Around and About Ladakh
How do I get there?
India Travel Packages - The best place to embark on a voyage of discovery of Ladakh is from its capital Leh. Leh is best connected to places in Ladakh as well as to New Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu - Travel Packages of India.
By Air
Indin Travel Packages - Ladakh's capital Leh is connected by an Indian Airlines service that comes in to the airport, 5kms from the main town on the Srinagar Highway. Indian Airlines has 3-5 flights on the Delhi-Leh sector in peak season (June to September). Foreigners have to pay a US $10 entry fee. From the airport, shuttle bus services and shared jeep-taxis are available into town. Weather conditions can be erratic in Leh and flights get cancelled at short notice. Check before travelling and book well in advance, since flights are usually full - Indian Travel Packages Asia.
By Road
Travel Packages to Ladakh - The most used overland approach to Ladakh is from the Kashmir valley on the Srinagar-Leh road (435km), The highway opens in early June just as the summer traffic to the region begins and closes down by November. The highway crooses some really fabulous scenic areas before entering Ladakh through the Zoji-La pass (3505m) - Ladakh Travel Packages.
Travel Packages of Ladakh - Leh is connected by two major highway routes, one to Manali and the other to Srinagar. Both traverse treacherous mountain routes and high passes, many times getting blocked due to landslides. The Leh-Srinagar road runs close to the border with Pakistan and is often closed for traffic by the army. The Manali-Leh drive takes appoximately 2 days and is best done in the summer months. Most road connections to Leh open only in the summer months from mid-June till end of September. You can do the route either by private cars and jeeps or by the tourist buses that run from Manali. Buses come in to the town bus stand, close to the main bazaar and near most of the hotels - India Travel Packages.
Getting Around
Travel Packages of India - Regular public bus services ply between the two main towns of Leh and Kargil on a fixed route basis; the other small hamlets and villages in Ladakh are connected to each other by mini-buses. The only air service is the flights into Leh from outside Ladakh. Visitors to Ladakh can hire cars, MUVs or 4WDs from any one of the many travel agents in Leh for excursions into the interiors of Ladakh. Hired taxis remain the most convenient and comfortable mode of travel within Ladakh, definitely worth the extra they cost. For travel to Nubra, Changthang & Dah-Hunu, it is necessary to hire vehicles from Tourist Dept recognized/ registered travel agencies only. A list of these travel agents is available at the Tourist Offices, as is detailed information on bus schedules - Indin Travel Packages.
Tourist Offices
Indian Travel Packages Asia - There are Tourist Offices at Leh, Kargil and Padum that provide detailed information on all aspects of Ladakh. They can help arrange climbing expeditions, trekking, white-water rafting and plan out the best itinerary. It is also a good idea to keep them informed regarding the routes and schedules as they are best equipped to ring alarm bells and organise help in an emergency. The Tourist Reception centre in Leh is located on the road to the airport a little away from the centre of town. It is open every day from 10am -4pm except Sundays - Travel Packages to Ladakh.
When to Go
Ladakh Travel Packages - The best time to visit Ladakh is from middle of May till end of September. However the remote trek routes open up only by June. Travellers coming in even as late as November find Ladakh has much to offer, despite it being pretty cold - Travel Packages of Ladakh.
Where do I Stay?
India Travel Packages - There is a variety of accommodation available in Ladakh - hotels, guesthouses, paying guest accommodation and tourist hostels. Hotels are classified into A, B, C & Economy categories while guest houses fall in the upper, medium and economy class. Quite a few hotels in Ladakh are family-run concerns and give tourists the opportunity of interaction with local families. Some monasteries allow guests and offer essentially basic accommodation that is available for the price of a small donation - Travel Packages of India.
Indin Travel Packages - Leh has hotels with modern amenities as well as modestly priced establishments run by locals, some even throw in meals as part of the deal. Most of the hotels are around the main bazaar area, which tends to get rather crowded during the peak tourist season. Most hotels andd guesthouses close down in winter, mainly because occupancy is pretty low. Kargil has reasonably tolerable acommodation - hotels, guest houses, paying guest rooms in private homes - but nothing that is even remotely luxurious. In the newly open to tourists areas of the Nubra Valley, Tangse, Spangmik ( Lake Pongong), Drokpa and Zanskar, infrastructure is pretty inadequate except for the Tourist Department operated guest houses and hikers/trekkers huts. Tents and other gear for camping is available at the tourist offices. Accommodation is at a premium during the peak tourist season (May-Sept), so book in advance to avoid being disappointed - Indian Travel Packages Asia.
What to bring
Travel Packages to Ladakh - Even in summer, shades are substantially colder and evenings get chilly. Get enough protective clothing, good quality walking shoes, light to medium sturdy boots if any trekking is planned. Fo visitors coming in late, when the weather is colder, thermal inner wear is absolutely necessary. In the winters when layers of woollens providethe best protection, sweaters, jackets and overcoats or parkas/anoraks are required, so pack them in. A first aid kit with some Vitamin C and Aspirin tablets and other basic medication is a sensible precaution. The sun and UV radiation can cause in severe sunburn in the rarefied mountain climate, so carry protective sunblock, suntan lotion, lip salves, moisturisers, dark glasses and wide brimmed hats - Ladakh Travel Packages.
Things to Do
Dining & Entertainment
Shopping
Activities
Special Events
Dining & Entertainment
Travel Packages of Ladakh - Foreigners visiting Ladakh find they have few problems regarding food - there are a surprisingly large number of establishments in Leh that cater to western palates with European dishes featured on their menus. Other places serve traditional Indian, Ladakhi, Tibetan and Kashmiri cuisine while Indian- Chinese, fusion cooking at its best is available just about everywhere from street stalls to classier restaurants. Leh also has many bakeries, all claiming to be the real ‘German Bakery’! They sell reasonably good confectionary items like cakes and pastries and are good places to buy fresh bread - India Travel Packages.
Travel Packages of India - Those keen on some local fare should check out the family run guesthouses for an authentic Ladakhi meal with the perfect flavour of home cooking. Local hits include such hot favourites as ‘momos’, steamed meat filled dough dumplings served with a spicy sauce, ‘thukpa’, the typically Tibetan noodle soup, thick bread and barley porridge or ‘tsampa’ - food that is wholesome and filling. Tea, made with salted butter is an all time/any time of the day beverage that once was made with yak butter but now packaged butter suffices as well - Indin Travel Packages.
Indian Travel Packages Asia - That was Leh, but outside the Ladakhi capital, choices can be severely limited to what is available and that really means what the locals eat. primarily catering to the influx of tourists, even the smaller villages now have cafés but these serve the most basic of food, Ladakhi dishes or a simple Indian meal of curry, dal and rice. Fortunately aerated drinks, bottled water, chocolates and biscuits are easily available at every village grocers shop. Travellers to the really remote parts of Ladakh have to rely on the generosity of local villagers - and they usually are quite delighted to share with a passing stranger. Offer to pay but don't insist if the offer is refused - Ladakhis are famed for their hospitality - Travel Packages to Ladakh.
Shopping
Ladakh Travel Packages - Traditional Ladakhi artefacts like Buddhist relics, tankhas and prayer wheels, copper samovars, wooden masks, silver jewellery, turquoise and coral stones, pashmina and cashmere shawls and stoles, hand-woven blankets and rugs, woolens, fossils and other curios fill the shops in the main bazaars in Leh. They all make good buys to carry back home and can be bought for very good prices, after a bit of bargaining and haggling, of course. Some shops sell what are loosely called antiques - their provenance is often doubtful, so the buyer needs to be careful as to what he picks up and what he pays for it. The best place to buy local crafts is at the artisans’ workshops - the stuff is usually authentic and less the middleman’s commission - Travel Packages of Ladakh.
Activities
White-water rafting:White-water rafting on the Indus and Zanskar Rivers offers exhausting and challenging rides. Tour companies provide professional guides and equipment and organise rafting expeditions for amateur and experienced rafters.
Trekking: Ladakh is the trekkies numero uno paradise - treks of varying degrees of difficulty or duration take visitors up to isolated villages, ancient monasteries, remote valleys, highland lakes and glaciers. Ladakh is fast becoming one of the most popular trekking destinations in India. Some of the popular routes take trekkers from monastery-to-monastery or to Hemis, Spitok, Changthang, around Leh and to the Marka Valley, Nubra Valley, Suru Valley, Zanskar valley, Indus valley and the Rupsho valley. The Tourist Office arranges itineraries and provides gear - it is also a sensible precaution to let the Tourist Office know the chosen route and the schedule. The best time for trekking is between June and September.
Jeep Safaris: For the less inclined to walk, but still keen to see more of Ladakh, the best deal is a jeep safari. With more tour operators willing to plan trips to new destination, tourists are spoiled for choice -one of the best trips is to the remote lakes in the eastern parts of Ladakh.
Mountaineering:The Stok-khangri Massif, (6150m) Mt. Nun (7135m) and Mt. Kun (7077m) are some of the famous peaks in the Zanskar region popular with climbers. The peaks around Leh are Gulap Khangri (5900 m), Matho West (5950m), Kantak (5275 m) and Konglacha (6700m). Further north, off the Nubra Valley stretches the awesome Karakoram Range. Most of the Karakoram peaks fall in the restricted areas and special permits required by climbers. Climbing season begins in the middle of May and lasts till October; the best time is during the dry summer months of June to September.
Special Events
Ladakh Festival: A week long cultural festival organised by the government to promote the region’s unique heritage. The Ladakh Festival focuses on the different aspects of Ladakhi life, its art, crafts and culture, its music and dance. The festival features processions, archery contests, polo matches, music and dance performances as well as a parade of traditional Ladakhi costumes.
Monastery Festivals:The Buddhist monasteries play a pivotal role in the life of the community and each monastery celebrates its festival with the usual prayer for the well being of the community and the universe. The festival at the monasteries of Shey and Thikse fall within a few weeks of each other and include invocations and prayers. The Metukba Festival is held in July, the Shey Shublas, the harvest festival comes in August. On their tail comes the Thikse festival that is celebrated with a fair held in the monastery grounds. The two-day Nagrang Festival is held during Losar (February), part of the Tibetan New Year celebrations.
Hemis Festival : In the warm summer month of June (or sometimes in July), when the weather is perfect for a gala event, the Hemis Festival is held - it is an explosion of noisy music, blaring trumpets, masked dances, dragon dances and plenty of cultural activity.
