Ladakh - The real Europe in India (you will forget Switzerland)

Ladakh - the hidden gem

We planned a visit to Ladakh mainly after seeing the “3 idiots” movie. It is mainly to see the Pangong Lake and Rancho School. Let me start by sharing about these two most talking about things itself.

Rancho School is about 20 kms or 30 minutes drive from Leh. This is the place where the character – “Ranchod das chanchad” in the movie started his school and was popular for his innovative ways. It has become a popular tourism destination now. There is a wall with paintaings and a very small ground with a café next to it and that’s all.

But what will shock you is that there the school in the movie is not a reality. There is a school next to this place but has nothing to do with this character and is run by some Buddhist followers. However, for Bollywood fans this place is still quite attractive and we also spent at least 2 -3 hours in this place clicks pictures and eating in the famous “Rancho café”. There is also a souvenir shop where one can buy books, handicrafts, pens, mirror, postcards with 3 idiots memories on it.

Sangam

World's highest rafting point was at Sangam.

Shey Palace

Gurudwara Pathar Sahib

Hall of Fame

Magnetic Hills

Shanti Stupa

Another compelling reason to visit Ladakh was the famous Pangong Lake. This 3-idiots fame lake is a large lake with 30% of its water in India while another 70% lies in China.

Our visit to the place was unique. The timing coincided with a hailstorm and the weather turned extremely cold and windy. We were freezing as we reached there and it was difficult to step out of the cab. However, after half an hour or so the weather turned peaceful and we were able to step out to enjoy the natural beauty. The place has been commercialized with a lot of similar-yellow-painted two-wheelers and halmet available for a photo shot and the three iconic seats on which one can sit and have a memory. Since this location is remote, there are no proper hotels but only tents and outdoor stay arrangements if anyone wishes to stay overnight. The lake looks amazing and one needs to spend time to appreciate the nature. There are not much places to go nearby or activities to do at this place and since this place is at least 150 kms from nubra and around 100+ from leh, the expectations should be kept to minimum and visited only if one can take out time to appreciate this lake in its natural form.

On the way back from Pangong to Leh, we came via Changla pass.

This was a hectic day already as we had started at 5 am from Nubra. We did not know that what is going to happen next is something that we have not witnessed even in the past in our lives. Yes, this is the snowfall which we witnessed as we were approaching Changla Pass. It was a amazing view. Seeing snow or snow-kissed mountains is a different thing but seeing the show fall while driving with snow covered mountains on both sides is a memory to be remembered for the rest of our lives.

I must say that this was entirely co-incidental and we had not planned for it – we just got lucky. After stopping there for a couple of minutes and enjoying this natural beauty, we continued our drive to reach Leh. The cab was slippery due to road being filled with snow, but for us we enjoyed as we have never done this in the past. We reached Leh around dinner time and after having some mouth-watering local dishes, we decided to call if off for the day.

Thang is the last village from India side (Ladakh). It was exciting journey with rivers, bridges, and also to see the check-post from both India and Pakistan side which was separated by electric fencing, but the same river was flowing into Pakistan.

The must have items when in Leh are Mok Mok and Thukpa.

On the way from Leh to Nubra, we had to pass through Khardung la Pass. This is the world’s highest motorable Pass at an altitude of 18,379.

In simple terms, this means that this is the highest point above sea level where one can visit while driving as for any other such height there are no roads or can be reached only by climbing on foot or drop from air. The secenic beauty was amazing as we were approaching Khardung La with mountains filled with snow on both sides. It was a soothing view and rare opportunity for city dwellers like us.

I had heard that there are chances of getting a headache due to high altitude. As we reached there, we could see tourist busses and cabs stopping for taking some pictures and so did we. However, I requested my family to rush through the photo session and we left the place in say around 8 minutes to be precise. I did realize some discomfort after we sat in the cab, however nothing major took place. As we drove a few meters away, we could see some tourists puking or struggling to breathe. They were smelling camphor and even a few wore oxygen masks. I got a bit scared and realised that we should leave from there and get down at the earliest as I could related to this discomfort as well. We requested cab driver to get us to Nubra quickly since it is at a lower altitude than Khardungla as well as Leh. We reached Nubra post lunch, and after check-in we had a late lunch. Finally, I was relaxed as my family was fit and safe. We decided to take rest for the day and leave the local sight-seeing for the next day.

Leh – Kargil – Leh

The first thing I noticed as we reached the hotel in Kargil was that the guy at the reception mentioned to the tourists coming from Kashmir that do not worry, you are in Ladakh. I was quite surprised and after they left I enquired from him as to why did he make that comment. He told me that since they are coming from Gurmarg (Kashmir), he wanted to comfort them that Ladakh in a UT and extremely safe since it is controlled by the Central government directly.

Kargil LOC view Point – This is a must visit place when around Kargil or Dras region. I must admit that the journey to the point is quite scary. It is a single road uphill / downhill with mountain on one side and valley on the other. There is barely any space left for any vehicle even if it is coming from opposite direction. I was praying throughout the journey from Kargil till we reached this point, which took around 45 – 50 minutes. There is a tourist viewpoint here where we can see using binoculars to see surrounding areas.

They charge Rs 150 per person, but I must say that it is worth since they take time to show all the points. The caretaker showed me four Indian soldiers sitting on a mountain top and also that they stay there for months and are all alone to take care of themselves, this is to protect our borders. He also showed me the LOC where on one side I could see three Indian soldiers and on the other side two Pakistani soldiers. This was a sight to watch as there was a very short wall made of stones which separated the two countries. I was told that the soldiers are quite friendly from either side and this wall keeps on shifting as this is a soft border (not an actual official border) and just a line of control, which was quite interesting to know. He also showed me bunkers which have been damaged by the shelling from other side of the border. He also mentioned that we do not loose lives due to fight but mostly due to harsh weather conditions as our soldiers have to be on the borders on mountain tops even in adverse climate – I never knew this in the past. After viewing all the points and thanking the caretaker, we started our way back assuming that it was be easier as we go downhill but to my surprise this was even harder for me as the speed of the cab increased and I could see the valley just next to me. I felt that we could fall any moment, thanks to the experienced cab driver that we reached back to our hotel in Kargil safely.

In the evening, we planned for the famous Kargil War Memorial. Actually, it is Dras War momorial and is created to honour Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the Kargil war.

Dras is the last town in Ladakh before entering J&K. We can also figure out the changes if we carefully observe the dressing style and food patters of the localities. The visit to the memorial gives a patriotic feeling as we as make us feel how our soldiers have laid down their lives so that we can sleep peacefully in our homes. It was a different experience as we walked in with a big Indian flag, pink sandstone wall with names of our brave martyrs engraved on it, artillery war pieces, and a hall with the history of all the wars which took place since independence.

Turtuk Village