So, after an amazing, and at times emotional and intense three weeks here in Kashmir, Nelson and I are headed off to Ladakh…  Today we spent saying goodbye to all the good friends we made, running errands around town and packing our bags for the next and last leg of my journey here in India (for this summer anyways….)

Early tomorrow we will say goodbye to our houseboat on Dal Lake and take a taxi east from Srinagar on the 400 km Srinagar-Leh highway. The trip will take us two days and we will leave the lush green Kashmir Valley that feeds the Indus River in Pakistan, and head up into the alpine desert of Great Himalayan Range (more specifically the Zanskar and Ladakhi Ranges). The plan is to spend a couple weeks staying in Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh and go on some short treks amongst the 18,000 and 20,000 foot peaks. The capitol of Ladakh, Leh, sits in a terraced stone and dirt valley at 13,000 feet to give some perspective… I imagine we will be well above tree-line for the better part of our stay in Ladakh.

After spending some time in the high Himalaya, we will head back down to Mcleod Ganj for a couple days and spend some time with our friends there. Then shortly after I will part ways with Nelson and head to New Delhi where I will be flying back to the states on August third.

I am getting excited seeing everyone back home, but I’m also stoked for one more good adventure before that happens 😉

Zindighi Che Haseen (live is beautiful in Kashmiri),

Alex

P.S. Again I will be sending out some post-analogs on the Kashmir portion of the trip when I return to the U.S.. Here is a tasty pic to keep you looking for them 😉 A man we met at a chai stall in a small village in the Kashmir hills…