Ladakh — The Land of High Passes
If you have missed my blog about planning a trip to Ladakh and how to reach there, here are the links for that:
So what to do after you reach Leh? Your body has acclimatized to the altitude and you have the necessary permits required. There are many places you can visit: Nubra valley, Pangong Lake, Zanskar valley, Kargil, Drass, Khardung la pass, Hemis national park, Tso Moriri lake, Chadar trek, Sankar Gompa, Hanle.
In this blog I am going to cover a journey for the circuit Leh — Nubra Valley (via Khardung la pass) — Pangong Lake — Leh. This journey can be done by bike as well as a car. You can rent both from Leh or you can get your own vehicle to Leh. Make sure you are all fueled up as there are very few fuel stations on the way, and if you are riding a bike it will be a good idea to have a couple of jerry cans filled up just to be safe.
Whenever you are travelling in the northern parts on India always remember to start your journey early in the morning to avoid traffic and in Ladakh you have to avoid traffic as well as the melting of snow which happens later in the day and floods the roads. For bikers it is very important to leave early as it gets difficult to cross the flooded roads with all the luggage packed on your bikes.
When you leave from Leh, on the way to Khardung la pass keep your eyes to the lefy, you will get to see Shanti Stupa which looks amazing, standing tall between the mountains.
And as you get higher you will see hundreds of snow capped mountains, it is an unbelievable sight.
You will cross a check post here where you will need to submit your permits, the management at the check post keeps the copy with them, so remember to get a copy for person and each place.
You will find some traffic at Khardung la pass, as that’s the only way for everyone to reach to Nubra valley. Khardung la pass is the highest motorable road in the world so you might have trouble breathing here, make sure you have had the pill Diamox half an hour before your journey if you have a feeling of high altitude sickness. I saw few people pass out on khardung la so its better to take precaution. The place is also very crowded as every tourist wants to take a picture here, so keep in mind you will be stuck here for atleast an hour.
The road is very scenic so make sure you keep your camera handy. The riding experience here is one of a kind - its cold, scary, bumpy but all in all one hell of an adventure.
The moment you reach Nubra valley you will be baffled by the scenery. Its a desert in himalayas, can you believe that? I couldn’t.
In Nubra valley you can visit Diskit monastery, Hunder, Panamikh, Yarab Tso lake, Samstanling monastery.
Diskit monastery has a 32 meter tall statue of Maitreya Buddha facing towards the Shyok river, which has been recently built with 8 kgs of gold. The monastery itself is so peaceful, so calm that you wont feel like leaving this place.
Hunder is like an oasis in the desert, the scenery is beyond imagination. Snow clad mountains, desert sand, river, trees, how can all of this possibly be there at one place? It is nothing less than a fairy land.
The sand dunes of Hunder and home to the famous Bacterian Camels which were used extensively during the ancient silk trades. These camels are unique because we usually see one humped camels in India, but the ones here have two humps.
Tourists can take a camel safari in the desert, safari timings are 9 am to 12 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm. Being an animal lover, I am against it because these camels are beaten and trained to walk all day long, but at the end of the day it is your personal choice, I walked around the sand dunes and enjoyed the view.
There is a traditional dance show which happens later in the evening which is a must watch. There are plenty of hotels to stay at in Hunder, I would recommend staying at the Sand dunes leisure camp, they have tents here which gives a good feel, camping in the desert. Make sure you charge your batteries before 11 pm as the electricity is cut off after that. For astro photographers this is a great opportunity to take shots of the milky way as there is no light pollution. So spend time outside your hotel at night and enjoy stargazing.
Leave early the next morning as it an 8 hour journey to Pangong Lake. The road goes alongside the beautiful Shyok river, the route is extremely remote and challenging. You will pass one more check post on this road where you have to pay Rs.10 for entry and your permits will be checked here as well. The road passes through Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary where you will find Wild Horses, Wild Ass, Raptors and the Himalayan Marmots. If you are lucky enough you might even see Himalayan Fox and Tibetan Wolf. Its a beautiful national park and a beautiful road, but please make sure you don’t feed the animals and stop someone if you find them feeding.
After some time you will reach the Pangong view point where you will get the first glance of the beautiful blue lake and you will be stunned looking at how blue the water is.
The word Pangong Tso means High Grassland Lake, Also commonly referred to as “enchanted lake”, it is about 5 kkilometers wide at its broadest point and runs a total length of 134 kilometers; extending from India to China. Approximately, 60% of the lake is in China and 40% in India. Pangong Tso is a saltwater lake and there is no aquatic life here and still you will find a lot of ducks and gulls here, it is a breeding ground for birds like Bramhini Ducks and Bar Headed Goose.
There are plenty of places to stay here, just look around and bargain on price. I chose staying in a camp.
The power is cut off at 11 pm so one more opportunity for stargazing, make sure you have body warmers on you because the cold winds blowing over the lake are brutal.
Try waking up early to see the beautiful sunrise at Pangong lake and then leave for Leh.
The road passes through Chang la Pass which is considered to be third highest motorable road. You will and a cafeteria here which serves good breakfast. You can also Visit Chang La Baba ka mandir built by Indian Army under the belief that Baba will protect & save people from any mishap here.
After reaching Leh, you can either go to Srinagar or Manali or a direct flight from Leh to Delhi.
I hope my blog has helped plan few parts of your trip. :)
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