I went on a ten days family trip to Ladakh, what was suppose to be an adventure trip turned into a nightmare. If you are planning a Ladakh travel, this thread might help you in what you should expect once you land in Leh. 🧵
Many people have Ladakh trip in their bucket list mainly because of the picturesque landscape, high altitude motorable passes for bike ride. But we always wanted to go there because of low light pollution that lets you do star gazing where even Milky Way is clearly visible with naked eye.
Before we started our travel, we did a complete research about the places we wanted to cover. Nubra Valley, Pangong Lake, Tsomoriri lake, Lamayuru, Hanle. It’s hard to cover all these places in short span of time, you need minimum ten days to explore the landscapes of these places.
Please note that Oxygen availability goes down once you move to higher altitude regions. As the altitude increases, the atmospheric pressure drops and the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. Compared to sea level, places like Leh/Ladakh has less oxygen in the air.
Based on the research, everyone warned about Altitude Sickness. Since Leh is located at a very high altitude, the oxygen molecules are lesser due to which it takes 2 or 3 days for our body to adapt to the new environment. So it is highly recommended to stay in Leh for 48 hours minimum.
You need to get permit to roam around other places of Ladkah, you need to show your boarding pass to the checking officer, so the portal won’t let you book permit if you try to book without staying 48 hours in Leh.
You need to get permit to roam around other places of Ladkah, you need to show your boarding pass to the checking officer, so the portal won’t let you book permit if you try to book without staying 48 hours in Leh.
For precautionary measures, we took Diamox tablet with us which helps in acclimatisation. Also we decided to stay in Leh city for two days before exploring other places. We are mentally well prepared on what to expect once we land in Leh.
No big trolly luggage, just three backpacks and booked stay for first two days only, thought we shall go with the flow once we meet other travellers in Leh. When you fly across Himalayan region, it was such a breathtaking view.
Remember, Leh airport is located more than 10,000 feet above sea level, which is one of the world’s highest airport. The problem started as soon as we landed in Leh. Initially I find it hard to breathe, I thought maybe due to flight travel, but my kid also complained the same.
But anyways, it was expected. So we did not panic, thought once we take rest, drink ample of water everything should be alright after a day or two. So the first day, we didn’t do anything, just chilled at our hostel roof top.
It takes minimum 5 hours of travel from Leh city, if you have to reach places like Nubra Valley or Hanle. In order to reach those places, you have to cross high passes like Khardung la pass which is located at 18k feet. And the oxygen at these places are so thin, which makes it very difficult to breath, even cab drivers ask you not to stand outside at these peaks for more than 10 minutes.
I have seen many people carry portable oxygen cylinder as the oxygen is very less in such places. The entire Ladakh region is located at a very high altitude region, in certain region oxygen molecule % can as low as 50% making breathing extremely difficult.
But for us breathing was still an issue, even after two days our body didn’t adapt and my ten year old kid found it really hard to breathe. His oximeter reading went below 65. All three of us couldn’t eat well, he started vomiting whatever he eats, making his body totally dehydrated, couldn’t sleep well, Even for adults climbing two floors was like climbing Everest. Though I know all about this, still when it happened it’s hard to manage the situation.
When you are on solo trip, you tend to take risk and give additional day or two for your body to adapt, but when you travel with the kid, we can’t take the chances. So we had to cancel all our plans and book the next return flight immediately. The vacation was supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable but not this much adventurous putting the health at risk.
As soon as we landed in Chennai, miraculously all three of us were absolutely fine. No breathing issues, no dizziness. Our body was in high alert mode when we were in higher altitude due to oxygen issue, the moment we landed back to our place, our body was able to adapt quickly.
Even though July seems to be the ideal time to visit Ladakh, not sure if peak summer has anything to do with oxygen % in the atmosphere. Also it might not happen to everyone.
Just be well prepared if you plan your Ladakh trip, anticipate all the worst case scenarios. Ladakh is so beautiful, no doubt about it but it might not suit everyone.
Just be well prepared if you plan your Ladakh trip, anticipate all the worst case scenarios. Ladakh is so beautiful, no doubt about it but it might not suit everyone.
Loading suggestions...