I'm sure everyone's been through that phase where you want to visit the destination of your dreams and plan tirelessly in your head only to realize it may be jinxed and that you'll never actually be able to make it, until the day you finally do!
Leh has been on my 'to-travel' list forever and I planned it with so many people that it never really materialized. Work life wasn't going great either and I decided to finally quit and fly solo. My first 'self partnered' trip was special not only because I finally made it but also because I managed to stay at army camps wherever I traveled!!
The Route
I started off from Leh with major pit stops at Nubra valley, Tangtse, Chumathang, Panikhar and back to Leh.
Since my stop overs were relatively off major tourist routes, I hired a cab for most part of my trip. I hit the road to my first destination- Nubra- en-route Khardung La, Diskit monastery and the beautiful Hundar valley for its white sand dunes and the two humped camels with the mighty Shyok river and Jac Kerouoc for company. Now, while my halt for the night at the camp was fancy, it got extremely lonely without any phone network! (It takes a while to get used to that!!)
The next day we followed the Shyok again en route Tangtse with small stops along the way to soak in some sun and enjoy the quiet. Maggi points were a respite to fight all that nip in the air. It took us 4-5 hours to reach Pangong Lake, just in time for the sunset. It was a sight to behold..it was everything I had heard about the 'lake that changed colors' and so much more! Also saw the squirrel like (only bigger in size) marmots , experienced the most beautiful wind storm, and a few more smaller lakes on the way. Another high point of my visit to Pangong was my stay at the nearest army camp where I was lucky enough to be invited to a formal dinner and literally ate in silver!!
The next day began very early and turned out to be a good 8-10 hour drive to my next destination but it was worth all the effort. What began as a clicking spree tired me within a few minutes because every sight was breathtaking and it felt stupid to try and capture it in a lens. The Pangong and the Karakoram ranges were an imposing sight that made me feel so tiny pushing me into an existential crises, quite literally. Long stretches that had lush meadows with wild horses running carefree like just out of a movie, fluffy white clouds and the deepest blue sky and not a single human in sight for hours at a stretch! Isn't that perfect? Also stopped over at the hot springs in Panamik village and the Rezang La war memorial on the way which was a surreal experience.
It took us 8 hours to reach Tso Moriri Lake and another 2 hours from there to our night halt at Chumathang that has the most beautiful night sky. I had the privilege of ending my day at an army camp in a my very own hot spring water tub! All hail the Indian Army!!
Thus ended my first leg of the journey and the second began with an arduous travel back to Leh to catch a shared taxi to Kargil. Another 10 hours of travel to reach my next destination - Panikhar in the Suru valley. Now let me rub off the good fortune of having a ladakhi best friend and the opportunity of enjoying ladakhi hospitality :) and a room with a view of the Nun Kun range and copious amounts of noon chai to wash down the homemade khambir. Two days of frolicking across the Suru valley ended in a jiff.
I had saved my monastery visits for my last day and thankfully so. I could finally sit quietly and look back at my entire trip and be thankful that I could finally make it all happen for myself and even though I didn't have a job to go back to, I at least had the clarity on what I wanted to do next.
Major attractions of my trip
Monasteries: Thiksey, Hemis, Shey
Passes: Khardung La, Chang La, Taglang La, Fotu La
Rivers: Shyok, Indus, Nubra
Lakes: Pangong, Tso Moriri, and innumerable unnamed lakes along the way
Trip Cost
Air Tickets (Del-Leh-Del): Rs 6948
Private Taxi for 4 days (Leh-Nubra-Pangong-Tso Moriri-Leh): Rs 20k
Shared taxi from Leh to Kargil: Rs 600
Accommodation charges: Leh (2 nights)- Rs 2000 including breakfast and dinner
Nubra (1 night)- Rs 800 including dinner and breakfast
Chumathang (1 night)- Rs 800 including dinner and breakfast
My stay at Pangong and Panikhar were free :)
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