 |
Memoirs of a Journey to the Land of Endless Discovery
Ladakh, a high altitude desert bounded by two of the world’s mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram, is a land like no other. Lying at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2,750 m) at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672 m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram, it presents spectacular landscapes. Its basic contours, uplifted by the unimaginable tectonic movements of the Indian sub-continent, have been modified over the millennia by the opposite forces of erosion, sculpted into the form we see today by wind and water. Huge, wide valleys, bounded by barren snow-capped mountain ranges, is the most common sight in this region.
| |
Now that I look back, what really inspired this journey was an episode of Geo’s World on Discovery Channel, about Zanskar, a part of Ladakh. It was a very interesting documentary on the lifestyle and culture of the people of Ladakh, and also covered a trek by a group from a village in Zanskar to Leh, over the frozen Zanskar River! A few months later, when I was planning out a trek with my friends - Namit and Rahul, all those pictures I had seen in the program came flooding back to me. Rahul’s uncle was posted somewhere in Ladakh, and he also suggested going there. In a matter of minutes, we all were hooked to the idea of visiting Ladakh.
Namit and Rahul knew some people who had been to Ladakh earlier, and they set about getting all the information, airline tickets etc. There are very few flights to Ladakh, and we had a tough time getting the airline tickets, and once we almost gave up the idea, but with some "jugad" finally managed to get the tickets. For luggage, we decided to carry only rucksacks and two tents, some medicines, etc. Leh and its surrounding areas are at altitudes above 11,000 feet, and though it was peak summer, we packed lots of woolens. Also, oxygen content in the atmosphere is very less due to the altitude, so we equipped ourselves with Dimox (an acclimatization medicine). As is usual with planning of such trips, we had some anxious moments too - due to rucksacks. We were short of two rucksacks, and the shop we were relying on had already rented out all of them. So we ended up calling all our friends, sent e-mails and messages on newsgroups, and somehow got them. We were all set for Leh...
Copyright (c) Manish Tripathi , 1998. All rights reserved
Previous Home Next
