In Manali (Vashisht) and a bit of Leh..

Arriving in Manali, we headed for the small town of Vashisht about 2km away. Vashisht is a smaller, more relaxing place than Manali and dedicates itself to the charas that the tourists smoke in many cafes. Some pleasant hot springs and a spot of yoga over the two day stay was enough for us. The view from our hotel was not so bad, but the cows on the ground floor were a little unnecessary...

The highlight was our trip out to Old Manali, which saw us visit the Hadimba temple - a dark, smokey wooden edifice built far up into the surrounding forest hills. Here the chanting and dim, thick atmosphere testified to religion being practised as a fully immersive experience. Everything seemed to sit as it had done for hundreds of years (not counting iPhones).

We left at 2am for one of the most epic drives in the world. 17 hours and 500km long, driving through passes over 5000m high. Altitudes headaches knocked all of us out as the long day wore on, with chai stops helping to combat the fatigue. Only the driver, mercifully, stayed awake and alert. the mountains were everywhere, at once thrusting jaggedly upwards while their sandy bases collapsed into meandering rivers.

 Time and again we'd double back on ourselves up the narrow zig-zagged roads of these slumbering giants to find some high pass that let us break through to the next valley. Finally, we reached Leh...

Epic Buddha (up-close)

I'm writing towards the end of our time in Ladakh (though by the time I post we've moved on to Kolkata/Calcutta) - with its leafy capital Leh and surrounding white-topped mountains, verdant valleys and snow-melt rivers. To the North in the Nubra Valley we saw some of the dramatic scale with which the province's nature comes together: grand valleys with huge mountains where the Ladakhis have founded some of their biggest monasteries. At Diskit, the mountain top monastery is itself dwarfed by a giant Buddha. 40ft of Maitreya Buddha raised on a massive dais that towers over the valley. The visual power and majesty of this totem to Ladakhi Buddhism was truly awe-inspiring.

Epic Buddha (from a distance)

As we pushed further into the valley, sand dunes started to undulate across the lower reaches of the plain. And what goes with sand dunes? Camels. The bactrian camels in Nubra are a legacy from the old silk route. Now it costs pennies to enter the Nubra dunes and a couple of quid will get you 15mins on an animal. So of course we did it. Illusions of my Lawrence of Arabia moment soon evaporated though, as my camel was tethered behind Mhairi's and we were led by the nose at walking pace over the sand. The novelty was enough though, and as my Alpha beast tried to push its way in front of my partner's, I clung to the humps and smiled with the ride...

The rest of the trip to Nubra was less eventful - some more hot springs and monasteries but not surpassing our previous encounters. The main feature was the passing over of Khardung-La, "the world's highest motorable pass" at 5600m. 

Here there is an icy wind despite the clear skies, and the Dalai Lama's voice booms out continuously from speakers festooned with prayer flags. Sickly sweet black tea is dished out to ward of the chill - 10 rupees for a tiny plastic cup, while a plaque on the wall extols the virtues of the infusion. It does its job though, and to the best of our ability we carry on over the bumpy roads back to Leh before the second half of our Ladakhi experience. We see wolves dash around our jeep: while on the road the army and road-builders fight it out with tourists and haulage trucks over priorities on the highway. Delays, chai stops and chat- but it all is becoming part of our travels. When we step into a vehicle it is part of our journey itself...  

Wolf:

Road Builder:

(My favourite) Army:

Nubra: