One sees great things from the valley, but only small things from the peak! Not quite the context in which the above quote was said, but it certainly fits the bill when we’re talking about India’s crown jewel of the north, Ladakh. No discussion about travel in India is complete without a mention of Ladakh, and I just knew that I had to tick this picturesque valley off my list as soon as I could, and from the very first minute, I wasn’t disappointed. The first notable incident of the trip happened during the flight to Leh itself. As our airplane crossed into the Himalayas, magnificent views of snow-clad Kashmiri mountains beheld us, and it is the first and only time I have seen so many passengers standing at the same time in an airplane mid-flight, it was that stunning. As we landed, the first colour I noticed was blue. The sky. It was quite possibly the bluest sky I’ve ever seen, and coming from a polluted metropolis where even sunny skies have a whiteness about them, s...