Leh Revisited

 The original residents-above and below.

 The intruders..

 Indus and Zanskar come together.. and snow-clad mountains from the pathways.

My First Snowfall

A first view of snow was in Gulmarg, Kashmir, in 1978, I think, but my first actual snowfall was in the U.S. at Clemson. And boy, it was exciting- for about an hour, maybe two. We did all the crazy things that one does, usually. Here, I was bewitched-

Clemson not being used to much snow, did not have equipment to clear it. So we were pretty much stranded as far as using cars went, and we walked as much as we could. But mostly, we chilled (literally) at home. It was like the Mumbai rain holidays.

The beauty of a snow-clad view was in two places- Leh recently, and Grand Canyon in the U.S. The night we visited one Thanksgiving Weekend, we found there was heavy snowfall. The next morning, there were amazing views (this place remains one of my favourites in the U.S., apart from Yellowstone).

Leh with snow-women.-

Ladakh Snowscapes- First Anniversary

It is the first anniversary (almost) of my first visit to Ladakh. Also, it's hot right now in Nagpur, so these are nice things to remember. These were taken on way to Pangong Lake from Ladakh.

Pangong Lake

I found some more pics of Pangong Lake from our recent trip, so I am packing them in to this blog. Can't resist it.

Ladakh Files-Essay

We were pretty much speechless. The view from our hotel (Royal Ladakh) was of the snow-clad peaks-you could sit and stare for a whole day and not get bored! Actually even before, we had great views from the Delhi-Leh flight wwhich starts at 5.40 am. Right time to arrive on top of the Manali area mountains enroute to Leh.

After a day of mostly sleeping to get used to the 11,500 ft altitude, we went to a local CCD lookalike called Desert Rain for coffee in the Leh Bazaar. Lot of gossiping youngsters, just like our kids! Next day, we went to some monasteries- Hemis and Thiksay, and Shey Palace. Hemis had a great museum, with history and exhibits of various kinds. Off the Manali highway. Thiksay is probably in the best condition, with a smiling Buddha statue. That is the red-orange one. Fabulous views from the terraces. We spun a few fortune wheels, and it helped us through a very smooth, enjoyable trip. Arranged by Girikand Travels thru an agent in Srinagar. Whole package without airfares (Leh to Leh in their terminology ) was about 18000 per head with food acco and sightseeing. Food was packed if we went on day trips.

Day 2, we went towards Srinagar to a place called Uley Ethnic Resort at Uleytokpo. Saw the Magnetic Hill, the Hall of Fame (a museum for Kargil and other heroes), and the Indus-Zanskar Sangam. Uleytokpo is on a cliff, with tents and a common bath. Very clean, and hot water and all that. Facing mountains on all sides, and the river on the last, t is on a cliff. Beautiful sight and experience.

Day 3, we left the camp, and drove further to Lamayuru. Again a spectacularly located monstery, and a great drive (we took the high altitude old highway out of compulsion which has better top down views and it kisses the mountain tops). Back again to Leh via Uleytokpo where we had a very nice lunch (part of the package).

Last day, we went to Pangong Lake, which is off the Manali road towards China from Karu town junction. On the way was such diverse scenery that I couldn' believe my eyes. Mountains of all hues from green, blue, yellow, and shades in between. Rivers, frozen rivers, ice-capped peaks and valleys, sandy river beds, stones of various shapes-Anu collected a few- and of course, the first sight of the blue-green lake. Fantastic sight. The lake is so lovely, you can again stare at it for a day !

More later as I remember. On the whole, it was unforgettable. The Manali road was better than the Srinagar one-the portion we went on.
Don't be surprised if I become a lama.

Rivers

I grew up around the Godavari river. Happened to visit the various tributaries of the Ganga during a trip to Badrinath a few years ago. This May, we saw the Indus and Zanskar rivers (the sangam in the pics here) during the Leh-Ladakh trip. It's a great feeling to see some of these cradles of human civilization, and ponder the role they played in shaping human destiny. Otherwise, Man might as well have been on the Moon!

Leh Ladakh 2

The monasteries near Leh are worth a look, though some are badly kept. Thiksay is the best I liked, on a hill close by. But the serenity is amazing. No more words.

Leh Ladakh 1

A picture is worth a thousand words. So here are my first four thousand words. Will follow up with a few more thousand. The room with a view took on an entirely new meaning for me, during this trip. The view from our hotel lawns and the room was simply out of the world.