Ladakh & Leh

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Monasteries fascinated me ! the stark orange gowns which the monks wear during prayers and the majestic prayer wheels - against the ancient stupa is something that excite me always...
and so this trip happened...
we covered Leh and Ladhak.

My basic itinerary was as follows………….

- We Reached Manali first - Visited Hadimba Temple at Manali. Overnight at Manali
- Visit Vashishtha hot water springs and Jogini Falls in the morning. Evening was free time at leisure. Stayed over night at Manali.
- Left early morning 5am for Leh. En-route visited Keylong and stayed overnight at Jispa.
- The next day, Early morning departure to Leh through Baralacha-La, Sarchu, More Plains and Pang. Crossing the Tanglang-la (second highest motorable road in the world) enroute. Reached Leh by evening at 1900 hrs.
-Visited to Stok Palace (the residence of Royal Family of Ladakh, also a museum), monasteries at Hemis, Thiksey, Shey and Shanti Stupa.
-Enjoyed a full day excursion to Pangong Lake.
-Departed for a 3 hour White Water Rafting session on Indus River. Stayed in the Apple and apricot orchards at beautiful cottages at Saspol.
- Next day, drove to Lamayuru Monastery to view Moonscapes. Visited Alchi Monastery, the famous Magnetic Hill. Returned to Leh.
-Visited to Khardung-La (pass), World's highest motorable road. Returned to Leh by afternoon. Hall of Fame - War Museum.
- Left for Delhi by air (from Leh Airport - over the majestic Himalayan snow filled range of mountains) in the morning.

Now for some info and experiences ………….

Ladakh :
Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the LADAKH RANGE and the Zanskar range.

In geological terms, this is a young land, formed only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed with irresistible force against the immovable mass of Asia. Its basic contours, uplifted by these unimaginable tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia by the opposite process of erosion, sculpted into the form we see today by wind and water.

Yester-years filled with water....Today, a high -altitude desert, sheltered from the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the Great Himalaya, Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist on its south -east plateaux of Rupshu and Chushul - in drainage basins with evocative names like Tso-moriri, Tsokar, and grandest of all, Pangong-tso. Occasionally, some stray monsoon clouds do find their way over the Himalaya, and lately this seems to be happening with increasing frequency. But the main source of water remains the winter snowfall. Drass, Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flank receive heavy snow in winter; this feeds the glaciers whose meltwater, carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the rest of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. Usually their prayers are answered, for the skies are clear and the sun shines for over 300 days in the year.

Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed about 27 degree celcius in the shade, while in winter they may plummet to minus 20 degree celcius even in Leh. Surprisingly, though, the thin air makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitudes; it is said that only in Ladakh can a man sitting in the sun with his feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same time!

We started from Manali, an extremely popular tourist hill station in the Himalayan mountains..

The HADIMBA TEMPLE was beautiful.The place is around 2.0 Km walk from center of Manali. Please walk to this place as the location is very good. At Hadimba temple, you can take pictures with Rabbits and Yaks. It would cost you 10 bucks. Also you can try the local dress for 20 bucks. I advise you to try at least one of them. It is really fun!

Hadimba Temple in Manali or Dhungiri temple in Manali is one of the most important temples in the region. This four story wooden temple is located in the middle of a forest called the Dhungiri Van Vihar. From the name of the forest parkland this temple derives its name. This temple was erected in 1553 and is dedicated to Goddess Hadimba. The pagoda type wooden temple of the goddess at Dhungri is according to Hira Nand Shastri, the antiquarian about 500 years old. No idol is enshrined and only a foot-print on a stone is kept within.Raja Bahadur Singh who built the temple is commemorated by a fair held on the first of Savan annually named as 'Bahadur Singh Re Jatar.' This Mela is also called as Saroohni, which is symbolic of the completion of the transplanting of paddy.

In the evening, we set off to VASHISHTHA TEMPLE which has the world famous hot water springs. The place is around 3kms from the central Manali and the auto (a local three wheeler vehicle) will charge you around INR Rs.50 for the travel. The climb up is a good tar road, but extremely steep, we could just take about 10 steps at a time. Whats more interesting is the locality around, on one side - you see a series of wooden housed with balconies full of orchid flowers, and on the opposite side the great river and mountains.The water at Vashishtha is really hot! The administration has build two separate places for men and women to bath in the water. Here, you can see a lot of people from other countries as well. I would advise you NOT to bathe here, don’t know if its hygienic enough, after 1000s of people dip into it. We didn’t. I was personally more keen on clicking portraits of monks/sages/ ladakhi-people and houses…You will also have many shops around the intricately carved temple.

A little ahead of the Vashistha temple and further up towards the sky are the amazing JOGINI Falls. This is a steep but extremely pleasant climb of 3/4 kms ahead. It passes through the typical tall-spruce tree forest full of Himalayan birds. The walking lanes are very small…one person at a time only. The weather being pleasant (around 15 degree) and we in our light sweaters with a mud-glass of tea - wow!! An ideal walk. Every few minutes you would pass a local who tells you the falls are just around the corner. Today a lot of forest patches have been converted to apple orchards and tiny farms to grow veggies and make a living. The water falls through a steep crevice 200ft above, a pretty exciting sight to see…

Now on our way towars Leh...

KEYLONG is located along the Manali-Leh road, about 7 km north east of intersection of the Chandra Valley, the Bhaga Valley, and the Chenab Valley; on the banks of Bhaga River. Sights near Keylong include the Khardang, Shasur,Guru ghantal and Tayul monasteries. Located at an altitude of 3,350 metres, Keylong always gets cut off from the outside world from November to April, due to heavy snowfall at Rohtang Pass. Its astonishing to see Mother nature change colours and shades in 10 min flat. I remember the dark clouds starting to build up at 4pm, and snow fall started in 5min…..The sky changed from marine blue to some beautiful shades of grey!! We crossed this tiny town of JISPA on our way to Sarchu. Landscapes at Jispa were beyond words. Colors of heaven !! Absolute eternal bliss !

Our next stop was SARCHU. This is one of the few places in Ladhak to ‘camp’ . our site had 15 Swiss Cottage tents. These tents are stitched out of canvas which is wind & water proof. The inside of tent has a lining of printed cloth. The tents have living area and attached English toilet. The tents are fitted with very cosy twin beds with a cotton mattress, pillow, bed sheet, polyfil quilt and a blanket. Hot water if required can be provided in a bucket (most of guests prefer not to take bath at Sarchu). The water is freezing cold and my teeth almost fell off with the current when brushing early next morning. V.IMP: Never miss the 4.30-5am dawn sun rays at Sarchu.

Till we reached Leh, we crossed 5 most significant ‘passess’….

---The Rohtang Pass: If you travel from Manali in Himachal Pradesh to Leh you will cross the impressive Rohtang Pass, which is at a height of 13,000 ft or 3,978 m. This is one of the highest motorable roads in the world. The Rohtang Pass is only open in midsummer from mid-July to September.

---The Baralacha-La: The high Baralacha-la Pass is also along the Manali-Leh Highway, This pass is at the lofty height of 16,050 ft or 4,892m. It is situated at a tri-junction of three roads, one from Manali, one from Leh and one from Spiti. The view from Baralacha-La is spectacular with the Himalayas extending along the horizon, as far as the eye can see.

---Lachulung La: A pass on the Zanskar Range, Lachulung La at 16,600 ft or 5,059 m is a rocky height with views of the undulating hills and Ladakh plateau below.

---Taglang La: Also on the Zanskar Range, Taglang-la at 17,469 ft or 5,325 m is a resting place for nomadic Changpa herdsmen who can be seen with their flocks of sheep and goats, migrating in search of pasture.

---The Khardung-La: Khardung La located 40 Km north of Leh links the capital of Ladakh with the road to the Siachen Glacier. It said to be the world's highest motorable pass at 18,380 ft or 5,602 m. The spectacular view and a cup of tea from the tea-stall at Khardung La, will make you feel you're on top of the world.

Meeting the Indian army …
What was more mesmerizing, was the presence of the Indian Border Army throughout the journey.
It just made me more humble and made me cherish my life. We saluted and waved at soldiers where-ever we could. We thanked and shook hands with them when-ever we could. That subtle smile on their faces in return to our gesture of ‘Vande Mataram’ made the trip more that it’s worth. I felt so indebted to them for securing our Country borders in such rough and tough terrain - rain - snow- freezing hail storms and even worst winters and without comfort - love- relatives- social life………….O god !

These are a completely different race of people I guess, with a different set of genes that run thru’ their blood. Through our route from Manali to Leh, we came across large convoys of Army Trucks and troops….and everytime we crossed one, our choice was to quickly get down and wave at them with joy…


Highlights of the trip and some travel tips:
1.Don’t miss the Ladakh festival
2.Try and cover as many monastries as possible , they are all unique
3.Khardung-la pass is a must
4.In May-June you may face snowy/slippery roads, we went in August (spring/ flowering season)
5.Vasishtha Temple and Jogini falls in Manali are a must.
6.Souvenirs include typical ladakhi embroidered shawls, wollens ,bead -necklaces-armlets, postcards. Don’t expect fancy stuff. These are small Himalayan villages with simple warm people.
7. If you fear waters, do try rafting in the indus river. A completely different flavour. We did it !!

Warning :
We took a regular dosage of anti-high altitude sickness pills. (Started from 2 days before the trip till we came back home). Since the air is thin, many people tend to suffer from headaches/vomiting etc as the altitude grows.
Check with your doctor.

Njoy the trip…

If you like my pics, and wish to do a Ladakh-Leh trip, visit www.foliageoutdoors.com.
critics/comments r welcome .

Bye!!

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Comments

[bipin]

i lke the monestry of ladakh .i may come soon to enjoy there .i like budhist thank u

[Anu]

Thanks for the comment.... You have got to visit Ladhak... visit www.foliageoutdoors.com, they have superb trips going ever year in Aug/Sept.... If you want to experience the snow, visit in May/June. bye

[ashusood]

Beauti full leh_ladakh
Yar it,s a emaging hill.hiwachal is a home of natural buty