Ladakh: The new UT of India

Mid of last year (2022) , a group of us Bird enthusiasts went on an adventure trip to Ladakh. This is not the typical adventure trip as most Indians do on Bikes, we were the folks with interest in Birds in that area. Of course we enjoy the landscapes and the serene beauty of the place, but the primary target was to observe and photograph the birds of that locality.

The tour was a 10 day journey starting from Hyderabad and covering few places in Ladakh.

Ladakh is one of those unique high altitude place, which is cold most of the year, but is also a Desert. We wont find any tall trees in most of the places. Its full of big landscapes with almost no greenery in the view. Ladakh is the highest plateau in India with most of it being over 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

We took 1 day to relax and acclimatize ourselves at that altitude. We being from the southern part of India , our body was not that well adapted to the high altitude and low oxygen supply. We always had a big Oxygen cylinder and mask ready for us in our vehicles as a precautionary measure. But no matter what the preparations are, weather can still get to you. During the course of the trip, we had 2 people who started to feel suffocated due to less oxygen concentration. They eventually took a step back and returned to lower altitude mid way and then returned to Hyd.

The remaining group continued forward and we also got to see the elusive Pallas cat. 1 more day in and my dear friend had a bad spondilitis pain resurface, so me, him and couple more travlled back to the main city to find a doctor. He got lucky with an amazing doctor who was able to get him back in shape in just a day. He was feeling much more relaxed. Since we were already in the main city, we ventured out to do some local shopping to get some souvenirs and gifts for family back home.

The final 3 people who proceeded further eventually completed the trip and met us back at the main city in 2 days. We then proceeded back to Hyderabad with our hard drives full of photos and us filled with the memories of the location.