[KSM-Vtec]

23rd August 2011 - Kargil - Padhum

This was the section i wanted to do during my previous trip but dint have enough time since this section can demand upto 4 days (like in our case) depending on the plan.

More about this later....let the pics do the talking for now!!!

[KSM-Vtec]

23rd August 2011 - Kargil - Padhum - Part 2/3

[KSM-Vtec]

23rd August 2011 - Kargil - Padhum - Part 3/3

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum

We moved on from Pensi La


Immediately we got the first glimpse of Drang Drung Glacier


The first views of Drang Drung Glacier




Drang Drung Glacier






Panoramic View of Drang Drung


View towards Padhum direction




A small waterbody


The team were freaking out at Drang Drung, while I was up on some hills clicking these pictures.

continued....

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum


I see the team on a rock


Seems like Mumbai Roadsters


HVK perched up on a rock


Yes indeed they are Mumbai Roadsters with HVK


Happy team mates at Drang Drung


BolBolero and SSj


BolBolero, SSj and no_enthu_da


BolBolero and AR


SSj lost in thoughts


SSj looking at what AR and no_enthu_da is upto


JeepCaptain


continued...

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum

Team Photo




After spending some beautiful moments we moved on from there.

JeepCaptain and NJ


A look back to the Glacier


Team mates slowly getting back to the vehicles


View forward


The roads ahead to Zanskar valley




YP's makhan roads




continued...

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum

CowDung cakes for fire


Views ahead


The road ahead




The Xylos which added spice to our drive




We also had a winger to add more spice


Some kids near a village


Some cereal cultivation




continued...

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum

Some more views till Padhum














Borewell Truck



Bridge on Zanskar




continued..

[laluks]

Day 12
23rd August 2011
Kargil - Padhum

We reached Padhum by 19:45hrs


Padhum has a proper eatery


We got ourselves some rooms in Marc guest house and another place nearby. Had some hot dinner and was ready to hit the bed.

But then no_enthu_da wanted to check out the sky.

Since we are very much away from equator, we could get some star trails. I did an experiment with a 10 minute exposure

Star trails


I was dead tired to try and find the Polestar to get the full circle. Me and no_enthu_da called it a day and cameback to the room and crashed.

[hvkumar]

Padum is an inconspicuous small town, base camp for those starting/ ending treks in the Zanskar Valley. It does not even have a petrol pump. Closed most of the year. Has a handful of hotels. Nothing in the town - no gompas, no Shanti stupas, not even a decent car workshop!!! Not a single tourist other than us - maybe there were some foreigners packing their trekking kit in one of the hotels. In and around Padum, there are a few gompas like Karsha, Strongdey, but unless you are a hardened cultural tourist or adventurer, difficult to hold your interest beyond the night.

Our plan was also made that way, the purpose of the drive to Padum was to enjoy the vistas of the Suru & Zanskar Valleys and the glaciers like Purkitchey and Darang Durung - those were the highlights of the drive today. We were to return the next day to Kargil the way we came. There is no other way out, only the same way we came in.

It was not very cold, but we did not miss taking some precautions to protect the vehicles from the cold.

[raul]

Oh man! Some stunning pics! Each and every one of them post card ready! What a place to be, awe inspiring landscapes and so beautiful to look at.

[gostel]

Thanks for all the lovely pictures guys. I am glued to this TL and visit the thread at least once a day. Kudos to the mumbai roadsters for their daring and also to no-enthu-da, for whom I would suggest an acronym of NED.
Keep it coming guys. I too agree with HVKsaar that BS is a true stylebhai for after driving hard for such lengths he maintains that smile and also that posture of holding the camera at that stylish angle.

[hvkumar]

Let me play you some videos - taken in my Car Cam - of the Khaltse-Batalik road that we took to get from Leh to Kargil. This road is the closest to the POK border (right side) and is restricted to only those who obtain a permit from the DC's Office in Leh. This is NOT the normal Leh-Kargil route (which goes via Lamayuru). This road branches off at Khaltse, is longer by almost 25 kms (259 kms via Batalik, but only 236 kms via Lamayuru), and has absolultely no traffic, lots of military camps and roads brancing off to presumably border outposts. The road runs along the River Indus all along till Batalik where the river goes off into POK.

The videos show you glimpses of the route:

Khaltse-Batalik Road 1 - YouTube

Khaltse-Batalik Road - 2 - YouTube

Khaltse-Batalik Road - 3 - YouTube

Khaltse-Batalik Road - 4 - YouTube

Khaltse-Batalik Road - 5 - YouTube

As you can see, if you miss a few feet, you are down in the River Indus, flowing down to POK - like what happened in a Hindi movie sometime ago (where Rishi Kapoor was the hero!)

I will bring you more videos, next of the Kargil-Padum route.

[sanjaykaul]

Fantastic, astonishing, breathtaking, unbelievable, incredible, extraordinary, outstanding, brilliant, wonderful, magnificent, superb, amazing, beautiful dazzling, gorgeous, stunning are few words that are coming to my mind.


I have been following this thread form day one and had decided to not to disturb the flow till the end.


I saw couple of comments and before they get buried, I though of shedding some light on them.


1. laluks: the fruit you saw in Leh is for sure apricot and not Peaches. Ladakh is famous for producing the best quality dry apricot. Unfortunatly the quality of dry apricots in market has reduced because other places have started contributing to the demand. It ised to be naturally dried few years back. Nowadays lots of people use Sulfur dioxide to make them look more orangey. Tragic but true. Not sure if Ldakh has got this “use preservative” epidemic too. (Your pictures are out of the world. I see a patient and enduring man through them)


2. There was a discussion about buying land in Ladakh, it not being possible, and somebody even suggesting marrying a local girl. I am not sure about Himachal but my limited knowledge tells me that Domicile laws in J&K are quite stringent. I am not sure as I am not a constitutional expert (so please don’t use this information anywhere or quote me anywhere), if a girl marries anybody outside state, she even loses the right to ancestral property (which she has the right otherwise). That’s one of the faces of the article 370. However, she still might be able to buy for herself (provided the “out of state husband” funds enough money to buy).


Pray continue with your fantastic stories and wonderful pictures.

(BTW, rated five, as if it does matter)

[hvkumar]

Some Car Cam videos from the Kargil-Padum drive on Aug 23, 2011, through the Suru & Zanskar Valleys:


The first sector from Kargil to Sankoo which has outstanding roads and is all green

Kargil-Padum Road - 1 - YouTube

As the roads become dirt tracks and ascent starts:

Kargil - Padum road - 2 - YouTube

Views of the Parkachik Glacier, after Parkachik town

Kargil - Padum road - 3 - YouTube