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Routine will drive you crazy. Every now and then, you need a break, mostly from the mundane life and plunge into excitement, adventure or a simple retreat either alone or with family and friends. With the goal to travel every month in 2018, Poonam, an entrepreneur from Mumbai is a reader and traveller by heart who wishes to explore more than just the mountains and the beaches.
“I love travelling with friends and family or even colleagues; there is no restriction to that. As long as I get to travel, I can willingly tag along anywhere, be it a spiritual destination, a fun jungle safari, mountain trek or getaway at the beach. I am a compulsive traveller and my goal for the year 2018 is to travel every month,” says enthusiastic Poonam.
With such goal as her agenda, she came across Thrillophilia and its various tour packages online. Having been traveled before extensively, this time, Poonam wanted to take the course of an adventure and landed on the right page. That page opened the most exciting world for her and she couldn’t help but book the tickets, pay the fees and packed the bags for the ultimate journey that everyone craves and wishes to travel to Ladakh.
The wandering soul and an avid reader, Poonam relies on exploring heritage, art and culture of a particular place on its own, with no road map or tourist guidebooks and Ladakh travel gave her the chance to do so accordingly. With a number of travellers, both novice and pro who accompanied her and her friends during the trip shared various stories of their travel and it became like a big family.
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The Trip
Poonam and her friends landed in Leh and with a day to get used to the weather of high altitudes, they set to explore the local town. With a fascination for architecture and history, Poonam visited Shanti Stupa in the evening; a popular spot in Leh with gives the panoramic view of the city. “Shanti Stupa was built by the Japanese Religious Organisation and headed by the Head Monk Nakamura and was situated on the hilltop of Changspa Village. It provided a bird’s eye view and the architecture of the palace was stunning with a touch of Japanese simplicity.” Afterwards, she explored the grandiose of the ruins of the Leh Palace, which is being restored by the Archeological Survey of India. She collected pictures of various centuries-old jewellery, 450 years old paintings, ceremonial dresses, crowns and other treasures at the palace. With a healthy meal in the night, the travellers rested their eyes for the big day tomorrow.
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Day 2:
After breakfast, Poonam and friends headed to the popular Magnetic Hill where the vehicles started to move in neutral gear due to the magnetic forces. “It was unbelievable to the eyes and all other senses that such strong force was felt there and I was there to witness it!” Poonam said. After a short visit to the Ladakh Hall of Fame, a museum dedicated to the martyrs of the Kargil War, Poonam travelled 8 km away from Leh to Spituk Gompa located on a hillock.
After doing the touristy stuff for a bit, it was time for them to get high on adrenaline and so, the troupe reached the confluence of Zanskar and Indus River before Nimu Village and experienced river rafting in the crystal blue waters. That was the high point of her travel that had just set the pace right for her.
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Day 3:
The ultimate ride and adventure had started on the day 3rd. Poonam and her friends finished breakfast and headed their way to the Nubra Valley which is situated around 160 km away from Leh. The arid valley of cold desert, high nude mountains and a perfect view of the moon in the night was ready for them. “On the way, we reached the highest motorable route Khardungla Top and I couldn’t believe that I was actually standing there and breathing! The air was so pure and the feeling was beyond words could express,” says Poonam. At the Nubra Valley, Poonam got the chance to take a ride of the exotic double-humped camel amid the white sand dunes finishing the evening in the tents.
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Day 4 & 5:
The route from Nubra to Pangong Tso Lake is one of the most beautiful places that let every traveller stop the vehicle at every 5 minutes to capture the fascinating beauty all around. No wonder, so many advertisements and films are being shot at such high altitudes and calm ambience. Poonam wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead. When she reached Pangong Tso, she pinched herself twice to make sure that she is actually at the spot where the famous 3 Idiots movie was being shot and the place looked 10 times more beautiful in real than on the big screen.
“For the first time ever, I saw the galaxy and millions of stars in the night with the naked eyes and that feeling is something that I can never forget ever. On top of that, we literally had breakfast with marmots surrounding our tents in the morning. Now, where could we have that anywhere in the city life?” exclaims Poonam.
Before the trip was on its end note, Poonam went to explore the Chang La Pass and visited Thiksey Gompa, one of the largest and the most impressive gompas in Ladakh that had several temples in its premises, wall paintings of the Buddha, religious texts and the largest statue of Buddha in Ladakh. Also, a short visit to Shey Gompa added beauty to the day from where Poonam saw the panoramic views of the surrounding villages, grasslands, snow-capped mountains and river Indus in one big frame.
“The journey can be defined as zip zap zoom. It was fast-paced, we were zapped of our energy and we were zooming across picturesque Ladakh throughout the time that we were there. I wish to go back there again someday and would advise all the people and travellers that I meet to visit Ladakh at least once in their lifetime. That place is magical,” says ecstatic Poonam remembering her epic travel.
Things to Consider
According to Poonam, before visiting Ladakh, you should know the following things:
- You should know the travel duration of the trip and prepare accordingly
- Google some nice food joints if you can’t eat the local food there
- Research the appropriate weather of the place before visiting so that you can pack your clothes accordingly
- Know some hidden gems besides the touristy spots as that will add stories to your travel itinerary
Best Places and Things to do in Ladakh: https://www.thrillophilia.com/Ladakh
Memorable Moments
“The high point of the travel was the river rafting experience at the Zanskar River and overnight stay at Pangong Tso Lake. The enthusiastic, fun loving and open to adventure travellers with us made the travel so much fun. There were some excellent photographers and hardcore foodies from whom I learnt so much,” recalls Poonam.
Talking about a hilarious incident, Poonam says, “The awkward moment of our trip which turned downright hilarious due to the antics of my co-travellers was when we were travelling from Nubra to Pangong and our vehicle started emitting black fumes. This was on a long lonely patch and we couldn’t even arrange for another vehicle and the fumes were all over the place and there were chances of the vehicle catching fire. Though scary we really had fun and managed to reach Pangong and laughed together at the little incident.”
“After coming back, there is not a single day that I not think of the adventures that I had at Ladakh and miss them terribly. I would recommend everyone to go there and experience the real feeling of being alive at Leh,” Poonam ends her journey experience with this quote.
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