Leh Ladakh - A Dream Place for everyone

 Ladakh, is a dream destination for many & is a must go place even if you are not a traveler. It is located at an altitude of 3542 meters above sea level & is also known as the "The Land of high Passes". It's a place of beautiful landscapes, that cannot be found anywhere in India. The blend of Brown, Green & White Himalayas looks very beautiful under the blue clouded sky. There are two ways to reach Ladakh like by Flight or by road. Both the ways are beautiful in its own way.

                                                                 View from flight

Best Time to Travel : Leh is open for whole year, but if you have to explore most of the places then the best time for you is April to August. Since ladakh is at high altitude, winters are long here. You can see snowfall in some region from end sept. or starting of oct. & then heavy snowfall in December, January & February month. Due to this most of the roads are blocked & you can not explore much places. Also in winters bike ride is very difficult & which is a must do thing when in ladakh. 

Hotel : There are many hotels in leh in ranging from 2000 - 15000 INR for 2 persons & 1 Night. I would suggest you to book Hotel Sangaylay Palace. It costs only 3500 for one night. if you have a low budget, then you can also go with Hotel White Yak. Both the hotels have good services & great staff. While the famous hotel in ladakh in Hotel Grand Dragon, it is a 5 star hotel & it costs 12000 for 1 night. Book your hotel in advance atleast 10-15 days prior to trip. 

Below are the top picked places to visit in Leh-Ladakh :

Thiksey Monastery : The monastery is located on a top of the hill in thiksey approx 19 kms from Leh city on Leh-Manali highway. It is a small village with great people. It is a twelve-storey complex & houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings & swords. The entry fee for the monastery is 20 rupees both for Indians & foreigners. The monastery is open for 7 days in a week & from 7 AM in the morning to 7 PM in evening.

Shanti Stupa : The shanti stupa was constructed in 1991 Japanese Buddhist, Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura. The construction was jointly done by the japanese & ladakhi Buddhists to mark the completion of 2500 years of Buddhism. It is located at the top of a hill at a distance of 5 kms from Leh City. It is also popular amongst tourists as it offers a sweeping view of Leh & the nearby Changspa Village. Since it is a religious place for Buddhists, it holds the relics of Buddha.

Khardung La : Khardung La, one of the favorite pass for bikers, every biker dreamed to go this place. It is located at a distance of 39.6 kms from leh & at a height of 5359 meters above sea level. It offers a full view of beautiful landscape himalayan ranges. It was bulit in 1976 & was opened for public in 1988. It is very important for India, as it is used to carry supplies to Siachen glacier. Due to heavy rains & snowfall this pass remains closed from November to March & no one can go beyond the pass.

Nubra Valley : Nubra valley is located at a distance of around 140 kms from leh, can reach via khardung la. The valley has Shyok & Nubra rivers snaking through it. The one who loves peace, must visit to this valley. The region of Nubra Valley is under supervision of military because the road further leads siachen base camp, which happens to be the highest battlefield in the world. 

Turtuk Village : It is a small village located in Nubra Valley in the region of Ladakh, on the bank of Shyok River. It is the northmost village in India lying very close to the India Pakistan border, in the Baltistan region. Turtuk is an unexplored place opened for tourists in 2010. There is not much to do in turtuk apart from trekking & visiting 2 monasteries & the Royal House. It remains cut off from Ladakh for around 6 months during winters. The people & culture of Turtuk village is its charm only. It is one of the few places in India to experience the Balti culture as Turtuk is one of the four Baltistani villages under the control of India, the rest are controlled by Pakistan.

Pangong Tso : Pangong lake is located at a distance of 150 kms from leh at an altitude of 4350 meters above sea level. It is the most popular tourist attraction in ladakh region. The lake is 12 kms long & extended from India to Tibet. The lake has a unique feature that it does not remain blue throughout the year or even a day, rather it changes color from azure to light blue to green & grey too. Since the lake falls on the Sino-Indian Actual Line of Control, an inner line permit is required to visit it. The Indian residents can easily obtain individual permits while foreign tourists need to obtain a permit with at least 3 persons in the group. The permit can be easily obtained at the tourist office in Leh, for a small fee. Since the lake is at high altitude temperature ranges here from -5°C to 10°C, as a result of which it freezes completely during winters.

Puga Valley : Puga Valley is located at a distance of 176 kms from Leh on Leh - Manali highway side. This zone shows evidence of geothermal activity in the form of hot springs, mud pools, sulphur and borax deposits. It is not so much famous & very less people know about it. As this place went viral only because of a girl's viral video. 

Magnetic Hill : The hill lies at a distance of 30 kms from the town of Leh on Leh-Kargil highway, at an elevation of around 14000 feet above sea level. Magnetic hill of ladakh is a cyclops hill where vehicles defy the force of gravity & move upward on the hill when parked at the marked location. To experience this phenomenon, park the car in neutral gear in the yellow box marked a few meters ahead of the magnetic hill road. From this point, the car starts moving at the speed of 20 kmph. An optical illusion or actuality. the Magnetic hill in Ladakh has mysterious magnetic properties that draw tourists from across the globe.

Druk White Lotus School : The Druk White Lotus School, also known as Druk Padma Karpo School, is a Buddhist cultural school located in the Shey Valley, close to Shey monastery. It is also popular with the name of Rancho School from the Bollywood movie 3-idiots. Rancho's wall is the main attraction of the School, where "Chatur" was given the electric shock. It was deployed in 2010 flash floods, a replica of this wall has been created at the corner of the school campus.

Royal Leh Palace : The Palace is one of the central attractions in Leh. The other name of Leh Palace is 'Lhachen Palkhar'. It was formed in 17th century by king Sengge Namgyal, it used to be the house of the family. The nine-storey dun-colored palace has a museum & a prayer room. The beauty of Leh palace still stands in pride with a lot of ancient Buddha relics, paintings, old utensils, cutlery used by the royal family. The palace looks even more stunning when it is lighted upon certain special occasions, such as Galdam Namchot.

Zanskar Valley : The valley is situated at a distance of 248 kms from Kargil district in the east of Ladakh. It is locally pronounced as Zahar or Zangskar & it is separated by zanskar mountain range from ladakh. Zanskar is known for raw landscape & mostly travelled for trekking & river rafting. The valley take a rest of over 9 months in year from the world due to heavy snowfall in the region. The only way of reaching zanskar during the winter months of Dec to Feb is via challenging Chadar Trek.

Sangam Point : Sangam is located at the distance of 35 kms from Leh on Srinagar Highway. It is the confluence of Zanskar & Indus Rivers in Ladakh region. This is perfect site to witness the meeting of two rivers. The flow of the rivers changes as per the weather. The Indus river is one of the longest river in Asia originating from Tibet, while Zanskar river formed from Zanskar Valley in ladakh region.

Tso Moriri Lake : Tso Moriri Lake is the largest high altitude lakes in India located at an altitude of 15075 ft above from sea level. This lake offers a scenic view of mountains with blue sky & blue water. You can call it a twin to the pangong lake. An Inner line permit in required to visit the lake. The lake can only be visited during the months from April to December. The lake remains inaccessible & frozen from Jan to March.

Chang La Pass : Chang La Pass is a high mountain pass & one of the highest motorable roads in the world. It is located between Leh & Pangong lake. The pass is the main gateway to the Nubra Valley & is popular amongst the bikers. Chang La is open for tourists from Mid May to end of October. Do not stay more than 20 mins at Chang La Pass to avoid high altitude sickness. The pass is secured & protected by Indian Army as it is very close to china border. DRDO has established world's highest research center at Chang La. The Chang La Temple dedicated to Changla Baba, is also located here.

Chadar Frozen River : The Chadar Trek or The Frozen River Expedition is one of the most unique & challenging treks in India. The 6 days trek across the frozen zanskar river in Ladakh takes place from the mid of Jan to end of Feb when the river gets freezes, sometimes it gets in the first week of March depending on the weather. The locals take a road to the Zanskar to Nerak in summers. During winters, the road is blocked & dangerous to travel so locals trek along the Zanskar river which is frozen at this time. So the trek along the frozen Zanskar River is known as the Chadar Trek.

Gurudwara Pathar Sahib Ji : Gurudwara sahib ji is located 25 kms from Leh on Leh- Kargil highway. It is dedicated to Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji. It is built at the site where he is believed to have vanquished a demon. The gurudwara is looked after by the Indian army. The locals believe that in the 15th century, Guru Nanak stayed at this location which was dominated by a demon. when the locals sought his help, the demon threw a boulder towards Guru Nanak that turned into wax on touching his back & took its shape. This rock is now worshipped at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib ji. Most of the vehicles stop here & pay their respect before continuing on their journey. Tea & Rusk is served 24 hrs as langar.

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