Ladakh "land of high passes" - A Road Trip

Spectacularly jagged, arid mountains enfold this magical, Buddhist ex-kingdom. Picture-perfect gompas dramatically crown rocky outcrops amid whitewashed stupas and meditational mani walls topped with mantra-inscribed pebbles. Colourful fluttering prayer flags spread their spiritual messages metaphorically with the mountain breeze. Prayer wheels spun clockwise release more merit-making mantras. Gompa interiors are colourfully awash with murals and statuary of numerous bodhisattvas.
Ladakh’s remarkably well-balanced traditional society has much to teach the West in terms of ecological awareness. While most Ladakhis are cash poor, traditional mud-brick homesteads are large, comfortable and self-sufficient in fuel and dairy products, organic vegetables and barley used to make tsampa (roast barley flour) and chhang. Such self-sufficiency is an incredible achievement given the short growing season and very limited arable land in this upland desert, where precious water supplies must be laboriously channelled from glacier-melt mountain streams.

Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar range. In geological terms, this is a young land, formed only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed with irresistible force against the immovable mass of Asia. Its basic contours, uplifted by these unimaginable tectonic movements, have been modified over the millennia by the opposite process of erosion, sculpted into the form we see today by wind and water. Yes, water! Today, a high -altitude desert, sheltered from the rain-bearing clouds of the Indian monsoon by the barrier of the Great Himalaya, Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist on its south -east plateaux of Rupshu and Chushul - in drainage basins with evocative names like Tso-moriri, Tsokar, and grandest of all, Pangong-tso. Occasionally, some stray monsoon clouds do find their way over the Himalaya, and lately this seems to be happening with increasing frequency. But the main source of water remains the winter snowfall. Drass, Zanskar and the Suru Valley on the Himalaya's northern flank receive heavy snow in winter; this feeds the glaciers whose meltwater, carried down by streams, irrigates the fields in summer. For the rest of the region, the snow on the peaks is virtually the only source of water. As the crops grow, the villagers pray not for rain, but for sun to melt the glaciers and liberate their water. Usually their prayers are answered, for the skies are clear and the sun shines for over 300 days in the year. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at SaserKangri in the Karakoram. Thus summer temperatures rarely exceed about 27 degree celcius in the shade, while in winter they may plummet to minus 20 degree celcius even in Leh. Surprisingly, though, the thin air makes the heat of the sun even more intense than at lower altitudes; it is said that only in Ladakh can a man sitting in the sun with his feet in the shade suffer from sunstroke and frostbite at the same time!

SindhuDarshan Festival 12th & 13th June, 2016
SindhuDarshan Festival is celebrated on the banks of river Sindhu in the month of June every year. SindhuDarshan Festival is celebrated to show Indus River as an example of communal harmony and peace in India. The festival is one of the major events in Ladakh and invites a large number of tourists from different parts of the world. The festival is organized every year in the Leh. SindhuDarshan festival was first organized in October 1997. People from different places of the country participate in the annual SindhuDarshan Festival. The festival is held on the banks of Indus River symbolizes unity in diversity in India. People from different religions and regions performs together thereby depicting multi-dimensional culture of India. Artists take part in various cultural programs held during the SindhuDarshan Festival in Ladakh. On the first day of SindhuDarshan Festival, a mega reception ceremony is organized by various Religious Association.

we start on 5th June, 2016 and back on 19th June, 2016. we are covering Manali - Leh - Zansakar - Kaza- Shimla. this is completely a road trip by own vehicle. You are free to come on your own car/bike/jeep. we will guide you and accompany you during the trip at free of cost. The cost are on actual basis. we are already 8 persons confirmed in two SUVs. for any querry - u may contact to Rohit at 99999 81711