All Roads (High & Rough) Lead to Ladakh-Another Indian Adventure

RB · Friday at 1:58 PM

Leh
General advice seemed to indicate taking 2 days of acclimatising to high altitude and we found we really needed the quiet time - shortness of breath, balance issues, just not feeling right. The hotel advertises they are at an altitude of 11,562 ft (3,524m).
With this in mind we were booked into the The Grand Dragon Ladakh. Luxury Hotels in Leh & Ladakh - The Grand Dragon Ladakh . Promoted as 5 stars and we found it to be an excellent hotel. We were allocated a great room, the food offerings were good with generous serves & very well trained staff throughout the hotel.
There were conferences being held while we were there so occupancy rates were high but it had no impact on us. We dined a la carte on the advice of the staff - the dinner banquet was strongly aimed at the domestic population, who also represented the vast majority of the diners. We observed that the check-in & out times seemed to be pretty flexible to cope with the constant coming & going of people.
The travel industry is heavily regulated in Ledakh. We (along with all tourists) were required to use local tourist operators throughout our stay so Magan’s vehicle was parked up and he and Chandra joined us in the passenger seats.

A bit repetitious but an explanation Taxi, Bike & Private Car Regulations in Leh Ladakh - Discover Leh Ladakh

The wing we were in

Nice area to sit

View from room

RB · Friday at 2:04 PM

Some good Italian food available

A club sandwich was a simple choice on the 1st night

You were encouraged to tag if you took the photo

Next time I am in a lift in Aust I will see what average weight they use

RB · Saturday at 9:59 AM

Around Leh

Leh - Wikipedia

Ladakh - Wikipedia

We had a street walk on 2nd day through the markets.-plenty of fresh produce on display-apples, apricots, dried fruits, potatoes, turnips, beans. Leh is such an isolated spot with the fuel trucked in and the locals find a lot of general items expensive because of the isolation factor. Apparently many trucks go back empty. There is a huge armed force presence with many bases- certainly helps to keep the town afloat. We found Leh very different to rest of India that we have visited. -the faces & clothes certainly reflect a more Central Asian/Tibetan presence.

A peek into a butcher shop with pig trotters at front

Quite a few of the towns had these signs

RooFlyer · Saturday at 10:18 AM

RB said:
Next time I am in a lift in Aust I will see what average weight they use

No more than 75kg

!

RB · 2024-10-13T13:45:20+1100

Out of Leh
With the correct permits in place, our next activity was 3 nights in the Nubra Valley, an area that played a critical part in the rich history of the Silk Route. There are more rough challenging roads through the Ladakh Range including our highest pass of the trip - Khardung Pass (5,602m). You are supposed to limit your time here because of the altitude, but there was a bit of a traffic jam so we walked the short distance past the lookout while the car caught up! There were other passes to be encountered, but also plenty of visual rewards in the stark, high altitude cold desert environment. Again, there are road workers toiling in terrible conditions - smoke, dust and altitude in mainly manual construction. There are sections of road that have a brick surface as that has shown to be most resilient - more back breaking work. Plenty of Yaks were free roaming as we share the roads with a lot of domestic travellers, motorbike adventure tours, and convoys of military vehicles. The lookout points & significant altitude makers are chaotic but it is somewhat more relaxed at the tea/coffee/ snack spots. We start to see mentions of the Siachen Warriors and that intrigue will be answered in later days. It was noted that from the 19th Century until 1994 tourists were barred from the valley, with military personnel being the only ones mingling with the people of Tibetan descent.
The Nubra & Shyok rivers zigzag through the valley with patches of green where the villages exist.
The popularity of the Nubra Valley has spawned roadside advertising of some attractions with many claiming to be “the World’s Highest” - a 3km long zipline ride, go karting, trekking, Bactrian camel riding, rafting quad biking, camping and bike riding (would be very brave & we didn’t see anyone participating). The Valley promotes sustainability & the area was certainly spotless & a marked contrast to many areas of India.

First rise out of Leh & road surface is good

Our first lookout stop

RB · 2024-10-13T13:53:23+1100

A hard way to surface a road

Great spot for a chai tea

Really peeing into the wind here

Some beaut road surface in spots-drivers are generally more obedient here too!

RB · 2024-10-13T14:03:58+1100

Just below centre & to left is a person on the 3km zipline ride. Ground surface there is sand & small rock rubble. We had just driven along the L shaped road

The area around Leh had a lot of road safety type signs

JohnM · 2024-10-13T23:33:10+1100

Awesome stuff!

RB · 2024-10-14T10:31:03+1100

The Dunes Boutique Hotel Hundar Village Luxury Boutique Hotel in Nubra Valley | The Dunes Ladakh

Our hotel in the Nubra Valley was a great spot. Magan has had people stay here many times & believed it was our best option. Perhaps not as polished as the web might present but certainly very comfortable. We asked for a room on level 3 (better views that Magan knew about) & despite the stairs it was a worthwhile decision. The location is in the middle of a small rural village (a cow mooing for added atmoshphere) and there are some very nice gardens that were well maintained. The room was spacious, everything worked, the food was excellent and the staff were all wonderful people. Magan pulled some strings and had chilled bottle beer delivered to our room each evening for pre-dinner drinks. We were also treated to a specially requested garlic chicken dish on our last night.

Bed was a very comfortable queen

The light colour is a different stone insert. Most of the hotels during this trip had multiple shower head options fitted. Not sure of the sink fitting in this case though.

Views from balcony

The special chicken dish-very tasty

RB · 2024-10-14T15:41:42+1100

Around the Nubra Valley
This is a very strategic area. We made a day trip to the beautiful little village of Turtuk, just 7km from the Line of Control and within sight of the massive peaks of Pakistan.
Huge Indian Army bases are dotted along the road with lots of “no photo” zones along an airbase for fighter jets, bunkers, and outposts on the hills. We stop at a moving memorial to the "Siachen Warriors", whose troops defend this mountainous border. The 1971 war saw this part of the Valley - where the Shyok River speeds up as it flows to Pakistan and the border with China is also only a short distance away - come under Indian control. Another chapter in an extremely complicated and volatile history.
In the old Summer Palace Turtuk, we have a long talk with the current Raja of the Yabgo Dynasty - Raja Mohammad Khan Kacho. With Magan interpreting, he shares the history of the Balti people and a lineage of 1000's of years. Within the palace there were displays of the mens living room, a ladies living room and a kitchen. We also had another presenter who spoke of & illustrated the fractured history of the area.
The drive covered some excellent road, rough dirt sections, bridges with load limits of one car only, fresh tar being laid ( had to just sit for 20 odd minutes for it to cool & dry), buckwheat being grown (a first for this trip) and another solemn memorial for a army bus that crashed into the river in 2022. Seven soldiers killed, 19 injured as vehicle falls into Ladakh river | India News - The Indian Express
A rainbow appearing as we drove back seemed to be an appropriate unexpected bonus!

25 Years Of Kargil: Story Of Turtuk - Homecoming In 1971, Defended In 1999

Siachen conflict - Wikipedia

A video I took that day