibetian Buddhism, many of these monasteries existed for hundreds of years. Very recently many of them have come under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India for their restoration & maintenances. Many are also part of the diverse Indian Heritage sites & monuments.

The Dhankar Monastery lies in the Spiti valley. The word Dhankar means “Fort on a Cliff” & rightfully so, this one too is built on the cliff side of the Himalayas at a height of 3,894 metres above the sea level in the Spiti Valley above Dhankar Village, between the towns of Kaza and Tabo.

Over 5000 years of human civilization, prosperity in arts, science, philosophy and non-materialistic sciences have also harbored religions, rituals & various customs in India. Very often we follow these rituals mechanically these days without completely knowing the purpose or completely following the processes as prescribed in the Vedas.

More such incredible India in our Pictures gallery.

The post Incredible India – Dhankar Gompa first appeared on Explore India TV.

Journeys through the Himalayan region is always exciting and always leaves something so strong in our mind that we keep going back to the lands of Leh – Ladakh, Manali & other parts of Himachal Pradesh over & over again. Saach Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 4.420m (1,4500ft) above the sea level, located in Chamba District, Himachal Pradesh, India on the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas. And driving or biking through this part at any time of the year is thrilling!

I have posted this 10 minutes video. While you watch, Please Click Here & Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Your Views, Likes & Comments encourage me to do more such trips in the coming days.

The Saach Pass is the shortest road link between Chamba town and the Pangi Valley but the pass is open only from June or early July to mid October. Rockfall, avalanches, icy roads, broken edges, sharp turns & deep gorges make driving or biking on this very dangerous. However, this is also something people do for fun, or at least to experience the hardship & danger of the region first hand.

Our friend at the wheel, Anuj, was young but very experienced. But still, I could see the stress & feel the tension in his eyes as we navigated stiffly those U-turns, especially at places where the rockfall & ice have eroded the already broken, unmetalled road to something dangerously narrow & slippery.

How long did our Saach Pass drive take?

We drove from Chamba to Saach Pass, a distance of about 120 kilometers, in about 8 hours, although some could make this journey in about 5 hours. It is advisable to leave early in the morning to avoid traffic during the Summer tourist seasons. Several streams overflow various parts of the pass creating traffic jams and causing a lot of delay.

Winter of course is another story. Although throughout the year you could see some snow & melting ice along the high regions. We drove through Saach Pass in September in a Mahindra 4 wheel drive Xylo. I edited the video & added some pictures in an attempt to give you an idea of both the dangers as well as the beauty of this part of Himachal Pradesh.

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The post Driving through Saach Pass in a 5 Minutes video first appeared on Explore India TV.