Julley Ladakh – Trekkers Wonderland and Seniors Paradise

September 1, 2019 to September 8, 2019 Diary

Even after days of booking ticket for Ladakh I wasn’t really sure why I was going there. Since when was I interested in gazing at barren hills? No greenery, no people around, tough life in rough terrain, breathing problems, headaches and so on so forth.

Till the very end I was entertaining thoughts of not going forward with the planned trip even if it meant losing the entire reservation cost. The fear of war looming over Ladakh and Kashmir played it’s part as well. Should I really risk it for this?? Is is really worth it??

In the end like my wife likes to put it my ‘insanity’ got the better of me and I was off to Ladakh with this set of other ‘insane’ 60 plus kids.

I landed at Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport at Leh which is at height of nearly 11,000 feet (22nd highest commercial airport in world)

Let me introduce the 60+ naughty kids who ventured on this Ladakh Trip. Specially 75+ years kid Nagendram Kasturi from Hyderabad set an example to youngsters that Ladakh is not forbidden for old kids.  I have not seen such dashing and enthusiastic travelers. Ladies were in no way less in reaching to any any destination how so ever tough it might be, kept the group very lively even in severe cold, always ready for photographs. Most from the group are retired people but not retired from life. They know how to suck honey from Nature’s treasure and most of the group has already covered USA, Australia, middle east, SE Asia and Europe. I was fortunate to have seen such rainbow colors of life.

Here the photos which are included are shared by group members and mine but most of them are credited to our group member Ashok Yajji from Bangalore who is a big camera enthusiast.

Expected budget – All expenditure including taxi, boarding and lodging per person on twin sharing could be minimum Rs.60,000 for 8 days trip. For 3 days mountain peak trekking you may have to spend additionally about Rs.15000 per person on twin sharing. It includes guide charges. Hire bike from Leh if you go for trekking.

Ladakh – Places to visit

I am covering here only the places in Union Territory of Ladakh. There are three popular entries (gateways) to enter Ladhak.

1. Direct to Leh by air – We followed this route.
2. Manali – Leh route – 473 KM. You will pass through Rohtang-La, Baralacha-La, Tanglang-La , Hemis and then Leh
3. Srinagar – Leh route –  434 KM. You will pass through Sonmerg, Zozi-La, Drass, Kargil, Fotu-La, Alchis and then Leh. Locals suggest to come through Srinagar gateway.

Once you are in Leh you can take command to visit places on your own as lot of taxis and guides are available in Leh through hotel.

We can divide Ladhak tourist spots in 6 sections based on route. Total it will take minimum 16 days to see all these routes leisurely.

1. Around Leh  –  48 KM. 3 days. Stay in Leh. 1 day is to acclimatize.
2. Leh to Nubra Valley- 138 KM.  2 days. Stay in hotel or tent in Nubra
3. Leh to Pengong Lake –  150 KM. 2 days. Stay at Pengong. Lake is 134 KM X 5 KM.
4. Leh to Lamayuru –  109 KM. 2 days.  You can stay at Alchi in tent or in Lamayuru.
5. Leh to Tsomoriri Lake – 210 KM. 3 days.  Lake is 27 KM X 8 KM. Stay at Tsomoriri Lake
6. Leh to Zanskar – 474 KM –  4 days.  Stay at Rangdum.                                                                                                                                                                                         I think in order to cover all above places you should visit Ladhak 3 times. One trip from Route 1 to 3 and 2nd trip from route 4 to 6. Keep 3rd trip for trekking.

Ladhak – Popular Trekking routes 

As per our guide the trekking may be of 3 days to 21 days and it includes camping, lodging and boarding camps en-route.  Note that for trekking they take to the bottom of hill and then the trekking starts. In between are the base camps in form of tents or home stays.

Popular trekking routes are

1. Nine days from Darcha on Manali route to Shingu-La. and from Sarchu to Phirtse la on same route.
2. Lamayaru to Singeey La. All these La are passes above 15000 feet height.
3. Three days trekking to Stok peak. I suggest you to have at least 3 days trekking.
4. Better contact your hotel to arrange for trekking schedules and guide. Discuss your trekking capacity with guide. He will suggest you suitable trekking route based on your capacity.

My experience in Ladhak

I must honestly admit that whatever doubts I may have had about visiting Ladakh, I really am glad I decided to come here. It was an experience that I will cherish. During my 8 days stay in Ladakh I was very close to nature enjoying the beauty of mountains, passes (La), rivers, lakes, locals, history of monastery and a spiritual world in tough mountains. It is a vibrant wonderland, an enchanting fusion of natural beauty, ancient religion, a rich culture and loving people. Every corner of Ladakh has hotels or home stays. Food is normally North Indian style only. People are very courteous and friendly. It is fearless place. Best season is June to September end. Avoid in off season as it will be freezing cold and avalanches are possible to block roads. Proper medical facilities are in Leh so better keep the base camp in Leh.

Hotel- I landed in a Ladhak is an average 3.5*  but popular hotel “The Kaal”. Food quality, taste, hygiene, variety and courteous staff at this hotel was very very good. The hotel was moderately priced Rs.3800 per day including two teas, breakfast and dinner buffet. Ladhak does not have malls but hotels and home stays are plenty and are over 130+ in Leh itself. Every remote place in Ladhak has hotel or home stays. Hotels are available from Rs.500 to Rs.15,000 per day. “The Grand Dragon” is the costliest hotel in Leh. Normally hotels serve vegetarian food and specially in remote places I did not see any non vegetarian servings. They keep clean. Mostly the hotel workers are from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. As locals told me Buddhist locals do not work in hotels but do other kind of businesses. Tent camps in range of Rs.2000 to Rs.7000 are available at remote areas. But tents at trekking points are much cheaper. You can search and book online.

Taxis- Taxis are costly. The reason being that Ladhak tourist season is only for 5 months. Taxi rates are fixed by Taxi Union. Local government administration also has control on it. This tour I took the taxi costs Rs. 35,000. It is custom in Ladhak that drivers get free food at hotels where ever you stay. You need not worry for driver food.

Social experience- We had a small stroll on first day and talked to some locals about article 370. They told that all Ladhak was crazily happy that day and they celebrated this event as festival. Hotel people told that they threw free dinner party to their customers that day. While i was strolling i saw some young girls practicing dance. So on the very first day Leh looked my very happy and peaceful. This was my first impression. During my all 8 days of stay in Ladhak I traveled to monasteries, remote places, different high altitude passes, lunches en-route, tasted the food, did rafting in Zanskar river, camel riding, interacted with more and more locals. I felt Ladhakis are peaceful in nature and focus on tourists as they are main source of income for them. Fares in city are frequent and that is main public entertainment. Three Marathans 42 KM, 21 Km and 5 KM were organised from Sep,5 to 8 in which 5000 to 6000 ladies/gents participated from all parts of India.

Leh as a city has all kind of markets for basic needs. They grow vegetables enough for their needs and little bit they sell also. The vegetables were cheaper than other Indian cities. Seen local ladies selling vegetables by the side of road but maintaining tidiness and decency. Leh main market is small and I saw a Masjid there and market around this was flooded with Islamic slogans due to Moharram.

Terrain- Ladakh is different compared to Kashmir, Himachal or Uttarakhand. In the sense that greenery of mountains vanishes at height more than 7000 feet. The beauty of Ladakh mountains is like Greek Goddess Venus skirting all mighty mountains. It is absolutely unparalleled and mesmerizing. For sometime we forget the entire world. It is better than beauty of Europe in the sense that this beauty is innocent as the smile or giggle of a child. There is no artificiality in Ladhak in any walk of life. Where ever you travel in Ladhak you will find either Indus, Zanskar or Shyok rivers flowing along you as your companion. I know some people may compare Ladhak with Europe, Himanchal or Uttarakhand but I say come and feel Ladakh and you will say it is not only UNIQUE in nature beauty but also rich in culture. Just note that it will take 16 days to cover main points in Ladhak. Travelling in Ladakh for 8 days I can say that it is not hyperbole Ladhak is paradise for trekkers.

Roads

Roads are unexpectedly good and wide enough for two way traffic. Only some sections of the road which are at high altitude are not good. This is because of avalanche. But we can see bikes, Maruti-800 even frequently plying even at high altitude passes like Khargongla and Chngla.

A few glimpses of roads and terrain. On 80% of routes you can see river either Indus, Zanskar of Shyok river flowing along the road.

Preparations to be done for Ladakh trip

Just note that most of Ladhak tourist spots are closed from October to April end. You need to take few precautions when you tour Ladhak in any month. Keep half and full sleeve woolen pullover, a thin wind cheater and a monkey cap. Gloves are not necessary. You need to start tablet DiMox- 250 mg  2 days before landing at Leh. Take half tablet morning and evening with 2 hours gap in BP tablets. Dimox enhances your breathing frequency to replenish oxygen. To be safe do not miss Dimox.

Keep the handy luggage and keep a small bag also to keep the warm clothes, medicines specially avomin, small portable oxygen which is available in plenty in Leh shops. You need seperate backpack for stays in tents at Nubra valley, Pengong or during trekking. Remaining luggage you can keep in cloakroom in your Leh Hotel. You also need to keep at least 5 bottles while traveling to places away from Leh. High altitudes may cause dehydration.

Also in our team the age group was from 62 to 77 years. So I think that old people will have ABSOLUTELY no problem in travel in Ladhak. But they should go with positive attitude and fearlessness.

Facilities available in Leh for tourists (Important)

• Mostly Leh should be your base camp while you travel in Ladhak. The reason is that medical facility is available mainly in Leh only. .
• More that 100 hotels, home stays and youth hostel are available in Leh. The top hotel here is “The Grand Dragon”. Hotels are availablle from Rs.500 to Rs.15,000 per day. Only vegetarian hotels are also available.
• Taxis are in plenty and rates are fixed and controlled by taxi union. You can ask your hotel to arrange taxi and rates will be as per taxi union chart. For the whole trip which we covered taxi will cost Rs.35000.
• Lot of bikes are available at Leh with rent from Rs.500 to Rs.2000 per day. In rent petrol is not included. Better take good bike.
• Your hotel can arrange for guide and trekking attendants.
• Small portable oxygen containers are available in many shops in Leh. Buy one and keep in your bag.
• Government buses and private buses also ply from Leh to different destinations of Ladhak but frequency is once or twice a week only.
• WiFi is available. Only BSNL cells are available even in remote places but no guarantee. Airtel is available only in Leh.
• There are no lifts in hotels in mountains.
• Leh market is bigger market but there are no malls or super market kind of concept here. You can get all daily commodities in markets here. Vegetable are locally grown and are cheaper compared to other cities of India. You may not expect vegetables in all parts of ladhak. And it is a chance that these are transported from Leh on daily basis.

Special Precautions while booking air ticket

It is usual to cancel some flight to and from Leh as they may decide to club passengers in one flight. Also sometimes weather condition may be the cause. So keep a gap of at least 6-8 hours in your next connecting flight.

My Schedules in Ladhak

Day 1 – Rest

Arrive at Leh airport and move to hotel “The kaal”. Take rest to acclimatize.

Day 2 – Hemis monastery and Thiksey Monastery 

Visit to Hemis monastery (45 KM from Leh) and Thiksey Monastery (20 KM from Leh). Came back to Leh in evening.

Hemis monastery was built by ruler Singee Namgyal in 1630 AD. Here every year Tse-chu festival is conducted every June-July. It has a guest house in temple premises but common washrooms. There is a rich museum also in the temple premises.

Thiksey monastery is on bank of river Indus. It is older than Hemis by 100 years.The monastery is known as mini Potala as it resembles Potala palace in Lhasa. Guide told us an interesting story about this monastery as to how this venue was decided for this monastery. Unfortunately due to unbearable tooth ache Sri Ram travelling in our team had to leave for back home. It seems at high altitudes tooth ache could aggravate.

Day 3 -Alchi monastery, Magnetic hill, confluence of river Indus and river Zansker, Patthar gurudwara sahib, Hall of Fame parade.

Alchi Monastery dates back to 10th-11th century. It is also on bank of river Indus and has 5 temples inside the premises. Inside photography is strictly prohibited.

Magnetic Hill is another scenic place but driver could not show us that vehicle goes up when engine if off. As per them earlier this effect was seen but now it faded.

Confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers can be seen as a conspicuous line from top of hill. The driver stopped the car and showed us the confluence. It was thrilling to see such scene when these rivers meet silently. Indus river is 38880 KM long and originates from Mansarovar and passes though Pakistan for almost whole length and falls in Arabian sea. Zanskar is comparatively smaller river about 400 KM and originates from a glacier in village Zanskar in Ladhak.

We did rafting in river Zanskar for 4 Km to reach confluence of Indus and Zanskar. Cost was Rs.950.

Patthar Gurudwara Sahib is also the only Gurudwara in Ladhak. There is a big rock placed inside the holy Gurudwara. The story is that Guru Nanak stayed at this place when a demon rolled a big rock towards Nanak. Which stopped just before touching Nanak. Seeing this the demon was transformed into a saint. This Gurudwara is maintained by Sikh battalion.

Hall of Fame is another landmark which we must see while returning to Leh on this day. There is a very good and rich war museum and history of Ladhak information available in this hall of Fame. Here they conduct a small but fascinating parade from 7.10 PM to 8.10 PM daily. It is worth seeing parade. We saw around 200 tourist there present to see the parade and they were all singing patriotic songs.

Day 4 – Khardungla pass, Nubra valley, camel ride and cultural dances show

It was 6 hours journey by car.

Morning at 9.30 we started from Leh by car. On way we stopped at few scenic places and took photographs. At 12 noon we reached Khardongla pass which is at height of 17800 feet. Anjali Chitale had some breathing problem at Khardungla pass and was administered oxygen. In 2 minutes she recovered. her oxygen level touched as low as 74. I had heard a lot about this pass and I had dream to see the few passes in Ladakh.

We took lunch at Khalsar. The food was north Indian and we can get all usual dishes which we get in any state in India. There is rafting here also.

By 3.30 we reached Nubra. The tents were allocated to us and at 4.30 PM we headed for Double Hump camel ride in sand dunes. It was an awesome experience and felt proud of Ladhak that it has unexpectedly arranging such memorable entertainments. The camel rise was for 15 minutes but gave us the best experience on Ladhak. By state administration the came ride charges are fixed to Rs.300. There were no less than 800 tourists enjoying the sand dunes.

Once upon a time the entire Himalaya was under sea. The regions which where sorrowed 360 degree by hills, the sand could not be wiped out. So we see the sand dunes in Ladhak at such places.

At 7 PM we returned to Nubra market and took Rs.100 ticket to see Ladakhi Folk Dances. They repeat 5 dances and we can sit any time between 7 PM to 8.30 PM.

Took dinner in tent and had good sleep though it was quite cold in night (10 degrees).

Day 5 – Return from Nubra via Diskit monastery.

It is 6 hours return journey to Leh by car. On this day morning 9 AM we started back for Leh. Just 7 KM away on way we saw a beautiful Diskit Monastery. I think such 100 feet tall statue of “Maitreyi Buddha” surrounded by naked hills and sparse population is an unforgettable scene for whole life. Maitreyi Buddha is believed to be future Buddha who will take birth every 5000 years after the birth of Lord Buddha of 563 BC. Usha from Bangalore developed some stomach infection in Nubra but fortunately it was controlled by water and some mild medicines. Before that she also fell in bathroom in tent in Nubra. So one must be careful in tents for such incidents.

Below is picture of Diskit monastery from distance.  We reached here at top by car and spent about an hour here. It is 100 feet tall Maitreyi Buddha statue. Maitreyi Buddha is known as future Buddha who comes to replace previous Buddha.

Note : Better if we directly go from Nubra to Pengong. We did mistake by returning to Leh unnecessarily and thus doing 4 hours extra driving.

Day 6 – Leh to Pengong Tso lake, Chang La pass.

It is 6 hours journey to Leh by car.

Started from Leh at 9 AM and reached Changla pass at 12 PM. This pass is also 17000+ feet high and was cold up to 10 degree with wind blowing. We took some photographs on way and and at Changla pass. Purchased some souvenirs from army shop.

We took lunch at Tsangtang. It was a big and neat hotel in this area and also has lodging facility. If we can not stay at Pengong lake we can stay at this hotel.The lunch was purely vegetarian and was buffet. They prepared just on notice

This ended our explore in Ladakh.

Day 8 – Departure from Leh to Home town of one hour.

We reached Pengong- tso lake at 3.30 PM and took some photographs of Ladahak terrain on way. Reached our tents which are just 600 meters away from the lake. Strolled on bank of beautiful lake several times in evening as tent was nearby. This is salty lake about 150 KM long of which 70% is in China Occupied Tibet.

The water of lake is salty but not like sea water. It has crystal clear water though turbulated by gentle gusts of wind. The temperature in day time was tolerable. But night was really very cold. The dinner served was vegetarian.

Day 7 – Return to Leh.

It is 6 hours return journey to Leh by car.

On this day we took our breakfast in tent and started for Leh at 9.30 AM. On way we saw 3-idiots shooting spot. It was Ok and not any special scenic view excpt that spot was like a sea beach unlike other places in Ladakh. Evening 3.30 we reached Leh. Took some rest and 4 of us went on foot to see Joravar Singh fort which was just a KM from the hotel “The Kaal”.

Departure from Leh airport to our home towns.

Epilogue

Seen so many places but Ladakh is beyond my words. It is enchanting and mesmerizing. A completely different terrain with rivers Indus, Zanskar, Shyok flowing all over Ladakh and wandering by car in naked mighty mountain – where on earth you get such freedom.  An unforgettable experience roaming in blue sky, world’s mightiest two ranges the Karakoram and The Great Himalaya. The terrain is raw, barren, rusty, desolate and remote. Yet this experience I got nowhere – neither in USA nor in Europe. May be that it is our country, our land. All over Ladakh where ever you halt for lunch or tea you will see Ladakhi smiling and cool. Ladakh is one of the most forbidden regions, most inaccessible but I and my senior citizen colleague were mesmerized to see this virgin nature. This entire region has great charm and beauty.

The people of Ladakh are loving to tourists and are very courteous and peaceful. They know how important is tourism to upgrade their living standard. Ladakh is very big region of J&K but it was deprived of development for 70 years.They have themselves designed their villages to need of tourists by providing home stays and hotels in every remote corner of Ladakh. It is not a point to be ignored and I have high appreciation for all Ladakhis.

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