According to Seneca, travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. This statement holds true for every individual who is constantly experiencing the grind of the city life. Only when our brains and bodies reach an alarmingly dangerous levels do we realize the need to take a break. Quite recently, I had the chance to escape the tyranny of my monotonous life, thanks to this long vacation to the mountains that my family and I successfully managed to execute. I say execute because there have been incidents in the past where we will engage in days and days of research to select places we haven't explored, prepare itineraries and then wham!! The vacation is thwarted due to some unanticipated reason.

So which mountain ranges did I escape to? Well, it is called the "Land of High Passes" in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It is surrounded by the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. The history of this place is predominantly dominated by the Tibetan culture and the great Pangong Tso Lake is situated in this part of the region. Yes, Ladakh it is.

The excitement for this trip begun the day it was planned and our tickets booked. I had only seen the beauty of the place through pictures because I wanted to make sure that I visit all the important places during my brief stay in the region. But even before I landed, the glorious charisma of the Himalayas simply blew me away. So to all those who had always dreamt of touring this region and to share my experience with my friends, let me take you through Leh..all over again.

All the images © Shraddha Chauhan