Ladakh

Part fantasy, part reality… Ladakh, is where, the forces of nature conspired to render a magical unrealistic landscape… a landscape of extremes… desert and blue waters… burning sun and freezing winds… glaciers and sand dunes. Ladakh is an authentic land, faithful to ancestral customs where life is characterized by intense spirituality. Rich traditions of Mahayana Buddhism still flourish in the purest form in this region, which has often been referred to as Little Tibet.
Leh is the capital of Ladakh and is famous for its monasteries, the Hemis Monastery being the largest. Nubra Valley, Tso Moriri Lake and Pangong Lake offer truly amazing landscapes high up in the Himalayas. Major attraction of Nubra valley is the highest motorable road Khardongla pass, majestic peaks and glaciers, enchanting valleys and villages. Chadar or Zanskar Trek, Parang La Trek and Kang Yatse Trek are great opportunities for Adventure tourism.
The only two roads into the area are the Zoji-La Pass from Srinagar (open June-October) and the high altitude Manali-Leh Highway from Himachal Pradesh(April December). Leh can be reached by air from Delhi.
Eco tourism in Ladakh encourages Homestays, a system where tourists who are trekking in Ladakh, instead of bringing tents and supplies that often has to be carried by horses or donkeys,stay with local families in the villages they pass. This is seen both as environmental since the pack animals can sometimes eat all the limited vegetation, and as socially responsible since it puts money directly into the local villages.
Best time to visit: June to October, January to mid- March for Chadar Trek
Languages spoken: Ladakhi
Climate: Pleasant summers and very cold winters with snowfall

Adventure tourism: River Rafting, Double humped Camel Safari, Zanskar Trek, Parang La Trek , Kang Yatse Trek
Natural Wonders: Diskit and Samstanling Gonpa, Panamik hot spring (Nubra Valley), Tso Moriri Lake, Pangong Lake, Sand dunes at Hunder

Holy Places: Hemis Monastery, Thiksey Monastery, Spituk Monastery, Stok monastery and Shey Monastery

Road to Leh!

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This July, I completed a motorcycle ride from Gurgaon to Ladakh, covering Spiti Valley, Leh, Kargil and Srinagar – one of my many trips to this part of the world. Despite having done these rides multiple times earlier, why do I keep riding to these crazy terrains, where unless someone has actually travelled on a motorcycle? They wouldn’t believe what one would experience. What’s the lure of Ladakh still, when everyone and their mothers-in-law are riding/driving/flying there these days? When

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TRAVERSING THE LAND OF BUDDHA

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When you yearn to start anything new, you develop a kind of inkling that you are becoming a part of that thing. Similarly, when you plan to traverse the land of Buddha, you start inculcating a sense of being a kind of Buddha in you. Suddenly a different type of serenity and piousness, calm, and sense of discovering yourself develop in you. And this is a kind of mystic change in you which drives you to visit Ladakh, the land of Buddha.

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The Unplanned Travellers

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Harish and I was chatting over tea in office cafeteria and planning to go on a road trip somewhere in India in his car with friends. It started turning in to shape when one of our friend “Vikas” agreed to join us and finalized the destination to Goa “Mohali to Goa”. Next day he called up and cancelled his plan due to some work assignment and we were back to same stage of planning. Harish had a passion to cover Leh Ladakh on his bullet which he bought recently for this purpose only but could not plan the trip so far. Finally both of us agreed to go along on one bike 😊

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A Journey as Magical as its Destinations

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They left every thing on me- planning entire route, night halts, bookings,
sight seeing, servicing of the Neerja’s diesel SUV up to the extent searching out 4
dumped sleeping bags from old cupboards for emergency. The final tight itenary
schedule was got finalised after endless mobile talks, smsing and emails, kind
courtesy Maj Gen Nawnit Kumar, SM Commandant, High Altitude Warfare
School(HAWS) ,Gulmarg and Lt Gen Bobby Mathews ,AVSM**, VSM ,the Colonel
of the Regiment (COR).

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Baralacha-la pass at an altitude of 4890 meters

To Leh by road : Journey from Chandigarh – Srinagar – Kargil

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Had a lunch/prayer break at world’s second coldest inhabited place Drass (after Siberia). Winters in Drass are cold with average lows around −22 °C and as low as −45 °C at the peak of winter. The lowest temperature was recorded around −60 °C during 2005. We were told by some locals that everybody in mountain keeps at least 4 to 6 months food stock for emergencies.

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लेह – लद्दाख

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आये इस सुचना के साथ कि सुरक्षा कारणों से आम जन के लिए नुब्रा वैली कुछ दिनों के लिए बंद है अत:खार्दुन्गला से वापस आना होगा।

ऊपर जाकर या रास्ते में कुछ भी नही मिलता भोजन के लिए तो पहले लंच किया और फिर थोड़ी हताशा के साथ चल पड़े विश्व की सबसे ऊँचे सड़क मार्ग पर जो की 18380 फुट (5602मी) की ऊंचाई पर स्थित है,बेहद संकरी उबड़ खाबड़ रोड जो लेह से 40 किमी दूर है, भूरे निर्जन वनस्पति शून्य इस मार्ग पर चार पहिया वाहन कम और दो पहिया ज्यादा होते है,मोटरसाइकिल और साइकिल चालको की ये प्रिय सड़क है और हमें अपनी गाडी इनसे बचते हुए चलानी थी,लेह से किराये पे मिलते है ये वाहन।

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दिल्ली से लेह-लद्दाख – सन्नाटे का सौन्दर्य

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इस सब जगहों का वर्णन शब्दों में संभव नही है,ये आप इस यात्रा के दौरान अनुभव करके ही जान सकते है।विमान से 4 दिन में लद्दाख भ्रमण आपको जगह देख लेने का संतोष तो दे सकता है किन्तु वास्तविक खूबसूरती का आनंद लेना हो तो सड़क मार्ग से ही जाईये।

केलोंग से धीरे धीरे सरचु पहुचे रास्ते पर और दिन काफी बचा था तो सोचा रात्रि विश्राम पांग में करेंगे,आगे विभिन्न रंग के पहाड़ हरे ,नीले ,पीले,भूरे ,लाल सभी रंगों में रंगे, अवर्णनीय सुन्दरता चारो और बिखरी पड़ी है और देखने वाले गिने चुने यात्री बस।

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Motorcycle Diaries. Road to Ladakh…Leh – the land of monasteries…

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First thing first – True’s care! Our RE Team Leader Aakash had announced last evening that the bikes should get serviced, if needed, early on this day. True was cruising all fine and needed no service. However, eight days of grime, dirt and dips in water forced True to take a bath! So, I initiated the hunt for a bike/car wash center nearby. However, it being Sunday, Leh was largely shut and I had to drive 8kms on Manali Highway, all the way to the hamlet of Chogalmasar Jamba, where across the bridge exists an old acquaintance’s garage; a person whom was meeting after good six years! But, just like all other people from the hills, he was extremely warm and forthcoming. So, True was given special preference in queue.

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