Where to sleep in Leh?
In winter, only the largest hotels remain open in Leh.
Chospa Hotel
Built in 2020 in the center of the city in the Ladakhi architectural style, the Chopsa has 17 rooms with small windows to optimize thermal comfort.
On the ground floor, the menu of the Juniper restaurant offers standards of Indian, Ladakhi and Tibetan gastronomy.
Double room around €140.
Such.
: +91 1982 258 903.
The Chospa built in 2020 in the center of the city.
Greg Lecoeur / Le Figaro Magazine
The Abduz
Still in the city but a little further south, TheAbduz with its 42 very comfortable rooms and its rooftop opening onto the surrounding mountains well deserves its 5 stars.
Double room from €195 with breakfast.
Such.
: +91 9667 688 788.
Great Dragon Ladakh
With its 75 rooms it has long been the largest luxury hotel in Leh.
Its large bay windows overlook the Stok range and the Zanskar mountains.
The paintings of Ladakhi artist Gulam Mustafa add a local and modern touch to the ambiance.
Premier Heritage rooms are around €225 with breakfast in winter.
Such.
: +91 9622 433 776.
Dolkhar Resort
The Dolkhar Resort.
Greg Lecoeur for Le Figaro Magazine
In a boutique-hotel spirit, the Dolkhar Resort offers its 7 luxurious villas built using local techniques in a wooded garden a little outside the city.
The owner, Mrs. Rigzin Wangmo Lachic, created this little paradise two years ago on land inherited from her grandmother.
Villa from €275 with breakfast.
Such.
: +91 7889 497 040.
Have to do
The Matho festival takes place every 14th and 15th day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar.
Greg Lecoeur for Le Figaro Magazine
The
Royal Palace
(entrance €4) has dominated the city since the 17th century.
The nine levels of the immense building which housed the members of the royal family until they settled in their palace in Stok now house a small archaeological museum.
From the upper terraces, the view takes in the entire city in its mountain setting.
In the very center of Leh,
the Chokhang Buddhist temple
is an oasis of plenitude dedicated to prayer and meditation, a stone's throw from the main shopping street and its large bazaar.
The region's monasteries (gompas) host festivals
with
dances, traditional music performances and songs throughout the year.
26 km southeast of Leh, that of
Matho Nagrang
which is held every 14th and 15th day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar in winter has the advantage of being very popular.
Unlike summer festivals, there are very few foreigners there.
Panther, instructions for use
To satisfy this thirst for panthers, local tourism agencies began offering observation trips around twenty years ago.
Greg Lecoeur / Le Figaro Magazine
According to the
Snow Leopard Conservancy Trust
, there are perhaps 500 snow leopards in Ladakh.
It is in winter that the chances of observation are optimal because then the snow leopard tracks the herbivores which come down from the mountain in search of food and water.
And from mid-February to mid-March, panthers are in love and let their guard down.
It's even easier to see them.
Without the tremendous work of the “spotters”, it is a safe bet that the tourist would return empty-handed as the feline’s spotted coat allows it to blend into its environment.
They exchange information without worrying about competition and everything is organized so as not to disturb the animal.
A minimum observation distance of 400 m is imposed, and this limit is only crossed in exceptional circumstances with the mutual agreement of all guides on site.
Photo enthusiasts will therefore equip themselves with at least 500 mm telephoto lenses, ideally 800 mm (tripod essential).
However, photos taken with a smartphone from the tracker telescopes give very good results for the web and social networks.
Adapters exist.
Observations are generally made in the Rumbak valley to the south or towards Ulley and Saspochey to the north.
And when the panther plays ghost, it is always possible to admire the large ungulates of the Himalayan mountains (bharal, urial, ibex), wolves, foxes, eagles...
A winter in Ladakh
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