About Ladakh: Situated in the Trans Himalayan range, Ladakh altitude ranges from 3000m to 8000m above sea level. The name Ladakh (la dak) in Tibetan means the "land of high passes".
Snowcapped peaks, clear blue skies, barren mountains with meandering rivers, Ladakh is picturesque; the breathtaking beauty leaves you in awe.
If you greet a Ladakhi as 'Julley'; they will reply 'Julley- ji' with a broad smile on their face. That happened to us throughout our Ladakh trip; it was an incredible feeling to see that level of enthusiasm in their reply.
'Julley' is an all purpose word - a salutation, hello, thank you; etc. that is used often by the locals to greet in Ladakh; 'Julley' is commonly used in Spiti valley too.
Trip Duration: 4 Nights/ 5 Days.
Travel Agent: For Ladakh tour bookings contact Tashi @ +91 9622153492 / +91 9419243036.
Hotel: The Grand Yasmin Ladakh. All 4 Nights (Including Breakfast & Dinner).
Best Time to Visit: April end to July where the temperature slightly drop.
Travel to Leh, Ladakh: With limited days in our hand the best option for us was travel to Leh by Air. The tickets are on the expensive side so suggestion is to book flight tickets well in advance.
Mumbai -->Delhi --> Leh.
Ladakh by road can be reached via Himachal Pradesh or via Kashmir. The trip would be long but will provide stunning & different views of the mountains.
In this blog, along with my day wise details; I will be also be sharing important tips Tourists need to keep in mind while travelling to Ladakh.
Travel Tips to Ladakh:
1. Doctor Consultation prior to Travel: Consult your family doctor or local physician before you start your trip to Ladakh as a precautionary measure.
2. Basic Medical Kit: A basic medical kit can be included in your luggage. Do carry 1 strip of Diamox 250 gm for easy acclimatization.
3. 2 Days rest on Arrival in Leh - Leh is situated 10,500+ feet above sea level and if you start your travel from Leh; I would suggest to rest for 2 days at the hotel in Leh. At least the 1st day on Arrival you need to be in the hotel for your body to adjust to the conditions.
4. Clothing: Carry warm jackets; Thermals (recommended); Waterproof Gloves; Hiking shoes; Sunscreen (SPF 40+); Moisturizer / Lip balm.
5. Mobile Network: BSNL; Airtel and Jio postpaid connections work. Vodafone postpaid does not work in Ladakh.
6. Sufficient Cash: Do carry sufficient Cash as number of ATM are limited and online transactions do not work often in Ladakh due to network connectivity.
7. Oxygen Cylinders: Due to low oxygen; as a measure it is advisable to ask your driver to carry oxygen cylinders while travelling to places like Pangong; Khardungla Pass, etc.
Experience: Travelling to Ladakh is not as easy as we think; located at 10,000+ feet above sea level the Oxygen is less and could lead to breathing and other health related issues if not taken proper care.
The trip duration should be at least 7-9 days approximately which gives you couple of days to acclimatize and start off your trip in a good way.
We had limited days and hence had to miss out on visiting a lot of places. Nevertheless, I would plan to travel to Ladakh again in future.
Rest Day: We landed Leh airport at 9:30 Am from Mumbai via Delhi. We were transferred to the Hotel and had to rest for the day to get acclimatized.
The Hotel was well maintained with decent staff; 5-7 minutes walk to the local Market as well as very close to the Leh airport.
The next morning, we visited the Hall of Fame museum in Leh constructed and maintained by the Indian army. This museum is built in memory of the soldiers who had lost their lives through the Indo-Pak war.
A must visit place with a lot of history Ladakh has gone through post independence.
Entry Fee: Rs. 125 per person.
Having only seen in pictures and movies before I was thrilled to view this spot with my own eyes. Magnetic Hill also called the gravity hill; offers scenic views of the mountains.
This hill has Magnetic forces to pull the speeding vehicles towards it, which causes the vehicles to slow down automatically.
We experienced that by parking our vehicle at the painted lines on the road; the magnet pulled the stopped idle vehicle. That was phenomenal.
We then covered the confluence of Indus and Zanskar Rivers at Nimoo. This place is known as Sham Valley.
On our return to Leh we did bit of local sight seeing one of them was Shanti Stupa.
Shanti Stupa was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu, Gyomyo Nakamura. The stupa is a symbol of the ties between the people of Japan and Ladakh.
The Shanti stupa is very well maintained and offers a panoramic view of the city and the surroundings.
I would term this as the most adventurous day of my trip ever to the Himalayas.
We experienced Snowfall for the first time; as per the itinerary we had to visit Khardungla Pass; but an evening before we felt to cover Pangong lake.
Being content with our plan we started off for Pangong Lake, although the weather was uncertain due to continuous snowfall.
In order to visit Pangong Lake via Leh, you need to cross Chang La, Pass.
At Karu Check post - Our vehicle along with other tourist vehicles were stopped for more than 1.5 hours, as the road leading to Chang La Pass was snow covered being a Sunday, BRO authorities were on leave. So ideally there was no one clearing the snow.
Fortunately; the intensity of snowfall reduced and the local police gave us the green signal for to start our our journey.
Chang La Pass: A high mountain pass at an elevation of 17,586 feet is the 10th Highest Motorable Pass in the world.
Now, this is where our journey got interesting; with the roads entirely snow covered it was difficult to drive even with the chains. I would give our driver full marks here for the way he drove us through the death bed; he was as cool as a cucumber.
On the way, we experienced such wonderful snowy landscapes; frozen rivers something I never came across before.
We somehow managed to cover Chang La pass and headed for Pangong which was 3 hours away.
Pangong Lake or Pangong Tso situated at a altitude of 14,200+ feet above sea level, is the world's highest saltwater lake. Approximately 50% of the lake lies within China, 40% in Ladakh, India and the remaining 10% is disputed between India and China.
The Pangong Lake that we have seen in the movies or photos and what we observed personally was entirely different. I was not as disappointed as my wife was.
The lake was entirely frozen and white as compared to the actual color of the lake which is blue and keeps changing through the day.
The best season to visit Pangong is May to September.
The landscapes surrounding the Pangong lake was a treat to watch.
Khardung La located at an altitude of 17,982 feet above sea level is the highest point I have ever visited. It is the gateway to Nubra valley.
Khardung La Pass historically lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar, China.
The road leading to Khardung La is not in great shape due to the ongoing construction work for road widening. In 3-4 months time it should be completed.
But a great experience at Khardung La Pass.
The following day we returned to Mumbai via Delhi. Ladakh is stunningly beautiful and I will visit Ladakh back for the pending places to visit.
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