The Mystical Leh Ladakh

Leh Ladakh was one of the long pending tours for us – this year I was adamant on making it. The peak season for Leh is May – July. The Sringar- Leh highway is the heart line of this area and all the groceries, meat, vegetables are brought through this route. However, the highway opens only in first week of May and that’s when the tourist starts pouring. We had for some reason planned for last week of April.

The trick for Leh tour is early flight booking. Mumbai – Leh flights are very expensive – mainly because there are a very few carriers between Delhi – Leh and most of these are booked by travel agents in the peak season. You need to therefore book the flights atleast 2-3 months in advance.

Planning the itinerary for Leh is a tricky business as you need to return back to Leh before you move to the next destination. None of the other destinations are directly connected to each other – it is only via Leh with an overnight stay. This means changing hotels every alternate day. We planned for a 7 Nights / 8 Days tour with Leh(2 N), Alchi(1 N), Leh(1 N), Nubra(2 N), Leh(last night). Yes – we decided to ditch Pangong! Because it was completely frozen in April last week and it did not make sense to travel 8 hours just to take few pics of a frozen lake for 1 hour. Locals say the best time to visit Pangong Lake is after mid-May once temperature rises.

The beauty of Leh Ladakh is off course the beautiful landscapes – the “snow desert”. Throughout the journey you would get some breath taking views of the valleys, rivers, plains, multi-coloured mountains, snow, greenery and many more. It is, indeed, a photographer’s heaven and consider it mentioned in every single day below!

Day 1 - Saturday

We took the last Mumbai – Delhi flight on late Friday night and planned for sleepover at the airport. We had an early morning 6:30 AM Go Air flight to Leh. The last 30 min of the flight is worth watching from the window as the snow sprinkled Himalayas make for a breath-taking view.

Day 1 is generally meant for acclimatization to the sudden high altitude of 10,000 feet - which basically means resting in hotel, watching the view from the balcony and drinking lot of water You can pop a pill of Diamox a day before you land in Leh which will help you get acclimatized faster. We had opted for Hotel Reenam which is at a higher height than the Leh  market and gives you a better view. Late evening we went for walk in the Leh market. Since the season was not yet at the peak, only 50% of the shops were open – mainly consisting of woolen clothes and Buddhist artifacts. We came at a time when the Leh market was undergoing a beautification project and hence most of the by lanes of the market were dug out making it difficult to walk by.

Day 2: Shey, Thiksey and Hemis

Second day was for local Leh monastery sightseeing – Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. All monasteries have a common theme – high on the mountain, Buddha statues and praying rooms. The car goes to some height but then there is a 10-15 min steep climb for each monastery.

Back to Leh by evening, we had food at Gremos – a small café serving delicious local and continental food. Do try the Thupka, Lafa and some fresh deserts here!  Leh market closes down by 7:00 pm and at times even before that, so plan accordingly.

Day 3: Magnetic Hill, Moonland, Lamayuru

We left for Lamayuru – literal meaning Monk-village. On the way we stopped at the Magnetic Hill. The driver showed us a small demo on how the magnetic force in that area can make the  car climb the hill in neutral gear. Next we visited a Gurudwara. Near to Lamayuru is “Moonland” a natural mountain formations with similar replica of Moon’s surface. After visiting the Lamayuru monestary we stayed back in Hotel Namra in Tingmosgang – a remote village about 4km off the highway.

Again, with the season not yet started, we were the only guest in the hotel. The owners were kind enough to invite us in their house – a perfect Ladakhi kitchen for dinner with warmth from Bukhari.

Day 4: Alchi, Sangam, Hall of Fame

Next day morning we were pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful Apricot blossom throughout the valley near the hotel. It made for some amazing photo opportunity. On our way back to Leh, we stopped at Alchi monestary. This is nothing like the ones we had seen before – relics, statues, paintings dating 1100 AD maintained in beautiful condition. We had a quick photo stop at Sangam  point – where river Indus and Zanskar meet. The last stop was Hall of Fame museum built by the Indian army showcasing the history of Ladakh, the wars fought in the area and a War memorial.

This time around, we stayed in a different hotel Rafica in Leh – much near to the market.

Day 5: Nubra Valley

Twist in the tale – the Leh – Nubra road via Khardungla was closed and we had to take a much longer route via Chang La pass (world’s third highest road) and Shayok. The distance was not only longer by 80km but the ~25km of the route was “without road” – literally we were driving on river bed. On the way we stopped at Diskit to visit the large Maitrey Buddha. We reached Nubra by 4 pm.

We had opted to stay in Hotel Karma Inn despite there being multiple camping options. It turned out to be a good decision as all the so called camps are tents built in garden. None on the river bed or valley edge.

It is definitely recommended for a 2 Night stay in Nubra as you generally reach late in the evening exhausted and then if it’s a single night, you leave for Leh early next morning.

Day 6: Turtuk

Turtuk is a small village just 6 km away from Pakistan border – a 2.5 hour drive from Hunder. You need to cross by foot a  wooden bridge and climb up to the village. But then you are greeted by lush green farms, small village lanes and Apricot blossom.

Back by afternoon, we did the double-hump camel ride in the sand dunes of Nubra.

Day 7: Leh via Khardungla

We left early morning for one of my most anticipated drive via Khardungla pass. It still being late winter, there was quite a bit of snow enroute. The road at the top was slippery, with lot of vehicles struggling to make the incline. We had to take frequent stops for vehicles to push ahead through the snow. It does feel like an achievement after finally reaching the top at 18,380 feet.

Back to Leh by 3 PM, we head to the Leh market for some shopping – Apricot oil, Seabuckthron Jam and Buddhist artifacts. We spent the last night watching the mighty snow capped Himalayas for the last time.

Day 8:

We had a 10:30 AM Go Air Leh – Mumbai flight followed by a late noon flight back to Mumbai.

Tips

• When to go: May – July is the peak season. We wanted to enjoy the cold, snow and avoid the tourist rush and hence decided to go a bit early. It meant we could not camp at Pangong and faced some limitations on food. Else mid May will be a good time to visit.
• To carry: Lots of woollen if you are travelling early in the season. Do carry a good pair of sunglasses as the sun can be strong and the reflection from snow. Medicines for motion sickness, cold / cough, Dispirin for headache from altitude,  sun screen,  cold cream, lip balm etc.
• Hotels: There are only 2 4 star hotels and which are extremely expensive. All others are 3 star hotels providing decent rooms, central heating and all other facilities.
• Local travel: We had an Innova for all 7 days which made a pleasurable drive. Do remember to carry your music collection on pen drive!
• Local food: Momos, Thupka and Chowmein is what constitute of local specialties. Meat is not easily available as its against the Buddhist culture – this meant skipping non-vegetarian Kashmiri cuisine. And yes you will find Maggi everywhere.
• Booze: There is one wine shop in the Leh market and has decent collection of alcohol. Recommended to carry alcohol to other destinations.
• Loos: Well there are not many – which means frequent open air stop overs behind boulders making it a bit of trouble for the fairer gender!