God made Ladakh,
-Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Ladakh
We connect it to the rest of the world!
Many thanks to the BRO organisation, tourists from around the world can see Enchanting Ladakh, also known as the ‘Land of High Passes’.
Our Leh Ladakh trip was an impromptu plan. We were first planning to visit other hill stations, but Ladakh happened gladly.
Leh Ladakh is a dream destination for all types of travellers. A group tour with friends & family to uncover new and exciting adventures that create memories for a lifetime.
So we asked my siblings and friends with whom we had travelled to Singapore and Goa. Their answers were obviously ‘Yes’ because it’s too difficult to say ‘no’ to Ladakh, right? 🙂
Now once our group was finalized we soon started working on preferable dates, flight tickets, and a tour organizer.
This is the first trip of our life where we decided to go through a travel agency. The reasons were very simple- we wanted to explore more and worry less. Ladakh is not your usual type of place; you need to plan properly about everything.
We selected Chalbanjare as it was recommended by a friend who had travelled to Ladakh last year with this travel agency.
Mr. Kunal from their team customized our itineraries and gave us the most affordable package. Our entire experience right from the beginning to the end of our trip was spectacular. I will share the trip cost in another post.
Now let’s begin with our epic itinerary: 1st July- 7th July
Leh by air:
We took an early morning flight from Delhi to Leh. As per the government portals, flying to Leh and resting for 24-36 hours is the best option to reduce the risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)
Rest and 48 hours Acclimatisation:
Leh is at a height of 11000 ft. above sea level, so our body needs to adjust to a higher altitude to prevent Acute Mountain Sickness.
The tourists arriving in Leh have to spend at least 48 hours at the same altitude before initiating the journey to higher altitudes like Khardung La, Pangong lake, etc.
During our stay in Leh city, we can discover and explore the tourist places.
Reaching Leh:
We left Delhi’s scorching heat in hope of getting cold weather in Leh. However, we were disappointed as the weather was hot but due to the cold air, it was better.
The next thing was the Leh airport. Is that an airport? Lo, behold! It is pretty small, crowded with tourists and the bathrooms were unhygienic.
I couldn’t believe just a few minutes before I saw the alluring aerial view of snow-clad mountains and the beautiful Leh valley surrounding the airport.
Thankfully, Later I came to know that they are constructing a new airport. Sigh! Leh airport deserves it.
Did we feel any breathing issues on arrival? Not at all, except for the weather we all were fine.
You need to carry your vaccination certificate as the Leh airport authorities will check it.
Day 1: Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, and Leh market in the evening.
We were welcomed by our tour representative and soon we reached our hotel.
It is advisable to spend the first-day getting proper rest and gradually get acclimatized to the climate. We had also taken T.Diamox 250mg as preventive medicine.
We took complete rest and started our sightseeing in the evening by visiting the magnificent white-doomed Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace, and lastly Leh market.
I will write the details about each tourist place we visited in my next post.
Day 2: Leh-Sham valley (Sangam confluence, Hall of Fame, Magnetic hill, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib & Leh market)
We woke up early morning without any alarm. Maybe the trip’s excitement or Leh’s charm, we didn’t wasted a bit of time and engulfed ourselves in this wonderland.
After our breakfast, we started our journey at 9:30 am by visiting the Hall of fame museum run by the Indian army, followed by Sangam point- where the Indus River meets with Zanskar river, and the Magnetic hill. What we heard about it was true, the vehicles sliding uphill on neutral gear.
While returning to Leh, we enjoyed a delicious langar at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib served and maintained by the Indian army.
We ended the day by visiting Leh market as it is the most vibrant and fascinating place to spend our time.
Day 3: Leh-Hunder (Nubra valley) via Khardung La Pass, Diskit Monastery
After completing 2 days of acclimatization in Leh, now the real adventure of Ladakh begins- higher altitude and mountain rides.
Known as the getaway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys, we crossed the Khardung La pass, the world’s highest motorable road located at the height of 18000 ft.
We were exhilarated on reaching the top of the hill to get a surreal experience and snow at the top will add more fun to our adventure. My sister had never seen snow before, so she couldn’t wait to experience the first snow of her life.
Due to the higher altitude, it is recommended to just stay here for 20-25 mins only because later you can feel breathlessness.
Our vehicle stopped here, we came out and went straight towards the snow, had fun, and took some proud photos on the top of the world. It is magical!
I wanted some good Insta-worthy photos, but the place was jammed with tourists and bikes. We then thought to have Maggi at Khardung La, but we started feeling dizziness, so decided to leave the place immediately.
After crossing the pass within 10 mins, we saw other visitors enjoying the snow on the way, so we halted there and due to fewer crowds, we had a leisure time in the snow. I wished we could experience snowfall, but I knew it won’t happen in July. (Kya kare, Yeh Dil Maange More!) 😉
The journey from Leh to Nubra valley falls on a very scenic route. Mountains, desert, oases, greenery, waterfall, snow- you will see all of it together in one place. Is this heaven? Yeah, this is Ladakh heaven!
We all stood gaping at God’s creation.
And on the way from the road, we could see the gigantic statue of Lord Buddha standing tall on the top. That was the Diskit Monastery, the oldest and largest monastery in the Nubra valley.
Later, we went straight toward our beautiful resort and I felt rejuvenated as the weather was cold because Nubra valley is a cold desert. (Yeah! Finally some cold, I was gleeful) 🙂
Day 4: Hunder to Turtuk Village, White sand dunes
This day was dedicated to Turtuk village. We had seen a few videos, where the traveller was telling us that it was the waste of time to visit Turtuk as nothing was special, even our driver said that some tourists were not happy visiting the village esp when you have to travel for at least 3 hours from Hunder.
We were apprehensive, but as it was already on our itinerary we didn’t cancelled it and are glad we didn’t because this unknown little hamlet is worth your time.
In fact, the journey to the village was picturesque and sublime. Turtuk was part of Pakistan until 1971 and is the last outpost in India, flanked by Nubra on one side and Baltistan on the other. Hence their tribe is called Balti.
Along the shores of the Shyok river nestled between snow-clad mountains, the view is breathtaking and scary as there are few blind turns along the way. At one of the turns- Largaip bridge, an army van fell and they died. That van is still in the river and we saw that, I was terrified. BRO is constructing that bridge, so next time you visit, it will be very safe to travel.
Nevertheless, we explored the village and came back safely to our resort in Hunder.
Turtuk village is very beautiful and I would recommend every traveller visiting Ladakh to add this small townlet to your itinerary.
Before coming to the resort, on the way we halted and experienced the white sand dunes in Nubra and saw the double-humped Bactrian camels exclusively found in Ladakh.
Day 5: Hunder to Pangong Lake
It is advisable to start your journey early when you plan to visit Pangong as the Shyok river descends on the roads which make driving very difficult.
We left our resort at 7 am and reached Pangong Lake around noon.
Along the way, you get 5 such points where the river flows on the road. On the last 5th point, the main stop happened as the bikes and small vehicles were not moving ahead and queuing up in a single file. The tourists and army people were helping each other to make a way.
We were travelling in a tempo and tempo are made for such roads, so our driver said we could easily cross it. However, after seeing other tourists leaving the vehicle and walking around, I stepped down too which was my mistake as walking on those bumpy roads was tough.
My sister and friend stayed in tempo and how wonderfully the tempo crossed that way was just like an action scene from Rohit Shetty’s movie. The tourists and army people took shots of our tempo and even clapped.
I missed that adventure and did this stupidity of walking and wetting my shoes. 🙁
Moving ahead, we crossed a few blind turns and one of them was the scariest. Again an army van had fallen on that narrow, twisting road in a deep valley and we saw that van.
It was the scariest mountain ride of the entire Ladakh trip and I was praying to God for our safety. Salute to all the Ladakhi drivers who drive in such rough terrain and deep valleys safely and smoothly.
Thankfully we crossed that danger zone and reached Pangong lake. It was drizzling and we were mesmerized by this azure lake.
Pangong Tso is known for its color-changing water and during our visit as it was drizzling, we could see the lighter shade of green, blue and black.
I wanted to see the turquoise colors of the water but due to weather changes, couldn’t see it. Still, I was happy to see this popular and beautiful lake.
We stayed overnight in a tent and the next day left for Leh.
Day 6: Pangong to Leh, Thiksey Monastery, Rancho school, Leh market
We woke up early in the morning to the beautiful Pangong lake view and started our journey back to Leh.
We saw beautiful meadows with streams flowing by on the way which looked like a perfect picture postcard. You can see yaks and cute marmots over here.
We crossed Chang La, another high trans-Himalayan pass situated at an altitude of 17,590 ft.
Then this scenic view changed to a barren landscape and takes you to bumpy hill roads of approx 10km, which made me, scared.
Eventually, we finished our mountain ride, and closer to Leh, we visited Thiksey monastery located on top of a hill and after that visited Rancho school- ‘3 idiots’ movie the last scene was shot here.
After completing our day tour, we reached our hotel in Leh and took a nap. In the evening, we planned to visit Leh market and say ‘goodbye’.
Day 7: Goodbye Leh Ladakh
The 7 days trip to this magical land ended and it’s already time to say goodbye.
Leh Ladakh trip is the biggest adventure of our life and this wonderland is blessed with everything- mountains, oasis, desert, waterfall, foliage, snow. All of it together in one place, crazy right? We reached the border of India-Pakistan and India-China in one trip. How amazing is that?
So come and see yourself and get captivated by Enchanting Ladakh!
