Ladakh

India is a life-changing experience for travellers of which Ladakh is truly unmissable. Think of an India tour itinerary and Ladakh certainly deserves a mention. Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, Ladakh is one of the remotest places on Earth and a treasure to explore. Settled at an altitude of 3542 meters above sea level it is one of the highest inhabited places on the planet. Boasting of the immense scenic beauty of mountains, lakes, rivers and a cold desert it is a wonder to visit. Adding to it are the amazing allures including palaces, and monasteries. And, lastly, an adventure of a lifetime is a guarantee. A surprising fact about Ladakh is that a trip can be planned in the official off-travel season. The land opens up for visitors from late May to October. As it is monsoon in the rest of India, if you want to skip rains, you must pay a visit.

If you are still not sure to plan a trip to Ladakh on your visit to India, here are a few reasons.

Scenic Beauty

Ladakh’s location is out of the world and therefor is its beauty. The Land of High Passes is settled in the snowy heights of Himalayan ranges and is surrounded by mountain ranges of Karakoram. Even for a land withoutt rain, it is simply one among the most blessed natural places in India and the world. The rugged  mounatins are shades ofbrown with specks of green and layers of snow. The rivers iand the lakes are crystal clear displaying myraid shades of blues. The deesrt dunes of Nubra Valley are magical with their unbeivale golden hues, home to the unique double-humped Bactrian Camels.

Culture

Ladakh has a unique Tibetan Buddhist culture with impacts from traditional beauties. Over the years, this culture has become an important backbone for tourism. The land’s traditional culture and lifestyle make the cuisine, dressing, dance forms and others. The festivals of the land gain more attention thanks to the exclusive culture of the land. This is one of the few places where you can find dancing monks enjoying festivals just like you.

Taking a pilgrimage tour is a double beauty. You get to wander around ancient monasteries, explore the culture and enjoy the unique architectural beauties. Apart from these, the nature plays an important role in adding peace and tranquility to these religious places. Every year, thousands of people visit Ladakh for pilgrimage activities. Top iconic religious sites to visit in Ladakh are Likir monastery, Thiksey monastery, Sumda Chun, Shanti Stupa, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib and others.

Adventure

Statistically, this is the main reason that drives more than three fourth of the travel population to Ladakh. The geographical wealth and the Himalayan nature gives access to different landscapes, which allow you to enjoy unique adventure activities like mountain biking, trekking, jeep safari, river rafting, camel safari, yak safari, ice hockey and many others. No wonder, Ladakh is called as the adventure capital of the country.

It is the place for adventure activities. Top three motorable mountain passes of the world are located in Ladakh. It is the only destination in India apart from Rajasthan, where you can enjoy camel safari. It is one of the very few places to experience yak safari too. The most common safari to enjoy in the region is the jeep safari. The Himalayan regions make the safari more exciting. Many sure to choose the right season so that you can enjoy all types of safaris here.You can find a lot of trekking trails for hiking and trekking along with frozen rivers. Name an adventure activity; and, you would find it there. Top peaks for hiking are Nun-Kun, Stok Kangri, Jang Yatse and others. You can also enjoy a trekking excursion to the base of Mount Everest; if you are up for the challenge. Apart from these, there are a lot of monasteries to explore and enjoy their rituals, explore their libraries, antiques and others.

India is a life-changing experience for travellers of which Ladakh is truly unmissable. Think of an India tour itinerary and Ladakh certainly deserves a mention. Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, Ladakh is one of the remotest places on Earth and a treasure to explore. Settled at an altitude of 3542 meters above sea level it is one of the highest inhabited places on the planet. Boasting of immense scenic beauty of mountains, lakes, rivers and a cold desert it is a wonder to visit. Adding to it are the amazing allures including palaces, and monasteries. And, lastly an adventure of a lifetime is a guarantee. A surprisng fact about Ladakh is that a trip can be planned in the offiecail off-travel season. The land opens up for visitors from late May to October. As it is monsoon in rest of India, if you want to skip rains, you must pay a visit.

If you are still not sure to plan a trip to Ladakh on your visit to India, here are few reasons.

Scenic Beauty

Ladakh’s location is out of the world and therefor is its beauty. The Land of High Passes is settled in the snowy heights of Himalayan ranges and is surrounded by mountain ranges of Karakoram. Even for a land withoutt rain, it is simply one among the most blessed natural places in India and the world. The rugged  mounatins are shades ofbrown with specks of green and layers of snow. The rivers iand the lakes are crystal clear displaying myraid shades of blues. The deesrt dunes of Nubra Valley are magical with their unbeivale golden hues, home to the unique double-humped Bactrian Camels.

Culture

Ladakh has a unique Tibetan Buddhist culture with impacts from traditional beauties. Over the years, this culture has become an important backbone for tourism. The land’s traditional culture and lifestyle make the cuisine, dressing, dance forms and others. The festivals of the land gain more attention thanks to the exclusive culture of the land. This is one of the few places where you can find dancing monks enjoying festivals just like you.

Taking a pilgrimage tour is a double beauty. You get to wander around ancient monasteries, explore the culture and enjoy the unique architectural beauties. Apart from these, the nature plays an important role in adding peace and tranquility to these religious places. Every year, thousands of people visit Ladakh for pilgrimage activities. Top iconic religious sites to visit in Ladakh are Likir monastery, Thiksey monastery, Sumda Chun, Shanti Stupa, Gurudwara Pathar Sahib and others.

Adventure

Statistically, this is the main reason that drives more than three fourth of the travel population to Ladakh. The geographical wealth and the Himalayan nature gives access to different landscapes, which allow you to enjoy unique adventure activities like mountain biking, trekking, jeep safari, river rafting, camel safari, yak safari, ice hockey and many others. No wonder, Ladakh is called as the adventure capital of the country.

It is the place for adventure activities. Top three motorable mountain passes of the world are located in Ladakh. It is the only destination in India apart from Rajasthan, where you can enjoy camel safari. It is one of the very few places to experience yak safari too. The most common safari to enjoy in the region is the jeep safari. The Himalayan regions make the safari more exciting. Many sure to choose the right season so that you can enjoy all types of safaris here.You can find a lot of trekking trails for hiking and trekking along with frozen rivers. Name an adventure activity; and, you would find it there. Top peaks for hiking are Nun-Kun, Stok Kangri, Jang Yatse and others. You can also enjoy a trekking excursion to the base of Mount Everest; if you are up for the challenge. Apart from these, there are a lot of monasteries to explore and enjoy their rituals, explore their libraries, antiques and others.

Just a 75-minute flight north of Delhi lies the region of Ladakh, India’s rooftop and a stark frozen desert. Technically a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, but the Ladakh region is far removed from anything Kashmiri, be it the topography, the culture, the way of life, the religious beliefs, and even the security issues that have haunted Kashmir for several years now. Ladakh is and has been an entirely safe area to travel too for all the years I can remember, with its wonderful peace-loving Buddhist residents. 

For years we’d thought of going to Ladakh, but for some reason or the other we’d been postponing it, but I’m glad we finally bit the bullet the summer. Ladakh exceeded our expectations several times over, and rates highly in our very own list of beautiful places to see in the world.
 

Leh, the capital of the Ladakh region, and also the city with the region's only commercial airport, is a picturesque little town. The monasteries, monks and Buddhist way of life are very much visible everywhere as also the Tibetan influences. For years Leh lacked good modern hotels, but fortunately, those days are over now, with good quality modern hotels like the Grand Dragon and the Indus Valley being there. 

Leh and it’s surrounding areas have plenty to see and do, the Thiksey monastery, the Hall of Fame museum, the Shanti Stupa, the Gurudwara Pathar Sahib, etc. and the two days spent there, partly acclimatizing to the thin air with the low oxygen levels were well worth it. The local bazaar with its colorful small shops, Tibetan and Ladakhi food restaurants, all very interesting and very different from anything seen in the rest of India. Other interesting and worth visiting sites we visited were the Sangam, where the Indus and the Zanskar rivers meet, and the Magnetic Hill, where vehicles seem to be magically rolling upwards defying gravity. 
 

Our next stop was the Nubra Valley, with its stark desert landscape, about a 4-hour drive west of Leh. The drive from Leh to the Nubra Valley area took us through snow-capped mountains, with the Khardung La Pass, one of the highest motorable passes in the world, certainly being the highlight of the drive. 
 
The Nubra Valley area has plenty of accommodation to suit all budgets, but for those not on a budget, the ultimate place to stay is, of course, the Ultimate Traveling Camp’s Chamba Camp. I’d have to say that the two days we spent at the Chamba camp were perhaps the best part of the trip. From the minute you arrive till the minute you depart, the service standards and the hospitality that you experience are a world apart. Luxurious tented accommodation, friendly smiling staff, gourmet cuisine, TUTC has really set the standards as far as glamping in India is concerned.

In the Nubra Valley area, there’s plenty to see and do ( provided of course that you can bring yourself to leave the luxurious surroundings of the camp ) with the Diskit Monastery just down the road , the Hunder sand dunes ( where we rode the two-humped camels ) and the remote village of Turtuk ( with a small museum run by the erstwhile Balti rulers of the area ), the village of Chang (the last village in India ) where a soldier from the Indian Army happily pointed out both, the Indian and the Pakistani border outposts to us, all this being within easy access of the Chamba camp.

Post two wonderful, relaxing, though adventurous days at the TUTC’s Chamba camp, our next stop was the Pangong Lake, at an altitude of over 4000 meters above sea level , this lake is huge , as in 134 kilometers long and about 5 kilometers wide at this widest point and extends from India to the Tibetan part of China. Words cannot describe the beautiful lake and its surrounds, truly magical in every way and certainly worth the long drive.

 
With that, it was time to bid goodbye to Ladakh, a trip that we’ll remember for long, and a destination we’d like to return to, sooner rather than later.