I have been planning to write about this since a long time,very long time, so long that that it's been exactly one year from now. Normally, it's difficult to remember so much for so long, but the experience I had was once in a life time, making it difficult to forget.
On the 22nd July,2011,I embarked on an unforgettable journey to a place that has left a permanent impression in my memory. A place that is truly heaven on earth.A place which flaunts nature's bounty.A place where mountains and rivers and lakes and grasslands and deserts exist in harmony with each other.A place that is both amicable as well as hostile.A place set in the majestic Himalayan ranges.
On the 22nd July,2011,I embarked on an unforgettable journey to a place that has left a permanent impression in my memory. A place that is truly heaven on earth.A place which flaunts nature's bounty.A place where mountains and rivers and lakes and grasslands and deserts exist in harmony with each other.A place that is both amicable as well as hostile.A place set in the majestic Himalayan ranges.
A place that is called Ladakh!
Ladakh, a region in northern India, is a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions: Jammu, the Kashmir valley and Ladakh. Srinagar is the summer capital, whereas Jammu is the winter capital. While the Kashmir valley is famous for its beautiful mountainous landscape, Jammu's numerous shrines attract tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims every year. Ladakh, also known as "Little Tibet", is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and Buddhist culture.
Leh is the capital city of Ladakh region and is also home to many Tibetan refugees.
I was truly mesmerized by the beauty of Ladakh.In this series of Desert in the Skies, I will try my best to describe my journey in words accompanied by pictures alongside,but if you want the real image of this place,you have no option but to go there!
So, to begin with, Ladakh is the northern most region of India sharing hostile border with China (Aksai Chin*) and Tibet (I do not acknowledge it as China). To reach there you can use any means of transport** except water,obviously. A one-stop flight from Mumbai to the capital of Ladakh region, Leh, is available via Delhi. It is approximately 4hours 30 minutes journey by air depending on the carrier you choose.
This might seem to be the best option considering the time it saves but, I didn't opt for this one. Instead, I opted out for a rather strenuous journey by train- not to save money,but will be explained later. I was accompanied by eight of my classmates, all of us in the third year of Mechanical Engineering.
Our train journey started on the 22nd of July, 2011 at around 11:35am by Paschim Express*** with our destination being Chandigarh. This journey takes about 29 hours (if your train is not late) with the train traversing through 5 states- Maharashtra(source), Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and one Union territory-New Delhi finally reaching Chandigarh. Believe me, traveling in Indian railways with such long routes is also an experience no matter what class you travel in - all have their own stories. The beautiful landscape of all the places en-route, changing traditions of people as you cross states, changing languages,the smell, the food, the colours, you can witness all these in just one journey. Not forgetting the chaiwalas making rounds every 10 minutes and the typical pantry car food.This is what makes Indian railways so unique.
So, our train ride was quite a lot of fun, with one of friend welcoming diarrhea by trying out food from every station, two of them getting caught by cops for smoking at a railway station - which is an offense, and a lot of other things off the record. Anyway, at about 4:30pm on 23rd July, we reached Chandigarh.
At Chandigarh we were joined by four others, - a cook, driver, a wildlife photographer from WWF, and another friend of mine who organizes adventure treks and is also a botanist. We had hired a 12-seater mini-bus for the entire trip.
Our next destination was Manali which is 285km from Chandigarh and takes about 5-6 hours by road.
We actually didn't stay in Manali, but at a place called Vashishth which is about 5km from Manali.
This might seem to be the best option considering the time it saves but, I didn't opt for this one. Instead, I opted out for a rather strenuous journey by train- not to save money,but will be explained later. I was accompanied by eight of my classmates, all of us in the third year of Mechanical Engineering.
Our train journey started on the 22nd of July, 2011 at around 11:35am by Paschim Express*** with our destination being Chandigarh. This journey takes about 29 hours (if your train is not late) with the train traversing through 5 states- Maharashtra(source), Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and one Union territory-New Delhi finally reaching Chandigarh. Believe me, traveling in Indian railways with such long routes is also an experience no matter what class you travel in - all have their own stories. The beautiful landscape of all the places en-route, changing traditions of people as you cross states, changing languages,the smell, the food, the colours, you can witness all these in just one journey. Not forgetting the chaiwalas making rounds every 10 minutes and the typical pantry car food.This is what makes Indian railways so unique.
So, our train ride was quite a lot of fun, with one of friend welcoming diarrhea by trying out food from every station, two of them getting caught by cops for smoking at a railway station - which is an offense, and a lot of other things off the record. Anyway, at about 4:30pm on 23rd July, we reached Chandigarh.
At Chandigarh we were joined by four others, - a cook, driver, a wildlife photographer from WWF, and another friend of mine who organizes adventure treks and is also a botanist. We had hired a 12-seater mini-bus for the entire trip.
Our next destination was Manali which is 285km from Chandigarh and takes about 5-6 hours by road.
We actually didn't stay in Manali, but at a place called Vashishth which is about 5km from Manali.
Vashishth is popular for its hot water springs and some of it's bakeries. It's less popular amongst Indian tourists, I don;t know why, maybe because of it's proximity from the Manali mall road and no mention of it in a regular holidaywala's itenary.
After a long and tiring journey all the way from Mumbai which started almost two days back, it was time to get some sleep in our hotel rooms which were quite spacious and comfy and adding to the comfort - the tariff.
(End of Chapter 1 )
Notes:
* Aksai Chin is a disputed territory in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, that is claimed by India but controlled by China.
** Transportation information and timings will vary from place to place. I have mentioned with respect to Mumbai since that was my source destination.
*** The last destination of Paschim Express is Amritsar. The train splits up at Ambala Cantonment.
i read your post with "om mani padme hum" playing!
ReplyDeleteI've rested at Vashishth, ready to move ahead !!!
very soon!!!!
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