FACTS & FIGURES
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A busy village in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, Alchi is tucked away in the Himalayan region of Ladakh at an altitude of around 3,500 m above sea level. Alchi is nestled in the valley of the Indus River along the ancient trade route and is famous for its gompas. It is connected to Leh with a road network.BEST TIME TO VISIT
Alchi has an extreme climate with icy winters and normal summers. In summer, the maximum temperature can rise to 25°C and go down to a minimum of around 12°C. Protection against sunburn is necessary in this time of the year. In winters, the maximum temperature hovers around 15°C and minimum temperature can drop to -30°C. The best season to visit this place is from May to September.
HISTORY
The region around Alchi was once vital for trade and cultural contact with the rest of India. When Islamic armies entered the subcontinent, what first captured their attention were the Buddhist monuments. Islam disallows idol worship and their word for idol was, in fact, the term Buddha. It was, therefore, the Buddhist monuments and monasteries that suffered most under the hand of iconoclasm. However, Alchi, set amidst the barren gorges of the Indus River and desolate mountains, escaped destruction and some of the 900-year-old paintings and murals are so well preserved that they appear to have been painted just yesterday.
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