Let Leh lie low!
Remoteness is intrinsic to Leh's charm, and let us hope - in vain - that it would stay that way...
By Vineet Khunger, TNN |
Four scuttled travel plans in six years-that's my history with Ladakh. Well, the fifth one finally worked out, thanks to the mixed blessing of daily inexpensive flights from Delhi to Leh. I call it a mixed blessing because the improved accessibility is likely to make Leh much more crowded in the years to come.
Locals told me that this summer was the most packed they've ever seen. But then, if it had not been for these flights, I might not have been able to make it there this time either. Notice the irony?
There are three ways to get to Ladakh: the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway, the Manali-Leh highway or by air from Delhi, Srinagar or Jammu. Taking buses or shared taxis from Manali is an extremely popular option and is supposed to have some magnificent views, but the road is open only from June to early October.
Locals told me that this summer was the most packed they've ever seen. But then, if it had not been for these flights, I might not have been able to make it there this time either. Notice the irony?
There are three ways to get to Ladakh: the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway, the Manali-Leh highway or by air from Delhi, Srinagar or Jammu. Taking buses or shared taxis from Manali is an extremely popular option and is supposed to have some magnificent views, but the road is open only from June to early October.
Flying as opposed to taking the highway means that you have to spend an entire day and slightly more in acclimatisation. All you do the first day is rest, with minimal movement around the place, to get used to the high altitude of Leh. This is absolutely vital as altitude sickness can totally ruin your holiday.
By the way, if you take an early morning flight, do not sleep, or you'll miss some absolutely breathtaking scenery out the window. Ask for an 'A' seat in any row on the way to Leh from Delhi, and an F seat in any row on the way back...That way the sun is always on the other side, and can't get in your eyes and block the view!
Leh itself is a rather pleasant town with some of the friendliest people I've ever met, most of whom speak excellent Hindi and at least some English. The place is jam-packed with restaurants and there's ample accommodation available, and bargaining well could get you a decent room for as little as Rs 300 a night.
By the way, if you take an early morning flight, do not sleep, or you'll miss some absolutely breathtaking scenery out the window. Ask for an 'A' seat in any row on the way to Leh from Delhi, and an F seat in any row on the way back...That way the sun is always on the other side, and can't get in your eyes and block the view!
Leh itself is a rather pleasant town with some of the friendliest people I've ever met, most of whom speak excellent Hindi and at least some English. The place is jam-packed with restaurants and there's ample accommodation available, and bargaining well could get you a decent room for as little as Rs 300 a night.
Leh and its immediate neighbourhood offered enough to do to keep me occupied for 3-4 days. There's the Shanti Stupa at Changspa, offering panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding mountain range. A one-hour bus ride from Leh is the Hemis Gompa, established in 1672, one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh, and home to a new must-visit museum featuring ancient Ladakhi artifacts - paintings, statues, manuscripts, traditional costumes and even a throne.
It's very easy to spend two days in Leh doing nothing much...Roam around, visit the bazaar, sit in one of the many cafes in Changspa and read a book. The much-hyped annual Ladakh Festival was starting the week I was there. This was a fair bit of a disappointment, though.
Both events that I went for showed no signs of starting even an hour after the listed start time, at which point I got up and left. Be sure to arrange your permits as soon as you reach Ladakh, because the army won't let you see most of Ladakh without them. Your travel agent can get them for you within a day.
It's very easy to spend two days in Leh doing nothing much...Roam around, visit the bazaar, sit in one of the many cafes in Changspa and read a book. The much-hyped annual Ladakh Festival was starting the week I was there. This was a fair bit of a disappointment, though.
Both events that I went for showed no signs of starting even an hour after the listed start time, at which point I got up and left. Be sure to arrange your permits as soon as you reach Ladakh, because the army won't let you see most of Ladakh without them. Your travel agent can get them for you within a day.
The one thing that struck me on the way to Pangong Tso and Nubra Valley was that in Ladakh, more than anywhere else, the journeys are often much more fun than the destination. The journey to Diskit and Hunder in Nubra Valley is beyond description - the sand dunes and snow-covered peaks often look hand-painted, simply because it's hard to imagine that something so beautiful could possibly be real.
Be sure to take a lot of stops along the way and soak in as much as you can. In a span of 5 hours, I passed a snow storm, cloud-covered roads, lush floral landscapes, a magnificent monastery, sand dunes and rocky flatlands to finally arrive at the eyrie called Hunder village.
All along the route, the work done by the Border Roads Organization never ceased to amaze me. The roads across Ladakh are much better than the roads in most of our metros. This holds true even at Khardungla, the highest motorable road in the world, which is snowstorm- impacted for the better part of the year.
The visit to Pangong Lake the next day left me absolutely overawed. The lake is so massive that only one-third of the lake falls within Indian borders - the remaining 100-odd km is a part of Tibet.
That one panorama in front of me had more shades of blue (in the lake) and more shades of browns and grays (in the mountains beyond) than I've seen in a very long time. The off-season timings of my trip meant that the place was nearly deserted.
Be sure to take a lot of stops along the way and soak in as much as you can. In a span of 5 hours, I passed a snow storm, cloud-covered roads, lush floral landscapes, a magnificent monastery, sand dunes and rocky flatlands to finally arrive at the eyrie called Hunder village.
All along the route, the work done by the Border Roads Organization never ceased to amaze me. The roads across Ladakh are much better than the roads in most of our metros. This holds true even at Khardungla, the highest motorable road in the world, which is snowstorm- impacted for the better part of the year.
The visit to Pangong Lake the next day left me absolutely overawed. The lake is so massive that only one-third of the lake falls within Indian borders - the remaining 100-odd km is a part of Tibet.
That one panorama in front of me had more shades of blue (in the lake) and more shades of browns and grays (in the mountains beyond) than I've seen in a very long time. The off-season timings of my trip meant that the place was nearly deserted.
Of course no trip to the mountains is complete till you bump into at least a couple of loud families having a nice little 'picnic' and throwing mineral water bottles and packets of chips everywhere like the whole place is their dustbin. Ah well.
Again, stop a lot along the way - the rough, rocky mountainside that you'll pass through is quite bit different from the scenery on the route to Nubra Valley and well worth every heart stopping - and eye-popping - moment!
Eight days later, back in Delhi, I was wishing I'd had time to explore more monasteries and lakes while I was there. You know what that means: I need another vacation.
Again, stop a lot along the way - the rough, rocky mountainside that you'll pass through is quite bit different from the scenery on the route to Nubra Valley and well worth every heart stopping - and eye-popping - moment!
Eight days later, back in Delhi, I was wishing I'd had time to explore more monasteries and lakes while I was there. You know what that means: I need another vacation.
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