Note: Well total duration of the Ladakh trip was 12 days, but I thought to cover it in different parts. This part includes the Srinagar and travel of the Srinagar-Leh highway. The trip cost I mentioned is of all 12 days including the flights from Mumbai.
Ladakh is a place where you can get a sunburn during the day and hypothermia by the night, well if you are not protecting your skin. This cold desert has some of the awesome sights to offer to range from cold barren lands to lush green mountains, deserted valleys to azure lakes in the middle of nowhere. Each season will give you a different glimpse of nature.
The very first thing which comes to the mind when one hears Srinagar is Dal Lake. But that's not the only beauty out there it's just the gateway of heaven.
We reached Srinagar airport around 2 pm and there were some heavy security checks out there. We landed here amid terrorist tensions, just one day back they killed 3 terrorists. We had booked a complete boathouse for ourselves and the boat owner had arranged a cab to pick us from the airport and for the local sightseeing. As we got out of the airport we went directly to dry fruit shop as Srinagar is famous for cheap good quality dry fruits. Amid tensions, we saw a lot of military on our way to the boathouse.
Our cab dropped us to the Dal lake from there we took shikara(small boats to roam through the lake) to the boathouse. You will see a lot of people selling flowers, icecream in these shikaras in the lake, it's like riding and stopping for ice cream but in the lake. We were a group of 8 and we got a pretty good deal for the boathouse just 3600 for a night including the cab for the local sightseeing. During the peak season, these boathouses can range from 5000-15000 for the night. If you are planning a trip just for Srinagar then the right time would be March to May.
So after freshening up we went to Shalimar Nishat garden aka the old Mughal gardens. We just had one day to cover Srinagar as the next day early morning we were heading out for our journey to Leh.
Our cab dropped us to the Dal lake from there we took shikara(small boats to roam through the lake) to the boathouse. You will see a lot of people selling flowers, icecream in these shikaras in the lake, it's like riding and stopping for ice cream but in the lake. We were a group of 8 and we got a pretty good deal for the boathouse just 3600 for a night including the cab for the local sightseeing. During the peak season, these boathouses can range from 5000-15000 for the night. If you are planning a trip just for Srinagar then the right time would be March to May.
It was almost 6 when we got out of the gardens. I wanted to check the tulip gardens as well although it wasn't the right month to go there, they were closed by the time we reached there. So we headed back to our boathouse, but while we were heading back we found some gosht restaurants which were awesome. The gardens made our day and gosht made our night.
The best moment of the boathouse comes in the night when you are standing on the boathouse and all the other boathouses lit up and its full moon whose light is reflecting perfectly on the lake and to put the icing on the cake mountain peaks are also visible. This view is worth it.
So after freshening up we went to Shalimar Nishat garden aka the old Mughal gardens. We just had one day to cover Srinagar as the next day early morning we were heading out for our journey to Leh.
We woke up early in the morning and started our journey at 6. We had hired a tempo-traveler which would take us to Leh in 2 days and it cost us 19k.
It was almost 6 when we got out of the gardens. I wanted to check the tulip gardens as well although it wasn't the right month to go there, they were closed by the time we reached there. So we headed back to our boathouse, but while we were heading back we found some gosht restaurants which were awesome. The gardens made our day and gosht made our night.
The best moment of the boathouse comes in the night when you are standing on the boathouse and all the other boathouses lit up and its full moon whose light is reflecting perfectly on the lake and to put the icing on the cake mountain peaks are also visible. This view is worth it.
We woke up early in the morning and started our journey at 6. We had hired a tempo-traveler which would take us to Leh in 2 days and it cost us 19k.
The Sind river which runs parallel to the highway. On the way you will find a lot of green apple sellers plus a lot of dhabas on the barricaded river banks. We stopped at one for some parathas.
The Sind river which runs parallel to the highway. On the way you will find a lot of green apple sellers plus a lot of dhabas on the barricaded river banks. We stopped at one for some parathas.
From here we were planning to go to Dras directly, but something unexpected happened on the Sonamarg which ended up being the best moment of our trip. We were passing by Sonamarg when we saw horses grazing in the vast greenery.
From here we were planning to go to Dras directly, but something unexpected happened on the Sonamarg which ended up being the best moment of our trip. We were passing by Sonamarg when we saw horses grazing in the vast greenery.
We got down to ask that if we can ride them. Locals mentioned yes we can for the cost of 1000/person we can ride them up n down the Sonamarg glacier.
It was one of the most thrilling experiences, there were some moments when these horses were running very fast up the hill and as naive I was scared as hell. While all my friends got horses I got a mare, so I was being chased by others.
Sonamarg is the base camp for many treks, so you will find a lot of trekkers who come here for a week-long trek. There would be some locals who will insist on you doing the snow activities telling you it would be fun but don't do it kyuki kat ta hai(not good in this season).
After the sublime experience we did our lunch(Rajma chawal which you will find in abundance around Srinagar) and headed out to Dras. On the way you will pass through Baltal, which is a gateway for the Amarnath ki yatra and Zojila Pass which is one of the toughest roads to drive in Ladakh.
From Zozila you enter the Ladakh territory, its dry, dusty and hot, if you are on a bike then better wear a balaclava. So our next stop was Dras which is the second coldest place on earth and famous for the Kargil War memorial(All the soldiers who were martyred in Kargil 1999).
On average temperature here can drop 54 degrees Celsius below zero. The war memorial has the showcase of the artillery which was used in the War plus it has also a small museum that contains the military-grade weapons which India seized from Pakistan.
Our plan was to cover Srinagar-Leh in 2 days and here we come to the halt for the first day. We reached Kargil by 5 and we ended the day on the banks of babbling Suru river with steamy hot mutton gosht.
Likewise we started the journey the next day early. And honestly Kargil would be the last place where you'd see a bit of lush greenery, after this it is all barren till Leh.
From here we directly headed to the Lamayuru monastery. Lamayuru is around 100km from Kargil so we jam-packed our Tempo-Traveller with songs and hit the road, it was hot so the only game we played was to drink water and hold the pee-pee. But one of us bailed out at Namikla.
After Namikala there is Fotula Top which is the highest point in Srinagar-Leh Highway. And now we are at the Lamayuru Monastery.
Post-Lamayuru we stopped at the longest flat straight road in the region of Ladakh and took some photographs. You will find a lot of people stopping around here, and waiting here hours to capture perfect shots.
The next stop was Sangam, which is the confluence of two rivers Indus and Zanskar and it wasn't that great which we expected. The water wasn't blue, it was muddy due to the recent rainfalls.
Our next halts were the Magnetic Hill and the Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. At magnetic hill you will see a lot of riders stopping their engines to feel the sensation of being pulled. This hill is nothing but an illusion, the road that appears to be uphill is actually downhill which gives you a feeling that you are being pulled upwards. The gurudwara is 3km from the hill and it is a must-visit.
Leh is 23 km from the gurudwara, and we reached our second vertex of the triangle by 2 of the afternoon. Well this was just the beginning because the journey we were about to embark upon was exactly how we dreamt.
I will end this part with the quote I read in one of the cafes in Leh
"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end"
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