Blogs from Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia - page 2

Luglio 2006, uno sgangherato autobus Tata da trenta posti della Jammu & Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation parte ogni mattina dall'autostazione di Srinagar, viaggia tutto il giorno superando passi d'alta montagna, si ferma per la notte a Kargil il tempo di una cena di dubbia qualità e di una notte passata in una tenebrosa locanda dall'atmosfera vagamente medievale, riparte di buon mattino, attraversa spettacolari paesaggi lunari ed arriva finalmente nella piccola città di Leh, verde oasi posta al centro di un'arida valle circondata da aride montagne incappucciate di neve, il tutto a 3500 metri d'altitudine: Benvenuti in Ladakh! Formalmente ci troviamo ancora nello stato del Kashmir ma, mentre il Jammu è costituito da pianure riarse dal sole e la Valle del Kashmir ricorda un tipico paesaggio alpino, qui siamo in un vero e proprio deserto d'alta ... read more

I fell in love with Leh before I’d even got there. The mountains, the views, the people, the air; its whole aura, somehow. If I lived in Delhi, this would be my bolthole from the summer’s heat. On a clear day, the view from the Delhi flight is phenomenal, snow-capped peaks and winding streams of glacier-flow, no apparent sign of human activity until you near Ladakh’s capital and spot the first signs of cultivated fields beside grey-green rivers, a stark contrast to the barren, unforgiving landscape around. As with Paro in Bhutan, it seems incredible that there’s any stretch of flatness big enough for an airstrip, and indeed the airport itself is up the hill from the planes. Too excited to remember to check my seat pocket before getting off the plane – you’d have thought ... read more

Every year I try to find a nice exotic place to run a half-marathon (21.1km / 13.1miles is standard half-marathon distance). This year it was Leh, Ladakh in India. Sitting at an altitude of 11,000+ ft. (3,350m) where you have only 60% air compared to sea level, even walking is a challenge here. Add to that the fact that the run course had 1600 ft (480 m) cumulative elevation gain / loss, this became a perfect challenge for me. I had already run the Winterthur half-marathon, so I knew that I have the distance part nailed down, but elevation gain would require lot of training. The good part about that is, I can do that in gym on a treadmill. Continuing distance training in India was very difficult for someone used to running in the clean ... read more

Thikse to Pangong Tso The next morning I rose after sleeping very badly to discover that I had trapped a nerve in my back and could hardly walk. No more bike riding for me. I sat in the back of one of the 2 support vehicles for the last 2 days. This was not as bad as it sounds as I was able to take a lot more photos and quite enjoyed it. Just like driving a section in my trials car! The road led up to Chang La, the 3rd highest pass in the world and down the other side to a green valley with lots of lakes with wild horses, cows and take feeding there. Eventually the road rose over a sample pass separating the rest of the valley from Pangong Tso. Pangong Tso ... read more

Thukje to Leh The Indian Himalaya is made up of a series of parallel mountains ranges running from north west to south east. In order to get from Shimla to Leh you have to climb the passes over all of them. They are, in order starting from the south west, the Great Himalaya Range and the Zanskar Range, then just north of Leh there is the Ladakh Range, and finally, running along the border with China from Pakistan to Tibet there is the mighty Karakorum Range which includes near the Pakistan end as one of its peaks the huge K2. We left Thukje after breakfast outside the tents in the intense sun and road back along the single track road across the Moray plain and back onto the main road leading towards the end of the ... read more