[Ravveendrra]

I have been waiting for this thread for quite a while. It is riveting and we are still in the prologue!

Voted for the 5 it deserves.

Thanks and cheers,

[realactivex]

"Wow Brilliant" -I quote my 20 month young daughter's response at seeing these nice pictures which you have so kindly shared with us. And her remarks dont come so lightly. She says it only when she is genuinely pleased. :-)

While she still has some way to go to learn to read the beautiful narrative so vividly presented by you, I deeply thank you for having taken time off to share those happy moments and your travelogue with the rest of us!

Rated Five star!

[Sutripta]

Hi,
Back after some time. And see I've not missed much! Though I'm sure as the travelogue unfolds I'll feel very sad and very jealous!

Regards
Sutripta

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This is a screenshot of the GPS trail we created on that day. The blue dot marks Zoji La.
Attachment 566443

One of the most beautiful drives, to my mind, is the road circumnavigating the Dal Lake. This is the road we took, heading north towards Kargil on the morning of 7th June, past the emerald waters of the lake and the Hazratbal shrine. You might say it was a late start, around 8 AM, but we were not worried - the local cabbies said it should take about 9-10 hours to reach Kargil.






After the Lake, the road is narrow and congested, and runs through multiple habitations, though progress was not bad at all. Once we connected with NH1D, the road became emptier, and the scenery more pleasant.


















Road widening work is in progress at many places along the highway till Sonamarg, and we found our first victim of careless driving on this stretch.


Drivers on this route (as well as many other stretches in the mountains) employ a pedal-to-metal driving technique, and it is not uncommon to find taxis ferrying passengers to Leh from Srinagar in 14-15 hours (departure 6 AM, arrival 9 PM). Often enough, one can see taxis stopping to let passengers puke out their large intestines, before hopping on to continue the journey. I salute those masochists who endure 15 hours of torture on these roads!










We had to stop a few times early into the journey due to improperly packed diesel cans, which tended to seep a little and left a (to me) heady aroma all over the car (but which was seriously objected to by the ladies!)

[SS-Traveller]

The good road continued as we headed towards Sonamarg, with a short stopover beside the Indus river, at this restaurant next to a glacier. Stepping on to the bridge requires a fee of Rs.10 per person, so said the guard sitting there!










Running the gauntlet of herds of sheep - a common occurrence on these roads...




And then we were awestruck by the sweeping vistas of Sonamarg...

[SS-Traveller]

About 5 km from Sonamarg is the beginning of the climb to Zoji La. We stopped at a holding area, a large open field next to an army camp, for 15 minutes or so. Traffic was coming down from Zoji La, and we were told that uphill traffic would be allowed from 12 noon onwards.

Then the climb began. Enjoy the sequence of photos depicting the road conditions.
























































And we were over the top, and the road became so much better.


Note the new road on which we travelled, as compared to the original alignment of the NH1D at Zoji La, on this GPS track.

[hvkumar]

You missed the darshan and blessings of Kheer Bahavani mata at Tullah Mullah off Ganderbal, a must for me when I am in these parts. Surely the most sacred temple in the Kashmir Valley along with Amarnath.

What time were you let through at the Sonmarg Check Post? What are the timings there now - to Kargil and from Kargil? I believe that this year it is 1100 am towards Kargil unlike last year when it was 830 am.

There are 2 roads near Zoji la, one the higher road - is this why your GPS tracks are showing differently?

When did you lose mobile connectivity on this route?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You missed the darshan and blessings of Kheer Bahavani mata at Tullah Mullah off Ganderbal, a must for me when I am in these parts. Surely the most sacred temple in the Kashmir Valley along with Amarnath.

There was a religious festival going on at Kheer Bhavani, culminating on 9th June, and we were informed the crowd was huge. It would have taken an additional 2 hours to complete the darshan, so we deferred the trip to a later visit to Kashmir. In any case, we missed out on places like Pahalgam and Gulmarg too.

What time were you let through at the Sonmarg Check Post? What are the timings there now - to Kargil and from Kargil? I believe that this year it is 1100 am towards Kargil unlike last year when it was 830 am.

12 noon. We were told that Drass-to-Sonamarg traffic is released at 8 AM, and stopped at 11 AM. Sonamarg-to-Drass traffic starts at 12 noon, and is stopped at 4 PM. Again, Drass-Sonamarg traffic starts at 5 PM and is stopped around 7 PM. The road remains closed at night.

There are 2 roads near Zoji la, one the higher road - is this why your GPS tracks are showing differently?

Did not notice two separate roads running, but it looked like the route we followed was newly constructed and completely unmetalled.

When did you lose mobile connectivity on this route?

Airtel stopped after Sonamarg, and BSNL connectivity was intermittent all the way. Wasn't working on top of Zoji La though, signal came back near Drass.

[Turbanator]

12 noon. We were told that Drass-to-Sonamarg traffic is released at 8 AM, and stopped at 11 AM. Sonamarg-to-Drass traffic starts at 12 noon, and is stopped at 4 PM. Again, Drass-Sonamarg traffic starts at 5 PM and is stopped around 7 PM. The road remains closed at night.

Hello HVK

It is very important to leave before 1 :00 Pm from Sonamarg side as afterwards they allow trucks which becomes kind of convoy - we were struck this time like in 2009 .

There are 2 roads near Zoji la, one the higher road - is this why your GPS tracks are showing differently?
Did not notice two separate roads running, but it looked like the route we followed was newly constructed and completely unmetalled.

Yes there are 2 Roads at Zozilla - while going to Leh you have to take a left on the pass - its a kind of straight climb - but this road was closed when SS traveled - we were most likely behind him - maybe about 2-3 hours ! They were removing ice on this road - it rejoins at about end of the pass - they want to have both roads open - the higher one for light vehicles

[SS-Traveller]

The following is a sequence of photos to describe the drive from Zoji La till just before entering Drass (the check point towards the Drass side). We hope these images would give you a fair estimation of road conditions to expect when travelling on this route. It may be mentioned here, the time taken by us to cross Zoji La (about 17 km) was approximately 2 hours, including breaks for photography etc.





















A breakdown like this means you are held up for quite a long time - even if you get yourself running again, the traffic is only allowed to run one way, and you need to perforce park and twiddle your thumbs till the contraflow of traffic starts. Saw quite a few cars stopped this way.
















Driven by and full of youngsters, this Ritz was going like its tail was on fire. Not often does one see a car being treated so mercilessly. We found them on the way to Leh the next day too, and then lost sight of them just before Leh. However fast one drives on these roads in a small car, the SUV beats it every time.

[lordofgondor]

Nice sets of pics of Zoji La mate. Crossing snowed Zoji La seems interesting.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

12 noon. We were told that Drass-to-Sonamarg traffic is released at 8 AM, and stopped at 11 AM. Sonamarg-to-Drass traffic starts at 12 noon, and is stopped at 4 PM. Again, Drass-Sonamarg traffic starts at 5 PM and is stopped around 7 PM. The road remains closed at night.

Tell me about it! In 2009, not knowing these times, I started scaling Zoji La from Sonmarg side around 5 PM. Needless to say, it was a nightmare. It started getting dark, the roads were pathetic and had to stop the car every 2 minutes to give way to trucks. Took more than 3.5 hours to get to the other side.

[rajeevn]

Thanks very much, Sir. This is an exceptional TL, especially as it gives us the road conditions as they exist today. Would be a boon for all those who aspire to be brave enough to do this trip.

I hope to find the steel in me next week!

[SS-Traveller]

The road from just a few km before Drass till Kargil is sure to pull at any one's heartstrings, with the many war memorials along the way. From Tiger Hill to Drass War Memorial, one is inclined to stop and salute all our heroes whose sacrifices continue to ensure our own safety.














But time was not on our side, and we had some rather hungry souls in both the cars. So we carried on to Drass for a short meal stop.









Breads of different varieties, boiled eggs (rideon dropped one to make sure it really was boiled!), some namkeen, fizzy drinks, a couple of cups of tea, and we were good to go in 15 minutes flat!



=======================================

Originally Posted by rajeevn

I hope to find the steel in me next week!

@rajeevn: Go for it! ...and treat that box of steel around you with utmost respect while you do it - drive safe, drive steady, keep your cool!

[SS-Traveller]

Coming off Zoji La, the area around Drass and Kargil seems more green than it really is. There are patches of green intermingled with barren and dusty landscape, but the road feels like a pretty decent one after Zoji La ...




until we came to this landslide-prone area which was being cleared.




Good roads once again, all the way into Kargil.


Really love this patch of green...
























5 km to Kargil...






Our hotel for the night. Couple of miserable rooms on the top floor, overpriced due to the rush, and we didn't have the energy to look around for any other.


On the plus side, H-4 gets a good underbody check the next morning while dreamily staring at the Indus flowing by in front! Makes for a lot less effort than getting under the car! The DZojila hotel owner also owns a Maruti showroom cum workshop right acfross from the hotel, where our vehicles were parked for the night. The mechanics on the premises were a little surprised to see the car on the ramp, but I didn't need to keep up my good doctor image at Kargil, did I?

[rkbharat]

fantastic pics Doc

but a peep behind that maruti workshop at kargil would have shown the harsh, bitter and dirty reality. It much much dirtier than our Yamuna :( . I was shocked to see that