Leh/Srinagar/Gulmarg in December

woekkoeg

hi all

i will be in delhi from 19th dec & would like to spend abt 12~14 days in Leh, Srinagar & perhaps in Gulmarg for some skiing/snowboard.

i know dec is a bad time to visit & the only way to Leh is to fly but i really dont have an option as when to travel.

i intend to fly from Delhi to Leh, from Leh to Srinagar & thereafter to Gulmarg by road/rail. is that a possible option? how frequent are the flights in/out of Leh. Or would it be that it's not worth to travel up to Leh at all in Dec?

Dimitrz

Best thing to do would be to fly down to Srinagar first - spend some time there Skiing and all - then fly down to Leh - this will also give you a mild acclimatization ( though not much- keep in mind acclimatization does not only revolve around altitude - its also getting used to the weather )

Or you can fly down or take a bus to Manali ( Flights upto Kullu Only) go to Solong Valley do you skiing there and then fly down to Leh ( I guess you might have to go back all the way to Delhi/ Jammu / Chandigarh for that) but one advantage to this option is that if the roads are open by any chance you can attempt a road travel to Leh (very slim probability).

Somehow I always liked Solong better than Gulmarg - right upto the friendliness of the people.

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woekkoeg

Thanks. I have bought my air tix to Srinagar instead...considering i'm a sea level & tropical person & may not be able to adapt to the altitude & coldness well...

ksnaidu

I have been to leh during 7/9/09 to 12/09/09.Even during that period it was very cold.But I liked the place very much,especially pangom lake.have a nice time.

vistet

Best option to acclimatize would be from the Kashmiri end (NB : there is zero acclimatization taking place in Srinagar , short term perspective only 2000+ counts ) , but for good now it´s probably wiser to put the skiing last. Last year first snow was latish December , 2006 on December 5th.

(There was a first snowfall on November 15th , closed the airport and roads ,gone within a few days )

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santos_g15

Hey it would be very cold in leh in december.There are two passes fatulla and zojilla between srinagar and leh.MY guess is that they would be blocked.Flights are only way in/out of leh i guess.Late december even in delhi lots of flights get cancelled or delayed.leh is further north.

Leh:
i dont know abt states of pass tanglang la (to reach Tsomoriri) , pass chang la (to reach Pangong tso).These are main tourist spots.I guess khardung la might be open as there is quite some army presence.so you can visit hunder.you can also do cheddar trekking in leh but its costly.then there is shey,thikse ,hemis monasteries which you can visit.

vistet

Not in the daytime , temperatures were still dancing around the freezing point until first week in December last year.

Closed between 8-11th December last year.

Snow is a warm weather phenomenom : the brunt of the snowfall around Ladakh falls in the first high passes encircling Ladakh: Rothang , Zoji La & Kunzum La etc. Snow in serious amounts rarely seems to reach Khardung La. It did last year third week in September when there was massive snowfall all over Himachal , and took out the road a day or two late in the winter - this was really news.

The Zanskar river froze in January when I spent a very cold winter in Ladakh long time ago , the Chaddar trek won´t be possible in December.

This winter may turn out colder than the last years , night temperatures now are lower (-8 ) than in December last year.

sharonchristina2009

woekkoeg I am at Leh on January 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Would you like to hook up? I am going to visit monasteries skii and have a ball. I am a solo traveler but dont mind some skiing company. Let me know! If you have a number pass it to me and will give you a call. My trip is very short at Leh, just for 3 days. Flying in and out from Delhi. But those 3 days are gonna be super action and super fun in cold icy snowy climates. That should work out for an adrenalin junkie girl like me.

ladagspa

You will be disappointed at the ski part as there is no proper place to ski (some pro do ski down the Stok Kangri), though you can try your hand at Ice Skating.
Ask the Hotel people to arrange for the skates.
Do not forget your shades and UV cream, lip balm etc.

Happy travelling

Angchuk

sharonchristina2009

oh I see. Yes i tried googling skiing and it doesnt give good options. Lets see. 3 days I plan to spend doing some monastery visits, half a day of sport skiing or ice skating as you suggest and then just while away the time enjoying some good snow. Any sports you can suggest at Leh during this time?

sharonchristina2009

Just googled Ice skating and it seems plausible. Frozen lakes. But is there a proper skating rink? I tried my hand at ice skating in Bangkok and I would love to try this again.

sharonchristina2009

One more quick Q. IS THERE SNOW IN LEH DURING DECEMBER - JANUARY?

ladagspa

Leh Usually doesnot get much snow. But you never know...
But there will be snow on the Khardungla (highest Motorable road)

http://www.ladakhwintersports.com/ has some details...
I know the guys (do let me know if u want contact)

Though there is no enclosed skating ring, but there are lots of ponds which freezes and you can skate in the freezing cold.

you will find by the dozens actually skating.

And some people helping Ladakh skating http://www.hockeyfoundation.org/

And a school involved: http://www.secmol.org/iceskating/
Other sports like Table tennis/Pool/ carrom Board etc will be available (thankfully indoor)

sharonchristina2009

thanks a ton. I shall contact them all. You are very kind.