Manali, Himachal Pradesh (north state)

After 9 days in Leh we decided to go to Manali. We booked two seats in a tourist bus that took 36 hours to reach Manali. On the way we passed three mountain passes, one of them was Taglangla, the second highest pass with a road. The road is beautiful but most of it is on the very edges of cliffs. Iris set near the window so she didn’t like the view that much J. On the way we could see the changes from the Himalayan desert-like climate to the green lush climate of Manali and northern India. We stopped for a night sleep in a little road camp that had three small local restaurants that had beds in them. We were tired from the long ride so we slept quite well in them.

We arrived to Manali in the afternoon and went to Old Manali village to find a place to stay. Old Manali is the original village of Manali and now it is a popular place for many tourists and even more Israelis. We spent in Manali 10 days of relaxation and good time. This time is the apple season in Manali (and in northern India in general) so we saw lots of small sheds of local people packing apples in wooden boxes to be shipped to Delhi to the main market over there and from there they are distributed to the rest of India. Even the apples in Manali’s markets were sent from Manali to Delhi and then back to the local markets in Manali.

Enjoy the pictures :)

Taglangla pass - unbelievable is it not? :)

Our bus. We saw many buses with the writing "Oh god save me" on their front...

Passing over mountains

Sheep on the way

the scenery is getting greener as we decent in altitude

Ponies in Rhotangla pass. the last mountain pass before Manali

Almost in Manali...

Dhungri temple. A Hindu temple near old Manali.

A hairy Yak :)

Kids playing in old Manali

On the way from old Manali to new Manali

Iris on top of our guest house in old Manali

A rainy day in Manali

The view from our guest house in old Manali

The main street in Old Manali

Old Manali

The View from Vashist, a small village near Manali

Iris resting on a rooftop in Vashist

The view from the peace restaurant in Vashist

One of the mountain summits around Manali

A local haircut, only 40 rupees = 4 Shekels

Leh, Ladak, Northen India

We started our trip in Delhi where Tuval met his first cow in the streets of the main bazaar. The main bazaar is a busy, colorful, and lovely area where many low-budget tourists stay in Delhi. We stayed for there for about 12 hours just to arrange a flight ticket to Leh which is in the Ladak area in the Jammu and Kashmir state in northern India. We arrived to Leh on September 7th at 8:00AM. The area is a desert because of its altitude, 3500m, and it's dotted with green oasis around the many streams that come from the Himalayas Mountains in the area. Basically it felt like reaching the moon. We took a couple of days to get used to the altitude and went to a 3 days trip to the Nubra valley. The Valley was part of the ancient Silk Road that connected India with central Asia. The road to the valley passes through the highest pass in he world, 5600m, that can be drove with a car. We got stuck there for about 4 hours due to a snow storm that blocked the road and made lots of trucks to get stuck, but eventually we went through and got to the valley itself. We visited the villages of Sumor, Diskit, and Hundar, where Iris rode a two hump camel. The Ladak festival was celebrated at that time so we saw a traditional Buddhist mask show, polo games, dances, and singing. We bought appels and honey in Leh market before our journy, and met other Israelies in our guest house in Hundar that had also bought pomgranate and we celebrated Rosh Hashana together.

We are at Ben -Gurion airport before the flight to Mumbai

Delhi - main bazzar

View from our guest house in Leh

Apples in Leh

Donkies in Leh

Mask show in Thiksay monastery near Leh

Polo match in Leh

Kardung La pass - on the way to Nubra valley

Nubra valley

A praying bell in Sumor monastery

Sunset in Sumor

Iris on a camel in Hundar dunes

Traditional dances in Hundar

Hundar

Rosh Hashana in Hundar