Festival of the Scapegoat - Dosmoche

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Sight Address : Festival of the Scapegoat – Dosmoche is celebrated in Leh (Leh Palace), Liker (Lower Ladakh) and Deskit (Nubra valley) monasteries. Edit

Detail InformationEdit

Festival of the Scapegoat – Dosmoche is celebrated in Leh (Leh Palace), Liker (Lower Ladakh) and Deskit (Nubra valley) monasteries in February. The most famous among all is Leh Dosmochey, which is celebrated for two days in the courtyards of the Leh palace. The monks from different monasteries perform the Chams every year turn by turn. This is the festival of the scapegoat, and is celebrated with fervor at Leh. At Dosmoche, a great wooden mast decorated with streamers and religious emblems is set up outside Leh. At the appointed time, offerings of storma, ritual figures moulded out of dough, are brought out and ceremonially cast away into the desert, or burnt. These scapegoats carry away with them the evil spirits of the previous year, and thus the town is cleansed and absolutely ready to welcome the new year. Spituk, stok, thikse, chemrey and Matho all have their festivals in winter, between November and March. Likir and Deskit (Nubra ) time their festivals to coincide with Dosmoche.

Festival in ladakh.

HistoryEdit

Festival of the scapegoat Dosmoche, is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Leh. Dosmoche Festival falls in the second half of February. Dosmoche is one of two New Year festivals, the other being Losar. At Dosmoche, a great wooden mast decorated with streamers and religious emblems is held up outside Leh. Hemis Festival, Ladakh At the appointed time, offerings of storma, ritual figures moulded out of dough, are brought out and ceremonially cast away into the desert, or burnt. These scapegoats carry away with them the evil spirits of the old year, and thus the town is cleansed and made ready to welcome the new year.Likir and Deskit (Nubra) also time their festivals to coincide with Dosmoche festival.

Must SeeEdit

Popular

Visiting TimeEdit

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Closed OnEdit

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Best Season to VisitEdit

June to October.

Best Time To VisitEdit

Morning , Afternoon, Evening.

Time Required for SightseeingEdit

2-3 hours.

Ticket Required : No Edit

Individual National Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Individual Foreigner Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Still Photo Camera Rs. : N.A.

Video Camera Rs. : N.A.

Guide Required : No Edit

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Dress Code (If Any) : N.A. Edit

Dress Require: No

Restaurants NearbyAdd / Edit

How to ReachEdit

Taxi : Taxis, cars and jeeps are also available at Srinagar for the journey to cover Leh to Ladakh by road . Groups can charter deluxe and A-class buses for Leh, Kargil or Padum (Zanskar) from the J and K SRTC at Srinagar. This place is well connected by road. Jeep hire to Kargil from Padum costs Rs.8000 (while Kargil to Padum is Rs.10,000 – taxiunion rules don’t allow return trips) per vehicle, whether done in one gruelling 14-hour drive or with an overnight stop en route. Other one-way/return rates from Padum: Karsha Rs.600/750; Zangla Rs.2000/3000, Rangdum Rs.4000/6000

BUS : There is a regular bus service run by J&K SRTC from Leh and Kargil for Padum with stops at various point in Suru and Zanskar Valley.Leh-Kargil-Padum buses run approximately thrice weekly, supposedly departing Kargil bus station around 1am but timetables are infamously idiosyncratic. Consider gathering a group and hiring a jeep to
Padum (Rs10,000, 14 hours): start before dawn or consider overnighting at Rangdum. Doublecheck that your driver has Zanskar-endorsed permits from the drivers’ cooperative.

Train : The closest railway station is Jammu, there are regular train services from Delhi and many other cities to Jammu railway station, from Jammu you can take buses or taxi ride to Srinagar and then to Leh. From Leh you can take bus or taxi to to Nubra valley which is about 125 km from Leh. If you are for more adventures you can also rent bikes, available on rent in Leh and will cost you anywhere between rupees 600 a day for an Enfield to rupees 300 for others. The road to Nubra valley takes you over the Khardong La which is the world highest motorable road, Khardong La Pass which is at a height of 18380 ft above sea level and is about 50 kms from Leh.

Air : Nearest Airport is Leh Airport .The following airlines (Kingfisher, Jet Airways, and Air India) operate regular flights to Leh from Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar. The duration of Delhi-Leh flight is just an hour long. Better booked the air-tickets before 2 or 3 months in advance because during May to October tickets prices are very high due to heavy tourist influx. From Leh you can take bus or taxi to Nubra valley which is about 125 km from Leh. If you are for more adventures you can also rent bikes, available on rent in Leh and will cost you anywhere between rupees 600 a day for an Enfield to rupees 300 for others. The road to Nubra valley takes you over the Khardong La which is the world highest motorable road, Khardong La Pass which is at a height of 18380 ft above sea level and is about 50 kms from Leh.

Others : Truck : Trucks often stop for hitchhikers, who are usually expected to pay half the bus fare, bargaining may be necessary. They are slower than the buses and sometimes stop for long periods to unload cargo.

Things to CarryEdit

Carry Woolan cloths, Camera etc.

Safety / WarningEdit

Ladakh is one of the safest parts of India, and the most basic precautions are enough to keep you and your possessions safe. Most of the region is dotted with military cantonments every 50-80 kms, but mainly because of its strategic position on international border between India and China. The army plays major part in rescue and aid efforts and that is why you will require to produce identification documents or written permission from local authorities before entering some remote places.