INSIGHT INTO LADAKH

Catch an early flight from New Delhi to Leh over the Great Himalayan Range with the stretch of the high altitude dessert below us. Pick up from the airport and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is spent in acclimatization walks in the markets of Leh. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

This day is for taking in the sights of Leh and to use this as an opportunity to acclimatize further. We visit Hemis Monastery, Thiksey Monastery and Stok Palace. Hemis stands on the western bank of the Indus River. The monastery boasts of a very rich collection of ancient relics. The Hemis Monastery also serves as the venue for the annual Hemis Festival. Thiksey houses one of the largest Buddhist statues, the 15-meter tall Champa, the Buddha of Future. Thiksey is one of the most frequently visited and most photogenic monasteries in Ladakh. About a hundred monks live here.

Back on the road, we ride from Leh and head towards the Khardungla Pass (5,602 m / 18,380 ft), the world’s highest motorable pass. After a photography session and acclimatization break on the pass we cross it and head towards Nubra Valley. Nubra is a tri-armed valley located to the north east of Ladakh valley. The Shyok River, a tributary of the Indus, meets the Nubra or Siachan River to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh and Karakoram Ranges. This is a beautiful region that once formed a part of the Silk route into Afghanistan. Because of the lower altitude a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains are grown, creating an impression of abundance. In the evening we visit the beautiful sand dunes of Hundar. We check into our campsite/guesthouse.

After breakfast, the group sets off to visit the white sand dunes and if lucky, one can take a ride on the double-humped Bactrian camels. We have lunch at Hundar and then head to Diskit Monastery. Right on the top, behind Diskit Monastery, stands a 106-foot-tall Buddha statue, the tallest in the Ladakh region. Return back to Leh. Dinner and overnight stay in a hotel.

After breakfast we drive ahead to Phey, our starting point for rafting on River Indus. The run ends at Nimo where we break for lunch. From Nimo, we drive to visit Alchi Monastery. Standing on the banks of river Indus, the monastery, Alchi Monastery, is also known by the name of Alchi Choskhor. The significance of the monastery also lies in the fact that it is the only one that has been built on a flat ground. We drive back to Leh for overnight stay.

We leave very early (5 am) and set off for Pangong. The road offers some unexplored and beautiful landscape. Pangong is the world’s highest brackish water lake – Pangong, 150 kms long and 4 kms wide spans two countries, India & China (2/3rd of the lake lies in China). The sun paints its various hues on the canvas of the surrounding mountains as we watch spellbound while walking on the shores of the lake. We drive back to Leh. Evening is at leisure.

We drive to Leh airport and as we take off we look down on stark beauty of Ladakh, our minds filled with everlasting memories of our trek.