Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Ladakh Diaries Day 3

Jispa to Leh Day 3

Waking up to foggy mountains is not a routine for a Mumbai-ite like me. The view from the dormer was blissfully peaceful. Birds chirping, the soothing sound of Bhaga river leaves you in a trance like state.

I was enchanted seeing a thick blanket of clouds hovering above two high peak mountains. As we left Padma lodge to hit the onward journey to Leh, little did I know that very soon I will be witnessing exquisite landscape that can blow one’s mind.
View from Padma Lodge
















We were told by our driver that we will be seeing two tals on the way which are smaller but only in size not in beauty. Deepak tal was the first small water body that we saw with emerald green water surrounded by snow clad mountains.  You then pass by Zing Zing bar which is also called as the peace zone and baralacha before you reach Sarchu.
Suraj Tal with emerald green water














We stopped at sarchu for around 30 minutes. We had awesome butter tea with salt and magi at Zanskar Restaurant, Sarchu. It is strongly recommended to not spend the night at Sarchu as acute mountain sickness can hit you.
 Our driver Tsewang was the coolest himachali we met on our trip. He was very friendly and had an amazing keenness to share the history of ladakh, lifestyle of people and their struggles. Lavita asked him about wedding traditions in ladakh, he promptly said “first we send a request to the girl’s father asking for the brides hand, if he agrees then we get married, else we pick her up and get married in a temple.”

Bikers stay in this tent to overcome fatigue!

Sipping some Butter Tea!

Tsewang and Lavi!


The Daredevils on the Manali Leh Highway!











Our Michael Schumacher for the journey Mr. Tsewang warned us to hold on to some support in the car, seat belts were tightly buckled in to get ready for Gata loops, a series of 21 harpin bends that can churn your stomach upside down! It was nothing less than an adventure ride with some serious hair rising bends that can fright the hell out of you.
Throughout the Manali leh highway the Warning signs by Border Roads Organization continued to amuse us. Two names Deepak and Himank are all over the highway and in Leh. Popular ones being “don’t be a gama in the land of lama”, “It’s risky to drive after whisky” “Darling I like you but not that fast”
Bro Is Cool!

Winding Roads!














We passed through one more high mountain pass lachunglang la which is at a height of 5079 m. The Road from Nakeela to Pang is terrible and you will experience a rocky ride till you reach pang. Pang (famous for being the highest transit base, Height 15,500 ft) followed by moore plains which is a flat road, a striking contrast to the high passes that you see on the highway. It was almost noon and fatigue started crawling in. By now we had seen all shades of brown, purple and red mountains. Yes, you read that correct Purple and Red mountains! Such raw beauty is beyond imagination and leaves you at a complete loss of words. Beyond a point we stopped clicking snaps, as what you witness is simply magnificent and not possible to capture in anything but your mind! Infact at Pang, the needle shaped mountains seem so unreal and carved that it’s difficult to believe that its completely untouched and raw.
The heroes who work tirelessly for us!

Needle Shaped Mountains!


Moore Plains
























We were now to ascend our final high mountain pass for the day, the famous “Taglang La” at a whooping height of 5328 m and also famous for being the second highest motorable pass in the world. At Taglang, my friends’ husband, Mehul Bhai had some AMS symptoms’ like nausea and breathlessness. We decided to immediately move ahead and not spend much time at this mighty pass with low levels of oxygen.
Do the Tango at Taglang!


















The descend began post tanglang, after a day filled with witnessing 4 high passes, snow clad mountains, heart in your mouth kind of road journey, Rumste and Upshi are at a much lower level and house some greenery which is in contrast to barren mountains that we witnessed throughout our journey for the day.













We finally reached leh around 5 pm and we were exhausted and all we craved for was a good and comfortable night sleep. We checked in to the wrong hotel, courtesy similar names of the hotels across leh. We then moved to the correct hotel, Hotel Royal ladakh and recharged our tired souls to gear up for day 4! The view of stok kangri and shanti stupa from the hotel was amazing and it helped heal the soreness of the rough but also one of the most beautiful days of my life!
Snow Capped Beauty!















Soar Higher!

Time to Munch some food!

Thursday, 17 August 2017

Ladakh Diaries Day 2

We four daredevils were charged up, thrilled and ready to take on the most awaited road trip of our life time! Our first stop was the famous, "Jab we met fame" Rohtang Pass! We found exceptional traffic on our way to Rohtang from Manali. Thanks to the landslide two days ago, the route was shut for commute and opened only when we hit the road. It took us a whooping 4 hours to reach Rohtang pass.

Rohtang pass is a high mountain pass and connects the Kullu Valley with Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh. Its very cold and if you intend to walk on ice or want to try some ice climbing tricks then you can hire shoes on rent and have some crazy fun. There's heavy mist all around and you feel you have reached paradise. Keep your jackets and gloves ready - you will need them for sure! With snow all around, one can only wish to be there forever! Lavita and I did try some luck with walking on ice but its tricky! I fell once but that was an experience as well. There was so much mist that we could hardly see things around.

Piping hot corn can be munched on as you soak in the place. As you move ahead the next big stop is Mandi. You can see Bhaga river flowing by the road. The sound of water gushing through the valley is divine.

Nestled between gigantic, beautiful mountains is a small town called Jispa. Its the preferred night stop to help you acclimatize to the high altitude. Alleviation is at around 3,320 m and its cold at night.

It takes 4-5 hours to reach Jispa from Rohtang pass and its strongly advisable to completely rest and help the body acclimatize to the high altitude. We rested our tired souls at Padma Lodge. The rooms were decent and food served was hot and fresh. Staff was very helpful.
On our way to Rohtang


Thats how we killed time!

Can you see anything clearly?

Snow or rain nothing can stop the very Hot Enfield!

Heavy mist

Yay! I managed to walk on ice!

Trying to Balance! Futile!! I still fell... 

Jispa! Room with a view

Ripped off yet so pretty!

Dinner time @ the mess







Ladakh Diaries Day 1


Ladakh - the first few words that comes to the mind are Magnificent, Grand, larger than life, Surreal, Picturesque, marvelous...may be the list will never end. After 8 years of wait I finally visited Leh Ladakh in July 2017. 
Excitement began as I booked the ticket to Chandigarh and started preparing myself for the Most Epic and Awaited Road Trip from Manali to Leh. It's on most travel enthusiasts bucket list to cover this rocky road trip. We were four of us - my niece, my friend and her hubby. 
Then came the most crucial part of doing the Itinerary. I make my own itinerary with my choice of accommodation as pre-designed group bulk tours make me feel sick. After days of studying the map, working and re-working the route, I finally had a rough plan in place. After contacting almost 6 travel agents I confirmed the trip with Untravel to handle the road journey and my choice of accommodations. 
Two months before the trip I started preparing myself for my dream vacation. Diet was in control, workout was in full swing but as people say what has to happen will happen. One week before I was to leave for Leh I fell ill and was down with very high fever. All my effort to build stamina and endurance went down the drain. I was on strong antibiotics which made me weak and low on energy. But that didn't deter my spirit to go to Leh. Despite all odds, I finally departed for Chandigarh on 1st of July 2017.

Tip - Reach Chandigarh as early as possible or if you have the time then a day before. It takes roughly 10-12 hours to reach Manali. Its a Tiring and Long drive!

We reached the Land of Mohali, Chandigarh around 12.30 pm and since we were already running behind schedule we decided to skip lunch and head straight to Manali. Our driver was very groggy and it wasn't a very pleasant drive from Chandigarh to Manali. Throughout the way we kept wondering how the other part of the trip would be. But we were assured that Himachali Drivers are better behaved and very tourist friendly. 

With just one tea break we reached Manali around 9 pm. We checked into Harmony Purple River View Hotel as suggested by Atul from Untravel. 

The room was spacious and had a rustic wooden decor. Dinner at the Hotel's restaurant was good. That was our first meal of the day! We all were very exasperated and sleep deprived and immediately went off to sleep to fully charge ourselves for the most awaited journey.

Room with a View




Let there be Light!

Wooden decor is so cool!

When madness takes over!