Ladakh-Riding Through The land Of Mountains and Deserts

Land Of Lamas

One word makes every adventurer hold his breath in anticipation...one word makes every naturalist think of the ideal place to be...one word makes every traveler think of an exotic destination...one word makes a pilgrim think of salvation...Himalayas. Yes, the Himalayas with its rugged mountain peaks, evergreen forests, bone chilling regions, ancient temples, makes it an ideal destination for everyone: traveler, pilgrim or hardcore adventurer.


This was a testing time indeed. A stretch of 96 kms to Rumtse via, Tanglang La (17,852 ft asl) with nothing in-between except the rolling mountains.


After Rumtse we moved ahead to reach Leh while visiting the Buddhist Gompas at Hemis, Thikse and Spituk. Hemis Monastery is the oldest in the Ladakh region and is a seat of Buddhist culture and religion. We wondered at the beautiful murals and the enormous statues of Buddha/ Maitreya/ Chamba and Taradevi. Thikse Gonpa is the largest in the region and is built covering a huge hillock. Spituk monastery is situated very near Leh city and dates back to 14th Century AD.

 
Ladakh is a unique region with diverse landscapes: brown sandy deserts and purple, rust cliffs amidst snow clad mountains, where summer is lush green and winter is snow white. And the people are always willing to help travellers, a smile seemingly permanently imprinted on their faces, despite the rigours of their lives.


Our onward journey was to the unexplored regions of Nubra Valley via Khardung La (18380 ft asl) the worlds highest motorable road. The road took us through the most exotic regions where we were beset with surprises throughout our odyssey. The first a stretch was of sand dunes in the middle of snow clad mountains. We had to rub our eyes and pinch ourselves to believe that there exists a desert amidst the snow peaks.