What is Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)?
Negative health effects due to low oxygen levels at high altitude zones. Usually experienced after going 8000ft above sea level. Altitude sickness is the mildest form of AMS, where people suffer from nausea, headache, dizziness etc. With an average altitude of 10,000ft, AMS in Leh Ladakh trip is very much real.
- As one goes higher, oxygen in atmosphere decreases subsequently decreasing the oxygen intake per breath. Less oxygen causes breathlessness and hence altitude sickness.
- Spending some time in such altitude helps the body to adapt to the changes in oxygen levels, this process is called “Acclimatization.”
Situated at an altitude more than 10,000ft above sea level, getting to Leh can cause you altitude sickness if not taken into consideration. However, by following few basic precautionary measures, acclimatization to such atmospheric condition should not be a problem.
Here are 8 things to remember in order to get yourself acclimatized.
1. Stopover
Most of the tourists take either the Manali – Leh road route or fly to Srinagar and then take a road trip to Leh. This mode of travel gets you easily acclimatize to the atmospheric conditions while you are on roads. This is because, you do not directly land at a high altitude, instead you gain altitude slowly. The best thing about road trip to Leh is that you keep on acclimatizing day by day as and when you take stopovers and thereby reduces the chance of getting hit by AMS in your Leh Ladakh trip significantly.
On the other hand, if you directly fly to Leh, you land at an altitude of 11000 ft. Oxygen levels at such an altitude is comparatively less than what we are used to in our cities. This can cause a little dizziness and hence people taking such mode of transport are advised to stay in Leh for a minimum of 24hrs before going up any further or before doing any activity.
#TEETip: While travelling from Manali to Leh, avoid taking a night halt at Sarchu. Almost the halfway point of the Manali-Leh journey, Sarchu is a popular point cause of the comparatively good stay options available there. Even though there are good accommodation options in Sarchu, night halt at Keylong or Jispa is much recommended to avoid altitude sickness
2. Keep Calm
As you go higher, you ll significantly notice the extra effort that you will be putting for breathing. Don’t worry, that’s normal. That’s because the oxygen levels in the atmosphere is low which subsequently decreases the oxygen intake per breath. It is therefore recommended not to exert yourself in unnecessary physical activities at least unless your body is adapted to such conditions.
3. Hyderation/Overhyderation
Drink plenty of water. Keeping your body hydrated is important for the acclimatization process. At the same time, do not over hydrate yourself. Too much of even water is not as good as it sounds. It dilutes sodium levels in the body and can cause weakness.
4. Say "No" to Alcohol & Smoking
At higher altitudes, your body is already working extra to absorb oxygen. Alcohol & smoking affects your body’s capacity to adapt. Hence it is better to avoid until you acclimatize to the weather.
5. Halt at a lower Altitude
The thumb rule for every high-altitude trip is to visit higher areas during the day and sleep at lower elevation at night. Go around places you want to visit during the day but make sure to book your stay at a place that is at a lower altitude. This helps you to have a goodnight’s sleep and also acclimatize to the altitude you are at. You can then move to a higher altitude if required.
#TEETip: Avoid staying at Pangong Tso or at Tso Moiri if you have any elderly person in your group or someone in your group showing any symptom of breathing difficulty, headache or any other AMS symptoms
6. Food Intake
Eat high carbs diet while at high altitude. High calorie intake ensures that you are energized throughout. Food like rice, roti, butter should be in your meal
7. Medicine
While time is the best medicine acclimatize, there are medicines that help you with the symptoms. The most common medicine you can keep is ‘Diamox’. It helps the body in pumping oxygen faster. Usually it is taken few days before the trip. But can also be taken on spot if you start feeling ill. Keep other preventive medicines as required as well.
8. Descend
If the symptoms worsen, do not force yourself and go down. Take your time to acclimatize and then gradually go up. You do not want to spoil your trip by falling ill.
Any high-altitude trip is a little challenging due to the weather conditions. However, with proper preventive measures, altitude sickness is very much manageable. If you acclimatize yourself well, you may not even feel the altitude change.
We flew to Srinagar from Delhi and took a road trip to Leh taking the Srinagar leh highway.
We halted at Kargil (8780 ft), Leh (11562 ft) Nubra (10000ft) and Pangong (14270 ft).
Since we were on roads starting from Srinagar, we acclimatized on the go and did not take any medicine.
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I know a friend had to turn back from a trek because of AMS. It was extremely dishearting for her. All these tips are extremely useful for anyone starting off new in the trekking world.
yeahh during trekking it can be more severe Nishu
Turns out even I have an AMS blog post
I wish I had read one before my Leh trip
haha, you can refer for any other high altitude places or your next visit to Leh
I have done air travel to Leh each time. I start taking diamox 3 days prior to my schedule landing in Leh. Also, garlic soup is the first thing I take after landing in Leh. Rest the first two days. Loved reading it.
yes air travel requires an extra pre caution. Garlic soup is actually very good for acclimatizing. And yes if you can take 2 days rest, nothing like that
Rupali, Arka, gotta say, you have done a very good job on putting this together! For first timers, this will definitely help prepare a better mindset! After all this is a very sensitive experience for an unaccustomed body!
thanks guys, actually I (Arka) was taking my parents and had done a lot of research that time. Specially for aged people this steps are must to follow.
A very very pertinent topic When it comes to high altitude mountain trip /trek ..I do agree one should take it into account the physical ability and that each traveller is built in a diff way . This very post will help give many readers a standing instruction before they plan
exactly Debjani, we often miss the important aspect of acclimatization and venture out for higher altitudes immediately. Which can actually be fatal
This is something that everyone should read before heading to Leh.I have been there thrice, and never faced any issue, because i gave adequate time to Acclimatisation. One of things i followed on my Leh Road Trip back in 2017, was something that my dad did, when i travelled to Leh for the first time in 2008. That was to open the windows slightly, specially when proceeding towards higher altitudes. The reason, the air coming in, through the tiny opening , helps your body adapt to the thin air.
yaa fresh air is absolutely necessary and the night stay midway also helps to acclimatize. But yeah in 2008, you actually have seen much less commercialized Ladakh
Such an amazing list to read before one plans to visit Leh and Ladakh…This was necessary as its extremely difficult to find a list of things to keep in mind before traveling to high altitude
thanks Tanayesh, I was taking my parents and found that this can be a very important topic for this route
AMS is a terrible things to happen to anybody! I remember my encounter with AMS in Spiti Valley and it was a night of excruciating pain and suffering. The points listed here are spot on, and must be followed to avoid falling prey to this sickness.
ohhh, Spiti also can be challenging in terms of altitude. Thank god, you took proper measure and it was subsided quickly.