In Images - The High Mountain Passes of Ladakh - A Bird's Eye View
Ladakh is the region of Northern India that is famous for its high mountain passes and its deep blue lakes. It is one of the sparsely populated regions of Jammu & Kashmir, and renowned for its mountain beauty and culture.
"The Land is so barren and the passes so high that only our
fiercest enemies or Our best friends would want to visit us"
- Old Ladakhi Saying
In current day, the region of Ladakh (I use the word Ladakh very loosely. There are actually three different regions: The Nubra Valley, the Changthang and Ladakh that I mean when I use Ladakh) is now divided among 3 countries: Pakistan, India and China. The region that is under control by Pakistan is called the Baltistan area, and that under China is referred to as Aksi-Chin.
The high mountain passes of Ladakh include the most famed "highest motorable road in the World: Khardung La", and many other passes such as Chang La, the Wari La, Marsimik La, the Zoji La passes to name a few. La in Ladakhi means 'Pass'
Here are some of the pictures of the mountain passes of Ladakh that I shot on my solo motorcycle roadtrip that I made in 2013.
The Zoj La - The gateway to the Ladakh Region from the West
The Amarnath Yatra religious piligrimage camp at the foot of the Zoji La.
Bird's Eye View from Fatu La - The highest mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh road.
Climbing Up the Khardung La
Khardung La is wrongly referred to as the highest motorable road in the world. It is not even higher than the Chang La
The View from Khardung La
The Wari La, one of the toughest mountain passes I attempted on the ride. Yaks graze in the valley.
Descending the Chang La
The high mountain passes enroute to Chushul
Chushul is one of the final villages on the border between India and China in the North.
The Tanglang La, on the Leh - Manali highway
A view from the Barlacha La, one of the toughest passes I had to cross in conditions where water crossings were often knee deep
Rohtang La, the final mountain pass and probably the most dangerous, before I made it to the lowlands of Himachal Pradesh
Such is the land, where the high mountain passes are the natural gateway to the region. Ladkah is often beyond belief, and I hope and pray that the region remains the same for years and decades to come.
I also take this opportunity to invite you to visit this amazing place and see the mountains and the land for yourselves. It will live an indelible mark on your soul.
If you enjoyed this post, please take a minute to check out my other posts:
Thank you for reading! Excelsior! :)
Truly amazing photos! Make you feel as if you were there, although I'm not sure I would dare to be on these roads on my Triumph Rocket ;-)
Ha ha, As long as you don't ride it like a rocket, you should be fine. On second thought, you would be able to enjoy the roads better on a smaller capacity motorcycle! :)
@thebatmanbiker - Beautiful pictures of Ladhakh! Its hard to explain how much detail each of these pictures withheld!! I can see that you will be great fit for our contest. I invite you to participate in below contest and give other contestants a tough fight!
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There are some great pictures! I like them very much!
Thanks @amedeo! :)
Hi friend, very good !!!!!
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Beautiful nature!
Thank you @dolov!
this place looks so cool mate
Indeed! Thanks! :)
Amazing post man!!!!! Keep the good work coming!! and btw if you interested to know about India, do check my profile! I recently started a Tour India series, I am through to part VIII but i reshared the 1st ever post in that series today! https://steemit.com/india/@alexkoshy/india-life-and-tourism-6-states-covered-why-should-you-tour-india-i-reposted
I am from India too, been pretty much all over the place except the North East and the Spiti Valley ;)
for the first time traveller to India.
https://steemit.com/travel/@shashvader/indian-thought-process
Wow...some of those look crazy...bet they were fun to drive on! Beautiful pics, thank you for sharing.
They are indeed crazy to drive on! Check out my other post if you want to know how the region looked like in the 1990s. Cheers! :)
Wow, the Zoj La looks pretty scary to drive, but i guess Indian drivers just don't give a shit :D. Take a look at my post from India trip - hopefully you will like it ;) https://steemit.com/travel/@wbucko/love-it-or-hate-it-india-trip-part-1-mumbai
Nice post , I upvoted too!