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Ladakh Travel Information

Health

Vaccination: No vaccination is currently required for travelling to India. However , we recommend anti-tetanus , anti-typhoid and paratyphoid (T.A.B) vaccinations and gamma globuline protection against hepatitis.

Water: It is not always easy to know whether the water is safe to drink . To be on the safe side , disinfectant pills are recommended .

Protection : When preparing his first - aid kit , the traveller who intends to stay for a long time must keep in mind that the Ladakh and Zanskar are situated at very high altitudes and have a desert climate. It is therefore advisable to protect oneself against sun and sand which irritates eyes.

Hospitals: the only hospitals in Ladakh are in Kargil and Leh.

Visa
You must have a visa to go to India.

Equipment
Take some warm clothes with ,especially for the period between seasons. A down –filled sleeping bag is essential , a rubber mattress highly recommended . Take a tent , a stove and pressure cooker. Take a rope too for river crossings.

On the the Srinagar –Leh road it is possible to find fresh supplies. Take with you a sufficient amount of dehydrated foods , conserves and soups. Indeed , in some valleys there is hardly enough food for the inhabitants

In Leh you will find : Petrol for stoves ( do not take with you a stove requiring rectified petrol because you will not find it any where); Rice , cereals ,sugar , salt ,butter tea ; Some salted and sweet conserves; Eggs , vegetables , milk ,bread , biscuits , noodles. It is also possible to rent or buy camping or hiking gear .

Guides, porters, pack animals
It is difficult to find porters in Ladakh. The inhabitants tend to be caravaneers. For transporting food and luggage , horses or donkeys can be rented . The horse can be loaded to 40 kilos maximum. A donkey can carry 20 kilos. It is advisable to let travel agencies help you to organize a hiking tour.


Photgraphy
When preparing his equipment , the photographer must keep in mind that the light is very intense in Ladakh (ultraviolet rays ) , that there is a lot of dust and that , depending on the season , differences in temperature are great . The interior of Ladakhi buildings is very dark. It is very difficult to find colour films ,remote areas of Ladakh . It is forbidden to photographs military installations , including roads and airports. During your visit to Monestories one should keep in mind not to disturb the rituals & activities of Monks, & also take prior permission to Photograph statues & Ancient collections.


Access

Leh : The military airport is used by the Indian Airlines There are daily flights from Delhi to Leh, Flights to Srinagar leaves on Sundays. Where as flight from Chandigarh leave on Wednesday. At times flights are cancelled because of bad visibility.

How to get to Srinagar
From Delhi , the easiest way is certainly by plane .However , it is also possible to take the train to Jammu (Overnight) from where a bus goes directly to Srinagar ( a full day ).

How to get to Manali
It is possible to take the plane from Delhi to Kullu . Indian airlines operates on Mon/Wed/Fri and Jagson airlines operates daily. Its small aircraft of 17 seats. From Kullu one can take car or bus for Manali.

Other wise , one can reach Manali by bus also. The bus takes 18 hrs .Manali-Leh Highway was opened tp foreign tourist in 1989.It is a 485 Kms Journey which passes through one of the highest altitude moterable road & is an unforget able life time experience.