|
 Well
his niece isn't officially the queen because
royal titles aren't allowed in India
anymore. But she is married to the man who
would otherwise be king of Ladakh, the tiny
Buddhist state at the northern tip of the
mountains and glaciers between China and
Pakistan.
Ladakh is that sort of place. There are,
after all, only 20,000 people in Leh, the
capital, and not many more outside it.
Phunchok Wangchuk, the uncle of the "queen"
runs a cozy family hotel, the Shambha-La set
in an apple orchard 1 kim outside Leh.
 Ladakh
is a silent, blissful place of thin air and
magical geological shapes, its landscape
marked by soft, burned colors and purple
shadows. Curiously, it boasts an intimacy
that belies the rugged 4,000-m to
6,500-m peaks that surround the former
kingdom. Even the mighty Indus River, which
cuts across the high valleys and through the
mountain gorges, can look almost like a
stream when viewed from the hilltop
monasteries. The brochures call Ladakh
"Little Tibet". The two alpine regions are
much the same, from the monasteries on the
hills to the people's common features. But
Ladakh is preferable in many ways. Tibet is
much larger and can be so stiff and
regimented. One feels at ease in Ladakh. The
atmosphere is casual and friendly, and the
people set their own pace.
 September
is the best month to visit. By harvest time,
most tourists have come and gone. Hotels
that were chock a block in July and August
are empty come fall, and discounts are easy
to find. The sky is an electric blue. The
days are warm, the nights cool. In the river
valleys, as if in some tableau from a
willow-pattern plate, farmers carry ricks
and winnow grain among trees laden with ripe
fruit, simple plank bridges and quaint
houses with flat roofs stacked with hay.
From October the high mountain passes into
this once isolated land are snowed over, and
the hotels put up their shutters. Those
residents who can afford it have moved to
the lower, more hospitable hills or to the
plains of India. Those left behind hunker
down until spring, when the tourists begin
to return.
 Most
visitors fly to Ladakh from New Delhi, only
80 min. away and remain in Leh for a couple
of days to adjust to the altitude.
Adventurers can buy second hand Enfield
motorbikes for around $ 800 and cruise to
Leh from Manali, the backpackers junction in
the Himalayan foothills, in three days.
Sharp travelers will fly to Srinagar in
Kashmir first and spend a few days on a
houseboat relaxing amid the lotus gardens
watching kingfishers flit from stem to stem.
It is a bucolic experience, as long as you
are not fearful of the insurgency that
rumbles in Kashmir. You should be aware of
possible danger, but the pleasure of being
on a houseboat on a pristine lake far
outweighs the fear. From Srinagar it is a
45-min. flight to Leh over some of the
finest mountain scenery in the world - but
there is only one flight a week, on Sunday. |
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