LADAKH - Land of High Passes
Ladakh as you all know is heaven on EARTH! Looking at the photographs of this terrain has always made me feel good and made me want to visit this beautiful place.
In January 2018, I got a call from my Dy. Director of the school – Akshay Sir saying the Ladakh trip for this year is open. It took me less than a second to say, “Yes, I am in.” After missing the opportunity to go to Ladakh the previous year, I did not want to miss it for anything else this time. I immediately booked the flight tickets to Leh and then the countdown began. It was a long wait until we actually boarded the plane to Leh. Time flew and the day of departure from Pune came. Group of 25 people – known, unknown, friends, students all of us boarded the bus to Mumbai and the much awaited photography expedition began. It was July and Mumbai was pouring. Soon everything went fine and we boarded the plane.
The journey to Leh started. It was a short flight early in the morning. All excited, we took the window seat on the left as the landing experience at the LEH airport is something no one would want to miss. Flying through the mountain range, the airstrip was seen and we were wondering how did they manage to do it.
We started our tour with getting acclimatized to the high altitude and low oxygen level and slowly walked to explore the markets of Leh. Second day was spent sightseeing the surroundings of Leh such as the Thiksey Monastery, Shanti Stupa, Hemis Monastery, Shey Palace. Visiting these places gives you an idea about the culture and architecture of Ladakh. Shanti Stupa has a splendid landscape view of the entire terrain. One can sit there in peace for hours sipping Kahwa (Kashmiri Tea) or Ginger Lemon Tea along with Maggie.
Day three was much more exciting as we drove to Khardungla Pass – one of the highest motorable road in the World (18,380 feet). On the way to Diskit / Hunder, you get an amazing view of the great Karakoram Range. One cannot stop clicking pictures throughout the entire journey. After spending some good time at the Khardungla Pass, we proceeded to Diskit. On our way to this small town, we stopped at a place midway where few scenes of the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag were shot. The 32-metre-tall Maitreya Buddha statue near Diskit Monastery is worth a visit. The landscape view from this place is just amazing. We then proceeded to the Sand Dunes of Nubra Valley to spend some free time. The best part about the Sand Dunes is that there is a stream that flows through it. One can relax there soaking their feet in the ice cold water of the flowing stream.
The following night was spent at Nubra Valley experiencing our amazing galaxy and experimenting with astro photography. With no air and light pollution, the sky was clear and filled with stars. We decided to keep our cameras on to capture the star trails and lied down to look at the starlit sky. A shooting star was something that I had never experienced and had seen only in the movies but I finally experienced it for real. We spotted a shooting star every 3-5 minutes and eventually lost the count.
Next morning, we left for Leh and spent the rest of the evening exploring the streets. It was a much needed day for resting as day five was something all were waiting for.
With the rising sun, everyone geared up to leave for the world famous Pangong Lake, also known as Pangong Tso, situated in the Himalayan range at a height of about 14,270 feet which is a saline water land locked lake.
We started our journey early in the morning. On our way to the Pangong Lake, we crossed Chang La Pass which is also the second highest point in the land of high passes. A short tea break at the Chang La Pass with snow fall was the cherry on top. Our excitement was building up as we wanted to reach the Pangong at the earliest. On our way, we spotted the large ground squirrel – Marmot and stopped to photograph the same as they are seen only in this terrain. Soon after that came the location from where the first view of the Pangong Lake is visible. It was blissful. As we reached our camp site, it started to rain and a thunderstorm hit us. It felt as if our tents were going to fly away in the storm. But thankfully it settled down in a few minutes but when we came out of our tents, the camp site was all upside down. We were just hoping that the sky gets cleared soon because the real beauty of seeing the Pangong Lake is when the sky is clear. The sun was nowhere to be seen. We decided to do a shoot at the lake side and enjoy the scenic beauty. After a day long journey with multiple stops, we decided to rest in the evening before we could visit the Pangong with clear sky in the morning.
And then came the second last day of this beautiful trip. We had to leave the camp site and proceed to Leh. Leaving this area without visiting the Pangong lake would have been a sin. We spent some good 2-3 hours at the banks of the lake enjoying the clear sky’s reflection in the water making it look BLUE. I fall short of words while describing the beauty of the Pangong Lake. As I kept taking in the scenery, other tourists at the lake side were busy getting their pictures clicked with the scooter and a similar looking lehenga which were used in the movie 3 Idiots staring Amir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
We knew the journey was about to end when we returned to our hotel in Leh. It was the last evening in Ladakh and few of us decided to visit the Hall of Fame. We rented out two wheelers and headed towards the memorial. The hall of fame has a lot to show the citizens how our army men survive in the extreme conditions on the border. Detailed description about the wars, weapons used, weapons captured during the operations, army men uniforms, tents, equipment & gears for survival, handwritten letters and more are showcased in the exhibit halls. We were lucky to witness the parade and to watch the documentary on Operation Vijay in the amphitheatre.
After the visit to the Hall of Fame, we headed to Shanti Stupa, a place where one can sit at peace looking at the entire city of Leh and the mountain range. Our plan was to visit Shanti Stupa for sunset but since we got so engrossed at the Hall of Fame, we reached Shanti Stupa around 8:30pm. The view from the top was beyond imagination. After spending some time there, we returned to the hotel. Nobody wanted to head back but as we all know; all good things do come to an end.
Night passed and it was time to leave for the airport in the morning. The not so awaited return journey back home begun.
During the entire tour, the most amazing thing apart from the scenic view is the convoy of Indian Army. You will see hundreds of army trucks on the way every time. Seeing them in their uniform definitely gives you goosebumps. Whenever the convoy crossed us, all of us waved at them to say thank you for their service towards the nation and for protecting the borders so that we can be safe wherever we are and in return we always got a wave back with a smile on their faces. This is something I can never forget. Hats off to the soldiers of Indian Army.
In all, travelling to Leh was the most cherished experience ever. There is so much to take back and so much to miss when you are finally home. One can see a perfect combination of nature, culture and civilization. Not to forget the big support of Indian Army without whom Ladakh wouldn’t have been the same as it is today.
It’s a once in a lifetime experience to visit Ladakh. One must experience this land of high passes before it’s too late.
That’s it for now. See you from another destination with some more experiences.
Vedant Chandak
info@vedantchandak.com
www.vedantchandak.com
Few suggestions for all and tips for photographers before traveling to Ladakh:
Make sure you start walking on slopes to build your stamina so that you do not face any problems when you reach the high-altitude region.
If you like photography and want to visit Ladakh on bike then don’t. For photographing Ladakh, one should visit it for leisure and not on bike. You may rent out bikes in Leh for a day trip or so. Exploring Ladakh on bike and then doing photography will really get very exhausting.
For bikers, please make sure you carry at least one can of oxygen (easily available at any medical store in Leh). Make sure you do not place it anywhere near the engine / silencer.
There is no network in Ladakh for any mobile operators. Buying a local sim card was an option earlier but even that has been stopped. The only mobile operator which will have network is Airtel but it has to be a postpaid connection. Prepaid connections will not work whatsoever. Kindly share your itinerary with family and friends before leaving and also share contact details of the places you are going to stay at.
The wi-fi in the hotels work but do not have download / upload speed. You may need to leave your work / social networking behind while visiting Ladakh. ;)You may want to give it a try to have the local cuisine in Ladakh. Even vegetarian travelers have multiple options and there shouldn’t be any problem with food.
Photographers if any should carry extra batteries as they tend to drain faster than usual in cold. Have multiple memory cards as you may clear multiple pictures of the same place and might end up have low storage space when need. If you wish to do Astro Photography, make sure you do not forget your tripod. It definitely gets difficult to carry the tripod everywhere but it is a must. Wireless shutter release button or shutter release cable is something you would not want to miss out for doing Astro Photography.
Astro Photography:
Astro photography is something no photographer would want to miss when you are in Ladakh. The clear starlit sky will tempt you to capture the milky way and/or star trails.
To capture Milky way, here are some ideal setting that might help you get a good picture:
Mode: M (Manual)
Shutter Speed: 5-7secs
Aperture: f/2.8 (or minimum as per your equipment)
ISO: between 3600 – 6400
To capture star trails, one must have either of the two applications on mobile phone – compass or Sky Walk 2. It will help you find the direction where the Polaris (North Star) is. Compose your frame accordingly so that the trails you get will be in a circular pattern around the Polaris. Make sure you download the applications before leaving for Ladakh as there is no network to download them. You may also download the Canon / Nikon’s camera applications on the phone to use it as a remote for capturing images.
Ideal settings for doing star trails:
Mode: M (Manual)
Shutter Speed: 30secs
Aperture: f/8
ISO: between 64-100
You will have to take multiple pictures – at least 70 to 100 images at these settings and later stack the images using Star Stack or any other software.
Mode: M (Manual)
Shutter Speed: Bulb mode / Time mode
Aperture: f/8
ISO between 64-100
Bulb mode helps you to keep the shutter open for as long as you want till the time you do not release the shutter button. Once you release, the exposure will be complete and you will see the result on the camera screen. For this the shutter release cable is required so that you are not stuck holding the shutter button of the camera. Holding on to the shutter button, might register shake in the image causing blur.
Time mode in Nikon works the same. This mode does not require a wireless button / shutter release cable. All you have to do is just press the shutter button once and leave the rest on the camera. The camera will keep recording images on the sensor until you press the shutter button again to complete the exposure. The end result will be one complete image and requires no stacking.
*Please Note: These setting is not the only setting for doing astro photography. They can be modified as and wherever required.