Journey to Kinnaur, Spiti and Lahul, India 16 juli - 16 sep 2011

Watercolours

Watercolors and drawings from a trip to Lahul, Spiti and Kinnaur in the Himalayas India July 16 to September 16 2011 The trip first went  to Manali in Kulu valey I visited in 1987. From there I hit the road over Rothang pass at 4000 m to Lahul by jeep to its capital Keylong. The rainy season had not expired and the road over the pass was dangerous because of landslides here and there. Lahul was a slightly drier region with  Tibetan influence on religion and culture. The journey from there to Spiti east took a whole day by bus over another pass Kunzum at 4500M. Spiti is characterized by Tibetan Buddhism with many monasteries and temples. There are among others the peculiar monasteries Ki and Dankar. Tabo monastery is most famous for its beautiful murals. The landscape is dry and the mountains have long weathering slopes. If the journey continues south and then west you will come to Kinnaur with deep valleys and high mountains. The valley has lush vegetation and tree line lies at about 4000 m, one of the most beautiful valleys are Sangla with Chitkul village at the top of 3500 m. Here you where reminded of  rainy season once again .
Photographs and a full travelogue in short time

Drawings