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Wednesday 30 November 2011

How to reach Leh Ladhak

How to reach Leh Ladhak



Ladakh Travel By Air

                            Airline services (Indian Airlines and Jet Airway)operate regular scheduled flights to Leh from Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar. From Jammu there are two flights in week and from Srinagar one in a week. 



                                                     The J&K State Road Transport Corporation (J&KSRTC) operates regular Deluxe and Ordinary bus services between Srinagar and Leh on this route with an overnight halt at Kargil. Taxis, cars and jeeps are also available at Srinagar for the journey. Groups can charter deluxe and A-class buses for Leh, Kargil or Padum (Zanskar) from the J and K SRTC at Srinagar. If you decide to drive on this route yourself, you should spare a couple of days around Kargil for acclimatisation.


The second route is the 473-km Manali-Leh road which has been serving as the second land approach to Ladakh. The Manali - Leh road weaves in and out among the mighty snow-clad peaks of the Western Himalayas over a stretch of nearly 485 kms. The road is open from mid-July to mid-October every year, depending on weather conditions. 



Manali-Leh Route

Rohtang Pass - 51 kms from Manali
Manali is the starting point of this dramatic journey and Rohtang Pass(13,000 ft/3,978 m), 51 kms away is the first important milestone on the Manali - Leh road as it is the gateway to the Lahaul and Spiti valleys. 

Keylong - 44km from Rohtang Pass On its way to Keylong- the highest jeepable road and 115 kms from Manali, this important road, which was once part of the ancient trade route between India and Central Asia, wends its way through breathtaking mountain views via the Rohtang Pass, Gramphoo, Kokhsar, Sissu, Gondla, Tandi. One can also reach Kaza, the main town of Lahaul and Spiti















Hotels in Leh Ladhak


 Luxury Hotels in Leh Ladhak
oHotel Grand Dragon, Ladakh
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hotel grand dragon
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hotel grand dragon ladakh


Name          Hotel Grand Dragon, Leh-Ladhak

Catogary                           Luxury

Location                                                   Old Road Sheynam, Leh, Jammu and kashmir 194101

  Rooms                                                    53 well furnished and modern rooms divided into Deluxe Single rooms, Deluxe Double rooms and Suite room

Tarrif                                       Rs   1500-2700


Hotel Lasermo, Leh-Ladakh



Name               Hotel Lasermo, Leh-Ladakh

Catogary          Luxury

Location            Chulung Old Road, Leh, Jammu and Kashmir 194101

Rooms                        22

Tarrif                          About Rs.5000


Standard hotels in Leh Ladhak



Name                    Hotel  Lasemo, Leh Ladhak

Catogary               Standard

Location               Leh Ladhak

Rooms                 25 standard rooms

Tarrif                    Rs 1788-3488


The Pangong Hotel, Leh-Ladakh














Name        Pangog hotel

Catogary    Standard

Location    Chulung, Leh Ladhak, Jammu & Kashmir

Rooms      24 rooms

Tarrif        Rs 2058-2188


Hotel Namgyal Palace, Ladakh




Name         Hotel Namgyal Palace, Ladhak

Catogory    Standard

Location      Old fort road, Leh

Rooms        28

Tarrif          Rs 1788-3158

Hotel Caravan Center, Leh-ladakh



Name          Hotel Caravan Center

Catogray                  Standard

Location                  Skara, Leh, Jammu & Kashmir

Rooms                    29

Tarrif                       Rs 2800-4900

Hotel Yasmin, Ladakh




Name                        Hotel   Yasmin

Catogary                  Standard

Location                    Leh

Rooms                     10

Tarrif                        Rs  1588-2088


Monday 28 November 2011

Places to visit in Leh Ladhak

Places to visit in Leh Ladhak
Leh Palace: The former Palace of the King of Ladakh (admission 100rps). The most noticeable building in Leh, the palace was built in the 17th century, and now undergoing restoration.


                                       leh Palace
Buddhist temples:


.Namgyal Tsemo Gompa temple:






Namgyal Tsemo Gompa - above the Palace, built 1430, is only open from 7AM-9AM during the morning puja


Soma Gompa temple :




Soma Gompa - just around the corner from Main Bazar, it's a large modern gompa. It's also the location of the Ladakhi Buddhist Association, a conservitive political orginisation, with ties to Hindutva groups.


Karma Dupgyud Choeling temple:




Karma Dupgyud Choeling - monastery in the Karma Kagyu tradition


Shanti Stupa:




Shanti Stupa : built by a Japanese Buddhist group. This modern stupa is somewhat kitschy, but still worth a visit.


Pangong Tso Lake:






                       Pangong Tso,    A beautiful high altitude lake at 4350 meters with deep blue waters, surrounded by tall mountain peaks. This lake lies on the Indo - China boundary, with only one fourth of the lake being in India. The road to this lake passes through Chang-la pass , claimed to be at 5425 meters. It's a five hour drive (149 Kms) from Leh to this place. There is also a small camp on the way where a Yak Safari can be done. The passage is also very tough to cross by car. So a four-wheel drive car is recommended. Experienced bikers should not have any problem. Day return trips from Leh avoid the AMS issue , but you won't be able to see much during the your 60 minutes stay there .Overnight trips directly from Leh is outside safety guidelines . The safe and comfortable option is to plan this trip at the end of your stay in Leh , and with a overnight stop at Tangtse (altitude 3950) .




Places to see around Leh:


Hemis Gonpa:


                          Hemis is a town in India 40 km southeast of Leh in Ladakh, well known for the Hemis monastery that was established in 1672 AD by king Senge Nampar Gyalva. Hemis is best known to tourists for the colorful festival held in July. Hemis also could be associated with the Hemis National Park, an area that is home to the endangered snow leopard. The national park was created in 1981.






Shey Palace:


                                    The Shey Monastery or Gompa and the Shey Palace complex are structures located on a hillock in Shey,15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the south of Leh in Ladakh, northern India on the Leh-Manali road. Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh in the past.


                                              The palace, mostly in ruins now, was built first in 1655, near Shey village, by the king of Ladakh, Deldan Namgyal, also known as Lhachen Palgyigon. It was used as a summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh.


Stok Palace and Museum:


                            Stock Palace Museum is 10 km south of Leh. It is the palace museum where the royal family resides and on display are the royal paraphernalia including some precious stones, many 400 year old tangkhas, coins, royal crowns, dresses and prayer instruments.





Thiksey Gonpa:


                                                 Thikse Gompa or Thikse Monastery   is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Yellow Hat (Gelugpa) sect, located on top of a hill, approximately 19 kilometres east of Leh in LadakhIndia. It is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in LhasaTibet and is the largest gompa in central Ladakh.




                                                                    The monastery is located at an altitude of 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) in the Indus valley. It is a 12-storey complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords. One of the main points of interest is the Maitreya (future Buddha) Temple which is installed to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to this monastery in 1970. A 15 metres (49 ft) high statue of Maitreya, the largest such statue in Ladakh, covering two storeys of the building is defied in the monastery. A nunnery is also part of the complex




Alchi Choskor:


                         Alchi monastery was founded by the great translator Lotsava Rinchen Zangpo in 11th century AD.


                     The exquisite murals of Alchi Choskor are world famous and it is said that the artists were specially brought from Kashmir






Lamayuru Gonpa:


Lamayuru or Yuru Gompa  is a Tibetan Buddhist Gompa (monastery) in Kargil District, Western Ladakh, situated on the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh road 15 km east of the Fotu La, at a height of 3,510 m.







Around Nubra Valley


                                                Nubra Valley  is about 150 km north of Leh, the capital town of Ladakh, India. Local scholars say that its original name was Ldumra (the valley of flowers). The Shyok River meets the Nubra or Siachan River to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh and the Karakoram Ranges. The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The common way to access this valley is to travel over the Khardung La from Leh. Non-locals require an Inner Line Permit(obtainable in Leh town) to enter Nubra.


Deskit:


                               It has a monastery atop a hillock from where you can also enjoy panoramic view of the valley. Deskit sand dunes and double-humped camel ride reminds of silk route tradition. 








Sumur:



      Sumur Village has a good collection of tangkhas, Buddha idols and frescoes. The village of Panamik is famous for its hot water sulphur springs. Close to the village of Sumur, lies a beautiful camp site by the river. Camping is suggested for a day or two.



Panamik: 
                                  Panamik is approximately 150 kms away from Leh. It is quite a scenic village. Road to Panamik is well laid. People are friendly and helpful. The color of the trees during the months of Sep and Oct turns to yellowish red and is a treat to watch. The gentle Nubra enhance the charm. The mountains just rise from the valley as some child has made them of mud. Snow can be seen on the peaks.


Changthang:
                                       Tsomoriri Lake is located in Changthang approx. 240 Kms. from Leh. The Lake is around 28 Kms. long and around 8 Kms wide at an altitude of 14,000 ft, above the sea level. It harbors many species of migratory birds including Brahmini Duck, Rudy Shelduck etc. The Korzok village settlement with a monastery close to the lake has its own appeal. 



Tsokar:
                            A twin lake Tsokar and Tarsaphuk tso form the part of a wide picturesque valley with many wildlife including migratory birds, wild asses (Kyangs) and Changpa nomads with thousands of livestock including sheep, goats and yaks live in their tents around the lakes in the vast expanse of pasture.





Pangong:


                                                  Pangong Tso (or Banggong Co Lake) is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft). It is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to Tibet. 60% of the length of the lake lies in China. The lake is 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its broadest point. During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water.




                                                                                   Pangong Tso lake


Kargil:


                                               Kargil  is a town, which serves as the headquarters of Kargil District of Ladakh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is the second largest town in Ladakh after Leh. It is located 60 km and 204 km from Drass and Srinagar to the west respectively, 234 km from Leh to the east, 240 km from Padum to the southeast and 1,047 km to Delhi in the south.






Drass:


                                   Dras  is a town in the Kargil District of Jammu and KashmirIndia. It is often called 'The Gateway to Ladakh'The town shot into prominence in the summer of 1999 following Pakistani-backed incursions into Jammu and Kashmir. TheKargil War saw the town being shelled by infiltrators and the war ended with the Indian Army recapturing the areas surrounding the town and the Kargil district.






Suru Valley:


The Suru valley is a valley in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, which is drained by the Suru River (Indus), a powerful tributary of the Indus river. The valley's most significant town is Kargil.






Zanskar:
Zanskar is a subdistrict or tehsil of the Kargil district, which lies in the eastern half of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The administrative centre is Padum. Zanskar, together with the neighbouring region of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kingdom of Guge in Western Tibet.



About Leh Ladakh

.About  Leh Ladakh:
                            Leh was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Leh, with an area of 45,110 km2, is the second largest district in the country (after Kutch, Gujarat) in terms of area.

                                              The ruined Royal Palace at Leh


                                                  The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh, built in the same style and about the same time as the Potala Palace. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 metres (11,562 ft) , and connects via National Highway 1D connects it to Srinagar in the southwest and to Manali in the south via Leh-Manali Highway.


                                    Leh was an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west and also between India and China for centuries. The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere woolcharas orcannabis resin from the Tarim Basinindigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocade.

   
                                Although there are a few indications that the Chinese knew of a trade route through Ladakh to India as early as the Kushan period (1st to 3rd centuries AD), and certainly by Tang dynasty, little is actually known of the history of the region before the formation of the kingdom towards the end of the 10th century by the Tibetan prince, Skyid lde nyima gon (or Nyima gon), a grandson of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king, Langdarma (r. c. 838 to 841). He conquered Western Tibet although his army originally numbered only 300 men. Several towns and castles are said to have been founded by Nyima gon and he apparently ordered the construction of the main sculptures at Shey. "In an inscription he says he had them made for the religious benefit of the Tsanpo (the dynastical name of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared." Shey, just 15 km east of modern Leh, was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings.


                                              During the reign of Delegs Namgyal (1660–1685), the Nawab of Kashmir, which was then a province in the Mogul Empire, arranged for the Mongol army to (temporarily) leave Ladakh (though it returned later). As payment for assisting Delegs Namgyal, the Nawab made a number of onerous demands. One of the least was to build a large Sunni Muslim mosque in Leh at the upper end of the bazaar in Leh, below the Leh Palace. The mosque reflects a mixture of Islamic and Tibetanarchitecture and can accommodate more than 500 people. This was apparently not the first mosque in Leh; there are two smaller ones which are said to be older.


                                      Leh is located at an average elevation of about 3500 metres, which means that only one crop a year can be grown there, while two can be grown at Khalatse. By the time crops are being sown at Leh in late May, they are already half-grown at Khalatse. The main crop is grim (naked barley -Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f., which is an ancient form of domesticated barley with an easier to remove hull) - from which tsampa, the staple food in Ladakh, is made.



                                                  Leh District, which comprises the whole of Indian-administered eastern Ladakh (but not Kargil nor Zanskar) has a total population of 117,000 people according to the 2001 census. Of that, 77.3% is Buddhist, 13.8 % Muslim, 8.2% Hindu and 0.8% others. The Muslim presence dates back to the annexation of Ladakh by Kashmir, after the Fifth Dalai Lama attempted to invade Ladakh from Tibet. Since then, there has been further migration from the Kashmir Valley due firstly to trade and latterly with the transfer of tourism from the Kashmir Valley to Ladakh.

Saturday 26 November 2011

How to reach Jammu and Kashmir

How to reach Jammu and Kashmir

By airFlights operate to Srinagar and Leh. Try Indian Airlines , Jet Airways , Kingfisher and Air Deccan.


By rail :  The last stop on the railway line north is Udhampur, where you can catch onward buses and hire SUVs/MUVs (Tata Sumo / Toyota Innova/ Mahindra Scorpio). However it is better to get down in Jammu and catch a taxi from there as these are more readily available.




                                       The Kashmir Railway is a railway line being built in India to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. The Project officially coded USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link) starts from the city of Udhampur, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of Jammu, and travels for 290 kilometres (180 mi) to the city of Baramulla on the northwestern edge of the Kashmir Valley. The route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it an extremely challenging engineering project.

By bus: 
                      There are two ways to get in by land - via Jammu and up to Srinagar or via Manali in Himachal Pradesh and up to Leh.
                         Buses are operated by J&K SRTC to most points around the state. They offer package tour to Gulmarg, Shonmarg, Yusmarg, Ular lake, City tour, etc. There is Tourist information center, where one get the tickets plus info.


                        4wd jeeps are quicker, a little more expensive and reach more locations. Private hire jeeps are also available.













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