Re: Self-Drive Expedition Travel-Ladakh and cold desert Changthang in "off-season" Oc 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!
Last edited by adc : 23rd June 2011 at 13:54.
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