Five things you need to know about traveling to Ladakh
Here is a list of five things which I feel every traveler planning to travel to Ladakh should know about:
1. Land route to Ladakh is only open for about 6 months every year (mid/end May to October/November), with Srinagar – Leh staying open for the maximum time. Though one can fly to Leh all year round.
2. Ladakh is situated at an altitude which is higher than what majority of us have experienced. Traveling to Ladakh, without taking proper precautions can result in Acute Mountain Sickness.
3. Ladakh is a high altitude cold desert, where temperatures at places can easily drop well below freezing. Though majority of the cold is due to the wind chill factor, thus it is essential to dress in layers and protect your head and neck from cold winds.
4. You need at least 12-14 days for a trip to Ladakh, hurrying from one place to another at times is neither possible nor recommended.
5. While Ladakh is a cold desert, sun rays at this altitude are harsh enough to easily give you sunburn. Thus making it essential to use high SPF rating (30+) sunscreen lotion.
Yogesh,
I plan to travel to Ladakh in a month or two and have a few questions about that. I hope you can answer these.
1. I plan to travel around second week of May. I heard many roads will be closed till June. Will the roads from Leh to other tourist destinations be closed?
2. I have chronic sinusitis. I am afraid it will get worse at the high altitude. Is there some precautionary measure I need to take?
Thanks in advance.
Anaamica
Hi Anaamica, by second week of May, routes to various places should start opening. Though it is impossible to predict whether or not they will be open, since opening of the routes and their staying open depends on the weather, which in Ladakh changes quite frequently.
My advice would be to delay the trip by a week or so or have plenty of time on hand to ensure if one of the pass is closed due to weather, you can spend a day or two to wait for it to open.
With respect to Sinusitis, I too suffer from it, though it isn’t chronic in my case. On my past trips, I have almost always suffered from excessive dryness of the nasal cavity, headache, toothache etc.
To counter this I have started using shadbindu oil (ayurvadic oil) during my past couple of trips and that helped reduce sinus problem as well as stop the nose from drying a lot. If you don’t wish to use that oil, you can always use mustard oil or some other nasal drops. Excessive drying of nasal cavity in my case resulted in inability to breath properly through nose and minute nose bleed as well, so it best to ensure it doesn’t get too dry.
Also in May it might be little better, since Ladakh isn’t that dry at that time.
Thanks for the suggestion, Yogesh. Having spare time on the trip is not an option, so postponing my trip by a week or two is a better idea.
Can you give me more details about shadbindu oil? Is it a nasal drop? And do I use it when my nose is dry?
Anaamica
In that case, go in the first week of June, situation should be better at that time and most routes should be open.
Shadbindu oil is ayurvedic oil for sinus problem and headaches. It is supposed to be used as a nasal drop. While traveling in Ladakh and in Spiti in 2007, I was using it every morning and before going to sleep, though if I felt the dryness was increasing at any time, I used to apply it again. Apart from stopping nose from drying, it also helped a lot in reducing my sinus problem. In fact these days, I use it whenever I have sinus problem, even in the city.
It should be available at majority of the chemists who sell ayurvedic medicines or you can talk to an ayurvedic doctor regarding this and based on your situation, they can prescribe it or some other nasal drop.
Thanks for the info, Yogesh. I will contact you again if I have any more questions.
Hi Yogesh,
I want to cover this distance on bike. I want to know that which bike will be best for this route. I want to make my route as Delhi- Chandigarh-Manali-Leh-Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi. I am also looking for like minded bikers who can join me on this trip. Yogesh can u provide me do’s and don’t for this trip. I heard we have to take some licences also from Leh authorities to go to Siachen base camp point. Do u advice to ride alone?
Last but not the least, how much expenses i should expect for this adventure trip….
Regards
Yudhvir Mor
Yudhvir, any motorcycle with which you are comfortable with and is in good condition, should be able to do this trip. One of the members on BCMTouring currently owns the limca book of record for taking Bajaj M80 (80cc moped) to the Khardung La! Having said that, 150cc and above motorcycles should be relatively comfortable and should have more than enough power to undertake this journey.
Since you are looking for like minded people, post about your travel plans on BCMTouring Forums and on other travel/motorcycle forums and I am sure you will find the right company. Though there is no harm in riding alone either as long as you are confident and ride and act sensibly, I too did my 2006 trip solo and most probably I’ll be doing this year’s ride solo as well.
You won’t be allowed to go to Siachin base camp, unless you know some one in good position in the army. Though you can go till the point, which is only 20-30kms from the camp (Nubra Valley). For going to Nubra Valley, Khardung La, Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Marsimik La and Drok Pa regions, you will need permits, which can be easily arranged from the DC’s office in Leh.
As for expenditure, if you are riding solo and traveling on budget, expect to spend at least Rs. 300-350/day on accommodation and food (costs less if you are traveling in a group) plus petrol for your motorcycle.
Let me know if you need more info
Esteemed Sir
I am 25 years old Lecturer living in a village near Gulmarg and I intend to visit Leh district of Ladakh in view of my posting to Leh. I too suffer from Chronic Sinusitis and often I feel headeache and dizziness. Kindly recommend some tips for me so that I can not face any inconvenience in discharging my duties in the high altitude area of Leh.
Hello Abdul, since you are already from a cold region, I guess you already know the basic stuff like covering head/forehead on chilly days and stuff like that, apart from this you can try nasal drops like shadbindu taila (after checking with doctor first), as it not helps with sinus issue, but also prevents the nose from drying up too much, which I found to be the case in Ladakh.
Rest of the stuff I think you need not worry, as you are already from relatively high altitude area and you will gradually get used to Ladakh and its environment.