Leh

Day 19 – Kargil to Leh – 12 Sep 2018

We all got up by 7AM, got ready by 8 despite the cold weather. Going to the bathroom, taking bath, or even brushing teeth was looking so much of a task, even though the weather was not the coldest of what was yet to come. We packed all our dresses which were hung on the ropes of the tent house. After having breakfast at our stay, we left Kargil by 8.45 am. The moment we started the journey the landscape was so different and amazing that we were so tempted to stop very often to click pictures. 

 As we travel further, we could see the landscape slowly changing outside, and the whole surrounding becomes so shiny in bright sunlight. As the altitude increases, we can feel the direct sunlight without any hindrance, and the ground becomes rockier and tougher.  One important thing for anyone travelling to Leh will be not to forget or ignore sunscreens and sunglasses. I am sure  you all will be prepared for the cold climate, but please don’t ignore the sun, who is very harsh at this altitude. You might not feel the heat because of the cold climate, but it will surely harm you.

We left from the hotel after applying sunscreen and properly protected. After 2 hours drive from Kargil, we reached our first Pass for the day, Namik La.

Due to the tense political situations in the region, you will spot soldiers and army convoys everywhere. However this stretch of the route is simply spectacular. The views had again started changing drastically with layers of dark brown mountains illuminated in glittering sun, and clouds making shades over the mountains. We ascended for another 1 hour 30 minutes to reach the second mountain pass enroute, Fotu La. The roads were really good at both the passes and we kept going without any difficulty.

After being done with both the passes we were pretty relaxed and just drove calmly and reached Lamayuru village around 1pm. We had a lovely time visiting the monastery here, and we spent some peaceful time sitting here watching the lama kids, and their rituals. The prayer wheels, multi-coloured player flags, and the mantras gave the place a very divine ambience. As we walked out, we sat on the chairs alongside the highway staring down at the barren moonlike landscape of Lamayuru. The place is nothing less than the mystical lands seen in fairy tales!

After Lamayuru village, we drove further and reached Khalsi around 2pm. This was the half way point between Kargil and Leh and is a place where you can find options for lunch. We had a pretty decent lunch at a restaurant named Mountain View in Khalsi, and did shop some oranges from the streets. Then we continued our journey, until we were stopped by a traffic block near a place called Nurla. We were caught in the block for almost an hour, as some maintenance work was on-going for the bridge across the Indus River. Just before your reach Khalsi, you can see the Indus river join you on your drive parallel to the road. After Alchi, the Indus river joins with Zanskar river which is called the Indus Zanskar Confluence and from there on the river flows as Indus river again and it accompanies you all the way till Leh. There were a lot of army trucks along with us in the block, and many of them were looking at us, seeing the KA registration! I took a light nap in the car, as I was sure that it will take some more time. After sometime, three of us stepped out of the car, and stretched ourselves and sat on the road side, chit chatting with some of the taxi drivers. After an hour, we managed to cross the old bridge which was literally shaking!

Another place of interest before reaching Leh would be the Magnetic hill where you can experience your car going against the gravity and climbing the ascend in neutral gear without any help. There are enough theories about the phenomenon starting from mythical stories of “road to heaven” to magnetic force theories. The spot is on the way to Leh and you will see markings on the road to try the phenomenon out. However be careful as people tend to get agitated easily when they see cars parked on the road.

As you approach Leh, you can see open straight roads with long distance visibility ahead. But these roads are bouncy and better not to accelerate too much. Just stay on your speed and be safe.

We started spotting lush meadows and Chinar forests, monks and monasteries, and we couldn’t really believe that we have finally reached Leh without any trouble – an expected nightmare turned out to be a beautiful dream! We reached our stay by 6.15 pm, before the setting sun faded away. Because of the harsh sunlight and altitude, I had started getting headache. Fasi also experienced a heaviness in head, and little difficulty in breathing, however Insha seemed all fine. We had an awesome home stay in Leh, with a very friendly host, which helped Insha to be so active at the stay, roaming around all the rooms. The food was so homely, and we couldn’t ask for anything better!  We did sleep off soon with bad head-ache, but was constantly waking up with a light difficulty to breath, which is common in high altitude places.

To summarize about altitude sickness, first day in Leh after taking 3 days to slowly climb up the altitude to acclimatize us, I really feel it has helped us a lot. However, there were little difficulties which would surely be there at such a high altitude. About taking a small kid to Leh, it was all fine till now and she never showed any difficulties of the climate or the altitude. 

Day 20 – Leh – 13 Sep 2018

Even after a sound sleep, getting up in the morning in Leh was little difficult. My headache was still there but a little better, Fasi’s was almost gone and Insha was all fine. We didn’t have much plans for the day as we all needed some rest to acclimatise to the altitude. We sat on the beautiful terrace garden of our stay, sipping a nice warm cup of coffee. Soon we had to step inside for breakfast, as the sun was really bright, and we had a delicious breakfast with some traditional Ladakhi breads.

Fasi spent sometime later to wash the remaining clothes, as we had a spacious balcony directly facing the sun! Insha who was never used to watching TV before, has become a Motu Patlu fan as we started the travel! The first thing she checks when we enter any stay now is to switch on the TV, and check if Nick Junior is there! As I had to get ILP(Inner Line Permit) for Nubra and Pangong Tso, I went out to the DC office around 10am in the morning.

Permit procedure for Inner line Permit.

• The permit should be obtained from DC office in Leh. Location
• The ground next to the DC office has paid parking available so that you don’t mess up yourselves parking in No parking areas.
• I parked my car there and walked to the office. The officer told me that the application should be done online and then should come back for the payment.
• As my mobile had no coverage, I went to the market which is close to the office to find an internet cafe. Without much wandering around I found one.
• Requested the guy there for application for permits to Nubra and Pangong.
• He filled up an online application form and asked me to verify the dates. Please make sure the dates are entered correctly and also be clear about the route you are going to take. In our case, we had planned to come back to Leh from Nubra before going to Pangong.
• Once the application is filled, a permit is generated. I took this permit to the DC office, paid the fees of 1200Rs for our 5 days permit to visit Nubra and Pangong. The officer sealed and signed the permit.
• Most important part is, we should get the permit photocopied as we have to submit the permits to the check-posts on our way to Nubra or other places which required a permit. I took 5 copies of them ( just to be on the safer side).

The whole process of permit didn’t take me more than an hour. I got back to our stay and then stayed at our room till evening. The sun was really sharp and we all just wanted to stay inside. The lunch as usual was just vow, and our daughter really had some proper meals with rice, curd and vegetables after so long.

After some proper rest throughout the day, we stepped out in the evening to visit the Shanti Stupa. We can drive all the way till the Stupa and the view from the Stupa is so scenic. You get to see a 360 degree view of the Leh city, sipping some refreshing tea! This Buddhist shrine of white dome with the mighty Himalayan backdrop is really an artistic marvel, no wonder it is called the stupa of peace!

As it got darker, temperature started dropping and the jackets, gloves, mufflers all came into use. We went to the Leh market for some shopping and roamed around under the starry sky. Walking in the market here feels so good in this awesome cold climate even if the market is pretty crowded. We got few souvenirs for people back home, like Ladakh fridge magnets, and T-shirts! We also got several Tibetan prayer flags for our rider friends in office! We roamed around further checking the cost of pashmina shawls to make sure we got them at a better rate at Pahalgam. We also got to taste some really delicious kebabs from the local food street.

We stepped into a Chinese hotel near the market for our dinner, as Insha was asking for fried rice, and the food there turned out to be a villain for us on our drive to Nubra next day. However, we just got back to our stay all excited for the next day journey to world’s highest motorable road – the Khardung La. Yes, just one more night for a memorable milestone.

To summarize on the altitude sickness, it seemed better, headaches reduced by evening. A heaviness of head could be felt for both of us, however daughter seemed to be all fine and happy.

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