Leh and Gulmarg - The Best of Kashmir!
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Best Time To Go: June to mid- OctoberThis customised trip shows off the best of Kashmir - Ladakh, Gulmarg and Srinagar! From the starkness of Ladakh to the "Ladakh Blues" to the lush green of Gulmarg and the placid waters of the Dal Lake, this is truly one magical trip! Srinagar in the autumn is truly special - the chinar is at its most splendid! The leaves change from gold to russet to scarlet to brown leaving you in awe!
Do click on the DETAILED ITINERARY tab for further details. |
10 Nights / 11 Days
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When you travel with MHE, you are assured of a safe and sustainable family and adventure trips backed by many years in the business. The staff you deal with in the office, all the way through to the guides on trip and the porters on your trek, have years of experience in creating safe and enjoyable experiences behind them. We advise you on the right clothing, gear, the right training if required, and no question is too crazy for us to answer!
Every trip is designed keeping in mind your requirements and comfort and take into consideration the environment and conditions of the area you are in. If at all we feel the area is unsafe for you at a particular time of the year - often due to inclement weather, or the itinerary you have been given by a friend is impractical, we will not just inform you, but our trip planners will try their level best to dissuade you! We want you to come back with happy memories and spending two days waiting for a landslide to clear (for example) doesn't lend itself to that at all!
We use the best available hotels, home stays, lodges and campsites, keeping in mind your budgets and requirements. However, please do remember that you are often in a remote and difficult location, and your expectations should be reduced accordingly.
We believe in sustainable, ethical and responsible tourism. Our tour guides are all certified by Indian authorities, our trekking and rafting guides are trained with several years of experience under their belt. The porters on your trek receive above standard wages, and we do not allow them to carry more than 30 kilos (the international standard set by IPPG). Our entire crew is insured and provided with suitable clothing and equipment.
We support the local economy wherever possible, and do NOT encourage giving any gifts of sweets, pens etc to the charming local children you meet along the trail. If you are really interested to donate something, please discuss with us first.
Our "all inclusive" trip means that you are not constantly rummaging for money, and you know up front what is included.
Every trip is designed keeping in mind your requirements and comfort and take into consideration the environment and conditions of the area you are in. If at all we feel the area is unsafe for you at a particular time of the year - often due to inclement weather, or the itinerary you have been given by a friend is impractical, we will not just inform you, but our trip planners will try their level best to dissuade you! We want you to come back with happy memories and spending two days waiting for a landslide to clear (for example) doesn't lend itself to that at all!
We use the best available hotels, home stays, lodges and campsites, keeping in mind your budgets and requirements. However, please do remember that you are often in a remote and difficult location, and your expectations should be reduced accordingly.
We believe in sustainable, ethical and responsible tourism. Our tour guides are all certified by Indian authorities, our trekking and rafting guides are trained with several years of experience under their belt. The porters on your trek receive above standard wages, and we do not allow them to carry more than 30 kilos (the international standard set by IPPG). Our entire crew is insured and provided with suitable clothing and equipment.
We support the local economy wherever possible, and do NOT encourage giving any gifts of sweets, pens etc to the charming local children you meet along the trail. If you are really interested to donate something, please discuss with us first.
Our "all inclusive" trip means that you are not constantly rummaging for money, and you know up front what is included.
Dates: Customized to your preference
Trip starts from:Leh, Jammu and Kashmir
No. of days of the trip: 11
Maximum altitude: 5,570 m / 18,380 ft at Khardung La
Hiking Grade (if any in your plan): Easy Grade.
All-Inclusive Cost: Please call us for details
Trip starts from:Leh, Jammu and Kashmir
No. of days of the trip: 11
Maximum altitude: 5,570 m / 18,380 ft at Khardung La
Hiking Grade (if any in your plan): Easy Grade.
All-Inclusive Cost: Please call us for details
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN LEH
Land in Leh. You will be met at the airport by an MHE representative. Spend the day...doing pretty much nothing. You've flown in directly to an altitude of 11,400 feet (3500m). Acclimatization is key. Drink a lot of water, take short walks, but otherwise, just chill...and prepare yourself for a magical journey of a lifetime!
Overnight at The Grand Dragon Ladakh.
Overnight at The Grand Dragon Ladakh.
DAY 2: SIGHT-SEEING IN LEH
Today's the day you can move around a bit. This is still part of your acclimatization process where "walk high and sleep law" is the adage that will likely keep you safe from AMS. After breakfast drive up along the scenic Indus valley. Enroute, you stop over to visit the famous Shey, Thiksey and Hemis monasteries. The Thiksey Monastery is a great place to catch up with some lunch - keep in mind that it will vegetarian.
SHEY PALACE AND MONASTERY: This summer palace of the erstwhile King of Leh set upon a hill. The monastery itself has a 7.5 meter high, copper statue of a sitting Buddha, wrought in gold. This is the largest of its kind in the world.
THIKSEY MONASTERY: Thiksey Monastery is one of the largest and most impressive Gompas of Ladakh. The Thiksey monastery provides a panoramic view of the green Indus Valley from its vantage point atop a hill. It has chambers full of statues, Stupas and colorful Tankhas.
HEMIS MONASTERY: Situated just off the Manali-Leh Highway, this is Ladakh’s biggest and wealthiest monastery. The annual festival held here in summer is a spectacular and stunning experience. The festival coincides with the Buddha’s birthday and falls on July 7th and 8th this year, 2014.
Overnight will be back in Leh at The Grand Dragon.
SHEY PALACE AND MONASTERY: This summer palace of the erstwhile King of Leh set upon a hill. The monastery itself has a 7.5 meter high, copper statue of a sitting Buddha, wrought in gold. This is the largest of its kind in the world.
THIKSEY MONASTERY: Thiksey Monastery is one of the largest and most impressive Gompas of Ladakh. The Thiksey monastery provides a panoramic view of the green Indus Valley from its vantage point atop a hill. It has chambers full of statues, Stupas and colorful Tankhas.
HEMIS MONASTERY: Situated just off the Manali-Leh Highway, this is Ladakh’s biggest and wealthiest monastery. The annual festival held here in summer is a spectacular and stunning experience. The festival coincides with the Buddha’s birthday and falls on July 7th and 8th this year, 2014.
Overnight will be back in Leh at The Grand Dragon.
DAY 3: DAY HIKE FROM LEH
What would be the point of coming to Ladakh and not experiencing what we specifically call the "Ladakh Blues"?? The skies here are crystal clear blue - an amazing shade that you will find nowhere else but here. Click here to see what we mean! (What you see in the link is a challenging trek to Markha Valley, but the blue skies...same same, wherever in Ladakh you are!) A day hike in the valley is one of the best ways to explore this region as you pass through villages with strong Buddhist influences to stretch of green meadows in the middle of what is otherwise a desert.
We'll head out for a 6 - 8 hour easy day hike with packed lunch on the way and you'll be back in your hotel by around 5 PM. Overnight at The Grand Dragon.
We'll head out for a 6 - 8 hour easy day hike with packed lunch on the way and you'll be back in your hotel by around 5 PM. Overnight at The Grand Dragon.
DAY 4: DRIVE TO PANGONG TSO - 214 KM | 5 - 6 HRS | 4350M
Make an early start and drive east of Leh via Chang-la Mountain Pass (18,000) feet to Pangong Lake at 14,270 feet. The 214 KM trip is a 5-hour drive and the views all around Chang La are simply spectacular. Mesmerizing vistas with the changing hues of the waters of the lovely lake are a photographer’s dream come true.
The lake is an endorheic basin, which means it is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or ocean. The lake extends from India to Tibet where the actual line of control passes through, in fact 1/3rd of this beautiful blue water body lies India and the remaining with Tibet. The lake, an important breeding ground for a variety of migratory birds, changes colors from a pale green to dark blue and sometimes simply seem crystal clear!
Overnight at a luxury campsite. As per the National Green Tribunal orders, no campsites are allowed on the banks of the lake - and rightfully so!
The lake is an endorheic basin, which means it is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or ocean. The lake extends from India to Tibet where the actual line of control passes through, in fact 1/3rd of this beautiful blue water body lies India and the remaining with Tibet. The lake, an important breeding ground for a variety of migratory birds, changes colors from a pale green to dark blue and sometimes simply seem crystal clear!
Overnight at a luxury campsite. As per the National Green Tribunal orders, no campsites are allowed on the banks of the lake - and rightfully so!
DAY 5: DRIVE BACK TO LEH
The next day’s journey you will retrace the route via Spangmik, a village close to the banks of the Pangong Tso and home to a small population of the nomadic Chang-pa, a race endemic to South East Ladakh and Tibet.
Overnight in Leh.
Overnight in Leh.
DAY 6: DRIVE TO NUBRA - 116 KM | 4 - 5 HRS | 3048M
After breakfast you will drive to Nubra Valley via Khardungla – which the locals claim is the highest motorable road in the world at 18,380 feet. Lunch will be packed for you to have on the way. It's a 116 KM trip and should take you around 4 - 5 hours - depending on how many times you want to get off and take pictures on the way!!
Nubra is a tri-armed valley located to the north east of Ladakh and its head quarters is at Diskit, home to the dramatically positioned Diskit Monastery. Local scholars say that its original name was Ldumra (the valley of flowers). The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 feet.
As per the new rule, even Indians require an inner line permit to enter this area - and so we will need all your details (ID cards etc in advance). Hundar used to be the last point beyond which non-locals were not allowed to go. Just a little beyond Hundar is the village of Turtuk - unseen by tourists until 2010. You will see a marked presence of people startlingly taller, fairer and with sharp features and high cheekbones. It's an amazing quaint village just a three hour drive from Nubra and well worth the visit. (But you can only do this if you stay in Nubra a day longer)
Between Hundar and Diskit lie several kilometers of sand dunes, and the two-humped bactrian camels graze in the neighbouring "forests" of seabuckthorn. If you want a ride on one that can be arranged.
Overnight at lodge or home stay.
Nubra is a tri-armed valley located to the north east of Ladakh and its head quarters is at Diskit, home to the dramatically positioned Diskit Monastery. Local scholars say that its original name was Ldumra (the valley of flowers). The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 feet.
As per the new rule, even Indians require an inner line permit to enter this area - and so we will need all your details (ID cards etc in advance). Hundar used to be the last point beyond which non-locals were not allowed to go. Just a little beyond Hundar is the village of Turtuk - unseen by tourists until 2010. You will see a marked presence of people startlingly taller, fairer and with sharp features and high cheekbones. It's an amazing quaint village just a three hour drive from Nubra and well worth the visit. (But you can only do this if you stay in Nubra a day longer)
Between Hundar and Diskit lie several kilometers of sand dunes, and the two-humped bactrian camels graze in the neighbouring "forests" of seabuckthorn. If you want a ride on one that can be arranged.
Overnight at lodge or home stay.
DAY 7: DRIVE BACK TO LEH
Enjoy your stay in Nubra Valley. Post lunch, you will leave for your journey back to Leh.
Overnight at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 8: FLY FROM LEH TO SRINAGAR AND DRIVE TO GULMARG
It's a short one-hour flight to Srinagar and a beautiful 105 minute drive to Gulmarg. After the stark desert terrain of Ladakh, this drive is lovely! You will go past little villages and meadows of green interspersed with forest lands on either side of the road. It will take you 60 min to reach Tanmarg from the airport. And from here, it's a 45 min drive up up up... to Gulmarg! One of India's most popular ski destinations in the winters, Gulmarg in the autumn is to be seen to be believed! Stunning green meadows covered with yellow buttercups - like someone just threw a sheet of yellow across the greens!
Your home for tonight is Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa. Surrounded by the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, this world-class resort is spread over 7 acres of wooded coniferous forests and gives you majestic views of the Affarwat Peaks! This is a haven of luxury, designed to pamper you in every way - with a heated swimming pool, plush interiors, and restorative treatments at The Khyber Spa by L’Occitaine.
You've got all day here so relax, head to the pool or the spa, sip a cappuccino in the lobby or partake of their yummy hot chocolate!
Your home for tonight is Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa. Surrounded by the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, this world-class resort is spread over 7 acres of wooded coniferous forests and gives you majestic views of the Affarwat Peaks! This is a haven of luxury, designed to pamper you in every way - with a heated swimming pool, plush interiors, and restorative treatments at The Khyber Spa by L’Occitaine.
You've got all day here so relax, head to the pool or the spa, sip a cappuccino in the lobby or partake of their yummy hot chocolate!
DAY 9: in gulmarg. take a day hike around the gulmarg valley, RIDE the gulmarg gondola
Our man in Gulmarg, Yaseen Khan (often referred to as the King of Gulmarg - there's no one there who doesn't know Yaseen!) will pick you up in the morning and take you for a drive around Gulmarg. We'd recommend a ride on the Gulmar Gondola up to 3980m from where you get amazing views of the Affarwat peaks and then take a short hike through the forests down to the green meadows of Hakkar Pathri where Yaseen will set up a fantastic wazvaan lunch exclusively for you, amidst the green meadows with Himalaya in the backdrop!
Drive back to the Khyber by late afternoon after which you've got the rest of the day to laze around - or catch a massage after that day hike!
Overnight at the Khyber.
Drive back to the Khyber by late afternoon after which you've got the rest of the day to laze around - or catch a massage after that day hike!
Overnight at the Khyber.
DAY 10: IN GULMARG. AFTER LUNCH, DRIVE TO SRINAGAR - 51 KM | 1 HR : 30 MIN
This is becoming a habit now - lazing around for yet another day! After lunch, we'll head to Srinagar for another special evening - a night on on a houseboat om the backwaters of the Dal Lake! Yes, the houseboats facing the main road are way more popular, exactly why we avoid them! You will reach your houseboat on a shikara (Srinagar's water taxi). Relax on the verandah, enjoy the mountain views and see what treasures the local merchants have for you as they paddle up to you. Overnight on houseboat.
DAY 11: THE FLOATING VEGETABLE MARKET AND THE HEAD BACK TO THE CITY LIGHTS
The early morning visit to the floating market is a tradition you cannot miss. Sit in your shikara tucked in with warm blankets and cups of kahwa as you watch the locals go about their shopping over the lake. It's a photographer's delight and the perfect time to catch that morning light. Come back to a hearty breakfast and then drive to the airport for your departure. We recommend you leave at least 3 hours in advance of your flight. There are two check-in points on the way to Srinagar airport, where you will be asked to get off and pass all your luggage through X-Ray machine. So ensure you book your return flights accordingly.
If you wish to stay on and enjoy Srinagar, we can arrange to extend your houseboat experience. You may want to go for a walk in the beautiful Mogul Gardens around the lake, or just sit back and relax while you enjoy the views. In which case, catch the evening flight back to Delhi - the 5:45 PM flight is the last flight out from Srinagar as of now.
If you wish to stay on and enjoy Srinagar, we can arrange to extend your houseboat experience. You may want to go for a walk in the beautiful Mogul Gardens around the lake, or just sit back and relax while you enjoy the views. In which case, catch the evening flight back to Delhi - the 5:45 PM flight is the last flight out from Srinagar as of now.
Our "all inclusive" trip means that you are not constantly rummaging for money, and you know up front what is included.
Please do connect with us for the costing of this customized trip.
COST INCLUDES:
COST DOES NOT INCLUDE:
Please do connect with us for the costing of this customized trip.
COST INCLUDES:
- 10 nights accommodation in hotels/camps/houseboat on twin sharing basis.
- All meals - 11 Breakfasts, 10 Lunches, and 10 Dinners.
- Basic medical kit including oxygen canister.
- All transfers in private vehicle
- Fully qualified trekking guide for the day hikes (if in your plan).
- All necessary documentation for the inner line permits.
- All government taxes included.
- Adventure travel insurance - which includes hospitalization and medical evacuation.
COST DOES NOT INCLUDE:
- International/Domestic air fare or train fare.
- Unforeseen expenses that demand a change in itinerary like natural forces, changes in weather, road blockages, flight/train cancellations and illness.
- Expenses of a personal nature - tips, laundry, phone calls, beverages.
Gear List for the trip:
- Loose comfortable Dri-fit T-Shirts (NOT COTTON) or long sleeved shirts for sun protection
- Long trousers (for cultural reasons, we request you not to wear tight pants or shorts. If you really want to wear shorts, please make them loose fitting and long)
- A warm jacket / fleece pullover
- A thermal layer (shirt and pants)
- A water and wind proof layer (jacket and pants)
- Woollen or thermal gloves
- Sun hat and sun glasses
- Woollen or fleece hat
- Scarf / stretchy ‘buff’
- Socks – depending on the season bring either warm, woollen socks or cool, breathable cotton socks
- Comfortable and worn in trekking boots
- Sandals or flip flops for camp
- A comfortable day pack with adjustable waist and shoulder straps
- Personal toiletries - shampoo, soap, shavers, moisturizer, travel towel, etc
- Ziplock bags are handy for convenient leak-proof storage
- Sun block and lip balm
- Personal first aid kit + any personal medications you need to take + water treatment tablets/drops
- Camera, batteries and charger, music, book
- Water botle.
- Head torch and spare batteries
- Your sense of humour and adventure!
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