5 days in Leh Ladakh in -28 Degrees

It’s been a while since I stepped into the wilderness. Times have changed and so have we! Pandemic of 2020 has caged us all into our rooms of solitude; we all crave to get out and feel that fresh breeze of air once more. It was January 1st and there was no celebration; just another four walled day. My phone buzzed with a text saying: “Lets go to Leh”. Now when you see that kinda text and when you have been stuck at home for so many months now, you don't think twice even if the outside temperatures are freezing. And in a moment we decided to leave our comfort zones into nature once more. Two weeks later I found myself in Delhi waiting for our flight to Leh. I hadn't created any content for a year now and I wasn't sure if I would know how to handle my camera, but the excitement kept me going and lifted my spirits that had long gone. We landed on January the 21st at Leh Airport; it was cold and it was amazingly beautiful. We headed straight to the hotel and took the necessary sleep. Hotels and streets were empty; I had never seen Leh been so quiet before. The only thing that was the same was nature, it was more beautiful than before. Not to bore you our next few days looked like following:

Day1: We headed to Stok Village for a sunset shot during late evening hours. I could see some young kids practicing on the ice rink with their blades on. The sunset had me and there was that pin drop silence where we did not speak but just stared into the oblivion.

Day2: After getting our permits we headed towards the mighty Khardung La (second highest motorable road) 5359m. The uphill road looked empty with patches of ice in between and high gusty winds flowing leeward. A few stops until the top and it all went smooth until we started our descent to Nubra valley. The snow grew heavier and it looked scary at times with other vehicles getting stuck in the snow. Finally around 4pm we reached the Nubra Valley, we saw more kids playing on the frozen ice and of course the brilliant sunset.

Day3: I woke up to the cracking sounds of burning wood in the iron stove at our home stay. There was no warm water to wash my face with and outside it looked like all the clouds had settled down low in the valley. Poor visibility meant my chance at capturing the minimal shot I always wanted to take was blown away now. Nevertheless we left our homestay towards Panamik Hot Springs where my friend was staying for a month now. Those guys had been ice climbing for that whole month and had witnessed some great unbelievable sights. Karn narrated one such incident where he was climbing this frozen waterfall and right next to him at the nearby mountain he saw a snow leopard climbing. It was surreal just to imagine as he narrated that. Right after that we went out in the fields to capture one of my favorite shots ever.

Day4: It was time to leave and I wasn't so sure about making it back to Leh. It had snowed last night and that meant trouble. So before we commenced our journey back we stopped at the desert to take the shot that I had come for. The one that defined my existence in this mighty world. After taking the shots we left and saw a car heads down in a gorge; it was sunny but there was snow on the roads. To add more to our traction I had to steal some ropes from the scarecrow and tied up road machines on the highway; a quick stop and a slow uphill journey. Every turn was calculated and all our focus was on that road; a drive that cannot be forgotten until next time. After 7hours of hard journey we finally reached Leh. A hot cup of coffee with some laughs.

It reminded me of the old days when things were right. It's admirable how a human never leaves that grit, that last hope. We have a better future ahead and more such journeys to make. Until next time!!