Leh, Sept 21: The four-day extravaganza of the annual Ladakh Festival celebrating the uniqueness of Ladakh commenced today with the inauguration ceremony at the historic Polo Ground, Leh in the presence of the chief guest Lt Governor, UT Ladakh, Retd Brig Dr. B D Mishra and guest of honour Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Leh, Tashi Gyalson.

Chief guest Lt Governor BD Mishra, in his speech, expressed delight at the wonderful performances by the different cultural troupes and added that the unique flora, fauna, geographical features, and rich cultural heritage make Ladakh a famous tourist destination.

He shared that observing UT Ladakh Foundation Day on October 31st, troupes of boys and girls from Ladakh will be sent to different states and Union Territories which will simultaneously act as a reach-out programme promoting Ladakh for tourism within the country. 

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Addressing the gathering, CEC Gyalson highlighted the objective of organising the Ladakh Festival as a medium of providing a single platform to showcase the rich cultural diversity of Ladakh in terms of its attire, cuisine, dances, craft, literature, sports, etc. to the tourists who visit on a time constraint and cannot experience the whole of Ladakh.

He stressed the need for a proactive and aggressive campaign by the Tourism department and all involved stakeholders promoting the Ladakh Festival to gather tourists and spectators in large numbers.

Similarly, he focused on the need for equitable promotion of tourism in each corner of Ladakh and shared about the initiatives taken under the leadership of Lt Governor Ladakh for the promotion of tourism in the region.

He also informed about the vision of making the month of September a month of festivals with the title ‘The Carnival of Ladakh’ exclusively focusing on attracting tourists with a range of activities being observed in the month, including the Ladakh Marathon, Ladakh Festival, The Himalayan Film Festival, etc.

Earlier, Executive Councillor, Ghulam Mehdi presented the welcome speech, and later Director, Tourism Department, Kunzes Angmo delivered the vote of thanks during the inaugural ceremony of the Ladakh Festival.A cultural parade amalmagating the diverse and rich cultures and traditions from different parts of the Ladakh commenced from Karzoo, and traversing the traditionally and historically symbolic places culminated at PoloGround, Leh.

Enthralling cultural and musical performances by the different cultural troupes and a spectacular paragliding show was part of the inaugural ceremony of Ladakh Festival 2023 at Polo Ground. Executive Councillor, Ghulam Mehdi; DC Leh, Santosh Sukhadeve; Councillors from LAHDC Leh; ADC Leh; ADDC Leh; District officers and officials; stakeholders and representatives from the tourism sector; other dignitaries; domestic and international tourists and people from different walks of life gathered to witness the inaugural ceremony.

The four-day festival includes a plethora of activities and events such as handloom and handicraft, cuisine stalls, archival photo exhibition, film/documentary screenings, traditional archery, polo matches, horse riding, musical concert, mask dance, sand mandala & thanks exhibition, etc.