The land of Stupas - Ladakh - Part 1 (Journey to Leh)
A trip to Ladakh was there on my bucket list for quite some time and finally on September 2014, the plan took shape. Our journey started on 2nd September, 2014 with a late-night flight from Kolkata to New Delhi. Our flight to Leh was scheduled for 3rd Sept early morning. All the Leh flights were early in the morning, with the last flight around 8.30 am. This is primarily because commercial flight operations are restricted in Leh airport after 12 am. The entire Leh airport comes under military lock down. Another reason for the early commercial flight operations are the heavy snow cladded mountains which reflects the sunlight making it very difficult for the pilots to fly the aircraft.
The trip started on a disappointing note when next morning all the Air India flights to Leh were cancelled due to bad weather. Further to add to the disappointment the Indigo flight to Leh departed as planned. Dejected and losing one day of the trip we were highly disappointed. That day we stayed in Delhi and waited for the next day flight to Leh. The next day was equally disappointing with the flights cancelled again. None of the flights for Leh took off that day. Most of the fellow passengers either changed their plans or cancelled the trip. While we were still trying to figure our way out, we stumbled upon a friend at the airport. They were also heading for Leh. With them joining us we started to look for other options to head to Leh. The only other option left was to take the road, but with the weather turning bad to worse the risks were even higher. Finally, it was a consensus decision to take the road. Now having decided, the next hurdle was to get hold of a traveler willing to take us to Manali from Delhi. With a few phone calls the traveler was finalized and we started out journey for Leh at around 12 am on 4th Sept, 2014.
The journey was hectic, tiring but equally mesmerizing and tranquil. With friends’ on-board guess everything becomes beautiful. With the entire traveler to us, everyone indulged in one’s chores; Most of us dozing off early. Guess the early morning rise and consecutive two days of flight cancellations took a toll on our sleep. As we left Delhi and went on to the Manali highway, we made a pit stop at Karnal, famous for the dhabas serving hot sumptuous parathas flooded with butter and equally finger-licking delicacies.
After having our stomachs filled, we headed for Manali. Next day early morning we reached Manali with a gloomy, cloudy weather to accompanying us. It was a very short halt of an hour in Manali where we booked another traveler for our ongoing journey towards Leh. Within an hour we boarded the new traveled and set for Leh. The road was slowly unfolding its beauty as we made our ascent towards the Rohtang Pass. At an altitude of 3974 mtrs, the Rohtang pass is one of the most beautiful, scenic yet dangerous pass to cross during rainy season. Rohtang as the name suggests was known as “corpse field”, because of the deaths that occurred while people tried to cross the pass. The pass provides a natural divide between the Kullu valley with a primarily Hindu culture (in the south), and the arid high-altitude Lahaul and Spiti valleys with a Buddhist culture (in the north).
The constant downpour made the road even more challenging and we could hardly make more than 5-6 pit-stops. The view was mesmerizing, with the clouds hanging over the mountain ranges. As we were gaining elevation, we could see the clouds below us. We made a halt at Deth Maari for our breakfast. Nothing could beat hot parathas drenched with butter accompanied by a hot serving of tea. After finishing our breakfast, we resumed our journey. The night halt was pre-decided at Pang. Due to heavy downpour the roads were in terrible condition and BRO (Border roads organization) was in constant operation in the revival of the roads. These roads serve as the only route to transfer critical supplies, food grains, medicines and other to the remotely accessible areas of Ladakh. The army trucks and vehicles also used these routes for movement, thus, making them highly critical to be in operation all year round. Due to heavy congestion we had to make many halts in the entire journey. After Keylong, the route was fairly clear. We crossed the famous Gata loops, 22 successive hairpin bends, in pitch dark. With the moon occasionally peaking though the clouds crossing the loop was a real adventure in itself. It was quite late, around 8.30 pm, when we reached Pang, our night halt. Pang is a temporary place built in by the local people for the halts and almost all the lodging arrangements were in tents. After a hot succulent dinner, we drifted to sleep. Next morning almost everybody woke with a headache. Considering we covered an altitude of around 15500 ft in one day, it was not surprising that symptoms of high-altitude sickness was starting to reflect. We started the day with our breakfast at pang along with some medicines to cope with the symptoms.
We started for Leh at around 9.00 am. Also, the weather was getting little better over time. The overcast started to slowly fade away with the sun occasionally peaking to give us hope for a great sightseeing. The morning journey was unquestionably the best part of the Manali Leh journey. The 40km long stretch of level field at such an elevation was breath-taking. The views were out of the world. Snow-capped mountains of all shades along with the occasional brownish red plain lands gave the landscape a surreal feel. Almost everyone of us hopped to grab on a window seat and witnessed the beauty in awe. And as said correctly, mountains don’t disappoint anyone. One could still visualize the sheer beauty of the journey. We arrived Leh at around 1.00 pm and checked in at our hotel.
The trip started on a disappointing note when next morning all the Air India flights to Leh were cancelled due to bad weather. Further to add to the disappointment the Indigo flight to Leh departed as planned. Dejected and losing one day of the trip we were highly disappointed. That day we stayed in Delhi and waited for the next day flight to Leh. The next day was equally disappointing with the flights cancelled again. None of the flights for Leh took off that day. Most of the fellow passengers either changed their plans or cancelled the trip. While we were still trying to figure our way out, we stumbled upon a friend at the airport. They were also heading for Leh. With them joining us we started to look for other options to head to Leh. The only other option left was to take the road, but with the weather turning bad to worse the risks were even higher. Finally, it was a consensus decision to take the road. Now having decided, the next hurdle was to get hold of a traveler willing to take us to Manali from Delhi. With a few phone calls the traveler was finalized and we started out journey for Leh at around 12 am on 4th Sept, 2014.
After having our stomachs filled, we headed for Manali. Next day early morning we reached Manali with a gloomy, cloudy weather to accompanying us. It was a very short halt of an hour in Manali where we booked another traveler for our ongoing journey towards Leh. Within an hour we boarded the new traveled and set for Leh. The road was slowly unfolding its beauty as we made our ascent towards the Rohtang Pass. At an altitude of 3974 mtrs, the Rohtang pass is one of the most beautiful, scenic yet dangerous pass to cross during rainy season. Rohtang as the name suggests was known as “corpse field”, because of the deaths that occurred while people tried to cross the pass. The pass provides a natural divide between the Kullu valley with a primarily Hindu culture (in the south), and the arid high-altitude Lahaul and Spiti valleys with a Buddhist culture (in the north).
The constant downpour made the road even more challenging and we could hardly make more than 5-6 pit-stops. The view was mesmerizing, with the clouds hanging over the mountain ranges. As we were gaining elevation, we could see the clouds below us. We made a halt at Deth Maari for our breakfast. Nothing could beat hot parathas drenched with butter accompanied by a hot serving of tea. After finishing our breakfast, we resumed our journey. The night halt was pre-decided at Pang. Due to heavy downpour the roads were in terrible condition and BRO (Border roads organization) was in constant operation in the revival of the roads. These roads serve as the only route to transfer critical supplies, food grains, medicines and other to the remotely accessible areas of Ladakh. The army trucks and vehicles also used these routes for movement, thus, making them highly critical to be in operation all year round. Due to heavy congestion we had to make many halts in the entire journey. After Keylong, the route was fairly clear. We crossed the famous Gata loops, 22 successive hairpin bends, in pitch dark. With the moon occasionally peaking though the clouds crossing the loop was a real adventure in itself. It was quite late, around 8.30 pm, when we reached Pang, our night halt. Pang is a temporary place built in by the local people for the halts and almost all the lodging arrangements were in tents. After a hot succulent dinner, we drifted to sleep. Next morning almost everybody woke with a headache. Considering we covered an altitude of around 15500 ft in one day, it was not surprising that symptoms of high-altitude sickness was starting to reflect. We started the day with our breakfast at pang along with some medicines to cope with the symptoms.
We started for Leh at around 9.00 am. Also, the weather was getting little better over time. The overcast started to slowly fade away with the sun occasionally peaking to give us hope for a great sightseeing. The morning journey was unquestionably the best part of the Manali Leh journey. The 40km long stretch of level field at such an elevation was breath-taking. The views were out of the world. Snow-capped mountains of all shades along with the occasional brownish red plain lands gave the landscape a surreal feel. Almost everyone of us hopped to grab on a window seat and witnessed the beauty in awe. And as said correctly, mountains don’t disappoint anyone. One could still visualize the sheer beauty of the journey. We arrived Leh at around 1.00 pm and checked in at our hotel.
After having a hot refreshing shower, we had our lunch and dozed off. Next, we remember waking up in the evening and having our hot coffee in the hotel lawn. After finishing our coffee, we head to the local taxi stand to book a cab for our tours for the coming days. Finally, we booked a traveler for our entire trip. We wrapped the day finishing our dinner and went to sleep.
Stay tuned for further exciting trips... :)
The Leh Manali road trip is a must for any mountain lover. Simply breathtaking.
ReplyDeletep.s - nice pics.
Can relate to this very well. A must read for those who are planning to visit Leh-Ladakh.
ReplyDeleteNicely put (y)
ReplyDeletePicturesque....
ReplyDeletecan relate to everything penned here...mesmerizing place
ReplyDeleteMesmerizing photographs, along with a eye soothing piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteNice write up with awesome captures
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading your posts where I can get such useful information. Thanks for sharing. It's invaluable. Book Delhi to Leh Flights and get the best flight rates and deals on Domestic flights.
ReplyDelete