THE HEMMIS GOMPA. 17 



istan on the Yarkand road. I reached Leh, 

 where I found an old friend, Fraser by name, who 

 was Joint Commissioner, and with his kind assist- 

 ance soon made arrangements for a start. But 

 as the Sasar and Khardung passes were not 

 quite open, I went up with him to Hemmis to see 

 a great festival at the gompa or monastery there. 

 It was curious, but rather monotonous. The 

 court of the gompa was decorated with flags and 

 pictures, and the lamas performed many quaint 

 dances in masks and fancy dresses. I went over 

 the establishment, and found it quite like the 

 European monastery, with refectory, library, and 

 cells ; also that the lamas, like the monks of 

 old, took very good care of the inner man ! The 

 head lama wears a red cardinal's hat on state 

 occasions. 



Having got my caravan in order, I started off 

 over the Digar La, which is a fairly easy pass, 

 and found myself on the Yarkand road. After 

 crossing the Shyok river in a boat, the ponies 

 swimming, I proceeded up the Nubra valley for 

 two days. Here I bade adieu to the habitations 

 of man and crossed over the Sasar Pass. It 

 was hard work for the ponies, the winding path 

 being covered with ctibris and moraines of 



B 



