India - Ladakh : Getting high on the thin air of Leh
Ladakh province lies on the northern part of India. It is a part of Jammu and Kashmir state, bordering Tibet to the east. Ladakh is a dream landscape. It's a harsh, high desert, cold and freezing, mostly devoid of vegetation, except in small areas around the Indus river, but what a beauty Ladakh is! Most of Ladakh is above ten thousand feet altitude. It is also remote. Roads to Ladakh, passing through high mountain passes, are not navigable due to snow and avalanches most of the time during winter.
The approach to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, is quite dramatic! After flying over the Himalayas, you can see the skyline dotted with ragged peaks, and then suddenly you see mountains blocking your view, and green valleys way down! It is eerie as the pilot navigates through the gaps in the tall mountain ranges to get to the Leh valley.
The airport itself is on top of a mesa. The length of its runway is just about the minimum needed to land safely. The aircraft goes towards the mountains at the end of the valley and must take a 180-degree turn before approaching to land. Here, we stepped out into the thin air of Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport, which is at an altitude of about 11,000 ft.
The drive from the airport to our home-stay place on Fort Road was short. However, the 100 meter walk from the main road to Sia-La guest house was laborious because of the altitude! There was general fuzziness in our heads. I guess thats what getting 'high' is all about.
We ended up having breakfast and lunch with the family we stayed with and tried to get some rest. Our room was comfortable. Sia-La Home Stay is run by a Ladakhi family Gulam Nabi and Zareena. They are warm and wonderfully hospitable people.
It is hard to just lie down in bed when the excitement of being in a new town is tearing you apart. We decided to step out early evening and check out the town. We made arrangements for car and driver, "inner line permits" to visit more remote parts of Ladakh, and planned out our trip for the next few days. We worked with the Dreamland Trek and Tours, who are located on the main street.
Leh is a quaint town with interesting sights and stores. "Same same but different", anyone?
From the little walk we took we got back exhausted ... we were hoping to acclimatize in the next few days before we headed off towards even higher areas of Ladakh. More on that later.
Comments