Day 6 – Nako – Kaza
I woke up early as usual and after getting ready, sat outside room enjoying the view of the Nako lake. It was a chilly morning so I had my jacket on me. Today would be a 112 km drive to Kaza where we would be spending two nights. Post breakfast, Shantaji invited a Lama from the nearby monastery who said prayers for our safe journey. After seeking his blessings, we started off on our drive, of course sad to be saying good bye to Sangha with a promise to return soon.
On the way, we took a 10 km detour to visit Giu Village. Giu village is home to a 500 year old mummy, that is said to be of a Lama who was 45 years old when he died and was found in a seated posture. It is said that hair strands and finger nails of the mummy grow even to this day. With that scary thought in mind, we paid our respects to the mummy and moved out for a tea beak outside the newly renovated Giu monastery.
We however couldn’t visit it as it hadn’t been reopened post renovation. In the background of the monastery we saw a mountain and interesting to know that it stood in China. We drove on to reach the village of Tabo, where lunch was served at the Dewachan Retreat. While lunch was being readied, we visited the famous Tabo monastery. The monastery has been established in the year 996 and is one of the 7 wonders of India. We were lucky to get a tour but couldn’t get pictures as photography was prohibited inside.
We proceeded driving towards Kaza after lunch and were treated to to some amazing landscapes along the way. There were some unique mountain structures, crystal clear water streams and greenery in some parts of the barren land. Believe me, never has barren terrain looked so beautiful before. We passed through the town area of Kaza reached our abode for the next two nights, the Grand Dewachan Hotel on the outskirts in the Rangrik village. This was the first time we reached our destination of the day pretty early at around 5 pm. It gave us all a lot of time to unwind and relax. While some ventured into Kaza town for shopping, others took to a game of volleyball. I relaxed in my room for a while and I have to admit this is one beautiful property. The Grand Dewachan is surrounded by mountains and that’s the view I got from my room. Also one can see the Key Monastery in the distance which we would be visiting the next day. Oh by the way, we are now at 11,980 feet. Everyone gathered in the main dining all in the evening for dinner and drinks where Hari and the team gave us a briefing about the next day’s plan. We also got a peek at what to expect and what exactly we would be doing with our machines. Bonding and chatter followed and also what has been a ritual since the start of the trip, a couple of teams shred their experiences and thoughts about the trip and also put them up on the standee that was was being carried along everywhere we went. After dinner, some went out to capture the milky way in their lenses, while others retired to their rooms. I was part of the latter club.
Contd…
