Indus Valley Ladakh-India

There is a moment that every Ladakh traveller describes, usually within an hour of landing at Leh airport. The aircraft door opens, and the light hits you differently. It is not just brighter โ€” it is sharper, more saturated, as if someone has turned up the contrast on the world. The sky is a blue that most people have only seen in photographs. The mountains surrounding the valley are so bare and vast that the scale takes a minute to register.

Trunkhol meadow, Gangabal Lake Trek, Kashmir, India

Kashmir Valley sits between the Pir Panjal range and the Greater Himalayas. The outer range intercepts the first wave of moisture; the valley receives light, intermittent rain โ€” enough to turn the meadows vivid green, not enough to close the trails. Ladakh sits further north still, behind two mountain barriers. It receives less than 100mm of annual precipitation. During monsoon, the skies over Leh are typically blue.