The Adventure trip of Ladakh

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