My Awesome Trip to Ladakh With My Husband (2024)
When it comes to planning a vacation in India, there is no dearth of options as India offers everything from mighty mountains to heavenly hill stations to beautiful beaches to dreamy deserts! This is one major reason why me and my family love to explore different places in India. For one of our vacations, me and my husband decided to pack our bags and head to one of India’s most popular tourist destinations – Ladakh.
Though my husband had already explored Ladakh, we decided to go ahead with the plan as he was excited to explore the rugged terrains once again. Though Ladakh is a good destination for families, I personally feel that the best way to enjoy it is to simply get on a bike and start exploring the place. One can easily get bikes on rent once they reach Ladakh. We planned for a 5-day trip as there is lots to explore in Ladakh and sometimes even 5 days seem less as we discovered on our trip!
How to Reach Ladakh?
Irrespective of where you are travelling from, the easiest way to reach Ladakh is to take a flight and reach Leh. The Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport situated in Leh is well-connected to a number of domestic as well as international airports in India. We were travelling from Hyderabad to Ladakh, and since there is no direct flight to Leh, we first reached Delhi and then took a flight from there to Leh. Major operators such as Spicejet, Indigo, Air India, etc., have flights flying to and from Leh. You can also opt to head to Mumbai, Srinagar, Chandigarh, etc., to take a flight to Leh.
If you are an adventure junkie, then you should probably plan for a road trip which is an integral part of any Ladakh trip. You can reach Srinagar, Chandigarh, Delhi, or Manali, and hire bikes or cars and drive down yourself to Leh. Though the journey may be tiring, the scenic beauty along the way makes the journey just stunning!
Once you deboard at the Leh Airport, you can come out and take a prepaid taxi to head to your hotel. The journey from the Leh airport to our hotel in Ladakh took just about 25-30 minutes.
Our Stay In Ladakh
Because of Ladakh’s popularity as the go-to tourist destination, we decided to book our hotel in advance. Since, Ladakh is popular not only among Indians but also among foreigners, you will find a number of hotels ranging from luxury to mid-range to budget hotels. We decided to stay at Hotel Yak Tail which is situated right in the center of Leh. This is a budget-friendly hotel and we were able to get a decent room with breakfast included at a really reasonable rate.
The room had all the basic amenities and the hotel also has an in-house restaurant which serves delicious food. We often started our day of sightseeing with some piping hot parathas at the restaurant and ended our day with steaming hot cups of chai and coffee. This hotel is located in the center of the main market which made it quite easy for us to access the surrounding market area for shopping, eating out, etc. Most of the restaurants and shops were within walking distance from the hotel.
Places We Visited In Ladakh
We travelled to Ladakh in the month of August and it turned out to be the best time to travel to Ladakh as it was neither too hot nor too cold. Because of the perfect weather, we could really enjoy our bike ride through the rugged terrain of Ladakh and explore the various tourist attractions.
- Magnetic Hill – The Magnetic Hill is one of the most popular tourist spots in Leh-Ladakh as it is one spot which is popular for defying gravity! Once we reached the location, we saw a yellow box marked on the road. We parked our vehicle in the box, and we could actually feel our bike moving backwards even though the road in front of the bike was downhill! Though there may be various scientific reasons behind why this happens, it is truly a unique experience.
Image Source - Pangong Lake – Our journey to Pangon Lake was quite a lengthy one as it took us almost 4 hours to reach our destination. But the end point was completely worth the long journey! This lake has become even more popular after the famous movie 3 Idiots and we could also see some of the props used in the movie placed around the lake. The sight at the lake is simply breathtaking and we could see different shades of blue – from light blue to dark blue in some parts of the lake. There are some small cottages available for rent and we decided to spend the night there. Since this lake is in a remote part, there is no electricity once the night sets in. Also, this is one of the best places for stargazing and we could literally see millions of stars shining brightly. Image Source
- Khardung La – The Khardung La Pass is located at an altitude of 5359 meters and is considered as India’s highest motorable road. Riding our bike through the winding roads and finally reaching our destination was nothing short of an achievement for us! Needless to say, the views that greeted us when we reached the top was simply stunning. After posing for some mandatory pictures, we gorged on delicious Maggie and some hot tea at a nearby hotel.
Image Source - Shanti Stupa – The Shanti Stupa is a beautiful white-dome Buddhist monument and it is located on top of a hill. Once we reached the top, we could see miles and miles of mountains on all sides and a panoramic view of the Changspa village. It was the perfect place for us to soak in some peace and tranquility. We were also able to capture some amazing pictures from the top.
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Some of the other tourist sites that we were able to visit included:
- Hall of Fame Museum
- Thiksey Monastery
- Chang La Pass
We couldn’t visit some of the other famous tourist spots such as Nubra Valley, Zanskar Valley, Hemis Monastery, etc., due to lack of time.
Overall, we truly enjoyed our trip to Ladakh, and we will be definitely heading back to visit the sites that we missed!