Journey into Ladakh

Ladakh comes from the word la-tags , in tibetan the land of the la, the land of the high mountain passes..Its the northern most part of India.

Week 1


As I packed my bags to embark into a 2 weeks adventure that I have been waiting and dreaming about the last few years , nothing had prepared me for the splendour and the majesty of the mountains and the people, and the indelible mark the place would leave on me.

I had readup whatever info. I could find on the internet, browsed a few books at bookshops, I thought I was all prepared for the beautiful mountains, gompas and ofcourse high altitude sickness.We were a bunch of strangers who had signed up for this adventure into the unknown which was being organised by Santosh from http://getoffurass.com/


Boarded the Sat. morning(12th Aug) spicejet flight from Bangalore to Delhi, that I very nearly missed because of believing the SMS sent out by Spicejet folks that the flight was delayed by an hour and half. I guess the trip was all destined , even though I left home an hour late to catch the flight, the infamous bangalore traffic snarls seemed to be a distant dream and I was at the airport in half n hour instead of the usual 1.5hours. The flight boarding announcement was on when I reached the airport.So began the trip !.We reached Delhi in the afternoon and walked across the sweltering heat of CP to grab a bite .

Delhi-Manali
The way to Leh , from Delhi is either air or road. Indian Airlines/Jet Airways Flight , run daily flights from Delhi to Leh, a bit expensive on the pocket but it could be taken if you are keen to save time.I would suggest taking the road.

Leh can be reached by road either via Srinagar or Manali.
-Srinagar-Leh Road(434 km) follows the historic trade route, also known as the ‘Treaty Road’. It generally remains open for traffic from early June to mid-November.
-Manali-Leh Road(473 km) passes through spectacular landscape is open for about three months in the year from early July to September.


We boarded an ancient rickety, Himachal Tourism bus(the luxurious Volvo was already packed) from Janpath to Manali, and headed towards the land of the lamas.We disembarked early next morning at Naggar, 20kms from Manali and checked into a Guest House. Its best to conquer the mountains by ascending slowing and having acclimitasation pit stops in between, even a climb of 1000feet has a major impact . Manali situated around 7000ft. is an ideal location to relax .

Manali-Leh
Next day we hit the road in a Qualis. The beautiful green surroundings of Manali gives way to the barren mountains, void of any habitation and we crossed the first major pass, Rohtang pass (13,050ft).

The drive from Manali to Leh takes about 18hrs and can be a bit hard on travellers, its best one takes a break in between and also helps in acclimatization. We had a stopover that evening at Sarchu and we camped there that night, a plateau with sand dune formations .


It was the first night where one felt the advent of AMS. I had a stock of DIAMOX tablets with me but decided against and thought of battling out the night , taking deep breathes and managed a few winks of sleep. When we all woke up the next morning, the entire bunch realised that none had slept the night..

The road to Leh from Sarchu took us across the Moray Plains , a strech of 40 odd kms of land in different shades of green, red ..

and we also crossed Tanglangla, the 2nd highest pass in the world.



Leh:
Leh was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh. Its situated at 11,970 feet. Its the central hub for all travellers, with connectivity (phone and internet) and clean cheap accomodations.

We checked into a guest house for that evening. The next morning we hired a cab and went around the town.

Hemis Gompa
The Hemis Gompa is the biggest and richest monastery in Ladakh. Located 45 Km to the south of Leh. Hemis Gompa was built in 1630 and houses monks of the Brokpa or Red Hat sect. Tourists can see beautiful frescoes (paintings) on the walls and the largest Thangka painting in Ladakh, which is over 12 m in length.Architecturally the monastic complex is unique, not only because of its siting and its conceptualisation and constructon as a three dimensional 'mandala'; but because of its intrinsic design qualities including rare 17th century murals executed with a variety of pigments and gold paint.

Thiksey Gompa
The Thiksey monastery located 17 Km from Leh is 12 storeys high and has many statues of Buddha, a pillar inscribed with Buddhist teachings, a 15 m high seated Maitreya Buddha in the main prayer hall, and a vast collection of Buddhist art.








Shey Palace
Situated on a hillock 15 km south of Leh, Shey Gompa was previously the summer palace of the Ladakhi kings. A prince of Ladakh installed the 12 m tall gold-plated copper statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, which can be seen here.









Leh Palace
A mini version of the Potala in Lhasa, the Leh Palace is one of the major attractions . The palace was built in the 17th century and is now dilapidated and is being reconstructed. It was the home of the royal family until they were exiled to Stok in the 1830s. Above the palace, at the top of the Namgyal hill, is the Victory Tower, built to commemorate Ladakh's victory over the Balti Kashmir armies in the early 16th century.

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