Ladakh is a serene, beautiful and almost unspoiled region. It is not a place to have wild parties- Leh city shuts at around 9-10 pm and barely any alcohol can be found anywhere. However, it is the perfect place to disconnect from the world and recharge. Phone connectivity is patchy (or non-existent in a lot of areas) and there is no internet on your phone (though some places have wifi).
Ladakh is famous for its trekking and river rafting. We were however recovering from a few hectic weeks (and are by nature lazy travelers) and hence, decided to drive around.
The first thing that you notice when you get out of Leh is that the mountains change colours. I saw pink mountains, orange mountains, green, blue and what we jokingly called tiger stipped hills. You drive along Indus river which was in full flow in August. Yaks graze in fields near the river and you can see some campers here and there.
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| On the way |
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| Snowballs at 18,000 feet |
The lakes
Tso Moriri and Pangong Tso both are beautiful blue lakes surrounded by mountains. Pangong Tso was made famous of "Three Idiots" and hence, tends to be more crowed. Once you move away from the "Three Idiots" spot, you have the lake almost entirely to yourself.
The perfect way to spend an evening at a lake in Ladakh is to take a walk, find a rock and watch the sunset- which is what we did. We also got to watch an impromptu game of cricket at 10,000 feet.
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| Sunset at Tso Moriri |
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| Pangong Tso |
After having been to Tso Moriri already, I did not find Nubra valley very impressive. The drive itself was beautiful and we saw some pretty monasteries on the way.
However, as soon as I was ready to write-off the trip to Nubra, we saw a small desert with silver sand and the famous double humped camels which are not found anywhere else. A ride on the camel in Nubra valley is substantially expensive compare to a similar ride in Rajasthan, but perhaps the only extraordinary element of this place.
The sangam
A few kms out of Leh is the valley where Indus meets Zanskar river. The valley is beautiful and the distinct colours of the two rivers can be seen very clearly. It is also the hot spot for river rafting.
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| The sangam |
Ladakhi culture is substantially influenced by the Tibetan culture. While the food has become quite cosmopolitan due to tourism, you can see Tibetan influence in form of butter tea, momos, thukpas etc. Yak cheese and local berries are unique to this region and definitely worth trying.
