Tag Archives: Ladakh

The ultimate food guide to LEH!!!

We may not have electricity tomorrow, hence. Is it the high-altitude and the weather that makes everything taste good in Ladakh!!! We gave you 9 reasons to head to Ladakh this summer, if you are still not convinced, here are some great places to eat that will convince of all the great stuff you are missing. #1 Pumpernickel German Bakery Owned by a Sardarji, it has the freshest bakes. So much so that anything leftover is thrown into trash (saw with my own eyes). The most delicious apple crumble We’ve ever had, sink into apple heaven! #2 Tibetan Kitchen Perhaps the best Tibetan food in the city called ‘Little Lhasa’. Try their momos & exotic sounding nutrition filled Ladakhi dishes. The ambience of the mountains is an added charm and so is the sha-bakleb. #3 La Pizzeria This place with a chilled out feel seems to have perfected the art of making sumptuous Italian fare.Their speciality are the thin-crust wood fired pizzas. The funghi pizza is a delight. If you are lucky you might be treated to an impromptu guitar performance by fellow diners.   #4 Desert Rain Real coffee. Enough Said   #5 Lala’s Art Cafe Situated in the dilapidated old part of Leh, getting here is walking through centuries of history. The walk up to the stairs will be fully rewarded when you are having the bake of the day and freshly brewed coffee. #6 Chopsticks The most chic restaurant in Leh, beautifully lit and with indoor seating. It does a good job with noodles and stir fried veggies. But their Pad Thai is the clear winner. #7 Dreamland Restaurant A trusted traveller favourite for delectable Indian food and curries. You can try the mouth-watering butter chicken or the vegetarian dishes on offer. #8 Mentokling Apple Garden Restaurant Always …

Read More »

10 tips for finding budget accommodation

10 rules for finding budget accommodation in India. All Backpackers traveling to India get acquainted with the term ‘Cheap and Best’ in the first 2 weeks of their time in India but we Indians never come across such a thing while traveling. We pay too much or at least are expected to pay too much while travelling in India. In our recent trip to spiti n kinnaur valley, we paid from INR 200 to INR 700 for rooms, and surprisingly had to bargain the most for the 700 one. In one place in Kalpa, we went in to check a room in Kalpa, receptionist showed a dirty room, and quoted 600. We exchanged looks which he understood meant NO. Before we could say anythin, another Indian couple walked in, about 10-15 yrs elder to us to whom he quoted 1400 for the same room, most hotels were booked out, so they said YES as they had to stay only a night. We left Kalpa and headed to Sangla, and 2-3 days later met two Israeli girls who came from Kalpa. They had stayed in the same room paying only 400. We had expected them to pay as much and they didn’t disappoint. Despite having been in India for only 1 week, they had mastered the act of paying the right price for a room in a remote part of Himachal Pradesh, in a land where their only way of communicating was a foreign language. Things to be remembered while traveling. 1. Even if you are travelling for a short duration, don’t splurge too much. You are creating a bad environment for the days you will travel long term. 2. It is still possible to find decent rooms in india for about 500 if you are away from the cities. 3. …

Read More »

things you must buy for your ladakh road trip

You should buy the following gear if you plan to do a Road Trip to Ladakh. 1. Helmets: Buy good quality helmets, you will be in a very tough terrain. If you have a good helmet, then get the visor that will save you from the TAN. Rest of your body will be covered, but unknowingly a lot end up tanning their faces. 2. Body Suits: We spent 25,000 INR for these suits and got worth of every penny. They will protect you from heat, sun, rain, wind, cold, and dust along with guarding you against any injuries. Can be purchased in Karol Bagh. Make sure you bargain after choosing the one that you like. 3. Gum Boots: All other shoes will fail in this trip as some of the water crossings are really high. The rubber boots are the best option for this journey, they tend to get very hot during the day but are a blessing when there is a water crossing and trust me there are plenty of them.  These can be purchased in Manali for about INR 500 in the main Market near the bus stand. 4. Ropes: You luggage will sway here and there, get good quality ropes and get extra ones. Somehow these ropes have a tendency to get lost. A pack of 12 ropes costs about INR 150 and can be purchased in Karol Bagh or Gopinath Market. 5. Plastic Sheet: Your bags, rucksacks may be water proof but they will get dirty, really dirty and a plastic sheep will keep them in great condition. We were unlucky as there was nonstop rain on the way back from Patnitop to Delhi. The plastic sheets kept all our things dry. Easily available at any hardware store 6. Gloves: Get very good quality gloves to …

Read More »

Renting a Motorbike for Ladakh Road Trip

Renting a bike for your Ladakh Road Trip You have three options for arranging  a motorbike for your Ladakh Road Trip. 1. Market in Delhi – There are two markets that are of interest to you if you plan to rent your motor bike from Delhi, they are Karol Bagh and Capt. Gopinath Market. Karol Bagh for the bike, body suits, helmets and Gopinath Market for everything else. Take the metro till Karol Bagh, and ask the cycle rickshaw puller to take you to NaiWala. You will see a huge line of motor bikes outside a lot of Automobile Shops. You can rent, purchase or sell your motorbike. 2. Somewhere in Rishikesh – If you a long term traveler and plan to be in the north of India for a few months, or even a month, then the option of buying a Bullet and selling it off later on should be the thing you should do. This will save you a lot of money, frees you of any time constraints. However it comes with two drawbacks. One is that you need to know someone reliable who understands how to inspect a motorbike, and can guide you about the price that should be paid for the motorbike. Secondly you may have to wait while trying to sell off the vehicle. There is an option which is available in some garages in Rishikesh where they sell you the bike in an excellent condition and then also buy it back from you at about 60 – 70% of the price you paid. Buying and selling in Delhi is a little risky as you are likely to get cheated. 3. Rent Bikes – If the duration of your road trip will be a few weeks, then renting the bike is the easiest option. There are …

Read More »

Ladakh Inner Line Permits Explained

Inner Line Permit Explained. Once you get to Leh, You think you have done all the hard work and now its time to see all those places you had been hearing about all these years. Places like Nubra Valley, Hundar, Turtuk, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Khardungla Pass is on every person’s wish list. After reaching  Leh, you were told you need to get Inner Line Permits, which sounded a little bureaucratic, and in India the easy way out of all bureaucracy is to find an agent and get your work done. NOW THE GOOD NEWS The DM office in Leh has issued a circular which mentions that starting 1 May 2014 Indian Nationals DO NOT need any inner line permits for more popular spots in Leh – Ladakh. The following restricted places have been exempted: Dah, Hanu Villages Pangong Tso Man, Merak Tso Moriri Nyoma Loma Bend Khardung La Nubra Valley (up to Panamik), Turtuk Tyakshi, Digger La, Tangyar (for trekking only) Any form of identification like driver’s license, Passport, Aadhar card, Voter Id Card will suffice now at the Army Checkposts. This permit used to be a trouble at times when the DM office would be closed at short notice and people would be stuck in Leh for 2- 3 days.   However if you have more time and wish to venture into the not so popular tourist destinations, you will still need an Inner Line Permit and the procedure to get it is simple. 1. Head to the DM Office – On your way to the DM office, get a copy of the Inner Line Permit from any of the Xerox shops, there are a few behind the office which have the forms. 2. Fill in the details:  They expect you to provide a detailed itinerary along with …

Read More »

Ladakh 1 week Itineraries

Now that we have given you lots of reasons to visit Ladakh, here are some itineraries that you could follow. The main constraint most people seem to have is time.  We are listing the two most feasible 1 week itineraries that you could follow. One Week (9 days Saturday – Sunday) : Can’t take lot of time off from work, worry not, You can still see Ladakh, at least the top spots. Since you cannot take more than a week, we are assuming the following. You must be an important person at work (we read this as someone with a, fat paycheck). So you wouldn’t mind taking the expensive flights. There are flights from Delhi to Leh and if you book in advance you can get some nice deals. When we say plan ahead, In terms of Ladakh it means at least 2 – 3 months. We are not big fans of tour packages, but the ones for Ladakh left us thinking. Some friends of ours booked a tour package for Ladakh for 28,000 – 30,000/- each. You leave Delhi on a Saturday and come back next Sunday. The package includes your flights, accommodation,  food, sight seeing for the 8 days you are in Ladakh. The flights itself can cost you upto 20,000 return, so this package is a great deal for those who are short on time. If you are doing this trip on your own, you follow the below itinerary. Itinerary Number One Day 1. Delhi – Leh Flight Day 2. Acclimatize Day 3.  Acclimatize ( Get your permits ready) Day 4. Trip to Pangong Tso Day 5. Pangong Tso to Leh Day 6. Local Sight Seeing ( Shey Palace, Thiksey Monastery) Day 7. Trip to Khardungla Pass ( Highest Motorable Road in the world) – We all Love bragging, don’t …

Read More »

Ladakh Road Trip Planner

We believe anyone who has done a road trip in Ladakh has done everything, now most things in life don’t hold any meaning. We salute everyone who has taken time out, spent the effort in planning, reading forums, convincing friends, bosses, family. Once you hit the road, you realize everything, every effort was completely worth it, you were rewarded more than what you came for. Now the ones who are still planning, think no more and make sure you are in Ladakh this summer, Take a bus, take a tour package or if you are ambitious enough get a ‘BULLET’ and ride through heaven on Earth. We did the same last year in our lazy style spending about a month. So feel free to ask all the questions that may arise in your mind. For starters, below is a break up of the money we spent in this road trip. Category Expenses for 2 people  INR USD Fuel 11500 186 Accomodation 18750 303 Breakfast 3760 61 Lunch 4210 68 Dinner 7110 115 Bike Rent 18200 294 Miscellaneous 3400 55 Total 66930 1082 For those who love to see pie-charts The route we followed was Delhi – Manali – Leh – Nubra Valley – Kargil – Zanskar Valley – Kargil  – Srinagar – Jammu – Delhi Summary of where we spent our money. 1. Bike Rental : We have a BULLET, but did not take it for this trip and had to rent one out. It cost us INR 650/- a day and was a major chunk of our daily budget.  They are easy to rent in Karol Bagh in New Delhi. All you need to know about renting motorbikes is here 2. Food :  Once you are in the mountains, food tends to get simpler, tastier and international at the …

Read More »
Ladakh, reasons, village, mountains, India, Rangdum, empty rucksack

9 reasons why you should go to Ladakh

If you haven’t been to Ladakh yet, then here are nine reasons why you must head to Ladakh this summer. And if you have already been to Ladakh, they still hold valid. For warm Thukkpas and momos – I will not say I am a huge fan of Ladakhi food but who doesn’t love a bowl of hearty soup with noodles. The no fuss reliable taste of thukpa with a lashing of red chilly at your heart’s desire when the winds are chilly and dry is a great solace. And the steaming momos are a wonderful snack for every stop you make along the unending roads of Ladakh. For the ever fluttering prayer flags – The sound OM Mani Padme Hum can be heard under the breath of the winds sweeping the vast deserts of Ladakh. Even when you are travelling away from the world, on a lonely pass will stand a stupa meditating in solitude of towering altitudes, dressed in the many colorful flags making your journey from challenging to serene shifting your travels inward rather than outward into the remote corners of your own soul. For The friendly locals – A smile on every face and a ‘Julay’ on every lip, Ladakh is one of the friendliest parts of India. People serve not for money but with an honesty and hospitality that is heart warming. To stretch your money with Cheap accommodations – One of the best and cheapest accommodations we found anywhere in the country was in Ladakh. In Leh we paid Rs 600 for a two bed room and bathroom that overlooked a field and the mountains beyond it. One of the most breathtaking views we have had from a room. To be a great photographer – Anywhere you look in Ladakh, just click and it …

Read More »