Travelogues
My trip to the fascinating land of Leh and Ladakh
Just before the worst pandemic of Corona hit our world, I had the opportunity of travelling to the beautiful land of Leh and Ladakh which is said to be, ‘Heaven On Land’. The trip was a memorable journey to the beautiful and diversified landscape of India. The entire journey was filled with learning, excitement and lots of fun.
We landed at the Leh Airport and were made to rest for one full day so that our body could adapt to the low oxygen and cold weather of Leh. This is compulsory for everyone visiting Leh and Ladakh.
Our first visit was to the beautiful Pangong Tso Lake. It is one of the highest altitude lakes in the world containing saline water. It is located at an altitude of 14,271 feet above sea level. The blue water of the lake and the blue sky merging are a treat for the eyes. The place is extremely peaceful and you feel like just sitting there forever.
Leh is also a land of various monasteries. A monastery is a building occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows. Did you know that the monks and the nuns were the most educated people during the middle ages? We visited various monasteries on the way and also interacted with the monks. The simple life of the monks is something to look forward to and learn from.
After the monasteries we visited the Khardung La Pass. Khardung La is a mountain pass situated at an altitude of 17,582 feet above sea level. Beyond which is the Dungri La Pass which is situated at the Indo-China border. The Khardung La pass is highest motorable road in the world and you can really feel the lack of oxygen here. You can also see bikers trekking on this road. A learning experience
After the experience of Khardung La pass we moved ahead to the Nubra Valley and in between passed alongside the Zanskar river. The Zanskar River flows entirely along Ladakh. It originates from the Stod River and ends up mixing up with the Indus River. After the beautiful sight of the Zanskar river, we headed to the desert land in Ladakh called the TheNubra Valley. Nubra is a Tehsil in Ladakh. Bactrian (Double humped)camels and monasteries are the highlights of this valley. It was locally called Ldumra Valley which meant VALLEY OF FLOWERS in Bhoti (Tibetan) language.
On our way back to Leh we came across the Magnetic Hill, a place unbelievable if you don’t visit. This hill actually pulls metallic objects away from gravity. You can see the car being pulled towards the hill. Science and nature at its best. The final destination of our journey was the War memorial at Leh dedicated to all the heroes of Indian Army who laid down their lives protecting our country. As I saluted the War Memorial my heart had a small prayer for the fallen heroes and also for this part of India which so beautiful and so peaceful. I enjoyed this beautiful land and felt peace of mind and I hope all of you will also look forward to visit this ‘Heaven On Earth’
THAT’S ME
Dhruv Chakrabarty
VII Ebony
Visit to Ananda Ashram
One day my family made a plan to visit the beautiful Ashram located in Matunde village. It was 40 to 50 kilometers away from Pune.
It took 1 hr drive to reach there and when we reached, we chose a room for ourselves and kept our bags there. It has a beautiful view of hills and garden. Then we went to the open air kitchen in the middle of the garden and had our lunch.
After that, we had some fun. My papa and I went to explore the whole Ashram. We went to cross the rope bridge. There was no pond or river under this bridge.
After a short nap, in the evening we went to the nearby hill. There were three hills on top of each other, but we trekked up only one hill and sat to watch the sunset.
When we came down, we stopped under a large wind chime which was hanging on a tree. We felt relaxed and listened to the soft sound of the wind chime. At night we walked to the kitchen to have our dinner and went to sleep.
Next day, I woke up at 6 AM and got ready for trekking 3 hills. During trekking I slipped 15 times. So, I found a wooden stick for walking. We reached the top of the hill by climbing a steep hilly way and we got very tired but the beautiful view from there made us refresh. We also saw wonderful sunrise and the natural beauty. When we came down, we ate our breakfast, the rule was “Breakfast in silence”.
Then I did nature walk and saw many beautiful flowers and plants in the Ashram. In the evening again we climbed the small hill to watch the sunset. At night we had fun like playing UNO and talking to each other and finally went to bed because we were so tired.
Next morning, we dressed up and left for Pune with lots of amazing memories.
Rakshit Bohra
III Dahlia