Ladakh : Part 6 (At Leh)

We woke up from a dreamy sleep to spend a leisure day in dreamy Leh :) Leh is the biggest city in the Ladakh region..Connected by roads to Srinagar via NH1D and Manali through high passes and treacherous plateau, intermittently opened from June-September..Minimum two days journey is needed via both ways..I strongly suggest that one has to go there..Travel books/internet will take you there in minutes/seconds, which otherwise takes days by cars, weeks on bicycles (:p), months on weary legs ;) Instead of just looking into travel books or awing at the photos clicked by somebody on internet, reaching out there to experience in reality, though through tortuous but the splendid roads is a lifetime experience that one should not miss because both roads to this heaven are equally spectacular in different ways..Leh can also be accessed by air from New Delhi and Srinagar..Temperature ranges 30 degrees in Summer to -30 degrees in winter..In the winter, literally Leh comes to halt..Many people do shift to other places for winter season..Man is the most adaptable of all animals!

Leh is situated at a height of about 11500 ft in the Indus river valley..So High altitude sickness is very common..High altitude sickness happens because of lack of enough oxygen at high altitudes..It may result in dizziness, headaches, vomiting..It takes a while to get acclimated with such high altitude environment..So we decided to have a kind of a rest day at Leh..So no traveling again immediately..We got up little bit late in the morning..We had plans for Pangong lake and Nubra Valley for coming days..To enter the both places, one needs to get Inner Line Permit (ILP) from Leh..So the agenda for the day was to get ILP and look around Leh..

Old Leh is mainly composed of mud brick houses and narrow lanes..Leh can easily be explored on foot..And for the first day, we chose this option..After heavy breakfast, we set off on Leh tour on foot..Remember to keep a water bottle always with you..Leh is a place, in fact, almost whole Ladakh, where one can get sunstroke & simultaneously have frost-bite :) (seriously :p).

We found an agent to do the procedures of ILPs..We heard that ILPs could be obtained easily and very cheaply..But we didn't want to go doing those things and agent said Rs.50 per head..We asked him a permit for 3 days (1 day at Pangong lake + 2 days at Nubra valley)..Then we started to take a stroll in the main bazaar..Leh is a town where you will find numerous travelers and tourists..There was a lot of hustle bustle with travel agencies, backpackers getting ready for mountain trails..One can find a lot of package tours, trekking, rafting expeditions..You will find a lot of single backpackers searching for partners for different expeditions..In fact, you see very frequently white boards, displaying "Trekking partners are needed for this and that trek"..If you are interested in corresponding adventure, contact respective person..One thing will not escape your attention surely, doesn't matter how least keen your eyes are, is roaring engine of hundreds of Royal Enfield & Pulsar..Literally hundreds!! Then those may belong to actually Leh town or they might have come from  distant places, many times from New Delhi! People love to ride the bikes to and in Ladakh and we were also going to do that (well that will come in the next part :))..

After a little chit chat and information collection, we decided to cover only Leh palace for that day..Just to near Leh, situated is Shanti Stupa..But we left it for the other days..So we began our way to Leh palace through narrow lanes amidst compact mud brick houses..Leh palace is a nine storeys palace which is in ruin now, overlooking Leh town, who immediately captures the attention of people with its majestic setting on a hill..The roof of the palace offers a panoramic view of the Leh and Indus valley..One has to climb a little bit to reach there if you are going by foot..Even that little climbing made some of us slight victim of high altitude sickness..We spent about an hour just exploring the whole palace..Then climbed to castle Tsemo situated at more elevation than that of the Leh palace..We reached on the top and the panoramic view from there was just petrifying..It offered us a view that was embedded with deserted mountains all over with ice-caps, amidst those was a Indus valley which had Leh town spread over miles in her laps and somewhere, at distant, was Shanti Stupa..It is a picture of nature worth of spending your very peaceful time..

Lost somewhere?? Searching a way to Leh Palace :)

Ancient Leh palace..

Ruins are beautiful..People make them :)

A Panoramic view from Leh Palace /m\

Shani Stupa from Leh Palace..

!! from top of the hill..

Fun time never ends if you want it not to ;)

We had a lot of fun..It was almost 2 PM and everyone was started getting hungry..We started climbing down and then that looked really steep and slippery (Now when I think of that steepness, I feel it was not that steep, it's just the fear inside making it difficult for us to climb down :p)..Finally, we got down very carefully..Had our lunch and went to get our permits..Now there was a real deal..Agent asked Rs. 900 for 6 permits..He said it was Rs. 50 per person PER DAY and not "per person" :-o We had no option other than to pay 900 bucks as we wanted to leave the next day for Nubra valley and new permits would not have been obtained until next day..We were duped because of our little lackadaisical behavior..That was a lesson.."Do your deals carefully and damn clearly!!"..We left cursing agent and ourselves :p However, we had permits in our hands and we were ready for Nubra valley on the next day!..The Northiest part of Ladakh..We started looking for a taxi and we soon found it..The best thing about taxis in Leh is that their rates are fixed..You take any vehicle, rate is fixed..That really avoids unnecessary haggling..At that time, it was Rs.5000 for Nubra valley for two days..We booked it and decided to leave very early morning for Nubra valley..

Evening was pleasant..Temperature was on a little lower side, but was quite manageable..We had become very well acclimated with high altitude till then..We roamed again a little bit in the town revisiting night life, full of people, continental restaurants, various shops..Had some shopping also and moved into the hotel to have some games of cards, revising the first day at the Capital of heaven and to get ready to enter Nubra valley on the next day, the road to which, makes its way through a pass, boasting the highest motorable road in the world, named Khardungla..

Good night!!

Ladakh : Part 5 (Kargil - Leh)

Kargil - Leh is around 230kms in distance..Normally takes 6-8 hours and we were not in a hurry to rush to Leh as we had enough time in our hand..So we decided to resume a little late in the morning from Kargil..Also, we wanted to recover from the fatigue caused us traveling more than 12 hours on the previous day day and that too starting at 4AM..So we got fresh and cruised our way to Leh around 9AM..As soon as we were out of Kargil town, we crossed Indus for the first time and she was accompanying us on the right side then..Very soon, the typical characteristics of Ladakh region appeared before us.. the typical characteristics which were till then only seen in photos & videos, only heard in the third person..Barren desert look like mountains wearing snow caps!! They looked simple but mighty and beautiful to me..It is a paradise for those who love mountains and their panoramic views..Ladakh offers them, many of them one after another..And mind them! They are Karakoram and Himalaya! One of the mightiest mountains in the whole world!

Kargil..A start to Ladakh..

The famous landscapes of Ladakh..

The road just after Kargil was pretty rough..But we had already acquainted ourselves to such roads, so no problems now :) We kept moving at 30km/hr, curiously stalking at the amazing terrain which were not seen in person by any of us before..It was literally like "Dreams come true" kind of situation for me :) I was unable to take my eyes off the mountains and its surroundings..Traffic was rather heavy and filled with plenty of trucks..The road was dusty..But nobody cared about that..Everybody was busy observing new world with awe!!

I personally classify Ladakh into two regions from a traveling point of view..Zanskar and non-Zanskar..Zanskar valley is situated in highly remote area..Accessible for a short window of time in year..Mountain range called Zanskar Range acts as a main barrier..A dedicated trip is quite possible for beautiful Zanskar region, but we were not onto it at that time..Maybe some time later in future :) Road to Zanskar start after Kargil..The other goes to Leh..

After some time, we stopped for breakfast..Till that time, road had become smoother and pretty green vegetation made their presence amidst barren landscapes..

Barren lands are not alone, they have company :)

Towns are situated at the oasis in deserted Ladakh..

 Soon the road became awesome and with that the landscapes..

Road in the heaven..

Everyone was excited..Environment was filled with a some kind of magical happiness..was feeling like accomplishing a big achievement to me if I'm not exaggerating..We all were already pretty excited by sort of trekking experience in Pahalgam and we wanted some more..We were looking for a chance..And in some time, we got it!! We stopped at a random spot, at which some kind manageable climbing seemed possible.. So we got out of the vehicle immediately and began our so called adventure :p Yess, an adventure at least for us..We were newbie at trekking with zero trekking experience, for whom climbing that hill was an uphill task.. We climbed a bit and soon it became pretty steep for us.. Four of us stopped considering its steepness and lack of our experience..Two of us moved on.. With the support of each other and tiring efforts at high altitude, I and Dhruva, somehow managed to climb that steep portion and reached the top of the hill which offered us enough plain space at least to stand comfortably.. Till then, I was focusing on climbing..Reaching on top, I glanced 360 degrees around me and the view simply stupefied me!! That was the most beautiful view of my life till then and I have never seen such an elegant Himalaya till today!! There were ranges of barren hills one after another..And snowy mountains behind those..a long and curvy road piercing them towards Leh!! Following pictures might introduce you to that phenomenal nature..

The best view I have ever captured!!

In an effort to capture above view ;)

After experiencing mesmerizing surroundings, we started climbing down..To my surprise it was far difficult than climbing up..One-step miss placed or lost balance, you will find yourself at the bottom within some seconds (possibly dead :o).. We literally climbed down sitting on our hips :p We got down finally safely with a sigh of relief..That was not less than a great adventure for me!

As we were preparing to hit the road once again, a group of people overtook us..They were also going to Leh like us..The only difference was, we were going in a vehicle sitting comfortably and they were going on the bicycle!! Bicycling at an average height of 11000 feet is not certainly a joke and business of those with weak hearts!! They certainly deserved our salute..

The real adventurers!! Hats off!!

It was around 1PM..We were hungry..Finding a restaurant on this route is a difficult task since finding towns on this road is itself a rare event..We approached a town where we bought some snacks and to our great surprise the shopper did not charge a single extra penny over MRP!! That too in such a remote region!! An incident worth remembering.. As we continued our climbing the altitudes and approaching snow clad peaks which seemed far some time back, we were accompanied by rain and amidst the rain we reached Fotula, the highest point on Srinagar - Leh road..

Fotula..

As we went on moving further and further, the more amazing surrounding became..We reached a spot where mountains were colored naturally in golden patch..

The Golden mountain!!

A breathtaking but worth taking way!

Then followed famously "Jalebi mode" (Jalebi is an Indian cuisine which is spiral in shape)..

The curves of Jalebi mode..

Can't resist myself to put another snap :)

After completing Jalebi mode, we left rough road behind and met very very smooth road..We hit 80km/hr from 30km/hr..We soon crossed Lamayuru..Terrain became relatively flat and less dangerous..Long and long plains cut in the middle by an endless road could be seen..We were approaching Leh..

Are we really in Himalaya?? Doesn't seem so :p

Before Leh, around 30km, there is a holy place for Sikh known as Pathar Sahib..It has an interesting story related to it..There used to be a demon living on the mountain and he used to kill people in the valley..Guru Nanak Dev arrived in Ladakh and was asked to help by the people..Demon seeing Guru Nanak Dev praying one day, hurled a large stone at him, but the stone became soft like a wax as soon as it touched Guru Nanak Dev and an impression of him was formed on the stone..Amazed and frightened by this, demon accepted his defeat.. That stone can be seen in the Gurudwara with the impression of Guru Nanak Dev..

Pathar Sahib..

The same area is also famously known for "Magnetic Hills"..It is alleged that the hill possesses magnetic properties which pull vehicles..But it is confirmed that it is only an optical illusion and nothing else..

In the middle of all these excitements, the clock was ticking to 6 PM and we arrived at Leh, known as a capital and the biggest city of Ladakh region.. We were feeling  little bit exhausted due to high altitude sickness..We soon found a good hotel costing Rs. 450 per night per room for 3 persons in a room.. Cheaper option is to find guest houses..There are plenty of them, costing around Rs. 300 per room per night..Leh is full of all amenities from ATM, Bank, Internet to multi cuisine hotels..We got fresh and stepped out for dinner..The weather had become windy and cold, but it was quite pleasant..

Finally Leh!!

The day was an extraordinary day..We were introduced to an entirely different and very beautiful region of the world which deeply amused us..We climbed around 14000 ft, moved on dangerous rough curves with the company of elegant hills and magnificent Indus river..Climbed down to Leh at 11500 ft..We were yet to be awakened from the resplendent memories of that day, we fell asleep to awake next day to see more of the heavenly Ladakh further :)