Zanskar is a region in the Kargil district, part of the north-west Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir . The administrative centre is Padum . Zanskar, together with the neighbouring region of Ladakh , formerly belonged to Guge or Western Tibet .
location map of Zanskar
Along the paths of Zanskar, the traveller is often confronted with Mani walls. These stone structures are a compilation of exquisitely carved stone tablets, each with the inscription "Om Mani Padme Hum " which translates to "Hail to the jewel in the lotus". These walls should be passed or circumvented from the left side, the clockwise direction in which the earth and the universe revolve, according to Buddhist doctrine
Prayer flag above the monastery (Gompa) of Tanze, in the Kurgiakh valley. The wind is believed to propagate the prayers printed on tissue.
Group of Zanskari women and children. In the summer, the women and children stay far away from the villages to tend to the livestock. This system, known as transhumance , is similar to the one found in the Alps where the animals are sent during the summer higher up in the mountains (the alpages) and were kept by the children and women.
White yak
The Monastery of Phugtal in south-east Zanskar
Row of Chorten (or Stupa ) at the village of Purne. each of the elements that constitute these edifices, as well as their color, has a symbolic meaning in Tibetan Buddhism
Fresco on a wall of the Bardan Gompa representing a Wheel of Life .