Leh -> Padum – Progress is making giant strides

25. September 2026

 

 

There is a new bus service running between Leh and Padum. For just under 9 euros, you travel in a super comfortable new minibus departing from Leh. I wasn’t traveling alone—I had Rinchen and Henrique with me. Henrique is from Portugal; he picked up on what we were doing during our last visit to Kharlam Cafe and decided to join us. We stopped in Neraks for breakfast.
 

 

 

Unfortunately, the bus driver was going a bit too fast—fast enough to make me feel somewhat nauseous, though without actually getting sick. On the upside, we reached Padum before 11:00 AM! I ended up taking almost no photos during the drive. The road is even better developed now, with no construction workers left in sight, and you can now make the trip every single day. Compared to the two full days it used to take, it still feels a little crazy.

 

 

 

 

In Padum, we went to Rinchen’s sister-in-law and brother’s place, where they have a lovely guesthouse. After having a little tea and settling in, we headed out for lunch.

 

 

Padum is still a strange place, full of ongoing construction and run-down corners, but it slowly seems to be showing more and more of its pleasant side. The restaurant wasn’t bad at all.

 

Afterwards, we set off on foot heading up toward the local gompa. Along the way, we spotted a small yak and a large one. The summer grazing season on the high pastures has come to an end, bringing the heavy animals back down into the valley.

 

 

 

 

The monastery wasn’t all that interesting—there were only three monks around—but I did manage to find another addition for my collection of weird wall paintings.

 

 

 

But the view was fantastic, and the best part was an unpaved, traffic-free road leading to a village sitting at the same elevation along the hillside. It made for a truly wonderful panoramic walk. Just before reaching the village, there was even a lovely lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also get picked up by car to head back down—or simply walk down yourself. Either way, I think it’s a great little hike that fits nicely into an itinerary.

 

Also the three of us worked surprisingly well together, even though the dynamic was completely different from being with Elsa. Henrique is at the beginning of a longer journey and plans to move to Berlin next summer or so. It feels to me like the people you meet around here from September onward tend to be a bit more relaxed and interesting. As we walked, the trail gave us plenty of time to talk, which was lovely and at times pretty intense. It really got the brain cells firing again—I thoroughly enjoyed that.

 

In the evening, there was a big family gathering at Rinchen’s mother’s house next door. His extended family is huge. We sat in the kitchen, where endless amounts of momos were being made, kids kept everyone entertained, and women clearly outnumbered the men. The men were mostly gathered in the adjoining room. We were constantly being offered food—and as the night wore on, I realized that the relentless pressure to eat, along with my constant need to decline, was becoming a bit much for me. It’s nice when people care about your well-being, but continuously? After a while, it just stresses me out rather than making me feel good.

 

 

 

 

I was also feeling a bit tired from a short night, taking in so many impressions, and all that refusing of food. And even though everyone was thoroughly likeable, I just wasn’t in the state for friendly conversation or anything like that anymore. So I was really glad to get special treatment with an early meal—there were meat momos, but they also made extra vegetarian ones just for me, which were ready first—and then be shown to my room where I could get into bed. A bit of a shame, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

 

This day makes for a somewhat short entry, but I didn’t want to lump it together with the next one anyway.