Ladakh might be promoted as the ‘cold desert’ but if you dig deep, you might discover its bare mountains and soil which is an undiscovered treasure of precious rocks and minerals.
Some of this Ladakh’s treasure can be found preserved in the ‘Ladakh Rocks and Minerals Museum’.
The museum is located near Leh’s Shey Palace and the historic Amir Kabir mosque on the old Lhasa road and it house many fossils of the prehistoric era and meteorites to precious and rare stones and gems which has started to attract travelers from all over the world.
More amazing than this collection is the fact that these are collected by only one person who is also the founder of the museum – Phunchok Angchok Togo.
Phunchok considers Ladakh region as a land of ‘bare mountains’ which glittered underneath.
“I was interested in collecting rocks from a young age. Initially, I would look for rocks for spiritual purposes and used to wander in the mountains. Gradually, my interest grew and so did my collection. I would consult geologists, and gemmologists initially and now they consult me as I have more knowledge about rocks and minerals. I have been collecting rocks and fossils for over 30 years and have spent days and weeks at a stretch in mountains to collect the same,” Phunchok said when asked about how he started the museum.
“As the collection got bigger and bigger, I shifted it to the museum”, he added.
“My wife would scold me when my collection increased as there was no space at home. I then shifted to a museum and also got it registered. Now I have hundreds of rocks and other collections. I also have over 100 fossils. Some are millions of years old. Even geologists are amazed when they see my collection of fossils. I have also collected meteorites,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that this museum is a private entity and not at all supported by administration of Ladakh but now Phunchok is hoping for some government assistance so that he can display his collection in a better way.
“Whatever I have done so far is out of my pocket. If the government provides me assistance, I would like to have a bigger museum where I will have more space to display my collection. My aim and objective are to preserve the treasures of the Himalayas (Ladakh) and display them. I also want to do further study and research about rocks, minerals, meteorites, and fossils. I also want to educate the students, researchers, geologists, gemmologist, mineralogists, paleontologists, pedologists, pharmacologists, and tourists,” he said.
