Julley! Greetings from
Leh, Ladakh; the land of high passes. The months of May and June are the peak period for Indians who live on the plain to travel up to the hill stations to escape the pre-monsoon heat. Most hotels in the Indian hill stations are fully booked and charge premium prices. It was estimated that some 360 million Indians would be on the move to escape the heat.

I continued the next leg of my journey inIndia via Kashmir. They were expecting a bumper season in Kashmir. Just as the tourist season was getting into full swing there were some terrorist activities targeted at tourist buses in Kashmir reported in the newspapers. Once again the
media just mentioned tourists in general. I decided to go on with my plan to go through Srinagar as I believed the militants were targeting domestic tourists in retaliation, as the major militant groups were going to have round-the-table talks with the government. The journey through Kashmir to Ladakh went peacefully with the occasional annoying tout trying to get me to buy something or rent a room in a houseboat.

(Taken from the Lonely planet) Kashmir
If there is a paradise on earth then it is here in Kashmir.
Mughal emperor Jehangir For More on Kashmir http://notjusttreks.com/news/latest_news.html

Talks have been taking place between political parties and the Maoists to bring everlasting peace to Nepal. Those guilty of Human rights abuses during the reign of the King are under arrest. They are waiting to be sentenced.
For more news on Nepal http://notjusttreks.com/links/links
All trek operators are expecting a bumper season in Nepal after a long time. As usual the more

popular Annapurna and Everest regions are going to be flocked by thousands of trekkers this autumn once again forgetting about beautiful Langtang. Langtang is situated just north of Kathmandu. Trek/tour operators have neglected it for quite sometime now. The innkeepers of this region have spent millions of rupees to accommodate trekkers in their lodges but as the trekkers have stayed away the people of Langtang are in near financial ruins.

As part of Responsible tourism we would like to invite you to experience the wonderful scenery and the rich cultural history of this region and most of all to help get the people back on their feet. To encourage you to join hands with
Responsible Adventures, we are offering a 10% discount on all departures for the superb value Langtang treks for the autumn of 2006.


For more details see http://notjusttreks.com/dnepal/superlangtang_valley.htm

Frederick Wilson
Legends of Mussorie