I got married in 2001 to an avid traveler who already had a travel wish list chalked out for us. We started our travels with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but the destination that topped the wish list was Leh, the land of freezing winds and burning sun. This is one place where one can get a frost bite and sunburns at the same time.
I had heard a lot about Leh from my husband and we finally had the opportunity to fulfill our dream in 2006 when our son turned two. People dissuaded us from taking our son along with us since acclimatization could be an issue especially for kids. Nevertheless, we decided to take a chance and enjoy our dream destination as a family.
Ladakh marks the boundary between the peaks of the western Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau. It has been described by many as “Little Tibet” and even “The last Shangri-La.” It is one of the most remote and picturesque regions of India.
Leh, the capital of Ladakh, is situated at a height of 3505 meters, and has a predominantly Buddhist population. Travelling to Leh could be either through road or by air. The travel to Leh by air gives a magnificent view of the snow-clad Himalayas and rivers, which look like tiny streams.
The preferred way to travel to Leh, however, is by road as the scenic beauty during the journey is breathtaking. Since I suffer from road sickness, we decided to travel by air. The view of the snow-clad majestic Himalayan ranges left us amazed at the wondrous beauty of nature untouched by humans, and we were expectant of what awaited us in Leh.
We landed at the Leh airport and headed towards the Army guesthouse where we were to stay for the next 10 days. The guesthouse was in a very remote location, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and overlooking a pristine lake in the front. We gave ourselves one day to acclimatize ourselves to the weather conditions of Leh since we were told that the body requires one day to get used to the altitude and the climatic conditions. Once that was done, we began what we had come to do-explore and enjoy the beauty of Leh.
Our first stop was the Shanti Stupa located at the hilltop of Changspa. The Shanti Stupa was built by the Japanese Buddhist Organization to commemorate 2500 years of Buddhism and is a symbol of World Peace. It is a magnificent white dome-shaped structure with a large majestic statue of the Buddha in the centre and colorful paintings around the white dome. Leh and the Indus River can be seen in its entirety from here.
The spectacular view of the sunrise and sunset from this Stupa draws many a tourist to this place. The peace and tranquility one feels at this height along with the breathtaking view takes you into an entirely different world. This wondrous work of art looks its best at night with the lights illuminating it. We ended our first day visiting only the Stupa as we wanted its magical charm to linger on for a little longer.
A new day dawned in the untouched land of Leh, and we were ready for another exciting day of sightseeing. We started with some monasteries called Gompas in Leh. These Gompas are exquisite works of art and are a treat to the eyes.
One common factor in all the Gompas are the prayer wheels, which we located at the entrance. It is said that rotating these prayer wheels is equivalent to reciting the prayers written in the scrolls kept inside the prayer wheel. The number of times the prayer wheels turn, the prayer is said to be repeated that many times.
The statues in all the monasteries are different forms of Buddha and they have been created in vibrant colors of yellow and red predominantly. All these Gompas are located at slightly higher altitudes than the residential areas so that the monks can make their offerings and prayers in peace and quiet.
Some of the monasteries which we visited were Hemis, Spituk, Thiksey, Stok, and Diskit. The most magnificent monastery was Hemis, which holds the distinction of being the oldest and wealthiest monastery of Ladakh. It is about 47 kms away from the city. The annual Hemis festival, a great tourist attraction, takes place here. We were unfortunately not in time for the festival.
Once we were done with the monasteries, we planned to travel to the Khardungla pass. This is the highest motorable road in the world at 18,380 feet. We travelled in a jeep to the point and it took us quite some time as the roads had turned slippery at many places because of the snow.
The journey with a two-year old was tough, but once we got there, it was worth all the trouble. It was a moment of glory for us standing together at the highest motorable road of the world. An army camp was located there from where we collected memorabilia for folks back home before returning back to the guesthouse.
Our next destination was the Pangong Tso Lake, potrayed in a lot of Bollywood movies. Known for its pristine beauty, two-thirds of this lake lies in China. The five-hour journey was tough. Most of it was through mountainous terrain and we had to cross the third highest pass in the world, the Changla pass, to get to the other side and continue. We managed to get through the Changla pass and had almost covered three-fourth of the journey, when our son could not take it and we had to return without visiting it. So near yet so far! Maybe, next time we can venture out once more, and this time return successful.
We were pretty disappointed with our incomplete trip to the Pangong Tso Lake, but there were more wonders to see in Leh before we left for home. One of them was the Magnetic Hill. This hill is alleged to have magnetic properties and can pull any vehicle towards it. We parked our jeep on a cross marked on the road and waited for the phenomenon to happen. Within minutes, the jeep did move towards the hill. It was truly a wondrous experience.
Near the magnetic hill is a Gurudwara Pather Sahib under the maintenance of the Indian Army assigned to the region of Leh. We tied scarves on our head and visited the holy place where it is said, Guru Nanak was meditating when a demon threw a large boulder on him. The boulder with the imprints of the Guru is still preserved there.
The Leh Palace was the last on our list and we visited it the day before we left Leh. The palace needed maintenance, but the artifacts of the royalty were very charming.
A last walk around the small town of Leh, picking up lovely souvenirs to take home and our journey was slowly drawing to a close. Ten days seemed too short to take in the beauty of this place. There were so many more places to visit, so many more adventures to partake in.
Our holiday had finished within the blink of an eye. But we brought back with us very fond memories of our journey, which topped our list of dream destinations. We have promised ourselves, that one day we will go back and relive all those memories and bring back more. Until then, we are moving towards our nest dream destination, Kailash Mansarovar…..
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Pooja says, "I have been a stay-home mom for the past 5 years and I love it. I am enjoying watching my son grow up every single day. I am very passionate about traveling, dance and cooking."
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:
Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:
Chillibreeze offers content writing services to customers from all over the globe. We also leverage our experience in the content industry to publish ebooks about niche topics.
Upgrade Your Writing Sign up for news, events, jobs, tips
