High on life @ The Land of High Passes - LADAKH

This was a long awaited group trip that we friends wanted to check off since many years and delighted that we completed it successfully. HP gave us life partners and friends for life. This was a celebration of 22 years of friendship in 2023.

This trip has re-ignited my blog after 6 months. Through this blog I would like to describe our itinerary, giving some essential tips from our experience so that it would help future travellers.

[Disclaimer: please verify latest status of places before you proceed to plan your trip or ping me personally, I will share my contacts]

 

Day	Places visited	Stay @
1	Arrive at Leh and acclimatization	Ladakh Residency
2	Sangam, Likhir, Alchi monasteries, Magnetic Hill, Gurudwara Pather Sahib, Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace (optional)	Ladakh Residency
3	Khardung La, Diskit monastery, Hunder Sand dunes	Stone Hedge
4	Thang and Turtuk village	The Kyagar
5	Panamik Hotsprings, ATV and zip line at Hunder	The Kyagar
6	Pangong Tso	Misty Hills Cabin
7	Chang La, Thiksey Monastery (Hemis monastery and Sheh palace optional)	Ladakh Residency
8	River Rafting on the Zanskar river, shopping at Leh market	Ladakh Residency
9	Depart from Leh

The onus of planning the package was with our beloved friends Mr. and Mrs. KD. I must say this was managed extraordinarily well. A big thank you to our fav couple. We stayed in some luxurious places and experienced some memorable adventures. Keep reading to know more.

Time of travel: 1st week of September 2023 (supposedly the end of season in Ladakh). The weather was pleasant except for Leh which was very sunny. But the evenings were pleasant. No snow except a bit on the surface of highest peaks. Our drivers mentioned that March-May is the best season to experience snow. And Sep is the season to experience the apricot harvest.

Things we packed:

1. Fleece jackets (light ones for Leh, Nubra)
2. Padded jacket (for Khardungla and Pangong)
3. Good trekking shoes (if your itinerary includes trekking else you can manage with a good pair of sports shoes)
4. Camping torches (only for Pangong if there is power cut)
5. Stretchable pants for trekking, rafting etc
6. Beanies/skull caps
7. Vaseline (highly recommended)/lip balm
8. Sunscreen (must)
9. Suncaps and sunglasses (must for Sep)
10. Water bottles
11. Power bank
12. Snacks like protein bars
13. Basic medicines for altitude sickness (Diamox), cold, fever, headache, travel sickness, indigestion

Day 1: We flew by Indigo airlines from Bangalore to Leh with a layover in Delhi. They had good in-flight meal options and lot of  flights to choose from. On arrival at Leh airport, we were picked by our drivers who were with us for the rest of the trip (Ajaz and Dawa). It was scorching hot when we exited the aircraft. The first thought that came to our mind was, “Was Bangalore less hotter than this? Did we really choose the right time to visit Ladakh?     etc”.

We checked into Ladakh Residency where Rinchen (our travel mentor) briefed us about the itinerary, what to expect and how to acclimatise (one word that you will hear time and again while planning this trip) to the altitude. We were all famished and had a full-blown meal (we were advised to eat light by the way).

We rested for a while but our eagerness to experience the altitude took over. We had chai in the hotel and proceeded for a short walk down the alley. We were asked to walk slowly and not rush since it takes about 12 hours for our body to start reacting to the altitude. We walked past local shops selling jackets, shawls and the likes. Friends who wanted to rent bikes for day 2 made some enquiries. There are lot of options in Leh if you want to hire bikes. Since Rinchen’s dad had advised us to use Diamox tablets (which none of us had taken till we landed) some of us went looking for a medical store while the rest returned to the hotel. We roamed around Leh market , bought our medicines and oxygen cylinder (for emergency sake – which we ultimately did not use) and returned by taxi to the hotel. Next day we had to start early so we retired to bed after a light dinner

Day 2: Started off after breakfast at around 8:30AM on two Innovas plus 2 rented bikes. The men were planning to take turns to ride them. We drove towards Likhir Monastery on the way stopped for some photoshoot at Sangam, the confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers.

Likhir was a typical monastery similar to ones we have seen before. But since this was just our second day in Leh it was a bit tiring to climb up even few stairs.

Likhir monastery

Alchi Monastery

Next, we visited the Alchi monastery. This was a very ancient one. The narrow path led us to 5 shrines dedicated to different Buddhas. The pathway was lined up with small shops selling local trinkets, handicraft and artifacts. Some of us shopped for meditation accessories and jewellery. We also enjoyed fresh apricot juice (literally tree to juicer). It was refreshing.

It was almost lunch time and Dawa (our driver) stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. We tried the local Thukpa, a traditional noodle soup from Tibet along with some Chinese cuisine. After lunch we proceeded towards the Gurudwara Pathar Sahib. The prasad and tea was divine. Our next halt was the Magnetic Hill. Dawa helped demonstrate why this was called the magnetic hill. (see video).

Magnetic Hill

After a usual photo session we drove to “Hall of Fame”, the war memorial and museum. It was heart wrenching to read about the wars and some of the soldier’s personal writings to their families. The Kargil memorial took us back to our school days.

After a day long outing most of us were tired but we stretched ourselves to visit the Shanti Stupa.

Shanti Stupa

This was a beautiful white structure (the post card pic of a Ladakh itinerary) and we clicked some beautiful pictures with the stupa and clear blues skies in the background. We skipped Leh Palace and returned to the hotel for a hot cup of chai, followed by some catch up session and dinner later.

Day 3: We checked out after breakfast and drove towards Nubra valley. (We had the option to leave some of our luggage back if we wished to and carry only stuff that we needed for the next 4 days since we were returning to the same hotel in Leh on the 7^th day).

On our way we stopped for some pictures at Khardung La pass, India’s highest motorable road. It was chilly cold.

All our padded jackets and hoodies were unpacked. After some creative photoshoot by the local cameraman, we board our cars back to drive towards Nubra Valley. On our way we stopped for tea and snacks. We reached the Hunder side of Nubra valley by 1pm. We had lunch at La Rasoi Family Dhaba (usual fried rice, rice, dal, soup etc). We proceeded towards the Diskit monastery.

Diskit Monastery

The large statue of Maitrayi Buddha was mesmerising. It was a hilltop monastery with picturesque view of mountains & valley. After some insta reeling expeditions, we drove towards the Hunder sand dunes. We spent some time walking on the fine sand desert and took a group camel ride for 20 minutes. These were the unique double humped Bactrian camels.

It was a funny experience, at the same time we all missed our kids. They would have enjoyed this unique experience. This place was very picturesque, with small pastures of green grass by the small stream running beside the sand desert. It was a totally different landscape. I always imagined a desert to be waterless!!

Since we were running out of time we decided to do the ATV ride the next day. We drove towards Nubra valley to check into our hotel Stone Hedge. This was a beautiful property with very tastefully designed rooms.

Stone Hedge

We freshened up and gathered for dinner on the terrace. It was chilly. That was end of Day 3, another tiring but exciting day completed.

Day 4: After an early breakfast (got to try the Ladakhi bread with butter tea), we packed our luggage, left them in the reception area (since were to come back the same route in the evening) and drove to the penultimate village near the Pakistan border, to the village of Turtuk. A beautiful village located on two sides of a roaring Shyok river, the village is very distinct from the rest of Ladakh, being part of Pakistan till the war in 1971. We could go right up to the last village called Thang. Here, for a nominal charge of Rs. 50 per person for a binocular we could spot some Paki and Indian bunkers on the mountains, the LoC and no man’s land between the two countries.

We heard the stories of partition from an old guide. We bought some locally grown dry fruits and apricots. We drove back to Turkuk village. We requested our drivers to stop by the river to enjoy some breath-taking views of the gushing Shyok river. We walked down to the river bed and spent some time dipping our feet in the ice-cold water.

Shyok River

We then walked to Ashoor restaurant which was nearby. We were hosted by a very enterprising hotelier Vedbhushan Kotyal. We had a sumptuous meal. Rajma was very tasty. After a round of pictures with Ved and the hotel, we decided to skip the museum visit and proceed back to Nubra valley. We picked our luggage from Stone Hedge and proceeded towards The Kyagar. It was almost 6pm when we reach the hotel. It was chilly. We had a short orientation of the property.

This was again a beautifully built hotel. We loved the star gazing window in each of the rooms right above our bed.

The Kyagar

We freshened up and joined for a sumptuous buffet dinner. It was chilly cold and our padded jackets were again out. After dinner we gathered at the amphitheatre to satiate some astronomical curiosity. Using a telescope we were able to spot Saturn and its rings. Luckily the sky was clear. The stars were spectacularly shining above, unlike our city skies. We returned to our rooms and rested. Next day was supposed to be a day for relax but you will read about it in my next para!

Day 5: Thej and I woke up early so decided to step out for a walk. By 7am we left the room and walked by the narrow road leading to the Sumoor village and surroundings. The weather was pleasant and we were accompanied by dogs, donkeys and people walking to their work. We saw a partial rainbow formed by the morning rays peeping above the snow clad peaks. 

Sumoor Village

It was a refreshing sight. We returned to the hotel and joined the rest of the group for breakfast. After breakfast the discussion started about the plan for the day. Some of us wanted to visit a hot spring which was supposed to be close-by. Others wanted to explore ATV and zip line which we had missed the previous day. After a round table conference we decided to visit the Panamik hot spring first and then visit Hunder for the adventure sports.

After an hour’s drive we reached Panamik Hot springs. A narrow stream of steaming hot water flowed down the hill. Thej climbed the hill to check where the source was, but it seemed to emerge under the rocks. I joined him too for a short climb. Once we came down we figured there was a public bath where we could take a dip in the water (which was not so hot), more or less a public bath tub. We paid the entry fee and some of us took a dip in the pool. After a dip and change of clothes we proceeded towards Hunder for lunch.

We stopped at the 101 Km Dhaba (Khalsar village) for lunch. Post lunch we proceeded towards the Milkha Point ATV ride, Nubra Valley. We booked ATV rides for all of us. Waited our turns and enjoyed an adventurous evening. The landscape was beautiful with mountains surrounding us and speeding ATV on the sand dunes.

While 4 of us wanted to explore zip line, the rest returned to the hotel.(check end of the blog for charges). The 4 of us bought our tickets for the zip line. It was a tough climb of 3 floors to reach the starting point of the zip line. There was no waiting time and we quickly zipped across one after the other. It was an exhilarating one with gorgeous view of the Ladakhi terrain. My friend, Kattie and I collected some pebbles for painting and we returned to the hotel (which ultimately was confiscated at the airport..hehe).

After a quick hot shower we gathered at the AV room in the resort and watched KGF2. Had an early dinner as all of were tired. Retired to the room.

Day 6: Checked out at 7am with packed breakfast from The Kyagar as we had a long journey to Pangong Tso (Tso is lake in the local language), which was going to be almost a 5 hour drive.

We stopped for breakfast at this nondescript snack point called Akgyam Villa and café. We ate the packed sandwiches, sharing some with our drivers, along with some hot maggi and ginger lemon tea from the café.

On the way we made some pit stops for photoshoot and nature’s call behind large boulders. The route from Nubra to Pangong is under construction so some parts of the journey had pretty pathetic roads, but nevertheless the terrain was enjoyable. We stopped to say hi to some Himalayan marmots on the way. They are friendly creatures.

Misty Hills Cabins

We reached our hotel in Pangong by early afternoon. The place was called Misty Hills Cabins. It had around 8-10 cabins/cottages overlooking the Pangong lake. After initial hiccups about room confirmation and sorting of some miscommunication, we got settled into our respective rooms. Lunch was ready and we had a sumptuous vegetarian meal with aloo sabzi, phulkas and dal. Post lunch we drove down to the lake.

Nearing the blue waters of the lake was so mesmerising. I was in tears (literally) to experience the true wonder of nature. A vast spread of serenity. Perhaps the only blueness that would fill anyone with tranquillity. After some moments of internalization, we got back to our usual photoshoots and not to forget the most awaited insta-reel with the girl gang. We didn’t miss the usual 3-idiots photo props. We were jumping and huffing with lack of oxygen while trying to click some trick shots with our cameras. With our hearts filled with beautiful memories we walked back to the parking lot to head back to our cabins.

Pangong Tso

Our gang - despite lack of O2 :)

The evening was relaxed to enjoy cosy chats with friends. Post dinner Thej and I took a walk outside for some star gazing. A blanket of stars covered us. The night was extremely cold while we tucked ourselves into really think blankets. Our cabins had a see through glass ceiling to enjoy the moonlight.

Day 7: The next morning the hotel arranged for early breakfast. We started our journey back to Leh, promising ourselves to try our best to return to Pangong another day. Couldn’t lay our eyes off the blue waters as we drove back.

After about an hour’s journey, we were stopped by some army jawans to partake prasadh from their Janmashtami celebrations. I felt it was perhaps a calling. I missed the Janmashtami celebrations back home. We got off the vehicles quickly, offered our prayers at the “Sarv Dharm Sthal” and unassumingly gobbled up the tasty prasad, with poori channa masala, kheer etc.

We continued our journey towards Leh. Our next stop was a photoshoot at Chang La pass (17,688 ft above sea level), world’s 10^th highest motorable road.

We reached Leh by 11:30am. We stopped at a local emporium for some shopping (Kashmiri stoles, shawls and carpets). After getting our bags heavy we visited the Thiksey monastery, a beautiful white structure perched on a hilltop. This monastery housed a magnificent standing Mythrayi Buddha’s statue inside. It was amazing.

Thiksey Monastery

 

Just outside the monastery we enjoyed some mango flavoured softee ice-cream and headed towards lunch at a restaurant Montagne near the Leh market. We returned to the hotel for some rest. In the evening we shopped for some t-shirts, sarees etc at Leh market. Don’t miss the Tibetan market for some master copies of high-end branded jackets and winter wear.

Day 8: The day of adventure. We 3 couples who wanted to experience river rafting set off on our tour to the Sangam point. After we got the tickets and the rafting gear ready, our driver drove us to the starting point. The Zanskar river was gushing through the narrow ridges with some very muddy water. From the road it seems liked the river wasn’t fierce. After the initial instructions and trials, we started off on this exhilarating rafting experience, a first time for Thej and me. The rafting instructor was a Nepali and a very experienced one. It was a 16 km rafting journey with about 4 rapids. At the end of the trail, some of us jumped off the raft to swim in the river. It was ice cold. It was a memorable experience to be cherished for a lifetime.

After we handed over the gear, we started with our return trip to Leh. As we were all famished, we stopped at the Gurudwara for a Langar. Another experience that we ticked off on this trip. After some rest at the hotel, we retuned to Leh market for some more shopping and gifts to be taken back home for our children.

To close this travelogue, I would like to share some good and not so good experiences from this trip.

Good:

1. People are genuinely trustworthy, they don't fleece you with unreasonable charges for entry tickets, but sports activities were slightly expensive but were worth it.
2. Vegetarian food was available in most places (even in remote villages).
3. Most places accept digital payments if you are  lucky with connectivity else it is good to carry sufficient cash especially for adventure rides like ATV, zip line which will cost a good amount (details of charges are given in the next section of this blog). There were good number of ATMs in Leh and Nubra.
4. Chai was good almost in every place we had. We never attempted to have coffee :)

Not so good:

1. The worst part about traveling in Ladakh is the lack of toilet facilities in tourist places. Which was very much unlike Meghalaya tourism. We had to find large boulders to pee behind them.
2. Bad condition of roads towards Pangong Tso from Nubra valley.
3. Extremely dry weather which can cause sun burns and dry nostrils and crackling of lips.
4. Some of us had headache and nausea on and off. Diamox tabs would help (if you start taking these tablets a day before you land in Leh)

Tips for travel:

1. Pack woolen socks and thermals for Pangong stay.
2. Thermal water bottle will also be handy if you are prone to sore throat due to cold weather.

Ticket fares and other charges:

1. Hunder camel ride – Rs. 350 per person
2. Bike rental at Leh – Rs. 1,700 per day
3. ATV @ Hunder – Rs. 1000 for single rider and Rs.1500 for couple ride for 4 km
4. Zipline at Hunder– Rs.2,500 per person
5. Entry ticket to Monasteries ranged between Rs.50- 100 per person.

HAPPY TRAVELS!!