LADAKH FESTIVAL
Fly-in, drives and guided tour
10 Days/ 9 Nights
- It is a colourful celebration of the rich, cultural diversity of Ladakh's people.
- The final carnival parade that passes through Leh is worth watching.
- It is also an opportunity for people from around the country and overseas to visit the beautiful regions of Leh and Ladakh.
Among the regular programmes, the most colorful and interesting are the village archery festivals held in selected suburban villages of Leh. Every villager is required to formally participate in these events in accordance with the established social code. Every male participant is expected to try his skill with the bow and arrow in alternate rounds of archery and dancing while the ladies have to join in as many rounds of the mandatory folk dances. Other programmes of the festival include a series of evening musical concerts, mask dances by lamas of selected monasteries and mock marriage ceremonies complete with all the associated traditions. A major polo tournament called the "Ladakh Festival Cup" is also held as part of the festival in which polo teams from different parts of the region participate. Visitors to Ladakh during this period will have the opportunity of witnessing this ancient sport of the western Himalayas being played in its original, wild style with fewer rules and frenzied crowd involvement. Yet another interesting programme is the staging of a typical Central Asian trade mart in Leh Bazaar, complete with caravans laden with traders' goods, while skilled artists dressed in period-costumes play the role of merchants engaged in trading, bartering and associated activities.
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