Leh-Ladhak trip - Day 2

The Sun rose early on Day 2 and it was fairly bright by 6 a.m. As we were not used to the cold, we woke up leisurely and after getting ready went for breakfast at the restaurant within our hotel property. The fare was limited but very delicious. We had juice, fresh cut fruits, bread butter jam, some paratha, some Upma etc. Followed by tea / coffee / hot cocoa.

Raju, who was feeling unwell the previous day and had literally fasted & rested the whole time, was up and about having recovered. Lakshmi was still feeling down and everyone tried their best to cheer her up.

After breakfast, we went in the three cars for some sight seeing. The first was Stok Palace which was a half hour drive away. On the way, we had our first glimpse of the mighty & holy Sindhu river. The Stok palace used to be the residence of the Namgyal dynasty of Leh for many decades. It is now converted into a hotel which captures the rich heritage of Ladhak. The location was very scenic but the palace was closed for renovation. We were not allowed inside even for a quick glimpse and had to be content to walk around the compound and take pictures outside.

After this we went to the Matho Monastery which is located about 26 kms from Leh. It was an impressive structure which must have once been inhabited by thousands of monks. There were multiple places for worship and reading of scriptures. However, the place was literally deserted when we arrived. We went around the monastery, took pictures, read the inscriptions etc. before coming back to our vehicles to head for our next destination.

About 30 minutes drive away was the Leh Palace which is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful heritage structures of Leh. Built over 3 years using local materials in the 1600s by Sengge Namgyal, it is a 9 storeyed structure with hundreds of rooms & wide balconies. Some of our team members decided to stay put near the entrance daunted by the number of floors to climb. Some of us went up and had the fortune of seeing the exhibition as well as the audio visual describing the history of the palace. Many of the rooms are locked and out of bounds for visitors due to security & safety reasons. The Palace is being restored to its original glory to showcase this marvel the World.

After this visit, we decided to go back to our hotel for some lunch and rest. The drivers were given the day off after dropping us back. After a simple yet sumptuous lunch, we took some rest. This was essential to get fully acclimatized. In the evening, we played some cards inside our rooms. Later we had an early dinner before retiring for the night.

Thus ended Day 2 of out stay at Leh.

Leh-Ladhak trip Day 1

Five couples from our yatra group decided to go to Leh-Ladhak in May of 2023 and this blog captures the day 1 of the trip.

We left early morning to catch out 7.20 a.m. direct flight to Leh. In the last minute rush, Raju has left behind his sling bag containing his medicine and we had to turn back to retrieve it. Fortunately due to empty roads at that hour, we still reached well on time for our check in.

Flight took off on time and the 2.20 minutes flight was smooth. We had some Theplas carried by Raju and hot tea on the flight. As we neared Leh, we could see beautiful snow capped mountains welcoming us. The Leh Airport is run by defence personnel and photography is strictly prohibited here. We did manage to get a group picture inside the baggage hold area as well as outside the airport.

We were received by Mr. Wangyal, from our tour operator's team, who welcomed us with traditional & colourful Ladhaki neck scarfs. It is supposed to bring good luck to the visitors.

The temperature at Leh when we landed at 9.45 a.m. was 9°C which was quite a change from the 27°C at Mumbai when we departed at 7.20 a.m. We had to wear one layer of warm clothing at least to cope with this. Luckily it was sunny and bright bringing us some cheer in the cold weather.

Leh is situated at an altitude of nearly 12000 feet above sea level. It is one of the two capitals of the state of Ladhak. The other being Kargil which was part of our itinerary later during the trip. Leh has a population of roughly 3 lakhs which comprises of 45% Muslims, 40% Buddhists and the rest are from various religions.

We got into 3 Innovas and were driven to our hotel - Angkasa Ladhakh Resort. It was a short drive of about 25 minutes from the airport. The resort is located in the area of the model village Saboo. The property is well furnished and modern and yet has an old world charm in the form of cottages. It has a total of only 16 rooms and is only a year old.

We were received by the owner Mr. Dorge who also welcomed us with traditional Ladhaki good luck pure white neck scarves. He also gave us some advice on dos & don'ts for the first couple of days to help us acclimatize well.

After a cup of coffee at the reception, we went to our respective rooms and after some time assembled in a room to chat & decide on the plans for the day. Unfortunately, couple of our members faced health problems (nausea, breathlessness, headache etc.). So, we decided to take it easy on Day 1. We had a light lunch of Dal Kichadi, mix vegetables, plain rice, dahi and roast papads.

After that we spent some time chatting and in the evening four of us decided to go to the market area to look it up while the rest remained at the property to rest.

The market was nice. No vehicles allowed. Very few people in the streets as compared to the mass rush at Mumbai. We did quite a bit of window shopping in various shops selling local & Kashmiri artefacts. We were accompanied by Mr. Wangyal who acted like a local guide and answered all our questions while giving his own perspective of things. We also visited a monastery near the market where our guide gave us good insights into the Buddhist way of worship. Later, we had tea at a local nukkad shop before returning to our hotel.

In the night we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel where the owner was celebrating his 2 year old son's birthday. We also were treated to the birthday cake. Dinner was skipped by the two group members (Raju & Lakshmi) who were resting.

After dinner we retired early as all of us were tired and wanted to catch up on our sleep. It was the end of a hectic and tiring first day of our Leh-Ladhak trip.