Ladakh: Leh – Flying Fireballs

19. December 2025

 

 

After arriving in Leh and resting for 24 hours, we set off on our sightseeing tour. For me, it was more about seeing what had changed and what had stayed the same. We first walked through the old town to the palace. I hadn’t been inside for a long time, so it was good to see what was new.

 

 

 

 

They weren’t spectacular; the temple room was just as before, and there were two exhibitions — one about various places and monasteries in Ladakh, and another about the renovation of the palace.

 

 

 

In the afternoon we drove to Shanti Stupa and Tsemo Hill. From there you can look down beautifully and take in Leh in the pale winter light.

 

 

 

In the monastery room we met two young monks, aged 10 and 13. They were from the Nubra Valley and belonged to Sankar Monastery. Happy for a bit of variety, they offered us butter tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we drove back to the hotel and prepared for the evening. Fireballs were meant to drive away the spirits and mark the start of Losar. On 24 September, four Ladakhis were killed during demonstrations (mainly about demanding the 6th Schedule), shot by the police. Two days later, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested and taken to a prison in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He is being held under the strict National Security Act, which means he can be detained for up to a year without bail before a court hearing takes place. He is accused of having caused unrest and violence through his speeches and actions. He and his supporters say that he has never advocated violence and that he is only standing up for political rights (which is also how I perceived it). This weighs heavily on the people of Ladakh, and celebrations don’t really feel appropriate.

 

Since this Diamir trip was mainly based on the Losar festivities, we had a problem. The official announcement only came shortly beforehand: Losar traditions were to be carried out, but the celebrations themselves were to be omitted. For that evening, this meant that the fireball ritual to drive away spirits would take place, but dancing would not be allowed afterward. And that’s how it was. People gathered in front of the mosque and along the main street, and the boys with the fireballs ran down from the palace, swinging the fire as they went down the main road.

 

At times it was quite dangerous, as they seemed to enjoy swinging the fireballs very close to the spectators. Once a ball came loose and hit someone on the leg; another time someone was struck on the head. Not nice, but nothing serious happened. Here are my photos of it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, people started throwing firecrackers around, which was also a bit dangerous and unpleasant. You constantly had to watch out in case one came flying your way, and then it would explode far too loudly. At some point things calmed down a little, the fire was lit, and people loudly shouted “Kiki Soso Lhar Gyalo,” and then we left, because there really wasn’t anything else happening.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, information about what would actually take place and what wouldn’t always came very late, so we had to rearrange a lot. For the next day, Losar celebrations had originally been planned for the entire day, but everything was canceled except for a short ceremony in Choglamsar.

 

What happened instead? See the next blog post!