When we decided last year to go to Kashmir and Ladakh in northern India, frowned quite a few people around us questionable

When we decided last year to go to Kashmir and Ladakh in northern India, frowned quite a few people around us questionable. Kashmir? There's still war? And yet abuts Pakistan? Uh yeah, the latter is true, yes. And it would also sometimes be restless, but war is certainly not as a tourist and you can really fine commute. There are some places in Kashmir where the irritations between Hindus and Muslims flare up faster but as you advance well in reading it really is a fantastic region to visit. Certainly as a backpacker! We eventually combined Kashmir with Ladakh and finally came back into the real Indian from Uttar Pradesh. A wonderfull trip that gives you a very different picture of India. This is the route we followed!

 Directions North India Srin

Kashmir.

Since we unfortunately "only" three weeks had, we decided to fly on the way Kashmir instead of traveling by road. If you have time, I would choose but certainly for the road. We flew from Amsterdam directly to New Delhi in India. We had to wait a few hours and then we flew another hour north. Destination: Srinagar in Kashmir. Known for the beautiful houseboats on the idyllic Dal Lake. Srinagar is more than special. You can feel and see immediately that it's a different world, mainly Muslim and beautifully situated at the foot of the enormous mountains.

 Directions North India Lama

After three days it was time to go by car. Unfortunately it is often public transport in the region is not an option, because the roads are very rough and inhospitable. Fortunately, the prices in India is not very high, so we could, for example, $ 100 rent a car plus driver who drove us around 9 hours to Lamayuru in Ladakh.


Ladakh.
Lamayuru is almost no guide to find, but what a gem it is! It is a tiny village located right in the rugged mountains, where at least 6 months per year, stone and stone cold. You can only sleep in homestays, so you're in the middle of local life. We are two days left in Lamayuru to just get used to the altitude of 3,500 meters. From there we went on a four-day trek through the immense mountains. Spicy, but very worth it! It eventually became 2.5 days ;-), where we walked to Wanla. From Wanla we were then picked up by a van and taken to the larger town of Leh. Leh is delicious 8-). Still those beautiful location, fresh mountain air and Tibetan influences, but also fine restaurants, nice markets and terraces. Lovely to relax after! From Leh we left hippie village of Manali. In itself pretty fun, but pretty touristy and many wannabee backpackers say ;-). Not really a place for me to linger days. From Manali was finally time to go to Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj: the place where the Dalai Lama lives. Woehoe! I found it super special for there to walk around and see the place where the Tibetan government in exile lives. Did really some of it, even though we have unfortunately gone wrong as the Dalai Lama ...

 Directions North India Amrit

Recognizable India.
And then it was time to go back in the more familiar, noisy, dirty, but oh so beautiful India. From the fresh north we ended up in the clammy Amritsar, the holy city of Sikhs, as the Golden Temple is here. It was indeed a beautiful sight, but I had to back really used to the bustle and grime: - . Cool is that you can also visit the Pakistani border from Amritsar, where they have an everyday sort of ceremony to close the borders. Really recommended! From Amritsar it was still a reasonably short to Agra, famous for the Taj Mahal. Lovely to end our trip! From there you are in couple hour in New Delhi, from where we flew to Amsterdam. It was a fantastically beautiful and special trip, though I had to spend still more time in Kashmir. If you're a bit adventurous, you love mountains and do not have it as the filth of India, Kashmir & Ladakh definitely recommended!