The Thriller Flight Journey!
The trip to Ladakh normally starts with your flight from Delhi to Leh and trust me the flight itself is not less than a thriller movie experience 🙂 For us, it was even more thrilling & adventurous, as the connecting flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi had misplaced our woollens bag… (It had reached Bangalore !).. So the adventurous trip to cold chilling Ladakh began without the woollens bag for us! God bless me for packing 2 layers of extra woollens in all our bags along with that extra pair of hand gloves and woollen head gear and luckily we managed the 1 week of Freezing cold with whatever scarce resources we had with us. ! My husband is still taunting me that why on earth had you packed 1 extra bag of woollens!!Well he doesn’t understand that he has a wife who had wanted to show off her woollens in the photos but sadly she had to manage with the same jacket throughout the journey He is secretly blessing INDIGO airlines that we had 1 less baggage to carry 😛
Lets cut back to the flight journey from Delhi to Leh! It takes roughly 90 minutes to reach Leh and the planes passes above the snowy peaks of Rohtang Valley to the black brown snow capped peaks of Ladakhi range.. The view of Rohtang Valley from top is just mind blowing! The temperature changes drastically in these 90 minutes and it is advisable to keep your jacket/ cap and pair of goggles handy when you come out of the aircraft.. Leh is located almost 11000 ft above the sea level and oxygen levels are comparatively low. The sun also emits high UV rays and as a result you end up being tanned which is very unlikely for any other hilly areas.
Arrival
All meetings with any one local In Ladakh start and end with JULEY ! Juley means Hello / Good Bye in Ladakhi language. You are greeted with warm and friendly smile and greetings of the local people as soon as you enter the airport. There are signages explaining the ways to acclimatise yourself in Leh in the first 24-36 hours. Leh is a very typical destination.. You cannot afford to be over adventurous as soon as you reach there.. Within an hour of reaching there you start feeling the symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).. You feel breathless even on doing the simplest of activity like walking 5 to 10 steps.. For me I was breathless for almost all 7 days I stayed there… Though the magnitude of breathlessness was different day wise.. Make sure you just rest and relax on the day of arrival.. Its very easy to fall asleep in Leh due to low levels of oxygen.
After collecting the luggage as we reached outside the airport, our driver Chamba greeted us! I counted the luggage properly this time as he mounted the bags on the car top carrier! Leh is a dusty small town located amidst the lofty monochrome shaded mountain ranges… The contrasting colours of the black brown mountains with the sky blue sky is a sight to be seen to be believed.. The palate of colours leave you amazed and craving for more! Don’t worry, there are even more beautiful sights that await you in the next 7 days
The interesting journey begins
Leh is synonymous with long drives! The endless roads with barren landscapes and mountains all around make the journey very interesting. The first day sightseeing itinerary is not very hectic and you just visit few places like Shanti Stupa, Rancho’s school, Hemis monastery and Thiksey Monastery… More than the attractions it is the road journey to these places which is more interesting with jaw dropping scenes all around…
The real adventure starts from Day 3. K-TOP (Khanrdungla Top), around 45 kms from Leh is the highest motor-able road at 18500 ft above the sea level.. The place is covered with snow till May end and around 25 kms on the top is totally snow covered. The views are mesmerising and tempting but it will be hazardous to go out and stand there for more than 5 to 7 minutes due to precariously low oxygen levels.. The climate changes every 5 minutes.. we experienced snow fall, to rainfall to heavy sunlight to chilly winds all in a gap of 15 minutes and some 3 kms distance.. The road conditions are really bad and hats off to the Indian Military forces who are on duty 24/7 in such challenging weather conditions.. The roads start opening up in May and due to melting snow, there are water logged areas at many places.. There is heavy movement of Military trucks who transfer the basic necessity items to the Pakistan border camp via Nubra and K-TOP from Leh along with the routine tourist vehicles. It takes around 5 hours to reach Nubra via K-TOP from Leh covering a distance of around 120 kms.. Nubra Valley is around 10000 ft above sea level and is famous for its sand dunes, double humped Bacterian Camels, Diksit Monastary and adventure camp resorts. The day weather is comparatively pleasant than Leh but night is windy and chilly… The tents are comfortable and well equipped with all basic amenities.. I personally enjoyed Nubra the most in the total trip primarily because of the experience of staying in tents amidst the serene mountains of Ladakh!
The way back to Leh from Nubra is again through the same route of K-TOP. This journey can be challenging due to extreme weather conditions and bad road conditions and it is advisable to be geared with proper medicines and woollens…
Next is Pangong lake excursion which is again as challenging as K-TOP.. You pass through Changla Pass (17500 ft above sea level) to reach Pangong Tso (14000 ft above sea level) from Leh. It takes around 6 hours to reach Pangong from Leh via Changla Pass covering around 150 kms.. The previous day K-TOP journey had taken a toll on my health and as a result I was not able to visit Pangong Lake.. Only my husband went there and I saw Pangong through his eyes.. He said the road journey is even more difficult than K-TOP but the sight you see when you reach Pangong makes you forget all the difficulties.. Lately people are opting to stay overnight in tents at Pangong but it is not advisable if you have a young kid and elderly person with you as the weather is extremely chilly, windy and unpredictable post sunset over there..
Last day is reserved for local sightseeing around Leh consisting of Zanskar Sangam, Magnetic Hill, Patthar Sahib Gurudwara and Hall of Fame Army Museum. Again here the road trips are really fascinating..
Adventure Seekers
- There are mainly 2/3 options for adventure activities –
- River Rafting at Zanskar. There are 3 rafting levels for different categories of adventure seekers.
- ATV Bikes and Camel rides at Hunder sand dunes of Nubra Valley. (Camel rides are INR 200 for 15 minutes and INR 350 for 30 minutes. ATV bikes are charging around INR 1200 for 2km ride on the sand dunes)
- The double humped Bacterian Camel is bushier and shorter than its other counterparts found across India and they also seemed naughtier than their other traditional friends.
Shoppers
Leh is not a pocket friendly destination as far as shopping is concerned… Most of the stuff comes here from China, Delhi and Nepal and is very expensive.. The main market is colourful and attractive but very expensive.. You may visit the not so good looking Moti Market and Tibetan Woollens Market for some reasonable traditional souvenir items..
Food Lovers
If you love noodles and soups and momos, this place is just perfect for you.. You get them in abundance over here at all places- highways, main markets, hotels, etc.. Don’t miss the traditional Thupka (Traditional Noodle Tomato soup with Vegetables).. Its yummy and very filling.. Also try the traditional Kahwas and salty butter tea in the local markets.. You may not like it the first time but the taste gradually grows on you… You may also try the local Sea Buck thorn and apricot juices.
To Summarise
Ladakh is unique, Ladakh is beautiful, Ladakh is stunning and Ladakh is out of this world.. It is no way comparable to any other place in the world owing to its location, topography and weather. It is not for the faint hearted and is comparatively a difficult destination thanks to the unpredictable weather conditions… But the natural beauty of the place makes all the difficulties you face worth the experience.
People are very friendly, hardworking and honest. You get all options for tourist vehicles and hotels as per your budget and most of them are equipped with oxygen cylinders and medical kits to counter any kind of medical emergency.
One thing Leh has made me realise that I really need to work hard on my fitness levels! It has really motivated me to DEMOTI myself
JULEY LADAKH! You will always be special
