Ladakh is visited during the winter as well for the Chadar Trek where trekking is done on the frozen Zanskar river

With respect to Indians, destinations like Ladakh notched up in people’s go-to lists when travellers began to think beyond sightseeing, when it came to travelling, informs Bhide. “As Indians began to shift from the standard vacation choices, Ladakh, with its many options of trekking, biking, motor biking, off roading and jeep safaris, became an obvious choice,” he shares.

He also points out how the new generation has deeper pockets for travel plans: “The economic boom in the early part of the last decade (of the millennium) gave birth to a new Indian traveller.”

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A Gelupa monk gets dressed for the Hemis Festival.

Given the fact, the privatisation also happened in the 90s, the great Indian traveller seemed to have benefited, as per Bhide: “Around the same time, Indian aviation was also opening up and suddenly there were many flying options open to fly to Leh. This made Leh more accessible and soon travellers carried back their tales, in turn leading to more young Indians wanting to travel to Ladakh.”

Beyond Bollywood
Anand and Bhide both credit the major Bollywood blockbuster, 3 Idiots, for catching eyeballs and thus, attracting the highest number of Indian tourists the place has ever seen.

Even though innumerable places across the country are famous for featuring in Bollywood films and their accessibility, yet Ladakh retains a special place. Anand decodes why: “It offers two of the world’s largest mountain ranges, alpine desert, and dry barren landscape full of historic Buddhist monasteries. Nature and adventure lovers will find excellent hiking and paragliding opportunities around Leh. There are also longer trekking trails to choose from, as well as white water rafting and travel on Khardung La, the world’s highest motorable road.”

Almost pristine and still largely untouched, Anand observes that Ladakh is also popular with tourists because of its religious significance. “It is home to one of the purest remaining examples of Tibetan Buddhist culture. Visitors come to see a pre-industrial culture, tour the Buddhist monasteries and take in the dramatic mountain vistas,” concludes Anand.