Yes! It’s Leh Ladakh, a dream for everyone, once in a lifetime adventure tour,
the tourist season for Ladakh starts by mid June, the best time to visit Ladakh is mid June to August.While the Srinagar-LehHighway opens up by the end of May. Most of months Roads are closed because of heavy snowfalls , places are covered with 1-2feet snow thats how
It is half of the year.
One of our Leh Ladakh Adventures, this tour takes you on journey of Leh -Ladakh turned into Union Territory (2019) many of the incredible landscapes culture found in Leh ladakh .
I never had an idea how it’s going to be following either the simple man made itinerary or everything will be a surprise.
The company who organised a tour they had form groups I understood it was a group package but what was coming was more than that.
Tour Guide informed me few days back before the start of the trip and everyone whosoever was coming what are things need to carry during trips as its coldest region and hilly mountains, places are covered with snow.
Checklist was too long but important was Diamox a medicne a tablet which helps to breathe easily on High altitudes place ( Leh - Ladakh). Reading online about leh ladakh every person has mention please take diamox and travel not taking any chances i started taking medicne before one day of trip. As you go high you need more oxygen so that medicine helps..
Going leh ladakh for the first time it was not just a journey..everything was heavenly experience.
Pack your Bags.. here you go
If you are planning to go Leh Ladakh
Find my reviews on trip advisor
https://www.tripadvisor.in/?fid=aab8babf-fdcf-4fde-9e2e-ef25ed26ec07
I came to know about this tour from one of my friend who already had booked the packages with touring company based in Chandigarh. The curiousty of going Leh Ladakh, Riding Bullet on hilly regions surrounded by Himalayas everything was running in mind all i wanted to explore this place ASAP.
I never had an idea how it’s going to be following either the simple man made itinerary or everything will be a surprise.
The company who organised a tour they had form groups I understood it was a group package but what was coming was more than that.
Tour Guide informed me few days back before the start of the trip and everyone whosoever was coming what are things need to carry during trips as its coldest region and hilly mountains, places are covered with snow.
Checklist was too long but important was Diamox a medicne a tablet which helps to breathe easily on High altitudes place ( Leh - Ladakh). Reading online about leh ladakh every person has mention please take diamox and travel not taking any chances i started taking medicne before one day of trip. As you go high you need more oxygen so that medicine helps..
Going leh ladakh for the first time it was not just a journey..everything was heavenly experience.
Pack your Bags.. here you go
If you are planning to go Leh Ladakh
Best and fast way to reach Leh - Ladakh is by Airline always book your tickets in advance prior 15-20 days you may get Airline tickets Cheap and always book with Good Bank CC or DC who offers cashback or instant discounts which will help you to save money.
Being inside in plane above 29000 feet looking down all we can see Himalayas all over it was beautiful heaven just like childhood dreams , a painting turned into reality with sun glowing as it was morning flight, As i reached Leh Airport ( Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport ).
The Pilot announced the Outside Temperature it was 4’degree for Mumbai Person it was just a start of pain with cold which got more painfull later.
The journey starts from Airport itself the person who was our Chauffeur from airport saw him holding placard with our names. While travelling from airport we kept taking pictures ,Shops , Roads , hoardings, Mountains covered with snow blue Sky.
There are numbers of places to visit in Leh- Ladakh don’t just follow the itinerary provided by travel agency. That’s why people prefer to discover Leh Ladakh by own.
But we will go as per itinerary because it’s first time.
As we reach to hotel the first say you’ ll do just relax yourself and sleep .
Your first day here would be at leisure, so that you could acclimatize to such a high altitude region. This relaxation time would be really helpful in lending you enough energy for your days ahead on the vacation.
The face of Leh Ladakh Tourism are the places to explore
Being inside in plane above 29000 feet looking down all we can see Himalayas all over it was beautiful heaven just like childhood dreams , a painting turned into reality with sun glowing as it was morning flight, As i reached Leh Airport ( Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport ).
The Pilot announced the Outside Temperature it was 4’degree for Mumbai Person it was just a start of pain with cold which got more painfull later.
The journey starts from Airport itself the person who was our Chauffeur from airport saw him holding placard with our names. While travelling from airport we kept taking pictures ,Shops , Roads , hoardings, Mountains covered with snow blue Sky.
There are numbers of places to visit in Leh- Ladakh don’t just follow the itinerary provided by travel agency. That’s why people prefer to discover Leh Ladakh by own.
But we will go as per itinerary because it’s first time.
As we reach to hotel the first say you’ ll do just relax yourself and sleep .
Your first day here would be at leisure, so that you could acclimatize to such a high altitude region. This relaxation time would be really helpful in lending you enough energy for your days ahead on the vacation.
The face of Leh Ladakh Tourism are the places to explore
1. Places to visit:
I) Shanti Stupa Leh Palace :
A big white Tomb which is sign of peace it was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist. One can reach by vehicle it’s easy or else just walk more than 500-600 steps . A 360’o degree view of Leh City, get the best photos, the view of Leh City from Stupa is extremely beautiful with too much of cold wind, timings are 5 am to 9 Pm IST.
ii) Sham Valley Tour
While you leave for second day trip first you will Visit Sangam crossing dangerous hill roads, Leh skilled drivers are the real Heroes who takes care of driving properly. Here you can experience the highest river rafting in world from 30 mins to 3 hours.
This picturesque spot in the Nimmu valley marks the confluence of the Indus River and its tributary Zanskar. The point of confluence of these rivers passes through the breath-taking Zanskar Gorge, a dream for professional and amateur trekkers.while on the way to Sangam you will go through Magnetic Hill, a short stretch straight route defying all routes of Gravity. It is said if the the vehicle engine is turned off while driving through this stretch, it would still keep moving and would go uphill. While some say that it is an illusion for some it’s magical, it didn’t happend with us. But people were mad taking pictures the best shoot location surrounded by black mountains and open wide Road. While coming back or when you go to magnetic hill you will find Pathar Sahib , a Sikh shrine of worship which is located on 12000 feet open for all the Gurudwara is 25 kms away from Leh city it is managed by INDIAN ARMY. It's must visit place the food made by Indian Army served as Langars for Travellers
Hall of Fame Army Museum : Which is managed by Indian Army, in memory of the brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives defending the motherland in the Indo-Pak wars.
Early morning driven to nubra valley via Khardungla Pass, Claimed to be the highest motorable road in the world, With tough terrains and cold temperature, and breath taking view of snow mountains , people were crazy taking selfies, but chilling weather continues to give Shiver. Roads were covered with snow Military trucks tyres were tied with Chain so that is should not slip, hence most people do that to avoid accidents. But our driver confident was enough to make sure we reach every place safely. absorb the wondrous beauties of nature in the form of humongous mountains laden with gushing river before entering Nubra Valley from far you can see the big Green board Sign which Says'' Welcome t. Nubra''
the stay was at ''Double Humped camp Hunder" the owner name is Zimmi . It was tent where we stayed surrounded by large mountains at back and 1 or 2 kilometres aways from Nubra Vallery desert . The glacier water flows they have specific timings of running water but everything was available. the animal native to this region, the Bactrian Camels (Shaggy double hump Camel) are an added delight to witness. Travellers from everywhere they were enjoying came ride in desert. they charge around 300-500 pp INR. Depending on groups. while coming back there was some Leh Ladakh Dance to their traditional dance entry fee cost Rs 100 and enjoy the dance for half an hour with groups .
as we came back from Sand Dunes, relaxed in our tents in evening food served which was quite good , staff was co operative , as we done with dinner we had camp fire under the Stars in our Campus it was beautiful just like in bollywood movies music was on Stereo Loudspeaker at around 11 pm we started sharing stories , jokes whatever can keeps us laughing we infact spoke to the owner of restaurant and heard his life stories how he ended up opening this Hotel, Cultures of Leh Ladakh, festivals, he was our story teller who narrated everything about Leh Ladakh infact unheards stories of this regions.
iv) Nubra Valley to Leh
Waking up to beautiful morning around 6 Am, it was freezing cold we recorded temperature midnight -1'o degree to -5'o degree and it was freezing cold the layers borders of tents were covered with Ice, the water kept in bucket turned into Ice plate..after delight breakfast we were headed to be driven to Diskit Monastery, located within the valley itself.
One of the oldest temples of this area (dating back to the 14th century), it has a huge idol of
a Tibetan Buddhism teacher Tsong-kha-pa, which is crowned with a Gelugpa yellow hat.
while travelling to Nubra people can see the statue of Lord Maitri Buddha Vehicle can go uptill top. Once you enter the premises on first floor is a Buddha temple , if you have any question regarding monestry or lord buddha there will be monks who provides knowledge and gives answer to every question and on the back side of temple is the 108 feet statue of Maitri Budha. The monastery offers a nice view of entire valley , get the best picture
Every year during february, the monastery plays host to a popular Buddhist festival called the Dosmoche festival, and Leh Ladakh Festival starts in august -September month for 10 Days its great time to visit leh Ladakh.
On this journey, once again you would be driven via the Khardungla Pass after reaching hotel you can relax or visit near by local Market for shopping on your own,You could head to the Leh Bazaar, a bustling local market in the Leh region where you can find the best normal shawls, or Kashmiri Shawls, T Shirts quoted with Leh- Ladakh, Dry Fruits , Special Leh Tea made with butter.
v) Leh to Pangong
as we head to Pangong TSO we pass through Chang La pass second highest Motorable Road,
It is enroute from Leh to Pangong Tso - offers a fascinating view of the Ladakh Range, Mountains have various looks and colors, to enter Pangong area you have to get Inner line permit from Leh DC office check with your tour operator.
No trip is completed without going Pangong, While the road to the lake was amazing, and the view over there was beautiful, one can get a glimpse of lake by far from vehicle , It was bright and sunny when we visited and the lake displayed different colours. Crystal clear water exhibiting different shades, backdrop of so different rugged mountains make it hard to believe that its real, the Heavy wind was cold but it all made worth with pictures .
The picturesque lake is one of the major draws of the Leh-Ladakh valley. a location
of several film shootings like 3idiots, Jab Tak hai Jaan, Sanam Re etc made the Pangong more famous
and known for its pristine waters surrounded by awe-inspiring Chushul mountains,
Pangong Lake is a prime tourist attraction.We were there for almost 2 hours , there were 2-3 restaurants named 3 idiot restaurants, on the way we also find Jabtak hai jaan restaurant etc.
Coming back from Pangong to Leh its evening, day is over just relax in hotel and eat the delicious food at hotel.
vi) Next Day travel to Thiksey Monestry
Thiksey Monestry which is located atop on hill amid the beautiful terrains of the Indus Valley, it is one of the largest monasteries in Jammu and Kashmir.
Being a 12 storey buikding , it is home to several stupas, paintings and halls place is nice and calm ,In start there is restaurant and few shops to market, Taking all stairs to upwards ,there is dining hall , Monestry provides food at 2clk for visitors , there is roof top place for pictures with beautiful scenic view
Here we come to Rancho's School
Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh, popularly known as 'Rancho's School',after the shooting of 3 idiots movie this has become more famous next to school we have Rancho's Cafe a restaurant,.
there is Painting wall of Leh Ladakh Bull where you can stand and dress like Ladakhi people and take pictures.
The wall with painting about the three Idiots movie is the most popular spot for the tourist. You can pose for photographs keeping these pictures in the background.
no camera fee and any other fee is required. you can visit school campus
a day was over we were back to hotel, next day off to Mumbai. It was great journey for me, I made friends a tripping family who were solo traveller from every part of country there
were travellers from cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh,Pune, Mumbai etc they were at their best.
People come Leh Ladakh and ride Bullet yes we missed to ride because of weather it was cold and covering yourself with number of jackets and clothes uncomfortable.. Whereas while on routes we saw many bikers riding with their group it was great to cheer them up, but we also saw bikers were struggling to ride their bikes, some were left behind leaving their group , bike was not working that worst situation can be and unheard stories of accidents which we hear to get from localities, Riding on worlds dangerous road can be thrill , adventures , lifetime moment but sometime it demands...
on my next blog i will share places to stays in Ladakh with full amenities charging less and about the other vacations.
I) Shanti Stupa Leh Palace :
A big white Tomb which is sign of peace it was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist. One can reach by vehicle it’s easy or else just walk more than 500-600 steps . A 360’o degree view of Leh City, get the best photos, the view of Leh City from Stupa is extremely beautiful with too much of cold wind, timings are 5 am to 9 Pm IST.
ii) Sham Valley Tour
While you leave for second day trip first you will Visit Sangam crossing dangerous hill roads, Leh skilled drivers are the real Heroes who takes care of driving properly. Here you can experience the highest river rafting in world from 30 mins to 3 hours.
Hall of Fame Army Museum : Which is managed by Indian Army, in memory of the brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives defending the motherland in the Indo-Pak wars.
This museum is located on Leh Kargil Road about 5-6 Kilometres from Leh City. Here People can see the various kinds of weapons used in Kargil War, along with various arms and ammunition captured by the Indian army during the war.
You can also see the some of the pictures of army posts on the Glacier, living accomodation of the troops , their clothes, ropes, hangers, gloves, helmets and their training process of the troops on ice walls. Some where on ground floor you can see all the Soldiers martyr's photos who laid down their life' for Saving country. the hall of Museum gives the feeling of emotion with tears.
There is also a Soldiers training ground where Adults , Children play it's open for all and can get an experience of soldiers training.
Entry Fee
You need to purchase an entry ticket. For photography inside the museum, you need to pay an additional Rs 100
iii) Leh to Nubra Valleythe stay was at ''Double Humped camp Hunder" the owner name is Zimmi . It was tent where we stayed surrounded by large mountains at back and 1 or 2 kilometres aways from Nubra Vallery desert . The glacier water flows they have specific timings of running water but everything was available. the animal native to this region, the Bactrian Camels (Shaggy double hump Camel) are an added delight to witness. Travellers from everywhere they were enjoying came ride in desert. they charge around 300-500 pp INR. Depending on groups. while coming back there was some Leh Ladakh Dance to their traditional dance entry fee cost Rs 100 and enjoy the dance for half an hour with groups .
as we came back from Sand Dunes, relaxed in our tents in evening food served which was quite good , staff was co operative , as we done with dinner we had camp fire under the Stars in our Campus it was beautiful just like in bollywood movies music was on Stereo Loudspeaker at around 11 pm we started sharing stories , jokes whatever can keeps us laughing we infact spoke to the owner of restaurant and heard his life stories how he ended up opening this Hotel, Cultures of Leh Ladakh, festivals, he was our story teller who narrated everything about Leh Ladakh infact unheards stories of this regions.
iv) Nubra Valley to Leh
Waking up to beautiful morning around 6 Am, it was freezing cold we recorded temperature midnight -1'o degree to -5'o degree and it was freezing cold the layers borders of tents were covered with Ice, the water kept in bucket turned into Ice plate..after delight breakfast we were headed to be driven to Diskit Monastery, located within the valley itself.
One of the oldest temples of this area (dating back to the 14th century), it has a huge idol of
a Tibetan Buddhism teacher Tsong-kha-pa, which is crowned with a Gelugpa yellow hat.
while travelling to Nubra people can see the statue of Lord Maitri Buddha Vehicle can go uptill top. Once you enter the premises on first floor is a Buddha temple , if you have any question regarding monestry or lord buddha there will be monks who provides knowledge and gives answer to every question and on the back side of temple is the 108 feet statue of Maitri Budha. The monastery offers a nice view of entire valley , get the best picture
Every year during february, the monastery plays host to a popular Buddhist festival called the Dosmoche festival, and Leh Ladakh Festival starts in august -September month for 10 Days its great time to visit leh Ladakh.
On this journey, once again you would be driven via the Khardungla Pass after reaching hotel you can relax or visit near by local Market for shopping on your own,You could head to the Leh Bazaar, a bustling local market in the Leh region where you can find the best normal shawls, or Kashmiri Shawls, T Shirts quoted with Leh- Ladakh, Dry Fruits , Special Leh Tea made with butter.
v) Leh to Pangong
as we head to Pangong TSO we pass through Chang La pass second highest Motorable Road,
It is enroute from Leh to Pangong Tso - offers a fascinating view of the Ladakh Range, Mountains have various looks and colors, to enter Pangong area you have to get Inner line permit from Leh DC office check with your tour operator.
No trip is completed without going Pangong, While the road to the lake was amazing, and the view over there was beautiful, one can get a glimpse of lake by far from vehicle , It was bright and sunny when we visited and the lake displayed different colours. Crystal clear water exhibiting different shades, backdrop of so different rugged mountains make it hard to believe that its real, the Heavy wind was cold but it all made worth with pictures .
The picturesque lake is one of the major draws of the Leh-Ladakh valley. a location
of several film shootings like 3idiots, Jab Tak hai Jaan, Sanam Re etc made the Pangong more famous
and known for its pristine waters surrounded by awe-inspiring Chushul mountains,
Pangong Lake is a prime tourist attraction.We were there for almost 2 hours , there were 2-3 restaurants named 3 idiot restaurants, on the way we also find Jabtak hai jaan restaurant etc.
Coming back from Pangong to Leh its evening, day is over just relax in hotel and eat the delicious food at hotel.
vi) Next Day travel to Thiksey Monestry
Thiksey Monestry which is located atop on hill amid the beautiful terrains of the Indus Valley, it is one of the largest monasteries in Jammu and Kashmir.
Being a 12 storey buikding , it is home to several stupas, paintings and halls place is nice and calm ,In start there is restaurant and few shops to market, Taking all stairs to upwards ,there is dining hall , Monestry provides food at 2clk for visitors , there is roof top place for pictures with beautiful scenic view
Here we come to Rancho's School
Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh, popularly known as 'Rancho's School',after the shooting of 3 idiots movie this has become more famous next to school we have Rancho's Cafe a restaurant,.
there is Painting wall of Leh Ladakh Bull where you can stand and dress like Ladakhi people and take pictures.
The wall with painting about the three Idiots movie is the most popular spot for the tourist. You can pose for photographs keeping these pictures in the background.
no camera fee and any other fee is required. you can visit school campus
a day was over we were back to hotel, next day off to Mumbai. It was great journey for me, I made friends a tripping family who were solo traveller from every part of country there
were travellers from cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh,Pune, Mumbai etc they were at their best.
People come Leh Ladakh and ride Bullet yes we missed to ride because of weather it was cold and covering yourself with number of jackets and clothes uncomfortable.. Whereas while on routes we saw many bikers riding with their group it was great to cheer them up, but we also saw bikers were struggling to ride their bikes, some were left behind leaving their group , bike was not working that worst situation can be and unheard stories of accidents which we hear to get from localities, Riding on worlds dangerous road can be thrill , adventures , lifetime moment but sometime it demands...
on my next blog i will share places to stays in Ladakh with full amenities charging less and about the other vacations.
Find my reviews on trip advisor
https://www.tripadvisor.in/?fid=aab8babf-fdcf-4fde-9e2e-ef25ed26ec07
Indeed a overview of the majestic journey. Good write up. All d best for d upcoming article.
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