Ella

Ella is a little village paradise in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. This sleepy mountain village, with a view, is the perfect base for relaxing, whilst also offering lots of fantastic walks through tea plantations to temples and waterfalls. Ella with its perfect climate soothes your mind and makes your day to day anxieties feel a world away.

 

Tourism in Ladakh

Ladakh word which means "land of high passes", is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir of Northern India sandwiched between the Karakoram mountain range to the north and the Himalayas to the south. The Indian portion of Ladakh is composed of the Leh and Kargil districts. The Leh district is the largest district of India, covering more than half the area of Jammu and Kashmir, of which it is the eastern part.
Adventure tourism in Ladakh started in the 19th century. By the turn of the 20th century, it was not uncommon for British officials to undertake the 14 stage trek from Srinagar to Leh as part of their annual leave. Agencies were set up in Srinagar and Shimla to specialise sport related activities — hunting, fishing and trekking. A large retinue of porters would carry huge canvas tents and collapsible string beds. This era is recorded in Arthur Neves The Tourist's Guide to Kashmir, Ladakh and Skardo, first published in 1911. Today, about 18,000 tourists visit Ladakh every year. Bounded by two mighty mountain ranges, it is a popular place for adventure tourism. The well-preserved Tibetan-Buddhist culture makes it even more attractive.

Transport

The main corridors for accessing the area are the Zoji-La Pass and Kargil route from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley, and the high altitude Manali-Leh Highway from Himachal Pradesh. The Manali-Leh road is open only from May to October or November, when snow is cleared from the several passes. The Srinagar-Leh road is open from April or May to November or December, and is generally only blocked by snow through the winter at Zoji-La Pass. There is one airport, situated at Leh, from which there are multiple daily flights to Delhi on Jet Airways and Indian, and weekly flights to Srinagar.

A vehicle on the Leh-Kargil highway

Buses run from Leh to the surrounding villages, and taxis are available. Trucks often stop for hitchhikers, who are usually expected to pay half the bus fare. There is a bit less than 1000 km of paved roads in Ladakh. The Manali-Leh-Srinagar road makes up about half of that, the remainder being spurs off it. For the traveler with a number of months it is possible to trek from one end of Ladakh to the other, or even from places in Himachal Pradesh. The large number of trails and the limited number of roads allows one to string together routes that have road access often enough to restock supplies, but avoid walking on motor roads almost entirely.

Tourist places

Among the popular places of tourist interest include Leh, Drass valley, Suru valley, Kargil, Zangskar, Zangla, Rangdum, Padum, Phukthal, Sani Monastery, Stongdey, Shayok Valley, Sankoo, Salt Valley. Popular treks are Manali to Ladakh, the Nubra valley, the Indus valley, Markha valley, Ladakh monastery trek, South Zangskar, Trans-Zangskar Expedition, Spiti to Ladakh, Spiti to Pitok to Hemis, Rupshu, the Great Salt lakes, Chadar Ice trek, Padum-Phuktal, Padam to Darcha, Panikhar to Heniskot, Padum to Manali , Lamayuru-Martselang, Lamayuru - Alchi, Kala Pattar trek, Pahalgam to Suru valley, Kinnaur-Spiti-Ladakh, Tsomoriri-Lake Trek, and Manali-Leh trek.

Leh, capital of Ladakh ca. 1857

Ladakh has a mountainous landscape

General traveling maps showing the roads and tourist sites are commonly available in India and abroad.

Permits and borders

No special permit is required to visit most of Ladakh, including Leh and Kargil towns. Permits are required for both domestic and foreign tourists to visit the "Inner Line" areas, i.e. Nubra Valley; Panggong Lake and the Durbuk Block that it lies in (i.e. north of the Changla Pass); Tso-Moriri and Tsokar Lakes and the area along the Indus River east of Upshi; and Dha-hanu and the area along the Indus River northwest of Khalatse. These permits are easily available in Leh town from the local authorities and do not need to be acquired while applying for an Indian visa.
Permits are not available, and foreigners are not allowed, in the far reaches of each of the above-named areas close to the borders (or Line of Control, etc) with Pakistan and China. For example, foreigners can go to the edge of Panggong Lake but not along the edge of it to Phobrang, Merak, Maan, or Chushul villages; they cannot proceed east up the Indus from the Mahe Bridge; and in Nubra, they can only go as far as Panamik to the north and Hundar to the west.
There are no border crossings open between Ladakh and neighbouring regions of Baltistan (under Pakistan) or Tibet (under China).

NEPAL: Everest Escapade Private Adventure

One glimpse of Nepal's exalted mountains, one encounter with its gracious people and vibrant culture, and you'll definitely fall under its bewitching spell.

On this classic first-timer's trek through the legendary Khumbu (Everest region), your senses come fully alive, and all the views are magical. We'll take you to all the major Sherpa villages, plus famed Tengboche Monastery, from where you can get a good look at Everest (especially beautiful at sunrise or sunset!). And though Everest is undeniably the star of the show, you'll view a stunning panorama of other Himalayan monarchs as well— from Kangtega (22,340') to Thamserku (22,208') and the obelisk of Ama Dablam (22,494')—a veritable outdoor cathedral of soaring peaks. As you walk with your companions—fellow travelers and our friendly crew of Sherpas—you'll enjoy unbeatable mountain scenery, lively Sherpa village life, and the quiet beauty of the Buddhist culture so prevalent in the Nepal Himalaya.

But as any seasoned traveler to Nepal will tell you, there's more to this charming country than the mountain scenery (though that's a pretty darned good reason to trek here). The high mountain villages seem captured in time; ancient Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are alive with the sounds of worship by devoted monks; and several species of lovely rhododendron (magnificent in the spring!) grace the hillsides. But best of all, the friendly Sherpa people will captivate your heart in a second and make you a devotee of this part of the world forever.

From the moment you wake up each morning to when you crawl into your bed each night, your days are packed with an untold number of sensory pleasures. Our itinerary also includes time for sightseeing around the fascinating Kathmandu Valley.

No place is more strongly associated with Mountain Travel Sobek than Nepal, since it's here we laid the cornerstone of our passion for adventure in the late 1960s by organizing the first commercial treks in the country. In the past 37 years we have honed our itineraries to provide the finest trekking experience available. Throughout you are accompanied by an expert, knowledgeable guide who will share and explain all the details of what you see every day on the trail and make the whole experience come alive for you. An expert crew takes care of all the trek details, preparing excellent food and seeing to it that you stay healthy, even though we're staying in lodges.

We work closely with the staff and guides, provide training for cooks and sirdars (chief of Sherpa staff), and encourage professional development of Nepalese guides, and ensure that our porters are well taken care of. You can count on us to provide the best, most memorable, experience possible!