A Road Trip To Leh Ladakh
The winding roads, curving into narrow swirls begin to take your breath away, as you drive in the wilderness of this land with only the whistling winds passing you by. The sun that has never felt so close, plays hide and seek with the clouds and then suddenly bursts through to shine on you, while the barren mountains coloured by a dusky gold add a touch of the surreal.
These are some of the sights you encounter as you traverse among the highest motorable roads in the world, for Ladakh is amazing in its very own way. If you haven’t yet journeyed to the cold desert, here is a guide to the Leh Ladakh route that you can take, if you like drinking in the views at your own pace.
If you are going to Ladakh for the very first time then you can opt for a customized Leh Ladakh package too. For example – you can fly till Leh and then choose to self-drive in a rented vehicle or get driven if you are unsure of the mountain terrain, you could even book accommodations beforehand on your pre-planned route.
Before you hit the roads, it is important to check the weather. The right weather to venture out is usually between the months of May and October. April to May is when the place is waking from its wintry splendour, and a flurry of Ladakh Tourism is underway. The period before monsoon rings in gorgeous weather when the roads are belted with snow walls near Rohtang, however, rapidly melting snow can give way to sprouting waters on the road.
The monsoon seasons bring in water crossings and puddles in full swing that can make travelling a little tough due to frequent landslides on lower hilly terrains, but the rain shadow areas starting from Zoji La Pass further till Baralacha Pass in the direction of Leh from Manali do not receive much showers, though can show an overcast with light drizzles.
The time from mid-September to mid-October is the best time to visit Ladakh when the place is infused with amazing colours all the way through Manali -Leh and Srinagar – Leh roads. The water by now has receded and the many water bodies brim with an aqua blue colour while the weather is dry with a slight chill in the air along with occasional snowfall.