Call it the love for mountains, adventure or travel itch, Ladakh was always one of my dream destination to visit. However, as luck could have it, the trip kept on getting postponed for three consecutive years either due to friends backing off or something else. That’s when a filmy motivation (Yeh Jawani hai Diwani ) prompted me to look for packaged tours ditching the dependency of friends. Once I finalized my tour package, I told few of my girl pals and to my surprise three of them decided to join(call it FOMO 😀). We were all excited about the visit but at the same time a bit nervous and apprehensive about who will join us in the group and how the trip would pan out. Little did we knew that we were about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime.
From gigantic mountains to snow capped peaks, lush green to arid desert, gurgling rivers to silent streams, beautiful monasteries to breath taking views, peace to thrill, hiking to biking, simple people, yummy food and not to forget the amazing new found friends - the land of high passes (Ladakh) had so much to offer. Here is a throwback to the heavenly experience from the Kingdom of Himalayas..
We started our trip from Bangalore to Delhi and stayed overnight at the airport to catch the early morning flight from Delhi to Leh.
As we started approaching Ladakh, the glimpse from the plane was surreal with the snowy mountains looking just like a painting. At the airport we were picked up by our tour guide who drove us to our hotel where we rested during the day to adjust with the sudden altitude change. Our hotel was walk able from the Leh Main market and restaurants so we decided to spend the evening doing some shopping and also gorging on local food.
Local food to try- Butter tea, momos, thupka, churpee, skyu, apricot jam and khambir.
Note: As oxygen is low at high altitudes which can cause breathing difficulty and also altitude sickness, its imperative to get acclimatized with the conditions on the first day. Also carry Diamox medicine to avoid these issues.
We met our co-passengers in the morning and after breakfast proceeded for sightseeing in a mini van. Our first stop was Gurudwara Pathar Sahib nestled deep in the Himalayas, built by the Lamas of Leh in 1517 to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak Dev. It is managed by our Indian army who runs the Seva tea and langar and we could not resist ourselves from having a second cup of tea (it was so good 😍).
Further we drove ahead to Magnetic Hill to experience the phenomenon or optical illusion that defies gravity.
Our next stop was Nimo-the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. The entire group unanimously decided to go for 28km white water rafting which culminated at the confluence. The icy cold water, force of the rapid and twist and turns in the river made it a memorable adventure and I would highly recommend it to anyone going to Ladakh during summer.
After rafting we visited Alchi Monastery which is the oldest monastery, Buddhist learning centre and a holy place in Ladakh.
Our last stop was Hall of Fame- a museum built by Indian Army in the memory of our brave soldiers who were martyred in Indo-Pak wars. As you enter the premise, one cannot stop feeling an immense sense of pride and gratitude for our brave heart soldiers. We regret not spending much time here as we reached almost during closing time.
Next day we proceeded for our excursion to monasteries. We visited Shey Monastery, the ancient capital of Ladakh and the Sindhu Ghat, Thiksey an impressive multi tiered complex on a hilltop and the largest Tibetan monastery in Ladakh , Hemis one of the grandest and popular monastery, Stok Palace the summer residence of the royal family (now a heritage hotel) and Druk Padma Karpo School (3 Idiots fame). Since we finished off early, we decided to visit Shanti Stupa in the evening after some rest. We met an Army officer at Shanti stupa who shared the experience of our soldiers surviving in harsh conditions and stories of his posting in Indo- China border.
Next morning we started early for a 5hrs drive in Nubra Valley to reach our camp stay near Sumur village. Nubra Valley is situated to the North of Ladakh between the Karakoram and Ladakh ranges of the Himalayas and offers some of the most mesmerizing and panoramic views in the region. We stopped at Khardung-la pass -the highest motorable road in the world at 18,380 ft and were delighted to see snow during summer. We played in snow, met few bikers and army jawans on the way and took some pictures with them, had maggi at a local joint near the river stream and also sat on top of our mini van for a 360 view of the beautiful valley. We later visited the Samstaling Monastery and Panamik - known for its hot water springs and is also the last village accessible to travelers. Later in the evening we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at campsite with bonfire.
Our camp was in a secluded place with no network, surrounded by beatiful flowers and view of the mountains. In the morning we hanged around the tree house and played in a small stream running close by. Post breakfast, we started off to visit the Diskit Monastery that stands atop a hill famous for its 106 ft Maitreya Buddha statue. From the base of the statue, one can see incredible views of the Diskit Village and the surrounding landscape. The interiors of the Monastery are equally fascinating, adorned with intricate frescoes & murals. We stopped by at the Hunder Sand Dunes - highest and coldest desert in India with spectacular backdrop of mountains, flowing river, trees, white sand and barren land all in one frame. We also took a ride on the double humped Bactrian camels famous in the region. Later we drove back to Leh over Khardungla and had to stop there for nearly 2 hours as roads were jammed due to landslide. We were happy to have this extra time to enjoy the jaw dropping scenery of Khardungla, sipping Butter tea and enjoying momos at the cafe. But that’s when we all started to experience breathlessness after an hour of our stay, luckily the roads got cleared soon and we were back on track to reach Leh.
Note: It is not advisable to stay in Khardungla for more than 20-25min as oxygen is scanty and can result in altitude sickness.
Next morning we started off for Pangong Lake via Changla pass- the second highest motorable road. Pangong Lake, situated at 14,000 feet is a saline water lake hardly five to six kilometer at its widest point and over 130km in length. An inner line permit is required to visit the lake as it is bisected by the international border between India and China.
We reached our camp at Pangong around noon. We were overjoyed at the first sight of the crisp blue and went straight up to the lake. One could literally sit for hours contemplating and enjoying the magnificent landscape in the back drop of crystal clear water with the most beautiful hue of blue and green.
We enjoyed our evening dancing with the locals in the camp and later on stargazing to the most amazing view of the the Milky Way.
Note: We noticed bit of breathing difficulties at night like dry mouth and feeling thirsty.
In the morning we rented bicycles to explore the mesmerizing beauty of lake with awe inspiring backdrop and later headed back at noon to Leh. We spent our last night roaming around Leh main market in the company of our new friends.
The hardest day when we had to say goodbye to this wonderland. After breakfast we were dropped to airport for our fly back to Delhi culminating this fun trip.