“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
Hurray!! The first year of M.Tech. was over. So no course work and no exams after an epoch of 19 years. So time to roam around!!Already I had done 3 trips to Khajuraho, Chamba-Dalhousie and Nepal in the 2nd semester itself. I will write about them too later. So it was the time for some big plan, that's why we came forward of a trip to Jammu and Kashmir, with a special attention to Ladakh region.
Ladakh...The Land of High Passes..The heaven of earth...The blend of water, ice, desert, flora and fauna simultaneously..extreme heat in the frigid zone...Challenging cloud-piercing peaks for trekkers and fast & furious rivers for rafters..Situated between world's highest mountain ranges, Himalaya to the South & Karakoram to the North..Paradise with natural beauty...See it, store it and carry it...And that's enough inspirations for anyone to wish to be there..
So as a planner of the trip, it took several days to plan. I couldn't find anyone familiar initially who went to Ladakh. The only source was blogs available on the internet. And I found various awesome blogs. As a postgraduate student, the main problem was to get holidays as the number of holidays is limited 15 days per semester. Some of us did have enough and some did not. But they manage however due to intense ardor for Ladakh-The heaven on the Earth. As we started to plan before 3 months almost, it was very difficult to keep motivated other people to carry on for the trip. I had to lure them with beautiful photos and consistently saying how it would be an amazing trip. Still as expected, out of earlier decided 8 people, two backed off. And surprisingly, the other five, after returning rhapsodized about trip so much that others felt bad as they missed it :)
I knew that was going to be one of the most beautiful and alifetime trip, and it happened too. So with all alacrity I started collecting all possible information about the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh.We had two majors (military) in our class who were already in Ladakh and we found their help very useful.They told about the things that were necessary to carry over there because of very different and extreme weather conditions. The things go like Sun-screen lotion with appropriate SPF, UV-rays blocking Goggles, moisturizer, woolen socks, rough& tough shoes and winter clothes though it was a summer time.
Now we had to decide the time span of the trip that was convenient to all of us. Initially, we decided on 7th May-21st May, 2010, just after the end semester examination. But my thesis guide declined for a leave after just exam. So we shifted the plan to 11th June-25th June. And the decision was wise, as the road to the Ladakh from Srinagar side was not opened until 5th June.
So I started looking for information about Ladakh on internet and soon I came across an awesome link: http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/. This forum provided adequate information about how to go, where to stay, what precautions to be taken, places to see, etc.etc. And this helped me a lot to plan the trip. Also, one can get information about the status of the both roads viz. Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh as many enthusiastic people keep updating over the website.
I was a little bit worried and confused over the hotels and their prices as well as exactly how to travel (private vehicle/shared one). I tried to find information, but couldn't get any piece of crystal clear information. So finally we decided to rely on our instinct about the prices and left it to be decided on the eleventh hour. And the experience of this was mixed. After the completion of the trip, when we assayed, it looked that we became smarter about haggling and in choosing right prices for right things. Yes, we were a little bit duped in the initial phase of the trip about bargaining, but as our trip progressed, we became smart enough to know exact prices of hotel rents and private vehicle charges.
After a lot of scrupulous search and information collecting work, I came with more or less definite itinerary of the exciting trip.
11th June:
12th June:
Here at Srinagar we had 2 options: either directly proceed to Leh in the early morning or roam around Srinagar for 1-2 days. We assumed 1 day for Srinagar (most probably for Gulmarg). This plan was flexible as I had an opinion that one can easily go to Kashmir valley at any phase of life and according to one's convenience, but Ladakh is far difficult, to be precisely saying one need enough time to explore it which is an uncertain thing. On this occasion we had enough time and enthusiastic people, so I was more favored to only Ladakh as this region is itself so vast that it's not possible to explore in one trip. Still some of us wanted to explore Kashmir valley, we kept that option open (and the person who was the most eager to see Kashmir backed off :p). So for now we reserve 1 day for Srinagar.
14th June:
15th June:
Some things to be remembered/statistics:
1) Check when the roads are gonna open.After 15th June is a suitable period till mid-September.
2) One need at least 10-12 days for Ladakh only if you are planning to carry your journey by bus, train, private vehicle (does not include airplane:)).
3) Expenses might be higher than other normal trips in India.
4) Hotels/ guest houses need not be booked earlier. Plenty of them will be available. Guest houses are quite cheaper than hotels (200/- to 300/- for a room in against 500/- onwards in hotel). They allow generally 3 people in a room.
5) According to me, private vehicle would be much better option than public transport as former allows you enjoy the beauty at your own way. You can stop anywhere and take your time to enjoy it.
Things to be carried certainly:
1) Good thermal clothes
2) 2 pairs of woolen socks.
3) Regular sports shoes are enough.
4) Torch
5) Medicines to combat high altitude sickness (Diamox is one of the medicines)
6) Sun-screen lotion having SPF>20.
7) Good quality UV rays blocking sunglasses.
8) And the main thing is a lot of enthusiasm and patience:).
So this is it for preparation from me. Will talk about actual experiences in coming blogs.
Hurray!! The first year of M.Tech. was over. So no course work and no exams after an epoch of 19 years. So time to roam around!!Already I had done 3 trips to Khajuraho, Chamba-Dalhousie and Nepal in the 2nd semester itself. I will write about them too later. So it was the time for some big plan, that's why we came forward of a trip to Jammu and Kashmir, with a special attention to Ladakh region.
Ladakh...The Land of High Passes..The heaven of earth...The blend of water, ice, desert, flora and fauna simultaneously..extreme heat in the frigid zone...Challenging cloud-piercing peaks for trekkers and fast & furious rivers for rafters..Situated between world's highest mountain ranges, Himalaya to the South & Karakoram to the North..Paradise with natural beauty...See it, store it and carry it...And that's enough inspirations for anyone to wish to be there..
So as a planner of the trip, it took several days to plan. I couldn't find anyone familiar initially who went to Ladakh. The only source was blogs available on the internet. And I found various awesome blogs. As a postgraduate student, the main problem was to get holidays as the number of holidays is limited 15 days per semester. Some of us did have enough and some did not. But they manage however due to intense ardor for Ladakh-The heaven on the Earth. As we started to plan before 3 months almost, it was very difficult to keep motivated other people to carry on for the trip. I had to lure them with beautiful photos and consistently saying how it would be an amazing trip. Still as expected, out of earlier decided 8 people, two backed off. And surprisingly, the other five, after returning rhapsodized about trip so much that others felt bad as they missed it :)
I knew that was going to be one of the most beautiful and alifetime trip, and it happened too. So with all alacrity I started collecting all possible information about the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh.We had two majors (military) in our class who were already in Ladakh and we found their help very useful.They told about the things that were necessary to carry over there because of very different and extreme weather conditions. The things go like Sun-screen lotion with appropriate SPF, UV-rays blocking Goggles, moisturizer, woolen socks, rough& tough shoes and winter clothes though it was a summer time.
Now we had to decide the time span of the trip that was convenient to all of us. Initially, we decided on 7th May-21st May, 2010, just after the end semester examination. But my thesis guide declined for a leave after just exam. So we shifted the plan to 11th June-25th June. And the decision was wise, as the road to the Ladakh from Srinagar side was not opened until 5th June.
So I started looking for information about Ladakh on internet and soon I came across an awesome link: http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/. This forum provided adequate information about how to go, where to stay, what precautions to be taken, places to see, etc.etc. And this helped me a lot to plan the trip. Also, one can get information about the status of the both roads viz. Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh as many enthusiastic people keep updating over the website.
I was a little bit worried and confused over the hotels and their prices as well as exactly how to travel (private vehicle/shared one). I tried to find information, but couldn't get any piece of crystal clear information. So finally we decided to rely on our instinct about the prices and left it to be decided on the eleventh hour. And the experience of this was mixed. After the completion of the trip, when we assayed, it looked that we became smarter about haggling and in choosing right prices for right things. Yes, we were a little bit duped in the initial phase of the trip about bargaining, but as our trip progressed, we became smart enough to know exact prices of hotel rents and private vehicle charges.
After a lot of scrupulous search and information collecting work, I came with more or less definite itinerary of the exciting trip.
11th June:
- Train to Delhi from Kanpur at 10.20 AM
- Arrival in New Delhi (NDLS) by 6.00PM.
- Train to Jammu from Old Delhi at 10.00 PM.
12th June:
- Arrival in Jammu by 8.00 AM
- Departure from Jammu to Srinagar (290kms I guess) on the same day as soon as possible (mode of transport to be decided)
- Expected arrival in Srinagar by evening.
Here at Srinagar we had 2 options: either directly proceed to Leh in the early morning or roam around Srinagar for 1-2 days. We assumed 1 day for Srinagar (most probably for Gulmarg). This plan was flexible as I had an opinion that one can easily go to Kashmir valley at any phase of life and according to one's convenience, but Ladakh is far difficult, to be precisely saying one need enough time to explore it which is an uncertain thing. On this occasion we had enough time and enthusiastic people, so I was more favored to only Ladakh as this region is itself so vast that it's not possible to explore in one trip. Still some of us wanted to explore Kashmir valley, we kept that option open (and the person who was the most eager to see Kashmir backed off :p). So for now we reserve 1 day for Srinagar.
14th June:
- Departure for Kargil from Srinagar (approximately 200km) at early morning.
- Arrival in Kargil by evening.
15th June:
- Departure from Kargil to Leh (234km approximately).
- Arrival in Leh by evening.
- Rest day to acclimate with the extreme weather. Remember Leh is situated at almost 11500ft from sea level and density of Oxygen is quite less than normal. So it is necessary to get used to it otherwise it might be difficult to carry on your further peregrination. Due to the scarcity of oxygen, one gets tired easily. What is the solution? Drink water as much as you can and keep some medicines to overcome breathing problem in case you face it.
- Roam around Leh. See ancient famous fort. See monasteries (Hemis, Thicksey, Shey palace) and Leh city.
- Departure to Nubra Valley (140km).One of the northiest part of Ladakh.
- Expected arrival at Panamik(Hot Spring) 1PM. One has to leave very early in the morning as it is advisable to cross remote passes before afternoon so avoid ice melting which may pose the hurdle to progress. This is a very common problem. Roads get suddenly blocked and it may take 1/2 days to clear it up or even a week.
- Leave for Sumur within 2 hours. (60km)
- Arrival in Sumur by 4PM. See Sumur and stay.
- Return journey to Leh.
- Arrival in Leh in the afternoon. Roam around the city.
- Departure to Pangong Lake at very early morning (where the shooting of end of famous 3 Idiots was done)(150km).
- Arrival to Pangong lake by 12 PM. Roam around the beautiful lake and stay there if possible or return to Leh.One thing we weren't sure that whether we could stay at Pangong lake. So for now we kept only one day for lake. If possible, we will stay there or return to Leh on the same day.
- One more thing try to avoid journey during the night as it is highly risky because of extremely dangerous roads.
- Reserve day for emergency. This day might be any day. If this day is not needed, we can accommodate it in Shimla.
- Departure to Manali (450km).
- Take a night break at Sarchu .
- Arrival in Manali by Afternoon.Some sightseeing.
- Continue at Manali.
- Leave to Chandigarh in the evening/night.
- Arrival in Chandigarh in the morning.
- See Chandigarh.
- Catch return train to Kanpur in the evening 5PM.
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| Famous Dream Circuit :) |
 |
| Planned Ladakh Circuit.. M= New Delhi, B =Jammu, C = Srinagar, D = Kargil, I = Leh, F = Nubra Valley, H = Pangong Lake, J = Sarchu, K = Manali, L = Chndigarh |
1) Check when the roads are gonna open.After 15th June is a suitable period till mid-September.
2) One need at least 10-12 days for Ladakh only if you are planning to carry your journey by bus, train, private vehicle (does not include airplane:)).
3) Expenses might be higher than other normal trips in India.
4) Hotels/ guest houses need not be booked earlier. Plenty of them will be available. Guest houses are quite cheaper than hotels (200/- to 300/- for a room in against 500/- onwards in hotel). They allow generally 3 people in a room.
5) According to me, private vehicle would be much better option than public transport as former allows you enjoy the beauty at your own way. You can stop anywhere and take your time to enjoy it.
Things to be carried certainly:
1) Good thermal clothes
2) 2 pairs of woolen socks.
3) Regular sports shoes are enough.
4) Torch
5) Medicines to combat high altitude sickness (Diamox is one of the medicines)
6) Sun-screen lotion having SPF>20.
7) Good quality UV rays blocking sunglasses.
8) And the main thing is a lot of enthusiasm and patience:).
So this is it for preparation from me. Will talk about actual experiences in coming blogs.
 |
| From Right to Left: Rahul Navhakar, Dhruva Pandey, Nitish Kumar Gupta, Neeraj Soni, Irfan Khorakiwala and Sanket Kalamkar. |
