Advertisement
Published: November 1st 2006
Edit Blog Post
Jule'
(Ladakhi Hello)
A most wonderful journey through Ladakh. We went on jeep, being greedy to see as much of ladakh as we could in the span of 2 week or the length of my annual paid leave!
A beautiful place, with smiling people and friendly Jules' as you pass by wondering at this grand spectacle of nature. A land that is believed to have been a sea bed, transformed to a cold, windy, desert. Snowed under and inaccessible for most of the year, the best time to visit is between July to September. We saw lehberry bushes, and double humpbacked camels, and marmots ( little otter like creatures that live in burrows by the rivers in North Ladakh.)
Any description of Ladakh would be incomplete without a visit to the Buddhist Monastries, their prayer wheels and the tall sitting Buddha's, with gaily colored silk flags all around.
We entered Ladakh via Himachal Pradesh, so that we got used to the altitude easier, but would suggest that route anyway - its some of the loveliest wooded region to travel through, with large fruit markets on the way! Our hotel in Jispa was in the midst of potato
patches!
A trip where the journey was all the fun!
Our Itinerary:
Aug 13 Day 01: Mumbai - Ambala. Depart from Mumbai by 2925 Paschim Express at 1135 hrs for Ambala.
Aug 14 Day 02: Ambala - Mandi (270kms / 6 to 7 hrs).Arrival Ambala at 1425 hrs and immediately proceed by small vehicles to Mandi. Overnight stay in a hotel.
Aug 15 Day 03: Mandi to Solang Nallah (120 kms / 4 hrs). After breakfast proceed to Solang Nallah, which is 13 kms beyond Manali. We get the first glimpse of the fascinating snow capped mountains after passing the village of Kullu and arrive at Solang Nallah in the morning. We check-in to our cozy guesthouse, away from the hustle bustle of the busy bazaar of the town & spend the day enjoying the locale.
Aug 16 Day 04: Solang - Jispa.The journey begins! Crossing the famous Rohtang pass (3978m / 13050ft) we enter Lahaul. Halt for the night at Jispa, in a cozy hotel.
Aug 17 Day 05: Spend the day at Jispa.
Aug 18 Day 06: Jispa - Sarchu. Experience the dramatic change as we cross the Greater Himalayan Range & enter the arid
regions of Ladakh. From the high pass of Baralacha La (4892m / 16050ft), we motor down to a campsite at Sarchu. Acclimatization walks around the campsite.
Aug 19 Day 07: Sarchu - Leh (3521m / 11554ft). Our odyssey continues. The ever-changing scenery is fantastic. We climb up on the Lachulung La (5059m / 16600ft) and reach the vast Pang plateau. After crossing over a few more passes like Tanglang La (5325m / 17469ft) we enter the valley of Indus but we reach Leh as darkness envelops us. Check in at Hotel Mandala.
Aug 20 Day 08: Leh. Morning we do a rafting run down River Indus. Post lunch visit Shanti Stupa, Shankar Gompa, Leh Palace, Stok & rest in the evening.
Aug 21 Day 09: Leh - Nubra Valley. We cross Khardung La (5602m / 18380ft), the world’s highest motorable pass to enter the Nubra valley & stay at a small village ‘Tiger’. Sandwiched between the Karakoram mountains to the north and the Ladakh range to the south lie the Shyok and the Nubra rivers. The villages of Nubra are scattered along these two valley floors. Because of the lower altitude a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains are
grown, creating an impression of abundance. Check into a guesthouse. Evening one can visit Panamic, which lies north end of the Nubra Valley and is unjustly famed for its hot springs. Over night stay in a guesthouse.
Aug 22 Day 10: Nubra. Today we can visit the white sand dunes at Diskit. If lucky one can get a ride on the double humped bacterian camels. A 7 km drive further will get us to the village of Hunder. Here there is a small gompa by the road with ancient frescoes in the Kashmiri tradition. Arrive back to ‘Tiger’ for late lunch. Over night stay in the guesthouse.
Aug 23 Day 11: Nubra to Leh. We drive back to Leh - our base.
Aug 24 Day 12: Leh - Pangong Tso. A trip to the world’s highest lake - Pangong. A salt-water lake, its vastness 150 kms long and 4 kms wide spans two countries, India & China (2/3rd of the lake lies in China). The sun paints its various hues on the canvas of the surrounding mountains as we watch spellbound while walking on the shores of the lake. Overnight stay in a tented campsite at Pangong.
Aug 25 Day
13: Drive to Chumathang.
Aug 26 Day 14: Tso Morari. Today we drive to Tso Morari. Overnight camping.
Aug 27 Day 15: Drive back to Leh. On the way visit Hemis, Thiksey and Shey.
Aug 28 Day 16: Leh - New Delhi - Mumbai
Fly from Leh to Delhi. Arrival in New Delhi at 0940 hrs. Transfer to a hotel. Evening departure for Mumbai
Aug 29 Day 17: Arrival Mumbai
Some Tips: Make a special effort to stay hydrated. And dont miss Pangong!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.171s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0839s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb