Land of the broken moon

A must visit and must experience place for every one on Planet Earth
Ladakh is a land like no other. It is enclosed by two of the world's mightiest and perhaps the loftiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalayan and the Magnificent Karakoram abd further surrounded by two other smaller ranges, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range. It is believed by geologists that about 40 million years ago the tectonic plate of the Indian sub-continent collided with the continent of Eurasia giving rise to the 1,500 miles long Greater Himalayan range and Ladakh was the point where the subcontinent collided with the continent of Eurasia. Ladakh covers an area of about 95,000 square kilometers and has perhaps one of the lowest population densities in the world, apparently 2 inhabitation per kilometer.

Leh is at a height of about 11000 feet or roughly about 3500 metres. For people flying to Leh from any other place within India, its a straight jump from sea level to 11000 feet within a matter of less than one hour. You can well imagine what that would be like, specially for people not acccustomed to heights of that nature.

Ladakh has a short summer, starting in May, it’s over by August. Add to this the restricted accessibility of this region between November and May when snow blocks all land communication with the rest of the world. In Leh, the summers (March to May) are hot and the mercury level rises up to 40°c but the winters (November to February) are chilly cold and the mercury level comes down to very well below 0°C, even up to as much as - 30°C and the whole area will be covered with snow during winters. The evenings, even in summers, can turn chilly very quickly depending on snow fall on the peaks encircling Leh town so its always advisable to carry some light wollens and raincoats or umbrellas even during the summers.

This is a land of stark landscapes, akin to the landscape on the moon which is why it is also referred to as the land of the broken moon. Why its a broken moon, I dont know yet. Being in a complete rainshadow region, cut off from the monsoon clouds by the four mountain ranges, it is a cold high altitude desert where the wind, water from the minimal winter snows, and chemical reactions within the rocks themselves, have carved a fantastic, sometimes grotesque, landscape.

Outside the main town area, the place is very serene, quiet and with a very calming influence. You can perhaps never imagine how peaceful it can be looking at barren mountains and listening to the flow of the Indus or the Zanskar. I could spend hours just staring. Amazing. It's mountains mountains every where. In fact the name ''Ladakh'' itself means the ''land of the high passes''. Taglang La - 17,000 ft.- and Khardung La - 18000 ft. - were two of the most important passes on the ancient silk route.

There is just so much to see and do here and in fact just so much to NOT do anything here.

The monasteries of Ladakh are are several centuries old and boast some original paintings and tangkhas of similar vintage. Some of these monastries have intricate frescos, colourful friezes, awe inspiring motifs with demons, dragons, skulls, virtue, vice, Buddha and his incarnations – all inextricably linked to one another in baffling combinations. My personal favorites - Hemis, Shanti and Thikse
Hemis Gompa is a 17th century monastery and perhaps the largest in the region. It is about 45 km from Leh and belongs to Brokpa sect.
Shanti Stupa was built by Dalai Lama in 1985 with Japanese aid and offers exotic views of the surroundings.
Thiksey Monastery is about 20 km from Leh and i would say perhaps one of the most beautiful and majestic monastery of Ladakh. Situated atop the hill, it belongs to Gelukpa order.

Something that is lovely about the place is that it offers a very pleasant experience in the crisp air of mornings and evenings. You could easily saunter through the orchards at some places outside Leh, of course the names of those places, i can't recall at the present moment. You could see apricot blossoms or fruits, depending on the season that you visit this place. The people are very nice and you could spend quite a bit of time speaking with them and learning a lot of local, natural medicines and healing processes. They will love to teach you their own Buddhist ways of praying. You can easily persuade some of them to sing songs as i think just about everyone there sings.

Take some time out to make a trip to the confluence of the Indus and the Zanskar. Go river rafting. Enjoy the serenity of the place. Get at peace with your self here. Communicate with your spouse or partner better than any place else on earth. This is the place to be. Whether you be alone or be in a group this place is worth spending some time on even though there is nothing else here other than two rivers meeting one another. There are no shops, no people, no animals, nothing. Sirf main aur meri tanhayi - Just you and your solitude. And you will love yourself for it. This is not exactly white or blue water rafting but fun all the same with exhilarating scenery all around and scope to catch an odd glimpse of some endangered animal risking a quick drink by the riverbank. Leh is bursting with enterprises offering adventure activities. Talk to any one of them to fix your one-to-one down the Indus at a reasonable price. It's worth it.

Places to visit
Do you want to see lots or relax lots...that is critical because a lot of time will be spent in travelling around leh and within Ladakh. You must decide on your priorities if you are going ther for a week or less. If you are going for a two week trip, then you can really cover Ladkah well and feel oh so rejuvenated thereafter. However since most people go there for 4 to 5 days, it is important to decide on your priorities. For people coming from the plains, specially those who fly down to Leh rather than coming by road, it is necessary to acclimatize with the place since the change of altitude is very suddent - 55 minutes flight time - so the exertion on the body is tremendous.
Assuming you want to optimize as much as you can, reach Leh early morning by flight from Delhi or Mumbai. Stay within the city the whole time on the first day. Visit the monastries and pay a visit to the Indus on the first and the second day, see the king's palace as well and do some initial rounds of shopping if you are one of those who likes to shop
The third day, take a trip to the Nubra valley via the Khardung La - 18000 feet, highest motorable road in the world till last year. Apparently the Chinese have built a still higher road last year in Tibet. You will reach the pass in about 3 hours time at best. Spend some time there. It has fabulous views. You have to go to this place. They advise you NOT to spend more than half an hour at the pass due to the minimal level of oxygen at this height. Descend from there and on the way to the Nubra valley.
Its a lovely valley and you will need to spend a night here. The double humped camel found in Northern Russia is also available here - the only place in India where it can be seen in the wild. The scenery otherwise is quite nice on the way to this place and at the place as well. The so well known Siachen glacier lies further north of this valley. The Karakoram pass is also around here and connects the valley to Xinjiang in China. You must visit this place to understand what the Indian Army is up against on all three sides. This entire valley and the various passes around here connect India to various other countries in Central Asia but of course thanks to the Chinese and Pakistanis almost all these passes are closed since 1947. The next day you get back to Leh and take loads of rest there. You will reach Leh via Khardung La but by the time you reach Leh, it would perhaps be late afternoon. So get back in your hotel and SLEEP WELL.

Day 5 is for a trip to Pangong lake if you are still not tired and really up for another breathtaking tour that culminates in a mind boggling, majestic view. The lake is situated at a height of about 13,900 ft. It is 134 km long and extends from India to China. Local people there suggest that before 1962 the entire lake was with India but in 1962 the Chinese annexed more than 2/3rds of it. The lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point. During winter, the lake freezes completely, despite its saline waters. You can get back to Leh the same day, but of course you will reach Leh by 7p.m. if you start at least at 6a.m. in the morning from Leh.

Day 6 should be reserved for making trips to the Markha valley and to try and meet with the Drokpa tribe, who are said to be direct descendants of the Aryans, as in the dynasty of Lord Ram. I guess by now you would be all charged up and would have started remembering all the pending work in your office. So get ready for some last minute shopping and for the flight back home the next morning.

If you are an Indian then of course you would have many more important tasks to get back to. If, however you are a European, then surely you will be able to find some time still and go for some really fabulous 4 to 5 day treks that can easily be organized by the many many travel and tour operators from Leh itself. However if you are really interested in these treks you must fill in your applications just as you arrive in to Leh on the first day itself since organizing tours takes its own time, not to mention the permits that you would be required to have. These are however managed by the tour operators themselves as long as you give them sufficient time.

Do tell me how you found this article. If you are interested in some more information on Ladakh i would be happy to help in which ever manner i can.