Have you visited or experienced Winters in Leh?
Leh-Ladakh is known to be a beautiful land of Snow-clad mountains. You will be mesmerised by the view you see from your flight window while arriving the Leh Airport. The wind is insanely blowing & the mountains are covered in fresh snow & if you're lucky, you will get to experience a snowfall at Leh-Ladakh as well.
Usually, people do say that you should always visit Ladakh twice in your life - During the Winter and Summer both. The views and experiences both sides are way different and blissful and I'd totally agree with that. My summer trip is due now. Haha.
I visited Ladakh during the Winter in March. The temperature was crazy cold, it's breezy all the time and the sun sets early by 6 pm in the evening and it would be chilled thereafter. The temperature in Leh would just drop as low as -9° or so till early morning. You will not find many tourists during the winters and the market will not be that crowded as well and most of the stores might also be shut as they don't get vegetables and groceries easily during winters.
The only reason I wanted to visit Leh during the Winters was to see the beautiful Pangong Lake frozen that you can walk, run or even ride a bike over.
Once you land in Leh, always ensure you rest for the first day. The altitude is as high as 12,000 ft high so you will suffer from altitude sickness so take the day to let your body rest and sink in the temperature with a hot cup of noodles and tea.
As you're still taking in some time to settle in with the temperature as low as 2°c during the day, you can utilise the second day to visit the town and nearby local sightseeing spots like the Monastery, Rancho School, War Museum. You can start by visiting the Leh Market, it has several shops and many restaurants as well. Go find your traditional Leh cuisine there - there's definitely a lot to choose from like the Thukpa, Monos and some traditional noodles or soup. You can also visit the nearby monasteries like Thiksay Monastery. It's huge and beautiful and it's on the top, which gives you a great bird eye view of the entire town in Leh.
Once you're satisfied visiting the local places and have accustomed to the temperature at Leh, you are all SET to hit the higher altitude and experience a snowfall! Move on higher to visit the beautiful Chang La pass at 18,000 ft high and the temperature being -15°c During the Winter, the snow is fresh and beautiful with less tourists there. The road that leads to Chang La pass is a once in a lifetime experience. It's beautiful as you get higher and higher with a valley on one side and beautiful white snow on the other. You will end up riding your vehicle on simply fresh snow - be careful as your vehicle might skid.
Last up is Nubra Valley, it's beautiful and mesmerising to view. The roads that lead there are pretty and nice. You will get to see many lakes on the way, some of them will be frozen and also some Stupas on the way, some of which are called Ice Stupas.
While returning back to Leh, don't miss the Sangam valley. It's beautiful and has a story behind the name. It has two rivers flowing there that join in (also called Sangam) while both of them flow in opposite directions.
I'm definitely looking forward to visit this beautiful place during the Summers to see the lake at it's bluest best!
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Next up - you're all set to visit the most beautiful spot in Ladakh - the Pangong Lake. The beauty of seeing this lake while it's entirety frozen is simply astounding. The lake is HUGE and long as it covers 135 Kms approximately and is at a height of 14,000 ft high. It's beautiful to see such a huge lake frozen during the Winters. You can simply run, walk or even take your vehicle over the lake.
Next up: Right after Chang La, just down the way next is Khardungla Pass at the same altitude as 18,000 ft high and -15°c. It's pretty cold here as it's blowing with wind all the time and if you're lucky, it's going to be snowing!
We were quite lucky to see a crazy snowfall. It was beautiful as the wind was blowing and there's snow all over you and you will feel no less like as if you're trapped in a freezer. Your hand will slowly start freezing and getting numb and it's painful - but it's all worth it for the beautiful view and experience of a lifetime.
