What I Did On My Summer Vacation Part 1

I went to Leh, Ladakh, India to hike.

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Although part of India, Ladakh has its own language. Many Tibetan refugees call Leh home. As an Indian tourist destination it was popularized by a 2009 Bollywood movie called Three Idiots at Pangong Lake.

I spent two days acclimatizing. Leh is about 11,000 feet high. I visited the Shanti stupa, Leh Palace and wandered the streets.

Shanti stupa above Leh

View of Leh from Shanti

One of the main streets in Leh. This one was having sewer lines replaced. Other streets were paved.

The mosque at the end of the street. Most people in Leh are Buddhists, but there are two mosques and one church.

My guide and I set out early one morning. The goal was 3 and a half days trekking, crossing Ganda La pass at 15,900 feet. We hiked for less than 2 hours and got to a way station outside Rumbak.

Part of the waystation.

  Rumbak waystation

We stayed in Yurutse in a homestay. The mountains are really tall, although it doesn't seem like it in this photo. This area is in a rain shadow, so the monsoons don't affect it. This also means there isn't snow in the summer.

The bathroom. That night I had to pee so badly, but I refused to try to find my way in the dark. It's just an open hole in the floor.

                                                                  Homestay Yurutse
Unfortunately, I got high altitude sickness at Yurutse. We went back to Rumbak and stayed a day, then returned to Leh.

View from my window. There is a monument on top of the mountain. It is there to protect the village.

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Homestay hostess Ytzing

Ytzing's mother, Dulma, who owns the home. She is 63.

After returning to Leh, I toured some monasteries and the Shey Palace Museum. This was a museum of the royal family when Leh was part of the Kingdom of Ladakh.