Ladakh: A Dreamland

The literal translation of La-Dakh in the regional language is, “La” meaning high pass and “Dakh” meaning numerous becoming, “The Land of High Passes”. The beauty of the Himalayan range in this region is simply astonishing. Every 10 min ride has something new to offer to your eyes and hence, I described it as a dream land. This desert land, with just a few green trees to provide oxygen, is situated at an altitude of 3,100 M or more than 10,000 Ft, makes it a challenging place to visit.

I happened to visit this dream land before it became a union territory, somewhere around July, 2016. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh was one single state then. This tour was with my family, mom, dad, me and my sister and all the bookings were done entirely by us. The homework done, for this trip, was insufficient and we knew very less about Ladakh’s weather conditions. The govt. has made a mandate to stay in the city for 48 hrs for acclimatization recently, in 2022. And we had done the exact opposite by traveling to Pangong Tso the very next day. Still, the experience was amazing!

It was a 11 day tour. We travelled by train to Jammu and had hired a cab for the whole 10 days. We had two cab drivers, One for Jammu and Kashmir and another for Ladakh, as vehicles having other than Ladkah pass are not allowed in Ladakh, were very sweet and took a very good care of us. They protected us as well as warned us, whenever it was necessary. Hussainji, who was our driver was from Kargil and was very well aware about the current conditions in Kashmir.

Day 2

Hussainji was ready to pick us up at Jammu Railway station to drop us near Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, where we had booked a houseboat for 2 nights. We reached late at Dal lake around 2 am and Tarekji, the houseboat owner, was ready near a gate to pick us up with a Shikara. After meeting Tarekji, the 1st Kashmiri we came across so far, me and my sister, immediately fell for him. Even though he was elder, he was cute, handsome and very sweet spoken. I mean, who would not fall for such a Kashmiri guy? The next day, we visited a few gardens near Dal lake, clicked pictures in traditional attires, along with shopping and local site seeing. Lunch was delicious and the staff was very sweet. My parents loved the Kahwa tea, Kashmir’s famous beverage, so the staff wrote down the recipe for my mother, as a present. How sweet is this? There were military check posts at many places enroute. We were asked to walk for a few mins and the car was examined along with us. Later, as we were dining at a nearby café, we saw a rally passing by. We thought it was some festival being celebrated but, it turned out to be something very different later. We were supposed to leave for Ladkah the next day and hence, post dinner, Hussainji asked us to leave Kashmir before 6 am. We started discussing, why so early? Was it due to the huge distance? No, it was the same time when Burhan Wani was shot dead, is what we realized later and it would have been a terror, had we started a bit late that day. Again we went through military check posts to get out of Srinagar.

Day 3

On the way to Ladakh, it was decided that a stay in Kargil is mandatory due to the huge distance to be covered. We visited a Zero point, where some snow, which was about to melt completely, was still available, we played a bit as the snow had turned muddy and proceeded further. We were now travelling beside a snow covered mountain and my mom was very excited to feel this snow mountain. She insisted to halt for a few mins but Hussainji refused as there are chances of huge stones or snow glaciers to fall from the top. This stubbornness lasted for quite a long time and hence, Hussainji had to give up and halted. My mom was happy, like a kid who unexpectedly gets a candy, which the child was longing to receive. As my mom was done enjoying the snow mountain, a huge chunk fell! We all were scared and drivers passing by, were getting mad at Hussainji for letting us out. It was quite an experience! After reaching Kargil, we 1st visited Kargil war memorial in Dras village. One of the Jawans explained us about the war and about the mountains where the war was fought. This place gives you goosebumps the whole time. There is a memorial made from pink sandstone where names of all the soldiers who died during the war, Operation Vijay, is engraved on a brass plate. The hotel we stayed at, was in Kargil city. My parents ordered Tea in evening and we fell in love with the tea cups. On enquiring to the staff regarding the cups, happiness embraced us as we could buy them from a nearby Tibetan market, 5 mins walking distance from this place. We were already on our way to buy those cups and as we reached the market, sadly, it was shut for the day. But we visited it the very next morning. As it was almost time for dinner and less appetite made us think about “Chiwda“, my mother had packed for this trip. It tastes even more delicious when you add finely chopped onion and/or tomato to it. Now, we went to a local vegetable vendor to buy some onions, we asked her the price and she inquired about the quantity we needed. Onions are sold in kilograms and we only wanted 1 onion! She was confused if she heard it correct, then gave us the onion for free! We insisted to pay but, she refused to accept it for just 1 onion.

Day 4

The next morning, a lady from the shop, in the Tibetan market, was discussing some business with one of the customers. I thought, they were discussing some private issue and hence, it was so quietly done in one of the corners. Later, on exchanging a few words, we learned that the person was here just to buy a cell phone. All the people of Kashmir and Ladakh are so soft spoken that you can hardly hear what they are saying. I had to ask our hotel manager what he was actually saying, twice or three times, as I couldn’t hear what he said in the first go. After a heartfelt shopping, we left for Leh. Fotu La, Namika La, Zoji La are some of the passes which we came across, clicked pictures, some even with foreigners as well and proceeded. The roads are bumpy and dusty and hence, our car looked awful. We spotted a “Chashma“, as they call it here, spring water coming from melted snow. As the water is pure, people in this region set a pipe onto it and use this water for various purposes. Hussainji took the car under this “Chashma” and the car was not only washed clean, but it also became so cool that there was no need for ac anymore. As we proceeded, we were surprised to spot Deer on those deserted, plain mountains. We reached the magnetic Hill to see its magic and it totally works. We all were excited to visit this one of the least travelled places, which it was then, of India. There were many sign boards on the way, about many health issues, one can face and how to prevent them. That is one necessary step to be followed. As we reached Leh, 1st thing you get to see is the “Hall of Fame”, which we decided to visit on the next day. We reached at the hotel, recommend by Tarekji, we met Dharma Uncle. He was super sweet and caring. As we reached the hotel lobby, I was just discussing about the oxygen level, I said, “its not that low as many say” and I regretted it instantly as we were climbing the stairs. Dharma uncle insisted that we just climb upstairs when they will deliver the luggage. Our room was on the 2nd floor and no lifts, after climbing 1 floor and taking rest to catch a breath, I understood the “oxygen levels”, they talk about! The hotel was centrally located and Leh palace was just in front of our eyes. We instantly decided to skip the palace, looking at its height, to be climbed. That day passed after we discussed further plans about this trip and some chatting with Dharma uncle.

Day 5

We headed for the famous “Pangong Tso”. “Tso” means lake in the regional language. This lake was 100% in India pre Independence. Due to the ignorance of British Government, China occupied around 70% and India is now left with mere 30% of the whole lake, which too is humongous. We even passed through the famous, The Druk Padma Karpo school, which was filmed in 3 idiots, but since it was under renovation, the entry was closed for tourists. Enroute, we saw many interesting sign boards set up by “BRO” (Border Road Organization), Marmots, frozen lakes and much more. As we reached Chang La, the then 3rd highest motorable road in the world at a height of 5,391.3024 m or 17,688.000 ft from the sea level, you are not supposed to run or even halt at these places for more than 10 to 15mins. But, my father rushed to one of the cafes, for an emergency and was affected by low oxygen level on high mountain area. We had to rush him to a nearest hospital and was given extra oxygen and then, all was fine. On reaching Pangong Tso, my parents tried Ladakh’s famous “Khara chai” (salty tea). Since Yak is the most common animal in these areas, Yak milk is extracted for consumption, which is a bit salty, hence the salty tea. We had already booked tents overviewing the great Pangong Tso. The oxygen and temperature drops drastically in these areas, as compared to Leh and hence, we were sleeping most of the time. As it got darker, it started getting colder. We asked one of the staff members about the current temperature to which he casually replies, “its at least more than 0°C tonight”. We called it a day after the delicious dinner.

Day 6

After having breakfast, we headed back to Leh. You tend to lose appetite in the high mountain region, one of the signs of high mountain sickness. We had decided to stay a couple of days in Leh, after what happened to my dad, the previous day. We reached around lunchtime and tried local Thukpa for lunch. It is the most healthy yet fulfilling soup, one must surely try it, when in Ladakh. Lunch was followed by some rest and then walking and exploring nearby streets and shops. Leh Market was 2 min walk from our Hotel and evening was the perfect time to explore it. There was a small café, run by some locals, at a corner near Apple tree restaurant and German Bakery, which serves Leh berry and apricot juice along with other food items. We had the juices and loved them. Now on, it was a ritual to have the juices, at least once a day, till we were in Leh. We talked to many shop owners, vegetable vendors, tried Pani Puri at a temporary outlet, which tasted pathetic and so my mother, being a great cook, ended up explaining to her the recipe for a good Pani Puri and this concluded our day.

Day 7

This day was dedicated for local sight seeing. So, we had the wonderful Leh berry juice and a few sandwiches for breakfast, met a German couple to exchange a few words with them, the lady was visiting her husband, who was a Yoga teacher in one of the schools in Leh. Our 1st destination after the breakfast, for sight seeing was The Hall of Fame, just at the entrance of the city. Goosebumps, again, are a constant from the moment you enter inside this great hall and you will still be in awe, 30 mins after you are out of this very place. This great hall is filled with information and pictures about our soldiers, the service they provide to our nation, which includes not only protecting us but, developing remote areas, building schools, providing employment, medical facilities in remote areas, life of soldiers in Siachen and the list goes on and on. You can even meet soldiers who are very kind, sweet and friendly. They just need a friendly person to have a word with. And it would be a cheery on cake for them, if you belong from their birthland. It takes you around a couple of hours to enjoy this amazing hall/ gallery. Our next stop were the monasteries in Leh City. You experience sheer spirituality, calmness cleansing your soul. The view from all these monasteries don’t fail to stun you. It was almost evening by the time we were done with local sights and hence, the evening was again spent exploring nearby markets. Leh is a great place to shop for souvenirs. We stepped into a small shop which sold some Tshirts and the prints were amazing, “My sister/brother/friend went to Leh and all I got is this T-Shirt”, “Jhuley”, “Yak Yak”, etc. are some of the prints written on the Tshirt. After shopping, we concluded our Day 7 after having a light dinner.

Day 8

We started early to visit the fairyland, Valley of Nubra. You pass through Khardun La, the most highest motorable road, then, at a height of 18,380 Ft. We decided to take pictures on returning journey. The next wonderful place you see is the Diskit Monastery. Yes, you can see Nubra valley from this place and vice versa. The statue of Buddha is huge, it is one of the oldest and largest monastery. This place is another awestriking places in Ladakh. Later, we checked in to our hotel, Mentok Guest House, had lunch and took a nap. By around 5 or 6 pm, we were in the sand dunes, surrounded by a small stream, lush green trees, snow covered mountains and double humped camels. Since this valley of Nubra is at a lower height compared to Leh and Pangong Tso, you can freely jump, run, or do whatever you feel to, in these sand dunes. We ran over the dunes, down the dunes, rolled on and much more as we would again start feeling old once in Leh. We rode the double humped camels later and it was quite different from one humped. These camels are easy to get on due to their short height. We enjoyed the most here. All of us had decided to wear black today, so we also had a small photo session. We met people, who accompanied us while travelling to Jammu in train. After all this fun and physical exercise, we had good dinner and slept early.

Day 9

It was time to say good bye to the valley of Nubra. It was difficult to leave this wonderful place, I was personally missing home food, hence, I was a bit happy as the trip was coming to an end. We took a halt at Khardung La to get some pictures. These high passes are usually not crowded. It wasn’t snowy at Khardung La but, the cold winds from the surrounding snow covered mountains, were enough to freeze you and I was wearing a sleeveless top and refused to wear a sweater just to get good pictures. We took pictures, walked to a souvenir shop maintained by the military and these 10 mins were more than enough to freeze me. I came back in the car and covered myself with 2 sweaters and a shawl to only to come to feel myself after 10 mins. Everyone of my family was making fun of my stupidity. We reached Leh after noon, had lunch at a local restaurant, which turned out to be the most pathetic meal of our lives. We had to throw most of the food, for which we felt very guilt, but we couldn’t eat it. We again visited the cafe to drink Leh berry and apricot juice for the last time as it was our last evening in Leh. The juice had a shelf life of just 1 day, hence we bought jams as substitutes, to regret this decision in future as none of us liked any kind of jam. After some more shopping walnuts and other stuff, we headed back to hotel. Dharma uncle served us dinner and he rushed to mosque for it was Ramzan.

Day 10

All our stuffed and packed the previous night, after a light breakfast, we headed to the airport to board our Jammu flight. The views from Leh to Jammu were of amazing Himalayas. We could spot glaciers, frozen lakes and much more. We experienced turbulence for the first time, as it was raining in Jammu. I felt like I was in a ride at an amusement park, but we enjoyed it. After landing, we began hunt for a decent place to stay a night in Jammu and after a few phone calls and inspection, finally dumped our luggage at a hotel near Jammu market. Had lunch at the same place and stayed at the hotel as it was around 40°C outside. As the sun was ready to set, we were ready to explore Jammu market. Again, shopping was mandatory. It was difficult to pack our bags shut after huge amount of shopping was done.

Day 11

Finally, it was time to bid adieu to this beautiful Indian State as we boarded our return train. Our train passed through Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and finally Maharashtra. While in Rajasthan, we saw Peacocks and Peahens, herds of Deer in the desert. The return journey became memorable for us and finally we reached home.

Tips:

• Before traveling to Ladakh, please contact your general physician
• Start proper medication for high altitude sickness. Eg. Diamox tablet
• Start drinking lot of water
• Start walking and exercise for better acclimatization
• For more, refer this.