HVK Scorpio Aug 12, Bombay-Behror, 1402 kms
Aug 13, Behror-Rampur, 692 kms
Aug 14, Rampur-Chitkul, 144 kms
Aug 15, Chitkul-Pooh, 207 kms
Aug 16, Pooh-Kaza, 178 kms
Aug 17-19, Kaza, 291 kms
Aug 20, Kaza-Jispa, 236 kms
Aug 21, Jispa-Leh, 374 kms
Aug 22, Leh-Kargil, 343 kms
Aug 23, Kargil-Padum, 248 kms
Aug 24, Padum-Kargil, 275 kms
Aug 25, Kargil-Leh, 259 kms
Aug 26, Leh, 148 kms Aug 27, 2011, Leh-Turtuk, 241 kms
From
Khardung la, we were to embark on a journey down into
Nubra Valley, which most tourists rarely attempt, they preferring to turn back after a day trip back to Leh. Nubra Valley is the exotic valley watered by the River Shayok, an important tributory to the River Indus. The Shayok itself originates near Tangtse close to the Pangong Lake and goes on through the NUbra Valley to merge with the Indus somewhere near Gilgit in POK.
Nubra Valley is part of one of the offshoots of the ancient
Silk Routes between China and Europe although today it is just another region in Ladakh, probably the lowest in altitude, and also the Gateway to the Siachen Glacier and the Akshai Chin region which was largely lost to China.
We left at
715 am from Khardung la, descending rapidly from the
5375 metres to 2800 metres by evening the same day! Last time we drove this way, we had to carefully negotiate ice on the road, but this time, the surroundings were bone-dry and we had to switch on the car AC to keep ourselves cool and also to guard against the dust raised by the military truck convoys that were going by! NUbra Valley appears to have gained considerably in popularity judging by the large number of Innovas, Scorpios & other taxis freighting mostly foreign tourists from places like Diskit.
North Pullu Check Post - this is where you show your permits again. The cops were sunning themselves - and very friendly - watching jawans being put through their paces in the opposite side of the road, since this is where jawans acclimatise before they are send on "punishment" postings to the Siachen Glacier. Many of the jawans we meet in these parts have been there and have horror stories to tell you about the bitter conditions and the heavy fatalities up there.
Some invigorating cups of tea helped all of us shake off the last vestiges of sleep and we were off again from North Pullu Check Post. For some mysterious reason, the check post cops told us that if we did not choose to return the same way (by going through Wari la), we are supposed to report to TCP at Diskit (I could not figure out the reason why, and in any case we could not find the TCP at Diskit). BTW, I am still insure of they restrict
night drives across Khardung la - earlier, they used to restrict traffic after 4 pm at either South Pullu (from Leh) or North Pullu (from Diskit) check posts.
The barrenness is broken by dramatic greenery from time to time as we drive past the village of Khardung. The
Shayok River View is surely one of the most magnificent views of the Nubra Valley where you can see the River plough its way past sand dunes (created by its changing flows in past years) through a super-wide valley. Unhappily, the water was too muddy unlike the later months (as seen in the year 2009) when it is a pretty blue. Compulsive photo opps here, and we descend further.
Branching off this road is the alternative route to Pangong via Agham, Tangyar & Wari la. Everyone is stunned by the desolation of this narrow road tracing the banks of the River as it disappeared into the far distance - our road for tomorrow! At 10,500 feet, we come down to the water's edge, but we also ran into a long convoy of trucks in a section where the road was barely one vehicle wide. That meant a lot of reversing and on-the-edge parking to let them go by.
We reach the fork where the left goes to Diskit (our destination) and the right goes to Surmur, Panamik & beyond to the
Siachen Glacier base camp (civilians not allowed beyond Panamik). The road to Diskit is an amazing stretch of straight road for some 3-5 kms where you can test top speeds of your vehicles at an altitude of around 10,400 feet.
See the Scorpio & the Swift racing on the straight flats
We follow the River Shayok all the way to
Diskit, the "largest" town in the Nubra Valley. MY Scorpio & Jeep Captain - the others decide to hang around - climb up to the Diskit Gompa opposite to which this tall
Budhha Statue has been erected overlooking the Valley, a place where you can get some panoramic views too apart from spiritual salvation.
Diskit town itself has nothing to offer beyond a few measly lodges, but it does have the
only petrol pump in Nubra Valley. You can easily miss it as you exit Diskit town - there is no structure, no sign board and even the pumps themselves look ramshackle. Don't be fooled by the looks, it is open 24 hours since the petrol pump owner or keeper lives in a small hutment next to the pump itself and expressed his willingness to be woken up any time of day or night if you want fuel. But alas, he was out of diesel, and so only the petrol cars refilled here.
Stock outs are common place in these parts, and do not snigger at the poor quality of the fuel which in any case is heavily adulterated with kerosene in these parts (some say, that is also deliberately done to aid calorific/ combustion efficiency).
By the time we crossed Diskit, everyone was ravenously hungry and I grandly promised them "dosas" for lunch!
DOSAS and sambhar? Everyone was incredulous, dulled as they were after eating only Omlettes and Maggis all these days. Yes, there is indeed an army canteen that makes good dosas at Hunder which was just 7 kms ahead amidst the sand dunes. So let us go have dosas, I said.
We reached
Hunder and the army canteen - but alas, it was closed.
Tip of the Day: If you are hungry for Dosas in Nubra Valley, do not visit on a Monday!
But Hunder is not just about Dosas, as we will find out soon.......
All photos are from the albums of team members.