It is said that you are very lucky if you are born in India. I truly felt I was lucky when I visited Leh Ladakh and saw its enormous beauty. We were a group of 12 people. I was the youngest in the group and my companion was my Grandfather, oldest in the group. We all admired his zeal and enthusiasm at the age of 78.
We were initially scared about the locals and feared the place as it is very close to the border, but then as Darr ke age jeet hai, we had to overcome our fear to visit such a heavenly place and it had some of the most lovable people I had ever met. Its beauty captured our heart and soul and left us spell bounded.
We started our journey from Srinagar visiting beautiful Dal Lake doing, surfing in the clear and calm waters and shopping in house boat, Pari Mahal and Chasme Shahi. Our first halt was drass which is regarded as the second coldest inhabited place in the world. I must say it was cold, being summer we had to wear 2 sweaters. Temperature drops down to -40 degree in winter season. Electricity all through the trip was only for 3 hours in a day from 7 pm to 10 pm except for main Leh city where we found electricity for full day.
Our tour operator took us to a short trip in the evening to see Old Drass village. He also told us stories and pointed out places of Kargil war that had shook the country, and also explained us how bravely our soldiers brought victory home. Evening was beautiful with twinkling stars and snow clad peaks visible at a distance.
Before reaching our destination of 2nd day, we had a halt at Kargil, where soldiers told us their stories and we felt so proud to be an Indian and saluted them from heart for the safety they provide to us. It is only because of them we are able to sleep peacefully. They sacrifice their sleep, their family so that we can roam around freely. We, sitting in our homes do not realize all the things which we are taking for granted.
Our 2nd day journey was a bit off route and we had a night halt at a place called Dah. There giving us company were two German girls who were staying there from a month to study ancient medicines. Mountains on all four sides and Indus River flowing underneath was a small place where we stayed for the night. It was amazing to see our house owner baking breads when electricity came in for our next day breakfast. He would pluck fresh vegetables and cook it deliciously and serve us. Serene, quiet, calm and soul touching was this lonely but beautiful place. At night it was a bit scary as it was pitch dark and the prankster in us took over and all of us started narrating ghost stories.
Next day we had finally reached our destination, i.e. Leh City. It is said it is not the destination but the journey which you have to enjoy. We all thoroughly enjoyed the journey of reaching Leh but this was not the end it was a pause for a beautiful second half of the journey. Later that evening we visited Leh Palace, Rancho School as it is fondly known, Hall of fame, and this place brought tears to our eyes as it narrated the part of soldiers who had lost their life in saving India and the beautiful Dikshit Monastery.
5th Day we were about to experience all the landscape possible in a period of 5 hours. Yes, we were heading to Numbra valley. Journey started early morning but we were stuck due to the landslide which happened previous night. Their workers are all so active and despite the roads getting damaged every day they create new roads for passenger’s ease. When we were stuck, we experienced snow fall. We played and created trains and snow man to play with. After being stuck for nearly 3 hours we were able to move ahead. Just imagine 18000 feet, snow on all side and you witness a land slide just ahead of you. That night we were stuck again. But thankfully nobody was harmed and again a wait began, but this time we were scared and were praying that it does not happen again and damage anybody. We thankfully reached safely after crossing the highest motorable road in the world i.e. Khandurg La Pass. It is observed that double hump camel are found only in two places in the world, one is Numbra Valley and another is Siberia. We all experienced a drastic change from snow clad mountains to vast ocean of sand.
Then was the day to go to Pangong Lake. It is estimated that Pangong Lake is 150 feet long and only 1/3th is present in India and 2/3rd is in China. No photo, no video can describe the beauty of Pangong Lake. You have to see the lake to believe it. It changes color as time passes from brown to blue to green and it is so clear that you can see the stones present underneath. It is so ice cold that I challenge to stay in the water for more than 5 minutes.
As all good things come to end this trip also came to end the trip came to end next day. Heartbreakingly we bid goodbye to such a beautiful place where we experienced amazing lake views, snow falls, landslides, desert and much more.
It wasn’t just the scenic beauty which impressed me. It was the way in which so many layers of breathtaking moments were wrapped one beneath the other. Everything had a serene touch to it. Never felt more proud of being an Indian.
