I have been on an adventure trip recently to Leh, the
capital city of Ladakh. Leh is located at a very high altitude – 11000 ft above
mean sea level. Geographically, this place has huge significance – It was
formed by the clashing of Indian Plate with Asian landmass millions of years
ago. This explains lots of findings in Ladakh – the salty lakes, desert,
mountains etc.
Coming to the trip genesis, it was initiated by my friend
from school – Vamsee who being an ex-servicemen of Indian defence forces, had
friends currently serving in Ladakh who encouraged to explore an adventure trip
of Ladakh. He put forward a proposal with our classmates and instantly had
great response. 12 of our batchmates from school confirmed for the trip and
that gave my friend a good impetus to plan the trip.
Finally, when the trip day arrived, we were down to 10 but
still a great number to go ahead with the trip. We started early and arrived in
Leh by flight around noon time on Day 1. After arrival at Leh airport, we went
to straight to our Stay. We were advised to take complete rest for the reminder
of the day and avoid any straining activities to acclimatize to the high altitude.
Day2:
We started the day with a stroll on the banks of Indus river
which was very close to our stay. Then we went to a small village where we were
welcome by a small family for tea in their home. This gave us a glimpse of
local home and their livelihood. We were thrilled by their hospitality. Later
in the evening we went to Leh Market and had our dinner at a local bakery –
specializing in Yaks cheese.
 |
| Traditional Ladakhi Home |
Day3:
We headed out of Leh towards Magnetic hill – a place where
vehicle runs contrary to expected direction.
Then we proceeded to Sangam, a place where the two rivers join(Zanskar
and Indus). It’s a wonderful sight. We were immediately drawn to the rafting
experience which was on offer there. It’s the highest place on the world where
river rafting can be done. But given our fitness levels, we decided to go for
the shorter 8KM experience. Many were skeptical but it turned out to be a wonderful
experience on the river! Later we moved to Pathar Sahib Gurudwara – A great
tranquil place with lots of history. We had langar (communal meal) which was
fabulous. Later we continued to Leh Palace which was the royal abode of the
ruler of Ladakh. Then we went to Shanti Stupa which was built as part of peace
mission. Later, I realized that at its base were Lord Buddha’s relics. We then
visited the “Hall of Fame” – a wonderful tribute to the War hero’s of India, It
had a museum which gave great insights about military accomplishments. Later
there was a beating the retreat ceremony followed by sound and light show about
the Kargil War – a hair raising and patriotic depiction of the events – It is a
must visit for every Indian. Finally we returned to our stay.
 |
| Worlds Highest Rafters😎 |
Day4:
We started for Nubra Valley via the Khardungla Pass which is
the highest motorable road at an elevation of 17892 ft Above Mean Sea Level. It
was a grueling journey as our bodies
take a hit due to the less oxygen levels at that altitude. We reached NubraValley and checked into a resort tired. In the evening we had a great time
under a camp fire with my friend belting out superhit songs on guitar.
 |
| At Khardungla Pass |
Day5:
We got up early to the stunning view of Nubra Valley. We went
for a stroll around the fabulous town.
Nubra Valley has a desert which is wonderful. We then started for
Pangong lake – which is a salt water lake. The lake is a beautiful place made
popular by Indian bollywood film – “3 Idiots”. Later we rested close the place
for viewing the Milky way. We were told it was the best place to view the night
sky – however, we were novices on this front and were staring at the night sky
with no luck. Later read that it is clearly visible during dark nights – we
visited almost on a full moon night.
 |
| Pangong Lake |
Day6:
We started our journey back to Leh via Changla Pass – the
second highest motorable road in the world. However, we were now acclimatized
with the environment. Hence it was a breeze. Enroute we checked the HemisMonastry, the Thiksey Monastry and Rancho School (Again made popular by film ‘3
idiots’). We then returned to Leh where we went to grab bikes for our next two
days.
Day7:
We started with our bikes to Kargil on NH1 which is the best
road to bike on for not so expert mountain riders like us. We went quarter of a
way before one of our friends bike had a tyre puncture. This led to a delay which resulted in us
driving in the night in extremely chilly conditions. It really took a toll on
our bodies. However, we successfully made it to Kargil and checked into our
hotel.
 |
| Bikers in Action💪 |
Day8:
Keeping our previous days lessons learnt, we started early
getting our vehicles checked before starting in Kargil. Without any issues, we
reached back to Leh by evening. We went straight to the Leh market to make some
purchases like dry fruits as we did not do it until then. We then had a party
late in the night with camp fire and drinks to celebrate our grand trip without
any issues. The weather turned absolutely chilly compared to the first day we
were in Leh.
 |
| Different shades of Mountains |
Day9:
We had our breakfast and started back to the airport.
Bidding adieu to a great vacation for us school buddies!
Overall it was a great journey for the adventurous. We thank
Indian Army who are responsible for most of the infrastructure in the region
and also the officers who helped us with the itinerary – which proved wonderful
and enjoyable for all of us.
For people visiting Leh, please do take precautions of
resting for two full days after landing as it lays the foundation for our body
to acclimatize to the lack of oxygen at those altitudes. Another important fact
is carrying “Diamox” the wonder drug for high altitude sickness. Make sure to
use it judiciously for a pleasant trip. Things missed in our trip were ATV
biking and Double Hump Camel ride in Nubra Valley – as we were pressed for
time. However, they were not glaring misses given the enjoyment we had!
Please visit the links of the sites we visited as these
places have great importance and a tale to tell – which I cannot cover all here
in this blog(hyperlinked and also links below).
- Geography of Ladakh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ladakh
- City of Leh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leh
- Indus River - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River
- Leh Market - https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g297625-d17406552-Reviews-Leh_Market-Leh_Leh_District_Ladakh_Jammu_and_Kashmir.html
- Magnetic Hill - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_Hill_(India)
- Sangam - https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g297625-d3683202-Reviews-Confluence_of_the_Indus_and_Zanskar_Rivers-Leh_Leh_District_Ladakh_Jammu_and_Kash.html
- Pathar Sahib Gurudwara - https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g297625-d3400596-Reviews-Gurdwara_Pathar_Sahib-Leh_Leh_District_Ladakh_Jammu_and_Kashmir.html
- Leh Palace - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leh_Palace
- Shanti Stupa - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Stupa
- Hall of Fame - https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g297625-d4603216-Reviews-Hall_of_Fame-Leh_Leh_District_Ladakh_Jammu_and_Kashmir.html
- Khardungla Pass - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khardung_La
- Nubra Valley - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nubra_Valley
- Pangong Lake - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangong_Tso
- Changla Pass - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_La
- Hemis Monastry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemis
- Thiksey Monastry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thikse_Monastery
- Rancho School - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druk_White_Lotus_School
- Kargil - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kargil
- NH1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highway_1_(India)
- Leh Airport - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushok_Bakula_Rimpochee_Airport
