Tibetan flags, weathered faces and muted colors greet you upon arrival. After a few weeks of moseying around Ladakh’s dusty mountains life takes on an addictive simplicity that steadies the pace, deepens the breath and slows the heart.
The trip from Delhi is a lush and forested one that follows the Ganges for much of the way. As you travel further north the food grows milder and the stares get less intense. The hyperactivity of wider India evaporates and moments of relaxation find their way into your days.
If you look for Ladakh on a map chances are you won’t find it. Wedged between Tibet and Pakistan, lies a piece of land so important to its neighbors that its borders are marked with dashed lines: Jammu & Kashmir. Ladakh is the region within those lines that extends between the Kunlun Mountains and the Himalayas, completely indifferent to its importance.
2 Comments
Kathy Myers
March 26, 2016 at 4:31 amNatalia; In the dictionary under “afar” should be one of your photos; exotic and literally a world away from my home on Cleveland Lane. I love the vast area of erosion that exposes the hoodoo rock formations. They look like Chinese terra cotta soldiers that are marching under the ancient landscape at their own geologic pace. I can imagine the petichor scent that must sting your nose when the rain dampens this ancient dust.
Natalia
April 8, 2016 at 4:11 pmThanks Kathy! Cleveland Lane is worthy of its own post too. Maybe someday I’ll get to it 🙂 The photos really don’t do Ladakh justice, but yes, it’s beyond picturesque.