New Delhi - Leh
Not of all of us are fortunate enough to take the long roadtrips to ladakh, which is by far the best way to visit The Land of Lamas.
As me and my friends had the time constraints too, We chose the second and the only option left to travel to Ladakh, The early morning flight from New Delhi.
Flying in to Leh has it's own charm, we witnessed the magical aerial views of Himachal, Majestic lakes of ladakh and enchanting valleys as we began our descent to the small yet beautiful KBR Airport, Leh.
There is a certain sense of familiarity as soon as you get out of the airport, even when it is your first time. There is something about Ladakh which makes you feel connected to the place. The immense magnitude of the valley made us feel like a speck of dust.
We just booked the return flight tickets, everything else was unplanned, so we started our hunt for the hotel as soon as we left the airport.
Leh town comprises of beautiful properties mostly made in the traditional ladakhi architecture. Finding accommodation isn't that difficult. We chose to stay at changspa road, which is one of the best locations to stay in ladakh if you want to stay away from the hustle bustle of the main town, It is hardly a km walk from the main market. Our accommodation, The Oriental Hotel, had a kitchen garden right at the entrance of the property. All the organic vegetables used in their kitchen were grown at this place only.
Shanti Stupa - The first day in ladakh is generally meant for relaxation and acclimatization to the high altitude.
After resting for the whole day, we hiked upto Shanti Stupa, which was right at the top of our hotel, Half an hour hike. You can see the whole of Leh town from the stupa, The old town, the new Leh, palaces, everything that exists in the valley. Meditation sessions are held every evening in Shanti Stupa. We attended one to awaken the Buddha within us.
The day ended with a tasty meal in the traditional ladakhi dining area at the Oriental Leh.
Exploring Leh
The best way to explore the Leh town is to rent a bike. Bikes are easily available throughout the season, but as it was just the starting of season, we found it a bit tricky to rent a good bike.
As soon as we got our bikes, we decided to ride upto Sangam i.e. the confluence of river indus and zanskar.
The road towards Sangam covers all the major attractions of Leh, The first one being The Indian Army hall of fame, followed by Gurdwara Shri Pathar Sahib, Then the very famous Magnetic Hill, and then The Sangam.
Hall of fame - Hall of fame is a museum constructed by the Indian Army, in the memory of brave soldiers who laid down their lives defending the motherland in the indo pak war. The museum showcases the seized arms and weapons of Pakistani army. The place enhances the patriotic feelings of every individual visiting there.
Gurdwara Pathar Sahib - Riding for around 20 minutes from The hall of fame, in the Dreamland of Ladakh with the majestic views, We finally reached the Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. A large Pathar (boulder) which was thrown by a demon from the hill right in the front of Gurdwara, is kept there, and it is believed that the boulder became wax when it came to a halt against Guru Nanak's back who was meditating at that time.
Magnetic Hill - Our next stop was Magnetic Hill, the area creates an optical illusion where the vehicle seems to be climbing upwards when parked at a certain spot. We had the unexpectedly delicious Pizza at the magnetic hill cafe for lunch, the café is government-owned and it provides all sorts of cuisines.
Sangam - The confluence of river indus and zanskar, known as Sangam, is the last attraction of the journey, From here the road goes straight towards kargil. The place is home to one of the world's highest rafting, inspite of cold temperatures, this place attracts a lot of adventurers for rafting.
As the sun began to set in, we started our ride back to Leh. Roads are very well maintained by Border Roads Organisation. Riding in the majestic valleys of Ladakh is like meditation, No wonder why uncountable people from all corners of the world come to ladakh, specifically for riding a motorbike.
Leh - Pangong tso
After a cold night, we expected the weather gods to be kind this morning, as the day was full of riding, and any change in weather would make it difficult for us to reach Pangong.
But as we woke up, we found the kitchen garden right in front of us was covered white in snow. It had snowed the whole night.
We were about to call it off and then we saw the first silver lining in the clouds. The sun was out. In no time the weather became perfect for riding, we packed and loaded our panniers and started off our journey to Pangong tso.
After a few kilometres on the tarmac, we reached Thiksey. This place is known for the Largest monastery in central ladakh, i.e. The Thiksey Monastery, worth a detour of 5-10 Minutes.
We didn't waste much time, as we had to cross the mighty changla pass before the afternoon.
The climb towards changla is very steep, and requires careful driving. Roads are nothing but slush and dirt, specifically when The sun rises and snow melts. We were literally freezing to death when we reached changla. It started snowing and the strong winds made it all worse. Somehow we began our descent towards Pangong just in time.
It took us 6 hours to reach Pangong lake. But as you get the first glimpse of the lake from the road, the six hour ride feels all worth it.
Ladakhis have mastered the art of pleasing anyone that comes to ladakh, be it bagpackers, family or a group of friends. Even at the altitude of 14000 ft, with no sign of civilization whatsoever, The hospitality we got at the camp on Pangong lake shore was unmatchable. We had a little time to experience the lake as it was already getting dark when we reached the Pangong tso.
After a hearty dinner at the camp, we went off to our beds as we experienced one of the coldest nights of our lives when the temperature dipped 10 degrees below zero.
Pangong tso - Leh
Staying at Pangong in sub zero temperatures is worthless if you don't wake up at 5 in the morning and witness one of the most beautiful sunrises you'd ever see.
Our day started early as we got up for sunrise at 5. Honestly, sleeping at such high altitudes in camps is way more difficult than it seems, if you're not used to it.
The chilling breeze makes it a complete struggle to survive the cold night.
On the contrary, the morning at Pangong was very pleasant, Sun was gleaming upon the lake. After the breakfast, the camp owner and the staff insisted us to stay and play cricket with them before we head off to Leh, to which we happily agreed. After a couple of matches, we hit the roads again. In no time we were at the notorious roads of Changla, it wasn't that cold like previous day though, but because of the constant sunlight, there were more water crossings, which made it a bit difficult but adventurous too.
Before reaching Leh, we stopped at Druk white lotus school also known as the Rancho school popularly, the place where a few scenes of the movie 3 idiots were shot.
It felt like home when we entered our accommodation, the Oriental in Leh, after two days of continuous riding.
Leh - Khardungla
Khardung-la is a mountain pass in Leh district, Also wrongly marketed as the world's highest motorable road.
Although it's definitely not the world's highest motorable road, but it's sure one of the most highest motorable roads in the world.
Also, khardung-la is the gateway to Nubra valley, which is one of the most important tourist attractions of Ladakh, but because of time constraints, we couldn't go to Nubra so we decided a day trip to khardung-la.
The road towards khardung-la is super smooth, and anyone can ride upto the pass. One has to submit the photocopies of the permit at the south pullu checkpoint, which is a few kilometres below khardung-la.
The road from south pullu becomes steep, There is a patch of a kilometre which requires the rider to be a little attentive, except for that, the road is unbelievably good even at such high altitudes.
Similar to changla pass, one cannot stay for long at khardung-la pass. Maximum time to stay at the pass is 20-25 minutes.
As we reached khardung-la, We parked our motorbikes right in front of a small cafeteria at the pass. No matter how cold it is, the traditional kashmiri kahwa always helps. After drinking our kahwa, we took some pictures and finally started the final ride of our journey towards the hotel.
One of the sweetest gestures by the hotel staff was that they made sure the buffet spread was of our choice, as it was our last night at the property.
After the scrumptious dinner, we got to the tedious job of packing up as we had the 5 AM flight to New Delhi, The next morning.
