Srinagar:

In the heart of the Kashmir valley Srinagar is located at an altitude of 1,730 m above sea level, spread on both sides of the river Jhelum. The Dal and Nagin lakes enhance its beauty, while the changing play of the seasons and the salubrious climate ensures that the city is equally attractive to visitors around the year.

It is a heaven for the tourist who can experience, at first hand, the peculiar beauty of the valley that has attracted each and every one. Its waterways with their own quaint lifestyle, the unique salubrious climate, the blossoming gardens, water sports activities, shopping for lovingly handcrafted souvenirs and the nearby resorts make it a cherished spot among those looking for a memorable holiday.


The major attraction of Srinagar is The Lakes,( Manasbal Lake ,Wular Lake ) the gardens like the (The Mughal Gardens , Shalimar Bagh , Nishat Bagh) the beautiful temples like (Kheer Bhawani Temple , Shankaracharya Temple) there is also a very beautiful Gurudwarawhich that is Chhatti Padshahi Gurudwara the Mosque (Hazratbal Mosque ,Jama Masjid ) there are many forts like Pari Mahal, Hari Parbat Fort. There are also many places to visit like The Awantipur ruins, Achabal , Aharbal ,Verinag, Martand ,Kokernag ,Harwan ,Daksum , Chashma Shahi.

Cycling in Leh

Cycling is one of the most adventures and fascinating challenge to ride there in the rugged mountainous area and the high passes. Riding can be a feasible challenge for every motivated biker.
There are lots of places and valleys like Kinnaur and Spiti and takes you gradually higher up where on the way you'll see impressive landscapes and traditional villages.

In Leh there is also the Kardung la, which is the highest motorable pass on earth (5601m).one must be a good biker because the high passes are not technical unpretending.
The roads here are to 80% paved and the distances are not too long. The best time is. June - September.

Zanskar

Zanskar is a place which you can say that its a sandwiched between the Indus Valley and the main crest of the Indian Himalaya, this is a vast area what at over 3000 square miles, is larger then the Indian state of Sikkim.

It’s amongst a tangled knot of jagged mountains, lies the once independent kingdom of Zanskar. This place is having of far- flung monasteries, most of which occupy spectacular fortified locations, high on rocky ridges in isolated valleys. Lamayuru Gompa, the most ancient monastic site of here.

Its have many more trekking route that provides one of the great challenges of the Indian Himalaya. Some very good tracking places are like Darcha. From here, the north across the Shingo La (c.5100m./16000ft.) Into the ancient kingdom of Zanskar, which is famous for its hardy inhabitants and starkly beautiful landscape. Grapes, apricots and melons are produced in fairly large quantities at Darchik and Garkoon along the lower course of the Indus through Ladakh.

Drass

Drass is known as coldest inhabited place out side Siberia It is situated at the altitude of 3250 m, 60-km west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar. It’s a small town ship and has a very cold weather in winter, the temperature in winter reaches to -40, coupled within wind chill the temperature can go up to -50 to -55.
The late autumn or early spring season of Drass is quite risky from travel point of view. This is so because during this time period, the whole Drass valley of Kashmir including Zojila pass faces frequent snowstorms and remains snowed in.
From the tourist point of view Drass is quite famous for trekking, it is having all type of treks like long trek and short one also. Suru Valley is one of the famous trek of Drass, it is a sightseeing trip to some of the most delightful upland villages. The trek to the holy cave of Amarnath in neighboring Kashmir, which stars from Minamarg below Zoji La, takes 3 days and involves crossing of 5,200m high pass

Interesting place in Ladhak:

There are many interesting place in Ladhak like Kargil, Drass, Suru valley, Zongkhul, Sankoo, Sani etc.
Kargil

This place is second larges urban center of Ladhak. In the sate of Jammu Kashmir Its 2740 m, approx area is 15000 sq. kms; the best time to visit here is April to July. This town is situated in Basin of Suru River where two tributaries of the river meet. Kargil is a mixture of various ethnic groups living a peaceful life on this hilly cold terrain. These tribes still follow their own rituals and cultures. Approx 85 % of the population of Kargil follows the Islam; the traditions differ largely from the conventional Muslim rituals and beliefs.
Kargil is famous as the land of Apricots. In summers the whole Suru valley blooms and comes alive with the orange color and sweet fragrance of the Apricots.
The chief attractions of the Kargil valley are its adventure sports like trekking, camping, mountaineering, river rafting and the rest. The day long excursions in the nearby Suru valley are also worthwhile. The major attraction, however, is the 9 meter high ancient rock sculpture of the Future Buddha.

Mountaineering in Ladakh

For those who like the adventure in the life and want adventures sport then Ladhak is a best place for them, and mountaineering in Ladhak is one of the most adventures sport, it has so many peaks and mountains to climb so it can also said the paradise for mountaineering.
Before staring any this type of adventurous sports acclimatisation to weather is necessary, the best season for mountaineering here is from June to September in this period the place remains unaffected by the monsoon. The Nun Kun Massif, which lies on the great Himalayan range, is the highest peak in Ladakh at 7,077m is counted as one of the most adventures places.
Other place there are Suru and Zanskar valleys which are one of the most adventures places here. The other adventures place like Nun Kun Massif, the twin peaks which is from the Kargil-Padum Road, about 70-km south of Kargil. You can also go for the Suru and Zanskar areas are Pinnacle at 6,930m, White Needle at 6,500m, Z1 at 6,400m and D41 at 5,600m.

Adventure in Ladhak

In my point of view the most adventures place in India is Ladhak. It is the place which is having lot and lot of adventures like Mountain Climbing, Cycling, Jeep Safari Tour, Ladhak Wild life, Camel Safari, Ladhak Trekking, Yak Safaris, and Mountaineering etc.



There are most of the places in Ladhak which is cut off from the outside world for over half the year, and can only be visited in winter by following one of the strangest trade routes in the world, like frozen Zanskar River. This river freezes in midwinter and really safe to walking till February.
The Chadar region is rarely visited by foreigners and allows a glimpse of this enchanting winter universe, dramatic mountains and glaciers, home to the Zangskari people and their ancient

There are also some places in Ladhak which are very much popular treks.

Changthang / Rupsho valley region

Nubra valley region

Markha valley

Shaam region

Zangskar Region

Travel Tips for Leh

Today I am giving some of my views and tips, some thing which should keep on mind while your travel to Leh.

• Before going Leh or any where for traveling it’s very important that you should have a medicine bag.
• Acclimatize for at least two days is very important foe hear - this is not a joke. If you fly in, do not do anything on that day.
• Take a suitable tablet everyday to deal with the high altitude, with that headaches can also probably be avoided.
• Consult your doctor before you go and ensure that you have enough medication to ensure that you are in a healthy frame of mind to enjoy the scenery.
• If you find it hard to breathe, just go to the hospital and they will give you oxygen and proper medication.
• They are quite used to gasping tourists with chest pain, headaches, nausea and blue fingers and toes coming in, so take proper care for that.
• Do not rush Leh. Ideally, spend at least 10 days so that you will not miss the beauty of all the places, and have time to soak in the spectacular scenery.
• Follow the rules and regulations which are being defined by Indian Army.

Ladhak Monasteries

Monasteries are also one of the very main attractions of Ladhak, the monasteries belong to Hinayana sect of Buddhism or Mahayana, they are known as Gompas. In my previous post I have described Hemis Gompa which is the major attraction of Ladhak.

One can say that Ladhak is a place of Gompas. I m describing some famous Gompas of Ladhak

Chemrey Gompa: it is situated at a distances of approximately 40 km to the east of the town of Leh. Founded by Lama Tagsang Raschen. Diskit & Hundur Gompa it is situated the Nubra Valley of the Ladakh region. Built by Changzem Tserab Zangpo, a disciple of Tsong-kha-pa. Alchi Gompa it is situated on the banks of the Indus. Matho Gumpa ; it is located at a distance of approximately 62 km to the west of Leh. Likir Gompa: located at a distance of approximately 62 km to the west of Leh, the Likir Monastery. Namgyal Tsemo Monastery: it stands perched precariously on the crag behind Leh palace. Built by King Tashi Namgyal. Rangdum Gompa: it is situated near the Zanskar region.

Stongdey Monastery: The Stongdey Monastery of Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 18 km to the north of Padum, on the road to Zangla. Sani Monastery: The village of Sani is situated as a distance of approximately 6 km to the west of the Padum valley, on the road to Kargil. Sankar Gompa: Sankar Gompa is located to the north of the town center and belongs to the Gelukpa order. Stok Gompa: Founded by Lama Lhawang Lotus, the Stok

Gompa of Ladakh dates back to the 14th century. Shey Gompa: King Deldon Namgyal got the two-story Shey Gompa constructed in the year 1655, in the memory of his father. One of the highlights of the monastery is a two-story high image of the seated Buddha. Rizong Gompa: The Rizong Gompa of Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 73 km from the town of Leh. Phugtal Gompa: The Phugtal Gompa of Ladakh is situated in the Zanskar region, on the opening of a huge cave. Spituk Gompa: The Spituk Monastery of Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 8 km from the town of Leh. Lamayuru Monastery: The Lamayuru Monastery of Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 127 km to the west of Leh.

Hemis Nation Park

Hemis Nation Park is located in the Eastern part of Ladakh. Jammu & kashmir .the altitude of here is 3,5000to 6,950m above sea level. During the winter season, the temperature goes down below the freezing point with low rainfall and bulk of snow. Summers are short and mild, while there is no marked rainy season.

The name of this park “Hemis “ is taken from famous monastery Hemis Gumps which is spread out over 600 sq. Km and is located in the Ladakh division of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir at a distance of around 40 Kms. southeast of Leh.

This park is also known as the “Snow Leopard Capital of India” it is a hosts a remarkable variety of wildlife. The park is in the existing from 1981 as one of the national park of India, it’s bounded by the historical river of Indus, which is also one of the prime attractions. It a place with natural beauty with mountains of various shapes and sizes, mixed with vast flatlands, deserts etc.

This place is rare for its dry forests of scrublands, grassland, fir, alpine, birch, juniper, herbaceous vegetation, Myricaria, Poplar, Salix, Birch, Astragalus, Taraxacum, Leortopodium, Ephedra and many sparse grasslands. There are many endangered animals, which are normally found in the cold region along with an interesting assemblage of cold desert flora. The famous wild attraction here are Tibetan antelope, snow leopard, Tibetan wild or kiang, srapu, bharal, ibex, serow, Palla's cat, Tibetan argal, Hanuman languor, Ladakh urial, wolf, marmot, , red fox, rhesus macaque and many more.

Hemis Gompa

Hemis Gompa

Hemis monastic complex is in Ladakh region of the Western Himalayas, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir at an altitude of 12,000 feet making it one of the highest settlements of the world .

There is a believe that it is established in 1630 by Lama Tagstang Raspa and built by Palden Sara under the patronage of King Sengge Namgyal on a site previously sanctified by the construction of a cave hermitage dating from the 12th century. It is a example of the of construction techniques and details which are not found elsewhere.
The main building itself dates from 1630 when the Nyingma Lhakhang was constructed with a courtyard in front and the residence for the Rinpoche located some distance to the east. The main entrance to the Gompa building, the large courtyard and its enclosing gallery decorated with painted stone relief’s.
Hemis Gompa festival is one of the most auspicious occasion for the Buddhist community in India. The Hemis fair is celebrated with great jubilance to mark the birth of Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche, the revered incarnation of Lord Buddha.

Ladhak

Ladhak

Today I am starting my tour from Ladhak the land of barren landscape, jagged peaks, and stark awe-inspiring mountains. It’s a land of magic and mystique, It is a place which has an ability to touch heart of each and everyone. It is having a cold and dry climate, winters are too long and bitter here. The temperature here in winter is -20 to -25 C. So the ideal time to visit this place is the summer season which lasts from june- September in this time temperature here are between 8C and 20 C. In the pleasing cool climate one can enjoy the massive patchwork of colors from that of the searing saffron to willow tendrils of pale green, fir and birch. This civilization is also known as Indus Valley civilization it is one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years.



There are a lots of places in Ladhak to see because it’s a place were each and every thing is attractive, the main attraction of this placeic that it offers a range of trekking options to its visitors pituk to the Markha valley and Lamayuru Gompa to Chiling village alongside the Zanskar River are the most popular treks of the region, One can also enjoy river rafting in the Zanskar River from July to September.Ther are many more travel spots like Hemis National Park and the Rumbak Valley, Hemis Gumpha ,Sonmarg , Drass, Khargil, Mulbek, Mulbek Gumpha, Fotu La Pass, Spituk Monastery, Siachin, Nubra Valley, Puga Valley ,Tsomoriri Lake

Travel India

Travel India



India is land of travel if we dived it region wise from the point of traveling it can be divide it into 5 regions. If on one side we have snow clad mountains, to the other there is a hot desert and if on one side we have the mountain ranges then we have coastal plains too.

If we first start from the top most North part of India we will get a first most beautiful and most dangerous place where breathtaking one second, and so daunting the next! A land of magic, mystique that is Ladakh a places of mountains with the cold desert beyond. It has a cold and dry climate and winters are very long and bitter, were temperature goes to – 25 degrees Celsius. Camels with double hunk are found here.

After that we come to the North part were we are have many travel places like Jammu &Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, Kullu, and Manali. These places are known for gardens, lakes, snow covered hill stations, scenic beauty, and also for snow games (skiing) these places are also having trekking, river rafting, and mountaineering.


Another Northern Stats of India are Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan (it is mostly a desert area and the temperature in summer goes to 50 degrees Celsius here) camels are used here for transportation. There are also many places like Udaipur (the city of Lakes) Ajmer, Jaipur (called a Pink City).

If Jaipur is called as a Pink City. Punjab is also a place which is rich and fertile. Chandighar is a well planed city specially famous for Rose Garden And a park/sculptures made of broken porcelain/glass pieces are worth seeing. Mostly the people here are Sikhs .There is also a place know as Amritsar the Golden Temple is situated here only which is one of the holy place to Sikhs.

Uttar Pradesh is also one of the most famous visitors places like Agra were the Taj Mahal one wonder from the seven wonders is situated here. Uttar Pradesh is also called the heritage heartland of India, with many Hindu pilgrim spots in Varanasi. There is also one of the most important place of is Lucknow Capital of Uttar Pradesh its famous for Exquisite Monuments, Awadhi Cuisine, Chikan Fabrics, Kathak Dance. Allahabad or Prayag it is a city of Hindu pilgrimage city for thousands of years, places to watch here are Allahabad Fort, Anand Bhawan, Allahabad University it is also famous for Maha Kumbh Mela. Mathura and Vrindavan also known as Lord Krishna’s Place famous for Krishna Balarama Mandir, Madana Mohana, Banke Bihari Mandir.

Now the Western region of India, with major states like Gujarat, Ahmadabad (the capital of Gujarat). It is famous for textile industry. Surat is the city of cloth manufacturing and Ship building

Maharashtra the famous place of India and is also famous for its film Industry in the state capital Mumbai that is Bollywood, the Indian version of Hollywood is the world's largest film Industry by number of movies made every year. Places to see here is Lakshmi Mandir, Marine Drive, Elephanta caves are very famous. Konkan region in Maharashtra has got tremendous tourist potential. Ratnagiri is also a famous place for its Alphonso mango.
Goa a small state ruled by Portugese until 1961 so the influence on every place. It is also known for its beaches and Churches, Goa, the name itself is a boost for tourism.

Now we are moving to the Eastern part of India. There are places like West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. Most of these places are rich with tea plantations. In West Bengal there is first city where the British established their KolkataEast India Company. Even to this day, we can see the buildings in British Style on many streets of Kolkata. Darjeeling famous for its narrow gauge train it is one main attractive hill stations. It is also having thick forests with Rhinos, Tigers and you will be surprised to find that the grass in these forests are more than 7 to 8 feet, almost covering vehicles on the move. Sikkim the land of Buddhists with many monasteries while the other smaller states like Tripura, Mizoram have Christians .Manipur it has the largest freshwater lake in Eastern India, called Loktak. And the world's endangered brow antlered deer plays in the world's only floating park Keibul Lamjao, also famous for the Ima Keithel or “Mothers” Market where more than 3, 000 women controls the daily market to sell vegetables, fruits, fish and other essential products, here two well tended Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries are located built in memory of soldiers fought in World War II.

The other states in Eastern India are Bihar, Jharkhand and Orrisa. In Orrisa there is a place Puri famous for holy place for Hindus with Lord Jagannath's temple, the Konark Suntemple and a vast stretch of beaches. The largest lake of Asia’s called the Chilka Lake is here only where many birds migrate from other parts of the world. Rourkela in Orrisa is another place of huge tourist interest as it holds a 74ft. high statue of Lord Hanuman and also Khandadhar Falls (India's 4th highest waterfall).Now the Central India, here we find the Vindhya mountain range across three states comprising parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh.

The Southern parts have the states like Karnataka, kerela, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (famous for many stone sculptured temples). Karnataka is also a land with greenery. Being the largest producer of Sandalwood, Mysore is called the city of sandalwood. Kerela is called a land of coconuts, backwaters, beaches and ayurvedic centre for medical treatment and health spa.

The capital of Andhra Pradesh is Hyderabad, the other being Secunderabad. In this part of the country where Muslims live in utter harmony with the Hindus. Hyderabad pearls are world famous. Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateshwara is here and it is this temple which brings in the most revenue in comparison to any other place in India. It is actually the second richest religious organization in the world after the Roman Catholic Church of Vatican.

As I can say that India is a place which can’t be defined in words, there is too much to say about this beautiful place. So I dived that in region wise. It’s a place were people wants to come back again and again.