Ladak

Quirky, feisty, impish, feral and ridiculously photogenic. Savage roads etched across a lunar emptiness; a soulless desert where rocks bleed colour. Brittle stone walls which in its lazy folds hide unending valleys; brilliant blue skies capering beyond the grasp of earth’s snow-clad fingers. Akul Tripathi rides to this place across the mountains – Ladakh and agrees that it is worth every gasp!

The road to Ladakh, and even spirituality for that matter, is not an easy one. It is dotted with high, treacherous mountain passes. This is from where the name Ladakh springs. Literally meaning the ‘land of many high passes’ (la = mountain pass), the Ladakhis have a saying which only one having experienced a journey into this naked wilderness can truly grasp. "The land is so barren and the passes so high, that only the best of friends and fiercest of enemies come by."

To appreciate the altitude of the place and the fearsome heights it sits at, let’s understand how high is Leh – 3,522m/11,750 ft. For someone reading this in Mumbai, New York or Sydney, try this. Sit in your car and drive in a straight line for three and a half kilometres. Now turn back, and see the point from where you started (if you can see it at all). Look up and imagine that distance above you. That’s how high Leh is, and with 22 metres to spare.