Our 12 day "Best of Ladakh" trip lives up to its name, by getting you to all the highlights of Ladakh - this includes visiting some of the best-known monasteries in the area, as well as exploring some of the most beautiful sights of this remote mountainous region.

TRIP OBJECTIVES AND DATES

The emphasis of the trip is on exploring the wonders of Ladakh - the stunning scenery, the exotic bird and wildlife and the traditional Buddhist way of life. The trip includes the famous Manali-Leh drive, with its breath-taking views and amazing landscapes.

Because heavy snow makes driving in the region impossible for most of the year, our trips to Ladakh run only in July and August.

PRE-REQUISITES

Because Ladakh is at an extremely high altitude (Leh is at 3200m, and our excursions will often take us to well over 5,500m), altitude sickness is a valid and real risk. Also, in order to get to the best locations, some walking may be required. As such, we require all participants in our Ladakh trips to carry appropriate medical insurance, including coverage for emergency evacuations, if needed. Furthermore, all guests over the age of 40 will need a medical clearance certificate from their doctor in order to participate in hiking activities.

RECOMMENDED GEAR

You can use everything from a 10mm fisheye to a 1200mm uberzoom in Ladakh (if only there was one lens providing this entire range at f2.8 and pancake, to boot!). Realistically, we'd recommend real wide angle coverage (atleast 20mm in 35mm terms) for shooting inside monasteries and such - because light is low, and flash is not allowed, a fast prime works really well in such situations. For general scenics, you willl need everything from wide angle to medium telephoto (200-300mm). Wildlife in Ladakh is quite shy, so you will need your longest lens and teleconverters.

We plan our trips in order to ensure that everyone has access to proper electricity outlets every couple of days. We also provide a car inverter that puts out 220V - you can recharge your camera batteries off that, if needed. However, because cold plays havoc with battery life, an extra battery or two is always a good idea.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Meet in New Delhi and fly to Kullu, in Himachal Pradesh. On arrival, drive to Manali, where we will stay overnight (L, D)

Day 2: Start the 480km expedition to Leh,the capital of Ladakh, crossing Rohtang Pass, Lahaul Valley and overnighting en route.

Day 3: Continue to Leh, stopping en route to photograph the Moray Plains and arriving by early afternoon. Have hot water shower and rest/acclimatize to the altitude

Day 4: Spend the day in and around the Leh area, acclimatizing - watch sunrise over Stakhna monastery, visit Thiksey monastery, watch the sun set from viewpoint on top of the hill overlooking Leh valley.

Day 5: Depart for Hunder valley, crossing the world's highest motorable pass en route. Spend the evening shooting landscapes over the high-altitude sand dunes of Hunder.

Day 6: More photography around Hunder, including photographing two-humped Bactrian camels against a backdrop of snow peaks. Continue onwards to Diksit monastery and then drive back to Leh. Celebrate with another hot water shower.

Day 7: Depart for Pangong Tso, or the rainbow lake, whose brilliant blue waters provide a wealth of interesting photo opportunities. Camp by the lakeside at night.

Day 8: After spending the morning taking photographs around the lake, we will head back to Leh.

Day 9: Depart for Tso Moriri, in Chumathang valley - a large lake surrounded by abundant wildlife, including kiangs, marmots, many species of birds and an occasional visit from snow leopards. Camp by Tso Moriri.

Day 10: Drive from Tso Moriri to Tso Kar, crossing a 5,500m pass via a rocky trail. Explore the area around Tso Kar looking for kiangs, or the Tibetan wild ass, and black-necked cranes. Camp overnight at Tso Kar.

Day 11: Drive to Leh, stopping en route at Hemis monastery and arriving back in Leh by late evening.

Day 12: Catch flight from Leh to Delhi. (B)

GENERAL NOTES

This is an outdoors/nature exploration trip to a very remote destination,where, outside of Leh, luxury is defined as bucket hot waters! Ladakh is a destination for people craving to connect to Nature - and while we provide comfortable accomodation and tasty (but simple) meals, we are exploring a region where you can walk for weeks without seeing any sign of human civilization. Please keep that in mind when it comes to setting expectations for what qualifies as "luxury" in the region - and remember: the photos will truly be memorable!

PRICES

Prices for the trip will vary, depending on the number of people in the trip, itinerary, exact number of days and so on. Generally, the trips run from $150-$300 per person per day, depending on group size. Please contact us to develop a custom itinerary for your trips.

BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS

To make a booking, please email us at info@photosafariindia.com

Bookings are not confirmed until we receive a 20% deposit. We accept payment via wire transfers or via Paypal. The balance is due 45 days before the trip.

If cancelling before 45 days, the full sum will be refunded (minus the 3% transaction fee, if you have paid using a credit card via Paypal). For cancellations between 15-45 days from the trip date, we levy a 25% cancellation charge. For cancellations within 15 days of the trip date, the cancellation charge is up to 75%.