US envoy on three-day visit to Ladakh

Srinagar : Kenneth I. Juster, the US Ambassador to India, is presently on a three-day visit to the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The US envoy visited the Hemis Monastery and the Druk Padma Karpo school in Leh district.

Hemis Monastery is the oldest and the most prominent Monastery in the Ladakh region that is highly revered by the Buddhist and the Drukpa sects.

Officials said the management of the Monastery laid an elaborate ethnic Ladakhi vegetarian lunch for the diplomat.

Juster was warmly received at both the Hemis Monastery and the Druk Padma Karpo school, also known as the 'Rancho School' as Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '3 Idiots' starring Aamir Khan was shot here.

School children gave a demonstration of martial arts before the envoy.

During his visit to Ladakh, Juster met Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche Jigme Mipham, the spiritual representative of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa.

"As a goodwill gesture, the envoy presented an 'Ambassador Coin' as a memento," officials said.