Once again I
ended up visiting the land of souls... Ladakh.
Many people ask me why I revisit the same place again. I have no explanation except that I go to the place I feel drawn towards. Its not some kind of calculation to cover maximum number of places. It's just that I sometimes love to relive the best moments from the past. Like watching my favorite movie again or reading a great book twice.
March 23- A friend of mine told me about the scheme of economical tickets by Go Air. I checked at cleartrip and got dirt cheap return tickets to Leh (from Delhi) at Rs. 4507. I couldn't stop myself from planning my September vacation in March. Quite early but totally worth it.
Lat year was tough journey. But this time we kept it easy. We reached Leh on 26 August by air. Its a 1 hour journey from Delhi to Leh by flight. We had per-booked bike for 7 days but due to health issue of a group member, dropped the plan of riding. Instead we kept bike for 2 days ( For Nubra visit) and then returned them for a 50% return.
Then we got a cab booked for the rest of the days. It made our trip easy but the thrill and fun of moving on bike was missing. However, I must say that the routes to Pangong and Tso MoRiri are pretty bad. So, anyone not ready for a really tough journey should avoid biking even if you are pillion rider.
That was the gist of our journey. Now allow me take you to the enchanting tour of Ladakh.
Day 1:
This day actually started on 25 August, though 25 was not the date of journey theoretically, but practically it was. On 25th, we started getting prepared for altitude sickness, that we could face once we reach Leh. In the Morning and evening, we took half diamox. We packed everything that we took on our last trip. We had a flight at 5 in the morning which required us to reach at airport at 4a.m. We had to get up at 3 a.m. But the excitement kept us awake till midnight. We hardly got a sleep for 2 hrs. Bad start. We reached Leh at 6 and everybody in the group was hit by headache. It was hard to understand whether this was due to AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) or due to our hectic journey.
We had
booked our rooms at Reeyork House, Leh. Its a nice guest house, not very
luxurious but pretty good for 900 bucks. We got delicious organic veggies grown and cooked in house.
Staff at Reeyork House brought nice lemon tea at our arrival. we had some Pooris and Aalu Bhaji for breakfast and then we slept through the morning. It helped in acclimatization also. We had our lunch at Dreamland Restaurant and then we returned to the guest house. The way from Reeyork House to Leh market is through a narrow lane which is full of local bakeries. We had really good breads from there.
We kept our first day for rest mostly and had evening tea and dinner at guest house itself. Only we went for taking bikes for next day's journey to Nubra Valley. We took two Royal Enfield Classic (Petrol capacity: 12 litres.) and one Thunderbird (Petrol capacity: 16 litres.)
Day 2:
We were scheduled
to start early in the morning but after having fresh breads, donuts and coffee
for breakfast at nearby German Bakery, we actually left at 8:30 am.
As there is
no Petrol pump in the route or in Nubra
Valley, we carried around
12 litres of petrol for 3 bikes. We went only to Nubra and returned. If you
plan to visit nearby villages, then you must carry more petrol.(Check the
distances via google and plan accordingly).We went through a
fine stretch of 24 kms till Southpullu and then the road was nowhere.
Next 15 kms upto Khardung la were quite tough. As it was our first day, we were not accustomed to the bikes and environment, it took us nearly 4 hours to reach Khardung La top. But reaching there filled us with a sense of achievement.
Then someone
reminded us of our remaining journey and we moved ahead and only to face worst
roads. Actually, the GoI or BRO have nothing to do with the road conditions.
They, in fact, work day and night to maintain these roads but the high
altitude, melting snow and frequent landslides make it impossible to maintain
proper roads near passes. But once we crossed around 15 km on both sides of the
passes, roads became much better. After Khardung La top, around 12 km stretch
caused us pain. But as soon as we approached Northpullu, we were on nice roads.
After that we covered distances quickly. From there we had to cover around 75
km.
The roads were great and we took a halt at Khalsar for lunch. Khalsar is a
villlage from where Nubra valley region starts. Also. a no smoking zone starts
there but tourists still do not follow any rules and can be seen smoking there.
This village got completely destroyed in rains during July 2015. Only one or two hotels were open.
After lunch at around 4 in the evening, we did not take any halt and reached Hunder at around 6 in the evening.
We got rooms at
Sand dunes view resort at 600 bucks per room. It was a decent guest house but
was quite far from sand dunes or camel ride site.
Earlier people at Hunder used to have camels in their houses but now they leave camels in the forest area at night and bring them back in morning for camel ride.
It was the loveliest morning I had woken up to... You don't agree? See for your self in the images taken by Ankush..
In the morning,
we went for camel ride. The beauty of this place engulfed our minds and we were
so lost in it that we lost count of time. We had to leave at 8:00.
But were
enjoying it so much that we waited happily for the camel ride which had to
start at 9:00. But it actually started at around 9:30. It costed us INR 200 for
a 15 minute ride. Although I went for the ride but I felt bad for the way
camels were treated by locals. But in this extreme corner of the country,
people do whatever they have to do for their survival. This was negligible as
compared to the tough life in the cold desert of Ladakh.
Difficult to
reach distances, tough climatic conditions, proximity to Indo-China border,
scarcity of modern resources like electricity, communication, transport, petrol
etc. make life quite tough here. The only relief comes from army set ups at
every few kilometers.
After having breakfast from Army canteen, we left for Leh. This time, we gained momentum and reached Leh at 5 in the evening.
Usually we are disturbed by lack of cleanliness and sanitation at tourist places but in Ladakh, we usually find clean areas. But tourists now a days are increasing filth at such delicate ecosystems. People can be seen dropping polybags, bottles etc. When we love to visit clean places, we should consider it our responsibility to maintain the sanctity of the place.
While returning back we rested at a beautiful place .This is one of cleanest places I have seen. I actually sat on road without getting myself dirty. We clicked some quick pics. Here are a few:
Most of us had previously been to Ladakh on
motorbikes. But one member in our group was new and she succumbed to the
conditions and we changed our plan from bikes to Cab. In the evening, we
returned our bikes and got 50% refund (And lost 50% :-((( ). We booked our
cab with Mr. Norba, an ex serviceman. We got a decent deal at 15000 INR for Leh
to Pangong and Tso MoRiRi. Mr. Norba was a delight to have on our tour. He
shared so many stories that we could never be aware of had we continued with
bikes. (Everything happens for a reason, I guess :-) ). We stayed back at
Reeyork for the night and dined at Leh market. Leh market can offer great
things to buy. I was really confused as I literally wanted to buy everything.
We found one organic store in the main market area and the moisturizers they sale seem to be the only saviours from dry air of Ladakh. The air is so dry that even after applying moisturizers and lip balms after every hour, skin became dry and lips chapped. But that seems to be a small price for being at such a wonderful place..
Many people ask me why I revisit the same place again. I have no explanation except that I go to the place I feel drawn towards. Its not some kind of calculation to cover maximum number of places. It's just that I sometimes love to relive the best moments from the past. Like watching my favorite movie again or reading a great book twice.
March 23- A friend of mine told me about the scheme of economical tickets by Go Air. I checked at cleartrip and got dirt cheap return tickets to Leh (from Delhi) at Rs. 4507. I couldn't stop myself from planning my September vacation in March. Quite early but totally worth it.
Lat year was tough journey. But this time we kept it easy. We reached Leh on 26 August by air. Its a 1 hour journey from Delhi to Leh by flight. We had per-booked bike for 7 days but due to health issue of a group member, dropped the plan of riding. Instead we kept bike for 2 days ( For Nubra visit) and then returned them for a 50% return.
Then we got a cab booked for the rest of the days. It made our trip easy but the thrill and fun of moving on bike was missing. However, I must say that the routes to Pangong and Tso MoRiri are pretty bad. So, anyone not ready for a really tough journey should avoid biking even if you are pillion rider.
That was the gist of our journey. Now allow me take you to the enchanting tour of Ladakh.
Day 1:
This day actually started on 25 August, though 25 was not the date of journey theoretically, but practically it was. On 25th, we started getting prepared for altitude sickness, that we could face once we reach Leh. In the Morning and evening, we took half diamox. We packed everything that we took on our last trip. We had a flight at 5 in the morning which required us to reach at airport at 4a.m. We had to get up at 3 a.m. But the excitement kept us awake till midnight. We hardly got a sleep for 2 hrs. Bad start. We reached Leh at 6 and everybody in the group was hit by headache. It was hard to understand whether this was due to AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) or due to our hectic journey.
 |
| Reeyork House |
 |
| Apple and Apricot trees |
 |
| Reeyork's own organic garden |
Staff at Reeyork House brought nice lemon tea at our arrival. we had some Pooris and Aalu Bhaji for breakfast and then we slept through the morning. It helped in acclimatization also. We had our lunch at Dreamland Restaurant and then we returned to the guest house. The way from Reeyork House to Leh market is through a narrow lane which is full of local bakeries. We had really good breads from there.
We kept our first day for rest mostly and had evening tea and dinner at guest house itself. Only we went for taking bikes for next day's journey to Nubra Valley. We took two Royal Enfield Classic (Petrol capacity: 12 litres.) and one Thunderbird (Petrol capacity: 16 litres.)
Day 2:
 |
| Breakfast time |
 |
|
Fresh
breads baked in wood oven
|
Next 15 kms upto Khardung la were quite tough. As it was our first day, we were not accustomed to the bikes and environment, it took us nearly 4 hours to reach Khardung La top. But reaching there filled us with a sense of achievement.
 |
| Khardung La top |
 |
| Khalsar Village |
This village got completely destroyed in rains during July 2015. Only one or two hotels were open.
After lunch at around 4 in the evening, we did not take any halt and reached Hunder at around 6 in the evening.
 |
| Guest house at Hunder |
 |
| Guest house at Hunder |
Earlier people at Hunder used to have camels in their houses but now they leave camels in the forest area at night and bring them back in morning for camel ride.
 | ||
| Evening at Nubra Valley |
 |
| Night at Nubra Valley |
 |
| Hunder |
 |
| Sunrise@ Nubra Valley |
In the morning,
we went for camel ride. The beauty of this place engulfed our minds and we were
so lost in it that we lost count of time. We had to leave at 8:00. 
 |
Lost in the sand.. |
 |
|
River
turned into mirror.. Never seen such clear water before!
|
After having breakfast from Army canteen, we left for Leh. This time, we gained momentum and reached Leh at 5 in the evening.
Usually we are disturbed by lack of cleanliness and sanitation at tourist places but in Ladakh, we usually find clean areas. But tourists now a days are increasing filth at such delicate ecosystems. People can be seen dropping polybags, bottles etc. When we love to visit clean places, we should consider it our responsibility to maintain the sanctity of the place.
While returning back we rested at a beautiful place .This is one of cleanest places I have seen. I actually sat on road without getting myself dirty. We clicked some quick pics. Here are a few:
 |
| Serene Ladakh |
 |
| My favourite |
 |
| I got paid for this one ;-) |
We found one organic store in the main market area and the moisturizers they sale seem to be the only saviours from dry air of Ladakh. The air is so dry that even after applying moisturizers and lip balms after every hour, skin became dry and lips chapped. But that seems to be a small price for being at such a wonderful place..
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