We know that many of you must have been planning for a perfect trip to the place often referred to as the land of high passes and higher dreams, Leh-Ladakh. Unfortunately, it may seem to be quite dicey in planning such a trip. We guess you have come to the right place if you are one of those.
In this blog series, we will take you all on an amazing trip to Leh-Ladakh.
In case you don’t know who we are………..
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……..
Before we start anything on the second day, the question still remains……..
1. What is the best possible way to start the Leh-Ladakh trip?
Well, it’s quite challenging to answer this. The answer lies in the number of days you have or the budget constraints. You can start from either of the following three ways:
- Fly directly to Leh Airport: In case you have limited days. This is the best possible way to start.
- Fly directly to Srinagar Airport: This will also take less days. The reason is that you may wish to explore Kashmir and then head to Leh-Ladakh.
- Reach Manali: There are many possible ways to reach Manali. Regular bus services are available from Chandigarh and Delhi.
- Reach Jammu: You can fly directly to Jammu. Take a train to Jammu, or take a bus from Delhi. You can explore Jammu, head to Srinagar, and proceed to Leh-Ladakh.
For us, we directly took a flight to Jammu, as we planned to explore Jammu and Srinagar for a day and then proceed to Leh-Ladakh.
For us, we directly took a flight to Jammu, as we planned to explore Jammu and Srinagar for a day and then proceed to Leh-Ladakh.
Our excitement was sky-high when we landed in Jammu. Now that you know about all the possibilities of reaching Leh-Ladakh, let’s come back to our story.
2. Where was our stay at Jammu?
As we landed in Jammu, we headed towards the exit to collect the SIM card. Remember that only Local pre-paid SIMs or any post-paid SIMs work throughout the Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Leh-Ladakh region. We opted for a 23-day pre-paid SIM that cost us 350 INR.
As it was a defence airport, photography was strictly prohibited. We proceeded towards the exit area where we took a cab from the pre-paid taxi booth and proceeded towards our stay at the Jewel Chowk, that was hardly 5-6 km from the Airport.
The hotel was decent enough to stay for a night. The main reason of this stay was its proximity to bus stand and marketplace. It was about 12 o’clock in the afternoon when we reached our stay.
After reaching, we thought to explore a few local places after taking rest given the tiring flight journey we had that day. After a sumptuous lunch we took a nap for few hours and got ready by evening to explore by late evening.
Let’s answer before you think….
3. How did we enjoy the evening?
Being Travel Freaks, we always look for an opportunity to explore the local places. It was no different this time. We went to the famous Raghunath Temple of Jammu that was about 900 metres from our stay.
As we reached the temple, we passed through the Jammu bus stand and the famous Hari market. There was a tight security outside the temple complex. You need to submit your camera in a locker outside the temple and then proceed. We took the main gate to enter.
As we entered, we found that the temple complex was huge. The best part was that it remains open till 10 o’clock in the night. The temple was mainly dedicated to Lord Ram, Lord Lakshman and Goddess Sita. Apart from the main idols, there were many other temples witin the complex that was dedicated to various other Gods and Goddesses.
You may need a few hours to explore the temple at your own pace. We were mesmerised by the beauty of the temple and stayed there for around 1.5 hours. The ambience was quite serene.
It was a good start to our long trip ahead. Apart from the spiritual indulgence, we were quite thrilled to see the Hari Market, just outside the temple complex.
The Hari market has all the necessary stuffs you need ranging from dry fruits, clothes to souvenirs. The varieties of clothes that they showcased was amazing. We took time in glancing through the shops, especially the dry fruits one. Finally, when it was about 7:30 PM we decided to return to our stay.
It took us about half an hour to reach to our stay. We could notice that the shops started closing their shutters. It also indicated to call it an end to our first day.
After having dinner, we discussed about our experience for the first day before going to sleep. Just the kind of start we wished for.
The next day would be more exciting as we would be heading towards the paradise on earth.
Till then stay tuned and do follow us for the next blog of this exciting series.
Wait! We are not ending this blog without this last question.
4. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of a new place. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau