This is the mighty Sutlej river which begins in Tibet at Lake Mansarova. It has carved out this valley as it flows through india. Every few years massive flooding takes out many of the bridges, the  result of deforestation and glaciers melting in China. We were luck enough on this occasion to ride upriver to Nako, a Buddhist village situated high up at 4000 meters elevation!

In Nako there are many Chortens or Stupas. The perfect proportions of the Buddha’s body corresponds to the design of religious monuments. Its architecture developed from the pre-Buddhist Indian grave-mound. Under these mounds the saintly ascetic were buried; their bodies were seated on the ground and covered with earth. These dome-shaped graves, or tumuli, of the saints were regarded as holy places. And were destinations for pilgrimage for the devotional and places of practice for meditators.

Nako woman who is wearing her beautiful coral and turquoise necklace

Nako lake, at an altitude of 4000 meters it’s pretty cold!

A local house in the typical traditional style made of local mud and stone with a flat mud roof.

A side valley down which flash flooding sometimes occurs and often devastates many of the bridges over the Sutlej river.

A temporary bridge that is quickly constructed after flood damage. They are basically army temporary bridges. The Indian army is largely responsible for most of the Border roads in India.