Trekking in Ladakh - Backpacking in Rajasthan

Two completely different areas, both in India, both a dream: trekking in Ladakh to the most beautiful monasteries and over the highest motorable passes and backpacking in Rajasthan to Thar Desert, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Agra.

Ladakh is located in the north of the country, most of it above 3000 meters, desert-like, with the Indus as a life-giving river, with great monasteries, with the world' s highest navigable passes, with remote villages, surrounded by majestic mountains.

I want to go there.

And then to Rajasthan, in the far west of India, on the border with Pakistan, most of the state covered by the vast Thar Desert, great cities with some of the world' s most beautiful buildings. Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur and of course Agra with the Taj Mahal.

I want to go there too ...

Trekking in Ladakh

If you already have trouble breathing on the Jungfraujoch, you should better leave it alone. The capital Leh is at the same height, i.e. around 3500 meters above sea level, and many others are even higher.

However, if you want to take the adventure, you will definitely experience one of the most impressive trips of your life. You can stay in Leh and visit wonderful monasteries in the Indus Valley, such as Likir, Lamayuru, Thikse ...

Or you can choose one of the many treks, from demanding (Marka) to easy (Baby Trek). Or you can take the bus into Nubra Valley over the highest motorable pass in the world, Khardung La, and gasp for air at 5369 meters. There are so many options ...

 

A few Tipps

Leh

The capital at high altitude is sinking more and more into a cloud of smog and a permanent traffic chaos. Too bad, because the city is friendly and offers a lot of variety.

Treks

Every kind of trek on offer, from easy to strenuous. But do not forget - it is cold at these altitudes and oxygen-reduced. So not suitable for everyone.

The Monasteries

The eye drowns in beauty. The monasteries with their unearthly beauty are a kind of direct line to heaven. The most beautiful of the beautiful are Thikhse, Lamayuru, Likir ...

Nubra Valley

The valley can only be reached from Leh via the Khardung-La Pass. This is not an exaggeration one of the craziest pass drives in the world.

The Nubra Valley is a high mountain valley on average 3000 meters  m sea ​​level and is about 150 km north of Leh. It follows the wild 550 km long Shyok to the India-Pakistan border. Downstream from Diskit, local camels can be ridden on the Shyok Sand Dunes (see blog).

The Leh-Manali Highway.

The highlight of the trip for me, but definitely not for everyone. It is a 477-kilometer highway connecting the cities of Leh and Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh. In many parts it has only one lane and is only open between June and mid-September.

It is known for the fact that it leads over several of the highest motorable passes in the world, including the Rohtang La (3.978 m), the Baralcha La (4.892 m, the Lachulung La (5.059 m) and the Tanglang La (5.325 m) The road is very dangerous, as proven by the crushed vehicles in the gorges.There are tons of videos about the highway on youtube.

This is my personal favorite:

 

Backpacking in Rajasthan

Rajasthan, in German 'Land of Kings', is an Indian Federal State with an area of ​​XNUMX km² and about XNUMX million inhabitants. The capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur, the official language is Hindi.

Rajasthan is India at its purest, but somehow different from the rest of the country. Perhaps because of the desert that occupies a large part of the state, perhaps the different atmosphere, the people, shaped by the special environmental factors. Definitely worth a trip.

But Rajasthan, like Ladakh, is different from the rest India This makes the subcontinent so appealing - the incredible abundance of opposites. Ladakh and Rajasthan are the best examples of this.

 

 

A few Tipps

Jodhpur – the blue City

Jodhpur is a city with about 1 million inhabitants. It used to be the capital of Rajput and later Princely State and is a popular destinationwith several palaces, fortresses and temples surrounded by the Thar desert landscape.

The Singhvi's Haveli Hotel is a wonderful place like in the Thousand and One Nights. Havelis were once trading posts, endowed with all the wealth, and even the hotel still displays the beauties of the time.

Mehrangarh Fort,

Here at the edge of the Thar desert, it is hot, but never too hot, to discover the true jewel of Jodhpur Mehrangarh Fort, a fortress that dwarfs everything I've seen so far.

Bikaner – the red City

Bikaner is located in the north of the Thar desert at an altitude of about 225 m above sea level. d. M. The climate of Bikaner is warm to hot and dry; the extremely low rainfall of less than 250 mm / year for Indian conditions mainly falls during the summer monsoon season.

Junagarh Fort,

The Junagarh Fort, is built of bricks and reddish-yellow sandstone, in the interior partly covered with white marble. The fort is one of the best preserved Rajput palaces; however, it largely serves as a museum.

Jaipur. – the pink City

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan with 3 million inhabitants and is a fast growing industrial city. The city is also a cultural center with university, theaters, cinemas, museums, zoo and art monuments and is a traffic junction of road, rail and airport. Jaipur's most famous monument is the Hawa Mahal ("Palace of the Winds"), narrowing towards the top.

Palace of the Winds

The eye-catching construction served the numerous ladies of the court, who were not allowed to go among the common people, as observation posts, especially during the popular processions. Thus they could see, hear and smell everything from the street, but could not be noticed from the outside because of the darkening construction. The façade was given its name because of the ingenious air circulation, allowing a fresh breeze to blow through the rooms.

And here the trip begins... with the flight to Leh