And this was the last and the final day of my stay at Ladakh. Inspite of my not so great health condition (caused due to the thin depleting oxygen levels) I was little sad because I was in love with the landscape of Ladakh and did not want to leave it so soon. Today was the day for visiting perhaps the best tourist attractions in the world (trust me, mark this place in your must- visit places before dying and you will not regret even one ounce)- the vivid Pangong Tso lake.
The lake was almost a 4 hour drive from Leh- perhaps the longest and most tiring since one had to cross the dramatic Changla Pass followed by a few villages and small rivers before you finally make it to your destination (it felt like light years since the road would seemed to be never ending). This is the same lake where the famous climax of the 2009 Aamir Khan starrer hit film '3 Idiots' was shot. It is said that out of the 600 km long lake only 40% lies in India and the rest of it is in Tibet. Since I went in April, the lake was frozen on all ends and there was hardly any soul to be found. It felt as if the lake belonged to me and I am the owner of this vast expanse of landscape. It was a different experience to stand in the middle of the frozen lake and feel the wind blowing through you.
The blue above and the white below makes you forget where you are from and in those few moments that you are standing there, you become one with nature. I wish my words could do justice to the empowering feeling that one feels enlightening their soul.
On our way back from the lake, we visited our last destinations- Zorawar Fort and Ancient Palace of Leh which is one of the oldest palace in Leh. This 8 storied palace is built using local ingredients like mud, brick and mortar and houses some of the valuables and memorabilia of the kings and their stories of wars with Kasmiri rulers of the 19th century.
Apart from this I visited the market for some local shopping. Make sure that if you are planning to shop, take a local along with you since the Ladakhis have a habit of quoting everything four times the actual worth of the item.
And with this my momentous trip to Leh came to an end. Although I wouldn't call it as an end since this is just the beginning and I have promised myself to come back to this region again just to travel along the NH1 highway all the way to Kashmir through the green valleys of Kargil. Something that I learnt from the people of Ladakh is simplicity and gratitude in everything they do. Even though they stay in a place where there is scarce vegetation throughout the year, these people are one the most hospitable lot I have come across. They are genuine and humble in their mannerisms and they will go all out to keep their guests comfortable and happy. All the 4 days that we were in Leh, we had opted for homestay and the owner of the house used to treat us like family; serving us home cooked food and hot herbal tea to keep our body temperatures normal. It was perhaps the sweetest gesture of hospitality I ever experienced.
I will strongly recommend all my friends to take the trip to the mountains because it is not about discovering the beauty within the peaks, it is about getting a notch closer to your soul.
All the images © Shraddha Chauhan
