Bhapa Pass (New Delhi, Manali, Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Agra & Jaipur)
| Home | More Pictures |
Himalayas from the air / Shey Gompa Ladakh
Bhapa Pass (New Delhi, Manali, Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Agra & Jaipur)
| Home | More Pictures |
Himalayas from the air / Shey Gompa Ladakh
There were 11 ladies and one other man in this group. What happens to all the macho macho men? Anway we arrived in New Delhi in the evening. Sanjay Verman was there to meet us and escorted us to the hotel. Early the next morning, we were transported back to the airport for our flight to Leh in the district of Ladakh near the border of China. The views from of the Himalayan mountain range were a special treat.
Leh is a the main town and the landscape is pretty much barren and inhospitaple. Its described by many as moon-scaped. Leh was once a part of the Tibetan Kingdom and hence, much of the architecture and people are Tibetan. In fact, its known all over the world as the 'India's Little Tibet". We were advised to "remain inactive" to avoid altitude sickness but being excited, many of the group members "overexerted" and succumb to altitude sicknesses. The simple cure is rest, rest and more rest.
The following day was a full day of touring Tibetan Gompas or temples, may sited on hillsides. Hemis Gompa and Shey Gompa are part of the usual route of tourist. We were back in Leh at about 3pm and despite warnings of more altitude sickness, we walked up to the Palace sited high above Leh. We also visited a mosque! and a Morovian Church! within the town vicinity.
On the 3rd day in Leh, it was off to Alchi Gompa and several rural villages along the way. Stopped on several occasions to photograph the flowering orchards of apricot and apples. We were back in Leh early and walked some more in this quaint town with its interesting streets and people.
On day 5 of our stay in India, we flew out of Leh to get to Chandrigah in Punjab, which is also the rice bowl of populous India. We bussed through acres and acres of fields planted with a wide variety of produce. The scenery changed when we got to the foothills of the Himalayas and we arrived in Manali at night.
We spend the next morning shopping and walking about in pretty Manali town. After lunch, we bussed to Solang Valley to begin our soft trekking holiday. There were a total of 15 packhorses, which carried all the equipment and baggage. We each walked with a daypack containing our water, a lunchpack and some warm clothes. There were also a crew of 8 locals who did all the work of preparing meals, set up tents and packing.
The second day saw us walking on the trail to the Dhundi mountains, where we pitched camp on a pleasent riverbank. In the morning, we woke up with a few inches of snow that had fallen in the night and this was indeed a very nice surprise, especially to snow-starved Malaysians. Later in the day, we walked back to Solang Valley and set up camp fronting the magnificent Solang Glacier. At this camp, some of us went horseriding.
We headed towards the viewpoint of the Solang Glacier the next morning. It was another beautiful sight with the glacier in the distance amidst a green valley with a wonderful river cutting though the middle. Afterwards, we packed our stuff and walked to the campsite number 4 at Kothi, which is a very small village located ontop of a hill. Here, we were surrounded in a 360 degrees by mountain views.
After Kothi, it was off to Rahla Falls where we spent our 5th and final night on the trail. Rahla Falls is probably the biggest and prettiest waterfall in Manali. In summer, this area is home to a few thousand holiday campers but we were the only ones there at this time. After breakfast the next morning, we left Rahla and was bussed to Manali town.
After breakfast in Manali town, we boarded our bus to go to New Delhi, which was a day long journey. Early the next morning, it was off to Agra and the Taj Mahal and back. On our 14th and final day in India, we did a half day tour of Delhi plus shopping at the fixed priced government cottage emporuims. At night, we flew back to Malaysia.
| Home |