[adc]

@SS-da, welcome back! Definitley a great travelogue coming up and with all the humour way of writing. Hanle was missed or travelled?

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

How's one supposed to book the guest now?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Hanle guest house was never available to anyone who just walks by

As we reached late evening, we were taken by the local employee to main adminstrator and it seemed that there was a chance of getting a place, and also on what he said or implied, I concurred that some travellers could have stayed here before without booking.

But that was my conclusion from the talk and as Tanveer says my inference was then wrong.

Originally Posted by DKG

Hopefully I will visit this magnificent landscape in August.

Surely you will and good luck on your travel. And Kashmir, as I hear, the weather and conditions were perfect this time, will be on the lookout for your travelogue.

Any camera - images will come out good over here - the landscape is such!

[DKG]

Originally Posted by adc

And Kashmir, as I hear, the weather and conditions were perfect this time, will be on the lookout for your travelogue.

Yes it was lovely, and still some snow to top it all !

Any camera - images will come out good over here - the landscape is such!

Aha ! I think you are being modest sir ! Some of your pictures are outstanding in composition and while you may be right about the basics being delivered via any decent camera I do feel that so many of your pictures show a keen appreciation in you of beauty. I was particularly struck by the lovely homes you photographed, especially the kitchen and utensils were so beautifully arranged. Details in reality get captured only when you notice it and so much of these pictures reflects your keen eye !

real treat !!

[adc]

Hunder - Panamik - Hunder

Another beautiful relaxed day and it's camel time.















And we are now headed towards Panamik, just a drive but then we had another most interesting interaction, with a gentleman with a revolver!









contd...

[adc]

Hunder - Panamik - Hunder contd...

Panamik has a hot spring but that is more like a bathspot, nothing much of significance, but the drive is beautiful as such should be done. After all the barren landscape, Panamik drive with all the fall colours is full force does seem a little different.






The sulphur deposits at the hot water place.






And the bathhouse at the hot spring




And then something wonderful happened. As were leaving out from here, one local gentleman got a lift with us and as we engaged in talk, we soon find out that he had been to Calcutta to buy a revolver from the Gun and Shell factory in Cossipore, Calcutta. He was totally new to the city and got some wonderful help from a person over there who took him to the factory shop premises. The gentleman was totally surprised and carried good memories from the city.

Here soon we shared tea and some noodles from a local shop as he brought out some fresh apples from his garden and also his double magazine revolver - for the first time also checked out a real gun and real bullets.


The gentleman from Nubra with the revolver from the village Tiger, Nubra.





And soon he invited us to visit the local Gompa at village of Tiger.



















A great interaction with a fine gentleman of a person and we say goodbye to him and Panamik - a day well spent and again wonderful interactions with people who just seemed that they have known us for long!











As the day ended, mother and son got involved in some activities as I looked forward tomorrow's travel - a journey across a pass - the Wari la pass and then back to Leh




contd...

[adc]

Originally Posted by DKG

Yes it was lovely, and still some snow to top it all !

Ah! perfect! Would be exploring Kashmir side in future in more detail.


And thanks much for those wonderful comments! Definitely just like our other trips, the number of interactions that we had in the different places from all the different people and the warmth was there, has been amazing.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by adc

@SS-da, welcome back! Definitley a great travelogue coming up and with all the humour way of writing. Hanle was missed or travelled?

Thank you, adc. Yes, we had a great time too, but like you, I'm not getting the time to sit down and compose my t'log yet. Hope to start the first instalment from this weekend.

We missed Hanle, mainly because of being on a tight schedule, as well as having my 70-year-old MIL with us - avoiding too much exposure to cold. However, I wonder why you came back from the Pangong-Moriri loop and went back to Hanle again, when you could have diverted left from the Loma checkpost and gone to Hanle, then backtracked from Hanle to the eastern side of Moriri and coming down to Korzok. I was told there is also a direct track from Korzok (western side of Moriri) going to Hanle, which is better. Perhaps one of our intrepid explorers from T-BHP can take that route and put up a report with GPS track.

Originally Posted by adc

...Siachen base camp permit.

Low chances of going there (in peak season at least). Was told by my friend in the ADC (Army Dental Corps) that the SBC is off-limits for even families of serving officers posted there - he regularly visits the SBC, but has never taken his wife and son there.

Originally Posted by adc

...Habib guesthouse of Hundar...

LOL! Here are the contact numbers for future travellers...

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I was told there is also a direct track from Korzok (western side of Moriri) going to Hanle, which is better. Perhaps one of our intrepid explorers from T-BHP can take that route and put up a report with GPS track.

harsh has done this. I have partially done the segment. Its very difficult for 2WD. Plenty of sandy sections, and some rocky sections too.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

harsh has done this. I have partially done the segment.

Harsh's GPS track shows him to have followed the eastern shore of Tso Moriri to Chumur and Hanle. There is apparently a better track to Chumur through Korzok and along the western shore, as well as to Hanle, as told by one of the workers at the guest house I stayed in, who hails from Chumur.

Interestingly, apart from the "cut off hands of Chumur", there is also a (?wooden) statue in Chumur which apparently grows hair and nails year by year. Any idea about this legend?

[tsk1979]

Chumur to hanle is only one route through kyun tso. From chumur to korzok, their may be two, but harsh had to take diversions due to landslides and track broken.

[Coooolcat21]

I keep checking for updates here everyday and I am always amazed by every picture you post . I keep going thru the pictures over and over again in anticipation of what I shall be seeing on my trip to Leh.

@DKG
It will be great to see a TL on Kashmir .

Regards

[DKG]

Originally Posted by adc

Kashmir, as I hear, the weather and conditions were perfect this time, will be on the lookout for your travelogue.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

It will be great to see a TL on Kashmir .

I realise words and pictures can't quite encapsulate what I experienced in Kashmir. I honestly have never seen so much beauty in my life. Not sure if I can come even close but I will try to share with you all a gist of what a stunning place it is

[adc]

Hunder to Leh via Wari la

So after a relaxed stay and visit of Nubra, it is time to go back to Leh but not through the usual route, but through another pass that one can use to go to Pangong from Nubra side

Wari la is the new "remote" pass journey that has come up in recent times on travelogues and so we thought of trying it and what followed was one of a journey that brought the best of nature and that tinge of fear for the first time in the journey, what if VTT goes wrong over here - it was desolate beyond belief in this 3rd week of October. Will come to it later.


A great sunlit day though cold and we leave beautiful Nubra.









And fill up diesel from this "bombed" diesel pump, but then as the attendant said, one of best quality diesel one can get, even if the pump looks like this. And I believed him!







And the journey continued.











And soon we came across some beautiful brilliant fall colours.




contd...

[adc]

Hunder to Leh via Wari la contd...

And these wild brilliant fall colours enticed us more and more into the desolate Wari la on Oct 18, 2010.




















At the last of the remote village crossed, and when one sees a pickup slipping, when ascent is just starting, it's little worrying. Gathered information from them that the pass is free of snow as of last information 2 days before, when one vehicle from their village crossed over.




contd...

[rkbharat]

wow fantastic updates from Wari-La

BTW why was that pickup slipping? Is it snow? I know some of the sections has pretty steep inclines

[adc]

Hunder to Leh via Wari la contd...


There are some passes which are well known but lets say "touristy" and there are some which gives you that feeling as you approach it, and these when you get over commands attention respect. Over the course of journeys like Kunzum in October over Rhotang and like Tanglang la at a late evening and this [Wari la] over Khardung la.


Wari la for a 2wd loaded 2+ tonner is a clutch buster if one is not that careful but naturally one will be - it is desolate in the 3rd week of October and there's no one around to get you over if stuck. The engine stresses and whines as there's no gear other than the 1st for more than 1.5 hours it took to go to Wari la top - all other gears are useless.

The inclines dont show over in the pictures and pecuiliarly what I remember, some places where I thought was a just a flat between two inclines was actually an incline also and everytime a standing start with handbrake and squealing rear wheels had to be made as I stopped for photographs and just a little roaming around.

Absolutely make sure you have a good clutch if you are going over War la, clutch burnt smell will be there quite a few times.



As said, just before the ascent a real picture of a slide down. The incline does not come up in the photo



And again as said, the beauty of track attracts as we made our way to Wari la






























And a relief of descent after Wari la top, you can relax your reflexes once beyond the top!





And as the Shakti valley looks fantastic at those heights








And on the other side this eagle checked us out to see if we made it safely this side




And the descent side this side is easy to the village of Shakti




And then crossed the Chemre gompa to connect back to the Pangong-Leh road for Leh




That day ended with gossip with good hot tea on the Shanti Logde balcony, and Wari la remoteness and that lonely feeling of that pass surely again came again in the discussion - but then it was worth it - again one of the must-do journeys of Ladakh .





Now something happened in Hundar. Remember those wonderful hosts of Hundar [Habib guest house] - met one relative over there who does trek in Zanskar and he said a name "Koyoul" on the road to Demachok. Said that people like "us" would find it most beautiful and different. But then he said, the permission is hardly given as this is the most sensitve area and beyond Koyoul it is absolutely forbidden for any civilian to go unless with some good Army contact.

The moment someone says a "forbidden journey" it creates a spark among us, and what followed in the next 2 days will be The best journey till date. A journey through amazing mountains, desolate deserts -- let say as people after looking at images have said: If you combine Little Rann of Kutch and Ladakh, you get to the plateau desert land of Demachok and Koyoul - what a journey it will be and was!