Travel Diaries – Ladakh 2026 | Day 12 — The Lost Paradise

Travel Diaries – Ladakh 2026 | Day 12 — 

"The Lost Paradise"

Today was probably the easiest day of the entire trip.

We started from Jispa around 11 AM and began our relaxed journey from Jispa towards Kullu and our stay at the ITBP Officers’ Mess.

There wasn't much to write about today's drive.

So today, instead of writing about the road, I want to tell you a story about a place that has been a part of my life since childhood.

I have been looking at a photograph of this place since I was a child.

The photograph had a date written on it:

15 August 1972.

In the photograph were my father and my uncle, standing proudly amidst huge stretches of snow, at around 13,050 feet.

As a child, I would keep looking at that photograph and wonder what that place must actually look like.

I had heard stories from my parents about the difficult journey, the terrible roads, the snow, the cold and, above all, the unbelievable beauty of this place.

And somewhere in my childish mind, I had already decided:

“One day I will go there.”

That day finally came in 2002.

My father and I took our brand-new Maruti 800 and started towards that childhood dream.

The journey itself was an adventure.

The road beyond Manali was in terrible condition.

At many places, traffic was allowed in one direction at a time through a gate system.

There were long traffic jams.

Mud and slush.

And after Gulaba, the road became even more difficult.

But when we finally reached the top, I remember feeling that we had achieved something extraordinary.

Snow everywhere.

Everyone had those old still cameras in their hands.

No Instagram. No reels.

No fancy photography equipment.

Just people, snow and mountains.

That memory has stayed with me.

Since then, I have visited this place more than 30 times.

And with every visit, the road became better.

The journey became easier.

But sadly, something else was changing.

The snow was reducing except during winters.

With every passing year, there seemed to be less snow at the top.

The effects of global warming and changing weather patterns were becoming visible even in a place that I had always associated with endless snow.

And later came the Atal Tunnel.

The tunnel completely changed the journey.

It opened the doors to a new world for tourists, with more thrill towards Baralacha La, Shinku La and beyond, and made access to these remote landscapes much easier.

For most people, it was a blessing.

And it certainly made travel easier.

But for people like me, something was lost.

That whole experience slowly became a memory.

And today's journey gave me another little reminder of that.

While coming from Jispa towards Kullu, just before entering the Atal Tunnel, I suddenly asked my girl brigade:

“Should we go over the pass today?”

I was secretly hoping they would say yes.

But all three looked at me and said...

“No. Let's go through the tunnel.” 😂

I had to accept the verdict.

After all, twelve days on the road can make even the most enthusiastic traveller tired.

Maybe they had seen enough mountains.

Or maybe they have finally understood that whenever I say “just one more pass”, it usually means several more hours of driving! 😂

So I respected their decision.

But honestly, somewhere deep inside, I felt that something was missing.

A little piece of this trip had been left behind.

Because that place wasn't just another mountain pass for me.

It was my childhood dream.

It was one of my earliest adventures with my father.

It was the place that taught me that sometimes the journey itself is more memorable than the destination.

And today, while passing through the tunnel, I couldn't help thinking:

Some places disappear from the itinerary, but never from your heart.

Perhaps I'll go again.

I know I will. May be single or with friends.

Because that place has been waiting for me every time I visited Manali for more than two decades.

"OH ROHTANG PASS".

My childhood dream.

My father's memory.

A place I have visited more than 30 times.

A place where I once saw huge stretches of snow.

A place where, over the years, I watched the snow slowly disappear during summer too early.

A place whose old road has now been bypassed by a tunnel.

And yet, it remains one of the most beautiful places in my personal travel story.

ROHTANG. MY LOST PARADISE. ❤️🏔️

And perhaps it is fitting that I end my Travel Diaries – Ladakh 2026 with this story.

Because this journey was never only about reaching new places.

It was also about going back to old memories.

This time, I travelled with my family.

I watched my wife and my girls discover mountains that I had been visiting for years.

And somewhere along the way, I rediscovered a few of my own memories too.

This may have been my 13th or 14th Ladakh journey, but in many ways it felt like the first.

Because I was seeing it through their eyes.

From Delhi to Jalandhar, Srinagar, Gurez, Kargil, Aryan Valley, Leh, Pangong, Nubra, Turtuk, Siachen, Zanskar, Shinku La, Jispa and finally Kullu...

Thank you all for travelling with us through these 12 days.

Thank you for reading my long posts.

I started these diaries simply to share our journey.

But your responses made me continue.

Tomorrow, I will be back in Delhi.

The journey will end.

The bags will be unpacked.

The car will be cleaned.

The photographs will be saved.

But somewhere in all those photographs, there will be a little piece of this journey that will always be missed.

And perhaps, years from now, when my girls look back at these photographs, they will remember not just the places we visited, but the crazy father who kept asking:

“One more pass?” 😂

That, perhaps, is the best souvenir this journey could leave behind.

Until the next journey.

Signing off from Travel Diaries – Ladakh 2026.

Dr Amit Tyagi ❤️🏔️🚙

THE END