We said goodbye to Bob Marley and left Vashisht/ Manali for a 2 day journey to the region of Ladakh ("The Land of High Passes"), also known as Little Tibet.
This is the most northern region of India, bordering China and Tibet and sits at a minimum height of around 3500m. The capital city is Leh and it was our first destination.
The drive from Manali to Leh is legendary. It crosses the Rohtang Pass at 4000m and then the TaglangLa Pass at 5328m, the 2nd highest road pass in the world. Shoshi was a little reticent to do the drive, having done it 20 years ago and still had the mental scars from the sheer drops, extreme height and crazy drivers.
But after some reassuring words from local tour guides, she relented and we set off for a 2 day drive of around 500km.
To say it was the most amazing drive of our lives would be an understatement. It is quite simply the most breathtaking drive imaginable, crossing mountains, driving through 4m high snow tunnels and finally entering the desert landscape of Ladakh. I could wax on about the drive but the photos tell the story...
Once in Leh, we found ourselves in a beautifully barren desert land, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a quite amazing combination. Think the Negev in Israel combined with the Alps. This may be India but it really did feel like we had arrived in a different country. It has a real Tibetan/ Nepalese feel, the people look different, the atmosphere is quieter and calmer, the streets are cleaner, the food also had a real Tibetan influence. All of which added to a feeling of tranquillity here and in short, we loved it.
The high altitude in Leh takes some getting used to so we spent the first few days relaxing and seeing the sights in and around town, including the picturesque monasteries of Thiksey, Hemis and Chemrey. For Shoshi, it was a bit of a step back in time as she had stayed at Thiksey over 20 years ago when she first visited Ladakh.
Then the Cohen-Zamir family arrived and we headed out on the Sham Valley Trek. A great 3 day hike through desert scenery, very similar to the Negev landscape in Israel. On the 3rd day, we got a little lost and instead of arriving at our prearranged pick-up point, we ended up wandering into an Indian Army base. The soldiers of the Mountain Blazers Artillery Regiment were very helpful, they called our tour company and arranged for the taxi to collect us from the base. Much to the delight of all of the children, they then gave us a ride down to the main road in army jeeps. A surreal end to a great trek!
Back In Leh, we rested for a couple of days then headed out on another 3 day trek, this time on our own to the Zingchen-to-Chilling Trek. Apart from meeting a Scottish family in our first night guesthouse at 4100m altitude, the highlight of this trek was Day 2 when we crossed the Gandala Pass at 4900m. This entailed a 3 hour trek straight up, an accent of 800m over a distance of 7km. The views on the way up were breathtaking, desert, snow, 6000m peaks.
Crossing the Pass also marked a really important moment for us. After the drama on the Annapurna Circuit, it was really important that we hiked up to 4900m all safely together and to successfully cross such a difficult accent was a real 'together' moment.
On reaching the Pass, we then had the small matter of a 19km trek down the other side, descending 1700m in height, to our 2nd night stay in the village of Skyu. That 2nd day ended up being almost 9 hours of trekking, 26km walked, an absolutely brilliant and tiring day. The legs ached the next day but it was worth it, the longest one-day distance we have trekked on our travels so far. It was tough enough for Shoshi and I, so how the kids managed it is beyond us. In fact, it is not just that they managed it, it is more than they practically ran down the 19km after the Pass.
We spent our final few days in Leh, relaxing, eating, sightseeing and attending a couple of local festivals.
We went with high expectations to the renowned Hemis Monastery Festival which everyone had told us was a 'must see'. It turned out to be a 'must miss' - long, dull but as we have learnt on our travels, sometimes is it better to experience and find out for ourselves than not experience at all.
The second was the Ladakh Polo Festival. This was very authentic, we were amongst a handful of non-locals to attend which gave us the opportunity to see the local culture at its best. We were also lucky enough to be invited to sit with the local VIPs, the village chiefs etc so we got matchday hospitality of tea, nuts and dried fruit. A typically warm and friendly ending to our 17 days in Ladakh, certainly the highlight of our time in India so far. Ladakh is a stunning part of India with a wonderful culture, great food, peaceful atmosphere.
Now we're off to Delhi, Rishikesh, Agra and Rajastan, the peace and quiet are officially over...
This is the most northern region of India, bordering China and Tibet and sits at a minimum height of around 3500m. The capital city is Leh and it was our first destination.
The drive from Manali to Leh is legendary. It crosses the Rohtang Pass at 4000m and then the TaglangLa Pass at 5328m, the 2nd highest road pass in the world. Shoshi was a little reticent to do the drive, having done it 20 years ago and still had the mental scars from the sheer drops, extreme height and crazy drivers.
But after some reassuring words from local tour guides, she relented and we set off for a 2 day drive of around 500km.
To say it was the most amazing drive of our lives would be an understatement. It is quite simply the most breathtaking drive imaginable, crossing mountains, driving through 4m high snow tunnels and finally entering the desert landscape of Ladakh. I could wax on about the drive but the photos tell the story...
Once in Leh, we found ourselves in a beautifully barren desert land, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a quite amazing combination. Think the Negev in Israel combined with the Alps. This may be India but it really did feel like we had arrived in a different country. It has a real Tibetan/ Nepalese feel, the people look different, the atmosphere is quieter and calmer, the streets are cleaner, the food also had a real Tibetan influence. All of which added to a feeling of tranquillity here and in short, we loved it.
The high altitude in Leh takes some getting used to so we spent the first few days relaxing and seeing the sights in and around town, including the picturesque monasteries of Thiksey, Hemis and Chemrey. For Shoshi, it was a bit of a step back in time as she had stayed at Thiksey over 20 years ago when she first visited Ladakh.
Then the Cohen-Zamir family arrived and we headed out on the Sham Valley Trek. A great 3 day hike through desert scenery, very similar to the Negev landscape in Israel. On the 3rd day, we got a little lost and instead of arriving at our prearranged pick-up point, we ended up wandering into an Indian Army base. The soldiers of the Mountain Blazers Artillery Regiment were very helpful, they called our tour company and arranged for the taxi to collect us from the base. Much to the delight of all of the children, they then gave us a ride down to the main road in army jeeps. A surreal end to a great trek!
Back In Leh, we rested for a couple of days then headed out on another 3 day trek, this time on our own to the Zingchen-to-Chilling Trek. Apart from meeting a Scottish family in our first night guesthouse at 4100m altitude, the highlight of this trek was Day 2 when we crossed the Gandala Pass at 4900m. This entailed a 3 hour trek straight up, an accent of 800m over a distance of 7km. The views on the way up were breathtaking, desert, snow, 6000m peaks.
Crossing the Pass also marked a really important moment for us. After the drama on the Annapurna Circuit, it was really important that we hiked up to 4900m all safely together and to successfully cross such a difficult accent was a real 'together' moment.
On reaching the Pass, we then had the small matter of a 19km trek down the other side, descending 1700m in height, to our 2nd night stay in the village of Skyu. That 2nd day ended up being almost 9 hours of trekking, 26km walked, an absolutely brilliant and tiring day. The legs ached the next day but it was worth it, the longest one-day distance we have trekked on our travels so far. It was tough enough for Shoshi and I, so how the kids managed it is beyond us. In fact, it is not just that they managed it, it is more than they practically ran down the 19km after the Pass.
We spent our final few days in Leh, relaxing, eating, sightseeing and attending a couple of local festivals.
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| The Shanti Stompa, which Shoshi helped paint over 20 years ago. |
We went with high expectations to the renowned Hemis Monastery Festival which everyone had told us was a 'must see'. It turned out to be a 'must miss' - long, dull but as we have learnt on our travels, sometimes is it better to experience and find out for ourselves than not experience at all.
The second was the Ladakh Polo Festival. This was very authentic, we were amongst a handful of non-locals to attend which gave us the opportunity to see the local culture at its best. We were also lucky enough to be invited to sit with the local VIPs, the village chiefs etc so we got matchday hospitality of tea, nuts and dried fruit. A typically warm and friendly ending to our 17 days in Ladakh, certainly the highlight of our time in India so far. Ladakh is a stunning part of India with a wonderful culture, great food, peaceful atmosphere.
Now we're off to Delhi, Rishikesh, Agra and Rajastan, the peace and quiet are officially over...
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