In every sense of the phrase.
A 2 day road trip through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery this planet can conjure up brought me to a place I never thought I'd get to. Not sure why I doubted myself that I'd make it to Leh; not sure why I doubt myself that I can do anything for that matter. All it took was a bit of time, courage, and money (a pittance for the nerve rattling 440 Km journey by the way).
As you leave the Kashmir valley the lush green slopes disappear in almost an instant. Entering Ladakh is like a turning off a light switch; the landscape turns almost lunar like, and the trademark mountainous desert that this area is famous for leaves no doubt in your mind about exactly where you are.
Traversing The Zozi Pass is an adventure all in itself with sheer drops of hundreds of meters to your right and precarious boulders high above you on your left. A quick glance back towards the switchbacks that your cab driver just navigated makes you just shake your head and grin. "Did we just drive up that?"
But it's the shade of blue in the sky that I continue to be dumbfounded by, it makes the contrast between mountain and sky just that much more profound. Postcard quality photos take utterly no skill to shoot here, just point your camera and hit the button. It's just so damn blue!
I've stationed myself here in Leh and in front of me is a smorgasbord of do able adventures right at my finger tips.
Want to ascend a 6000+ m peak? Give 3 days notice and someone will put it all together. Meals, equipment, and permits included.
Feel like driving up to the (alleged) highest motor-able road in the world? It's about a 2 hour drive from here, just hail down a jeep or rent a motorcycle.
The energy emulating from the people of this city just makes you want to push yourself to the limits and do that thing you've always dreamt of doing. From the people driving in on mud encrusted Enfields after just completing the Manali to Leh highway, to local porters loading jeeps with supplies for next mornings 12 day trek to god knows where. Being immersed in this environment just fuels the flames of your own burning desire to seek adventure.
Now that I've arrived it's just a matter of choosing what to do, and I can barely sit still from the excitement.
A 2 day road trip through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery this planet can conjure up brought me to a place I never thought I'd get to. Not sure why I doubted myself that I'd make it to Leh; not sure why I doubt myself that I can do anything for that matter. All it took was a bit of time, courage, and money (a pittance for the nerve rattling 440 Km journey by the way).
As you leave the Kashmir valley the lush green slopes disappear in almost an instant. Entering Ladakh is like a turning off a light switch; the landscape turns almost lunar like, and the trademark mountainous desert that this area is famous for leaves no doubt in your mind about exactly where you are.
Traversing The Zozi Pass is an adventure all in itself with sheer drops of hundreds of meters to your right and precarious boulders high above you on your left. A quick glance back towards the switchbacks that your cab driver just navigated makes you just shake your head and grin. "Did we just drive up that?"
But it's the shade of blue in the sky that I continue to be dumbfounded by, it makes the contrast between mountain and sky just that much more profound. Postcard quality photos take utterly no skill to shoot here, just point your camera and hit the button. It's just so damn blue!
I've stationed myself here in Leh and in front of me is a smorgasbord of do able adventures right at my finger tips.
Want to ascend a 6000+ m peak? Give 3 days notice and someone will put it all together. Meals, equipment, and permits included.
Feel like driving up to the (alleged) highest motor-able road in the world? It's about a 2 hour drive from here, just hail down a jeep or rent a motorcycle.
The energy emulating from the people of this city just makes you want to push yourself to the limits and do that thing you've always dreamt of doing. From the people driving in on mud encrusted Enfields after just completing the Manali to Leh highway, to local porters loading jeeps with supplies for next mornings 12 day trek to god knows where. Being immersed in this environment just fuels the flames of your own burning desire to seek adventure.
Now that I've arrived it's just a matter of choosing what to do, and I can barely sit still from the excitement.
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