Short trip to Ladakh

[Gaurav Pai]

Hey guys,

Wanted to reconfirm one thing...as i belong to the travel and tourism industry, from many of my local bandas over there have heard that there is only one resort at pangong which is built by JnK tourism and managed by a local ladakhi guy, it has some rooms and few tents..but the reviews abt this resort werent too pleasent to hear.

Ppl say that its not well managed and kept tidy, as in the toilets are stinking, the food is not good and other few complaints..the other hotels and camps at pangong are 15 kms away from the lake and the above is only hotel which is bang on the lake..

i want to hear it from you guys..whats the review..i m going to ladakh this june with some freinds from manali in a scorpio. i m confused whether to stay in pangong or make a day trip back to leh. If i stay at pangong, i would have to cancel the thiksey gompa, shey gompa, leh palace, magnetic hill, kargil war memorial and gurudwara patthar sahib...tell me what to do..and also cant extend any day as my tickets are already booked. I dont wanna miss any of the options..im in a real fix.

i m pasting my itinerary..yogesh, amit..all the senior guys..pls help and advise if any change or the below is ok...

Day 01 : Arrival Manali.
Day 02 : Manali to Sarchu
Day 03 : Sarchu - Leh.
Day 04: Monastery tour

THIKSEY GOMPA
SHEY PALACE AND GOMPA
MAGNETIC HILL
GURUDWARA PATTHAR SAHEB
KARGIL WAR MEMORIAL, LEH

Day 05 : Leh - Nubra Via Khardungla Pass
khardungla pass
DESKIT village
DESKIT GOMPA
hundar village

Day 06 : Nubra - Leh
Jokhang

Day 07 : Excursion to Pangong Lake
Day 08 : Airport Departure



Regards,
Gaurav

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Gaurav I have moved your post to a dedicated topic, so that more members will be able to spot it and help out with planning.

Originally Posted by Gaurav Pai

Wanted to reconfirm one thing...as i belong to the travel and tourism industry, from many of my local bandas over there have heard that there is only one resort at pangong which is built by JnK tourism and managed by a local ladakhi guy, it has some rooms and few tents..but the reviews abt this resort werent too pleasent to hear.

Ppl say that its not well managed and kept tidy, as in the toilets are stinking, the food is not good and other few complaints..the other hotels and camps at pangong are 15 kms away from the lake and the above is only hotel which is bang on the lake..

First off, sorry to sound rude, however it seems either your local bandas have some business interest in the camps running 15kms before Pangong Tso or haven’t visited Pangong Tso in past few years!

I don’t know how good or bad that resort is, however it is located at Spangmik Village and there are a few people in Spangmik, who provide home stay option. Alternatively, you can get accommodation at Eco Huts. It is located at Lukung, right after the army base camp (at the beginning of the lake) and is only a couple of hundred meters away from Pangong Tso. Here is my review, Eco huts, Pangong Tso (Lukung), Ladakh

Lukung is located around 10-12kms before Spangmik; however it is in no way, “15 kms away from the lake”!

Originally Posted by Gaurav Pai

i m confused whether to stay in pangong or make a day trip back to leh. If i stay at pangong, i would have to cancel the thiksey gompa, shey gompa, leh palace, magnetic hill, kargil war memorial and gurudwara patthar sahib...tell me what to do..and also cant extend any day as my tickets are already booked. I dont wanna miss any of the options..im in a real fix.

Are you sure you can cover all these places in a single day?

I mean, Shey and Thiksey are located on the Leh - Manali highway and Magnetic Hill, Kargil war memorial and Gurudwara Pathar Sahib are located on the Leh - Srinagar highway.

It will take you almost 6-7 hours just to reach Kargil (if you don’t get stuck in Army convoy) and Drass war memorial (Kargil one is in the army base and is not usually visited by tourists) is at least an hour further away.

You can easily cover all the above places if you take out the Drass war memorial.

In case you want to skip these and spend the night at Pangong, then too you can cover Shey and Thiksey, either while going to Pangong Tso or while coming back, though you would have to start early. Add to that, you will also have to get inner line permits for Nubra and Pangong Tso made in advance so that you won’t have to spend time once you reach Leh.

[Gaurav Pai]

Yogesh, u got me wrong about visiting the war memorial. I am NOT going to Kargil to visit the Drass war memorial..i will be visiting the Ladakh hall of fame which is near Alchi. Magnetic hill and confluence of the rivers are near by that memorial .

We will be doing Shey and Thiksey in the morning. We will return back to leh for lunch and post lunch, in the afternoon we will be going for the war memorial (LEH) and other places.

As far as the stay on pangong is concerned, i have stopped thinking and decided that the next time i go to ladakh on my bike, i will be staying at pangong..

Cheers and thanks for the help..

Regards,
Gaurav

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Oh that one, yeah it is easily doable.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by Gaurav Pai

l..i will be visiting the Ladakh hall of fame

And which one is this Hall of Fame (about 12 kms out of Leh city)?

[Gaurav Pai]

Yes sir..i think this is the one..i searched a lot on gogle for the pics and info about the Ladakh Hall of Fame in Leh..thts why was confused whether such a thing exists or not..if possible Anup sir, pleases end me some info links and pics of the same...wil be thankful to you..

I wonder how come no one has mentioned anything about the above place anywhere..nor on the forum or on any other website !!

Regards,
Gaurav Pai

[Gaurav Pai]

i have to buy a cam..

pls suggest me some good camsfor the leh trip...but i have limited budget..under 10k...shud i go for sony cybershot 12.1 mp...i think its DSC W270s with 4x optical zoom...

should i go for that???

Help pls !!

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Because only a few know about Ladakh Hall of Fame and even fewer visit it.

As for camera, check out Canon A1000IS, its in your budget its performance is pretty good.

Ps. which ever camera you buy, make sure you buy plenty of spare batteries and memory cards.

[Gaurav Pai]

hav heard a lot abt cyber shot series..even one of my cousin has it...i think shud go for that...will also chk out canon..but my personal fav is the one which i said...is it bad??i mean i m totally new abt this and have very less knowledge abt cams..what are the probs in cyber shot 12.1 mp??

[anupmathur]

Gaurav, all I can say is that it is a kind of must see. Keep at least 2 to 3 hours for it. Some amazing facts, articles and photos in there!]

I don't have photos of the insides, but here are a few of the outside: