Leh-Ladakh trip Day 6

The property at Uley where we stayed was fabulous. The name of the property is Uley Ethnic Resort. It has a total of about 20 cottages set amidst an apple and apricot orchard. It is like a five-star property without a swimming pool. The property overlooks the Sindhu River flowing by about 25 meters below. The cottages are compact with a room and a bathroom which are well furnished. They have a separate recreation room and a dining room. The dinner was served very elegantly to us by about 3 servers fussing around us and pampering our every request. It started with soups, 2 different starters, and a full 7 course dinner complete with salads, main course, assortment of breads etc. and finished with a lovely, sweet dish.

The night became very cold here and we had to use couple of hot water bags inside the blanket to keep us warm. One couple found earthworms in their bed – perhaps they came to keep themselves warm!! The next morning, we discovered that hot water is not available on the tap, and one must order for it. We got them in buckets to have our bath.

Ramesh & Lakshmi had decided to terminate the trip due to her health issues. And although she felt much comfortable here at this location, they had to leave early morning to Leh as the new tickets were already booked. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Two of us ventured down the hillside to get to the river. It was a short but difficult trek as there was no clear pathway. We took some pics at the riverside before heading back up.

At about 10.30 a.m., we left for Leh in two vehicles. The other vehicle had gone ahead to the airport in the morning with Ramesh & Lakshmi. We met the other vehicle at Leh and from this time onwards we had 3 vehicles for 8 passengers. Quite a luxury indeed.

Our destination was Nubra Valley for which we had to pass through the 2^nd highest motorable road in the world – the Khardungla Pass (KP). We were excited to see this point as it is a famous spot for all tourists. The drive to KP from Leh was completed in about two and a half hours. As we neared it we could see snow all around us. Entire peaks, passes and valleys were covered with snow. It was a fabulous sight indeed. We got down on the way to play around in the snow and take pictures.

At KP, which is at a height of nearly 17600 feet above sea level, the oxygen level is very low and people can get affected by staying there for too long without proper acclimatization. Hence, we stayed for a max of only 15 minutes. The way down from there took more time due to traffic caused by a convoy of army vehicles. The roads are slippery there due to melting snow and we could see few vehicles had chains tied to their tires to prevent them from skidding.

We reached Nubra valley by evening. On the way, we crossed a huge patch of sand dunes caused by the silt of the rivers as well as sand blown down from the mountains by the wind. It looked like a desert, and we could see such activities there. For e.g., rides on Bactrian camels which had 2 humps, 4-wheel jeep rides etc. When we reached our hotel, it was nearly dusk.

This was also another superb property (The Creek) with about 20 cottages spread over 3 acres of land. Each cottage was very well furnished and had all arrangements one can look forward to from a top-class hotel. We also had an open to the sky bath area which none of us used as it was too cold for us. Dinner at the hotel was preceded by some time by the open-air fireside. As it was cold, the fire was very comforting. Later we had a sumptuous yet simple dinner before retiring for the night.