Polo - The Game of Princes

Although its origin is unclear,Polo has for centuries, been a popular sport in the rugged mountain valley of Karakoram range, particularly in remote and inaccessible Himalayan region of Gligit, Hunza, Skardo & Khapuloo in Baltistan and Ladakh in the North an Manipur in the East.According to regand, the game of polo came to central Ladakh from neighbouring Baltistan, where for centuries, it used to be the amin source of amusement.

Historians date the introduction of Polo in Ladakh to King Jamyang Namgyal’s reign in the 15th Century, who married Gyal Khatun, a princess from Baltistan. In Fact, all the Major villages of Ladak have their own Polo Ground called “Shagaran”. The most Striking feature is that after a goal is scorer gets the stick until the midway point, throws up the ball and shoots towards the goal, trying for the perfectly controlled shot. No polo match in Ladakh is complete without its musucal accompaniment of Surna and Daman. The music varies according to fortune of the team accelerating in tempo and volume on the scoring of a goal.