Ladakh revisited - June 2010 A cold cold desert

tsk1979

bskaran

Wow! some really great shots in. very well captured.

Tango

incredible seriesbow

schmoo

So so so incredible. How does one travel around and get there? It looks very bleak and harsh, and I imagine in real life it's much more so.

tsk1979

LAdakh is a cold desert, and a favorite amongst adventure toursits.
Unfortunately, on 5th August, a series of cloudburst, unheard of in this region led to mudslides and flash floods. The entire city is under mud. over 200 are dead, and hundreds are still missing.
Both the roads to Ladakh(manali leh highway and srinagar leh highway) have been blocked due to landslides, and army is working on a war footing to restore connectivity. Even cell phone and other communication lines are down, and emergency satellite communication networks have been set up.

Hopefully, in a month, the region will recover.

Coming to your question, getting there is easy.
You catch a flight to New Delhi, and then you can travel by road on the Manali leh highway(very incredible) or the Sringar leh highway(easier, but more run of the mill, and more politically unstable).

Going by roads helps you acclimatize.
You can also catch a flight to Leh from Delhi.
There your hotel owner will arrange "Permits" for you, and local taxis are the prefered way for foreign tourists to get around.
Typically, the spots of interest are
1. Nubra valley (sand dunes)
2. Pangong Tso ( A high altitude inland sea at 4000m+ above sea level)
3. Tso moriri (A high altitude lake around 4500m above sea level).
A week is required to see all the sights, but 9 days is optimum. Gives you an extra day to rest an acclimatize in Leh.

It was our second trip, and we drive in our own vehicle(me and my wife). Being Indians, some regions which are off access to foreign nationals(sensitive border areas) are allowed for us. Apart from these areas, there are some other very remote regions which are allowed only to locals.

If you want to plan your trip, I would recommend August end or June beginning when the tourist rush is low. The season starts in may, and ends in october. Oct to May, the region is cut off as the high altiude access roads to the Leh town get blocked seasonally.

In May Srinagar Leh highway opens, and in June the Manali Leh.
This year has been crazy, the Manali leh highway opened in june, but closed within 2 days due to heavy snowfall, and glaciers on road. By June end it was opened again, only to close again due to landslindes trigged by heavy rains.
The Aug 5 cloudburst and heavy rains in the entire region has washed away lots of road sections, and it may be a month before connectivity is restored.

A dirty little secret(true for all tourist spots in India) - Foreign tourists are usually charged more and somewhat exploited. Due to current difference, they do not feel the difference much, but then you can save quite a bit on your hotel bills if you know someone.
So if you plan a trip, do let me know.

I will forward some contacts.
Moreover, there are many honest guest houses there which do not try this hanky panky, and charge similar rates to Indians and foreigners.

tsk1979

Time for the next installment

jamesl

Incredible images! What a wonderful place to visit. I've been very sorry to hear about all the rain and flooding in that region, and the deaths and loss of housing.

schmoo

Wow thank you for all the great info Tanveer! I did hear about how tourists are generally exploited, but you get that in many areas of the world where they can probably really use the money anyway.

I've always wanted to see these mountains in real life and shoot them, as it's unlike anyplace else in the world. It won't be anytime soon but you sure betcha I'll be in touch when the time is right.

For now best of luck to all the people affected by the flooding, and I'll enjoy your gorgeous photos.

Awais Yaqub

Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos

tsk1979

Thanks for your comments, the next installment
Taken at the high Altitude lakes of Kyun Tso, which I had mentioned in another post