| Dreams
do come true !! Yes dreams do come true in Ladakh. 14 of us, successfully crossed Stok La ( 4900mts) and had a great time trekking, camping, and singing our hearts out amidst lonely hills , under the silver moonlight.
To my eye, Ladakh is stark beautiful. Our
journey to the Moon land began on 3rd June from Delhi, where everyone
gathered. 3rd
– 4th June 4th
June to 5th June This
route goes through 4 high alitude passes( route map is documented
for the interested) The night stop at Keylong or Sarachu is necessary. The driver needs rest for the next 20 hours long high altitude journey.
After
a quick brief by Qayoom our trek leader, about the “do’s
and don’t’s for the trek we started packing.
Day
2 of trekking Day 3 trek.
Day
4 Let me tell you i never saw beauty in such a raw form.This route turned out to be better than the Manali route.We all have our tales to tell about this return journey.
we
all remained quiet for the whole journey back to Mumbai. living
. |
Occasional stops for tea and photographs were a regular feature
of our journey.
The
highest pass we crossed was the last one taralangla – 17,000
ft approx.
“Jullay”,
greeted by Qayoom , my ladakhi friend who made us comfortable in
a guest house on teh Fort road in Leh.
As
adviced by Qayoom, we did some basic climbing in the evening to
Shanti Stupa, a quiet and beautiful place.
OK
the dream started next day after an early drop to the village of
Spituk, which lies immediately south of Leh, on the opposite side
of the Indus valley.We met our wonderful cooks and 10 ponies. The
Spituk gompa passed by as we reached our starting point near the
wodden bridge and started out trek to Zingchen (3410m). The walk
was more or less on a plateau , but passing thru some stunning landscape
all around, natures own Imax screen.It was a 5 hrs walk thru deserted
valleys utnil we reached a small village called Zingchen. We camped
there for the night.
crossing
it several times and finally reached Rumbak (3800 m) -a picturesque
and agriculturally rich valley, with beautifullly decorated houses,
small temple and school. Since we had gained a lot of altitude,
tiredness could be seen on the face of our team members.I had to
keep everyones morale high, casue tommorrow we cross Stok La at
16,0075ft - the height most of us have never been to.
The
last days trek over the Stok La was a mean straight ascend, no compromise.
| What some of the participants have to say about the trip. |
 Meenakshi
Client Servicing, O & M Mumbai Julley All, How is your boring corporate/student life treating you? I completely and totally hate coming back to work, having a bath everyday and most of all attending phone calls. I guess thats only till our next trip to the mountains........ I do have a special vote of thanx and appreciation for Prateek. I think he helped many of our dreams of visiting the mountains come true. Thank you MAMAJi! And for Qayyum, charming Sharif and Rahul and the cooks who fed us good food up in the mountains and of course the horse who almost saved my life! And i loved being with each of you and I hope we can keep in touch......And i must thank U for being patient with an amateur trekker like me. |
Ladakh
was more than a holiday for me. It was anexperience. One that I
wish didn't have to end. It was not just the place with its magnificent
beauty; but Thank
You so much Prateek, Qayoom Ji and Sharif for encouraging me to
make my dream come true. Thank you Rahul, all the cooks, the horse
man and Although my body might be miles away, my heart still lingers on in Ladakh... |
 Mansoor
Businessman, Mumbai We are very lucky that our country have wonderfull sceniec views. See you soon again at LEH. Warm Regards |
 RaghavResort in Goa julley everyone, i know everyones going thru it, the withdraw symptoms of having spend time in the purity of the nature and specially the untouched ladakh. i had seen it before but i saw it again as if i was seeing it for the first time. the place has such freshness that it will keep you amazing everytime. last time i was thinking of taking up a home in leh but this time around i am seriously considering it as i intened to go there every year. qayyum and sharif were definetely
darlings and the true representation of the ladakhi people, true
and friendly. always with a smile on their faces. |
|
 Nazir
Usman Businessman, Mumbai I agree 100 % with Mubarak that ladakh is THE most amazing destination you will find on planet earth. Second most important part of a journey apart form the destination is the company. We had a very good group of like-minded people and some of them were with extraordinary will power. Hats-off to Meenakshi, Yatra, Sukruti and Alishaa who seemed to carry off the tough task of trekking with so much ease ( except few moments before reaching stok la... ). Yes, we were always in the safe hands of TWO great HMI stalwarts viz Qayyum & Prateek. Prateek, thanx for planning such a wonderful trek. I think if you had not planned for this trek then for me ladakh would always be a dream. Thanks again for making it possible. Lastly, Its been more than 3 days and the hangover is yet to subside. I feel i have come back to a strange world (mumbai) post ladakh. I am sure it is the same with all of you. best regards |
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Alisha
Mubarak
Sukrutee
Dvivedi