Leh'd In Ladakh

 

A range of snow-capped mountains, peaking through a bed of white puffy clouds heightened my excitement even more for the trip, as we flew over the state of LADAKH.

Yes, Ladakh! A dream destination for almost everyone in the country. Also, it was one of the safest places to travel as the 2^nd phase of the virus was wearing off and the vaccination drive was going strong. On reading a lot about Ladakh, my partner and I decided it would be best to visit that place under a guidance as it involved tricky terrains and multiple permits, so we booked a group package tour with Thrillophillia. 

Things you need to know before going to Ladakh

•     Ladakh has one of the most difficult terrains in the country and the weather is harsh and unpredictable, the hotels/camps and their facilities are more basic in nature but Ladakhi people carry the local warmth.
•       During the covid times, carry -ve RTPCR report even though if you are fully vaccinated. (This is subjected to change based on government guidelines)
•     There’s no cellular service apart from airtel and bsnl postpaid. BSNL has better connection. So, carry a sim before travelling there
•       Do carry basic medications for nausea, dehydration, fever, headache, gastric problem. If you are prone to AMC (Acute mountain sickness), consult your doctor before travelling.
•       Running water is available in Nubra & Pangong from (April to October)

Thrillophillia package and Itinerary

A 7 days 6 nights group tour package costed us 19.5 k per person which included: 

• Hotel accommodation in Leh, tents in Nubra and Pangong,
• Breakfast and dinner all days and Ladakhi lunch on the last day
• Transport in Innova to all the places listed in their itinerary. If you wish you go somewhere else, you must arrange that on your own
• We availed a bike (Royal Enfield) for 1 day. Fuel was not provided.

Day 1:  We arrived Leh in the first half of the day. The crisp and mildly chilly September air of Leh is exactly what we needed to get away from the hot and humid Kolkata weather. It took us 10 -15 minutes to reach our hotel from the airport. You can certainly say Ladakh as a border state when everywhere you look, you find uniformed officers, military vehicles and you are suddenly filled with pride and patriotism.  

Our abode for the next couple of days was called the Papsum Villa.The newly constructed hotel has this beautiful garden on its entrance, it has its own veggie patch where they grow vegetables like capsicum, lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, chilli, cabbage etc.

One of the most interesting things I found was, there was a shoe rack at the entrance like we have in our homes. The staff humbly asked us to open our shoes and offered us slippers to put on as we entered. We chose a rooftop room. It had a beautiful view of the snowcapped mountains on one side and the Shanti Stupa on the other.

After resting for the afternoon, we went to visit the LEH PALACE, Shanti Stupa and the Mall Road in the evening. We grabbed some delicious Mutton seekh kebabs and momos from a corner shop called Ridhus Kashmiri Wazwaan in the Mall Road on our way back.

Day 2: After a heartful Indian buffet breakfast, we headed towards the Hall of Fame. It’s a war memorial which houses weapons, history exhibits and souvenir shop at an entry cost of Rs.200 for Indian nationals. The next stop was the famous Sangam Point which is a meeting point of the two rivers. It’s a nice spot but I feel it’s overrated. The place didn’t satisfy the scenic beauty given the hype. We spent most of the time bouncing stones off the water surface. On our way back we stopped at the Magnetic Hill. They say, there’s a spot where the laws of physics don’t work but we couldn’t experience the same. You can avail ATV rides there at a cost of Rs.1000 per person per ATV. The next part of the trip was a bit more religious where we went to Gurudwara Pathar Sahib and the Thiksey monastery.

Day 3: After devouring some delicious parathas, we started our journey towards Nubra via Khardungla Pass. As we started to climb up, we could see the snowcapped mountains are getting closer. Soon we were crossing roads that were completely covered with snow. It took us around 3 hours to reach Khardungla Pass which is at almost 18k feet and is known as the highest motorable road in the world. It was to our luck that we experienced snowfall at that time. After taking some quick photos and videos of that magical place, we soon started to descend towards Nubra. On our way to our camps, we stopped at Diskit Monastery. Our car was the first to arrive in the Sand Dunes Camp, Hunder, among the rest of the group and which is why, we got to avail the best rooms as the age-old custom goes “First come, first serve”. I guess, that was the 2^nd best thing happened to us after the mighty snowfall. The 5 of us couldn’t be any happier. We ended up partying that evening and made some great new friends. At night, after the lights went off (which is very common in Nubra), we went for star gazing. Thanks to the clear skies, we got a view of the Milky way galaxy.

 

Day 4: “To the 3 Idiots spot!” We screamed and set on the journey towards Pangong Lake with great anticipation. The journey was filled with picturesque landscape consisting of bare mountains covered with snow, flowing stream of river and patches of pine trees. The roads, however, were rocky and winding. It took us 4-5 hours to reach our destination, which was the Eco Travelers Camp. It was situated on a mount overlooking the calm and serene Pangong Lake. That area has a lot of camps, each having 10-20 tents and a common dining room. The tents were equipped with bed, a single lamp, blankets, side table and an attached washroom, pretty cool huh?? We spent the rest of the day soaking in the beauty of the lake and the mountains and we found some local restaurants there to satisfy our momo cravings.

 

Day 5: We started quite early in the morning and went straight to the spot where the Bollywood movie 3 Idiots were shot. After taking a lot of touristy pictures, we started our journey back to Leh. We made a quick stop at Changla Pass, which was another snow-covered marvel. In another 4 hours we were back to Leh and to our old hotel the Papsum Villa. To our surprise, we got the same room we had earlier. After a hectic 2-3 days of travel, we found solace in just resting for the rest of the evening.

Day 6: The last day of the trip had to be something special, which is why we had the Royal Enfield Bullet 500 rented for the entire day. With a lot of hiccups with the Bike quality, we managed to reach the first point which was the Stok Monastery. After that we grabbed some homemade Ladakhi lunch at Gyapthago Heritage Homestay. This heritage property is about 200 years old. They have converted one part of that property to a homestay while they have preserved the other part as it was in the ancient times. The property has its own garden where they grow almost everything starting from wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and wheat. After giving us a tour of the property, the residents offered us some home-grown apricots and apples. We left the place well fed and happy. Since we had the bike to ourselves, my partner and I decided to go for a little cruising, away from the rest of the group. We road along the stretch of the Srinagar-Leh Highway fulfilling our “Jab Tak Hai Jaan Opening Credits” screne dream. After taking a lot of filmy shots and videos, we rode back to Mall Road in Leh, where we treated ourselves with some scrumptious Korean Food at Ri-Yul. We spent the last night of our trip with our new friends sharing stories and reminiscing our trip.

Day 7: It’s time to head back home with lots of photos, stories, and experiences.