[Itssandeep]

Originally Posted by aviorp

Descent from Sach Pass

Having done some of the passes like Nakeela/Lachungla and likes last year, I was under the impression that the descent would be slightly easier. Then, I got reminded about what HVK sir mentioned over the phone. He said, 'The descent is a lot tougher than the ascent'. I din't quite understand but after taking a couple of turns, I realized what he meant.

Superb Photographs and amazing travlogue...Its giving me a itch to just get out of the chair that I'm sitting in and simply start driving towards Ladakh.. Thanks.

Sandeep

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by sam003

Really scary roads but I enjoyed it and truly loved the pics. One questions roads were wide enough to take scorpio and bigger vehicle too? Like Fortuner?

Thanks Sam. Yes, Fortuner will surely fit in.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Wow that road towards the last part is really narrow and the overhanging hill is not helping either. But amazing road, you have to drive through this section to experience it.

Absolutely, you should definitely drive there sometime.

Originally Posted by Driving_Nomad

Awesome travelogue Aviorp! That video was just amazing!! It must be a breath-taking drive and each person sitting in the car must have been hearing each others' heart pounding I believe:-)

Thank you. You bet, the heart rate and BP did go up

OT: It turns out that Badri was my sister's classmate ..

That's nice. Will let him know about this.

[aviorp]

Thoroughly enjoyed driving this stretch,





What a Road!



After a fascinating drive, we finally reached Tiyari at 6PM.



We were still in a hangover after crossing that stretch, more like a guy who stepped out of the exam hall who would run around discussing what happened.

However, it was more of an anti-climax to this fabulous day. The trax guy told me that the road ahead is closed, due to a landslide and will not be open till tomorrow evening. We spoke to shop owner and arranged for a room. We then went to check how bad it was..







We came back to the room (shop ) and spoke pretty much only about that crazy stretch. Besides the trax drivers, there were some localites who were heading to Gulabgarh. They arranged for cab to pick them up near the landslide spot, from the other side.

Then we met this guy who was from a remote village. More about him in the next post.

Day's Stats : 106KMs in 12 Hours

[Farukh]

Sheer watching of the video is giving me chills this morning. Enough of adrenalin for the weekend blast

[aviorp]

Day 7 : Aug, 24th

Route : Tiyari - Gulabgarh -> 25 Kms

Though we lost a day, it was a good break for us and more importantly for me. The best part was, I got a chance to explore the beauty of this village. I was up by 7 and one of them who was stuck with us, Vicky, also came along. I spent a couple of hours doing this,

What a view to have from your room,



Apricot!



Raajma (Raaj mash, is what they call it)



Quite common in this region!



Some beautiful looking flowers!





These guys doing what they do best!





Wheat I guess!



Walnut!



We used a big stone to break it open. Took us some time though and that's how it looks inside.



This fruit was so delicious



A localite!



Potato plant!



Rajma!



Another fruit!



Flowers all over!



He is Vicky! He was heading to Jammu for an exam



Poor guy!



Some grain



Rest day for the big fella,



He totally deserved a break as he is been running for 6 days in a row



These two enjoyed being photographed,



but not this one!



He is having his breakfast!



Love this!



My partner doing what he does best!

[aviorp]

After breakfast, we went to check if the landslide was being cleared & went walking,

Something new,



Hard work!



Long walk!



Some views around!





The sand was glittering



We spent sometime watching how they cleared it,



and sat watching this,



We decided to go back and check the progress again after lunch. This guy was also waiting at the hotel, for the slide to be cleared



We went around 5 and the last bit was being cleared,



Soon, we were greeted by this,







Unbelievable valleys and roads!



This stretch was the toughest of the lot,







Once we climbed up this slope, we came across this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uYzs_to-cM

After crossing the stretch,



A Close-up of the stream,



Superb valley!



This made them even more beautiful!







Vicky, took us to his sister's place and arranged for a room. Had some delicious food after a long time.



The plan was to leave around 4 in the morning and reach Srinagar atleast by 2PM, but I din't know, I would have to do another 'Sach Pass' kind of road again.

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by Itssandeep

Superb Photographs and amazing travlogue...Its giving me a itch to just get out of the chair that I'm sitting in and simply start driving towards Ladakh.. Thanks.

Sandeep

Thanks a lot Sandeep. Please take off

Originally Posted by Farukh

Sheer watching of the video is giving me chills this morning. Enough of adrenalin for the weekend blast

Thanks Farukh. It does to me as well and just another video coming up of Sinthan Top, that might add a little more spice

[aviorp]

Day 8 : Aug 25th

Route : Gulabgarh -> Kishtwar -> Sinthan Top - Srinagar -> 270 Kms

We left Gulabgarh around 4:30 in the morning and Vicky came along too till Kishtwar. The roads from G'garh was much better.

At Dawn,





Astonishing!





What a background!



Pure!



What a start for the day!









Why can't we have a car wash like this in B'lore?



Dam construction!



Sunrise!



That's Bhandarkot?



We dropped Vicky at the Kishtwar bus stop at 8.



Huge play ground





That's the other 'Sach Pass' (which I dint quite know then)





That's Sinthan Top!



Ah the great Mughal road!



The road was awesome and I was doing pretty good keeping up with the time. So, we took a long break here, not having a clue of what was ahead.





Some weird looking flowers,





My only Portrait so far!



The fog was slowly building up. I was like, Not again!



The road transformed from a fantastic tar road into this,



Unique!



A landslide being cleared.

[aviorp]

Before continuing with the actual climb, here is a comparison between the roads.

Initial climb,











Mid-way it transformed to this,











The fog was now getting thicker,





What a stretch!



Mini waterfall,



Crazy top!



It first turned into uneven gravel surface,



Then it started raining,



It ended up like this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUROn3t6k_c

The Summit. Phew, what a drive!



The only shop,



It was around 12PM, when we reached. So, it took about 4 hours to do 80Kms.

Have a look at the difference in the road,



Lone Warrior!



The other side!





I was cruising along till we reached..









..HELL!



Reached Srinagar around 5PM and was just delighted to see my wife and the Dzire guys! We stayed at Malik Palace, opposite Dal Lake. Lots of stories and pics exchanged. We planned to leave to Kargil the next day at 6AM.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by aviorp

This is it. The whole idea of doing Ladakh again was mainly to drive on this stretch. Few pics before I post the video.

Between which two places in this stretch exactly? Its a hair raising video! Did you drive in 4H or 2H?

[KarthikK]

Senior, this has to be the most comprehensive Ladakh travelogue I have ever seen, on team-bhp and in fact, on the whole internet! Thanks for posting pictures and videos on almost every stretch of road and every incident you experienced on the way to Ladakh. The photos are exquisite, the videos together with the photos also give us a sense of having travelled along with you, and I am sure this travelogue has inspired a lot of potential visitors to do this road trip , me being one such admirer.

I am glued to the travelogue and keep checking it every day for your posts. Keep the posts coming. Most of my non-BHPian friends and classmates from BMS are also glued to this travelogue when I told them about our college senior who visited Ladakh in his scorpio for a second time *lol*, your fan base is bigger than you think .

[aviorp]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Between which two places in this stretch exactly? Its a hair raising video! Did you drive in 4H or 2H?

Thank you. Its between Killar and Tiyari. Mine is a 2WD.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Senior, this has to be the most comprehensive Ladakh travelogue I have ever seen, on team-bhp and in fact, on the whole internet! Thanks for posting pictures and videos on almost every stretch of road and every incident you experienced on the way to Ladakh. The photos are exquisite, the videos together with the photos also give us a sense of having travelled along with you, and I am sure this travelogue has inspired a lot of potential visitors to do this road trip , me being one such admirer.

Thank you so much buddy. I'm glad that you're following this thread. The trip has just begun to Ladakh now . Loads of stuff to come. Please do keep checking.

I am glued to the travelogue and keep checking it every day for your posts. Keep the posts coming. Most of my non-BHPian friends and classmates from BMS are also glued to this travelogue when I told them about our college senior who visited Ladakh in his scorpio for a second time *lol*, your fan base is bigger than you think .

Well, can't thank you enough now. I hope you take up this trip soon

[aviorp]

Before starting the log to Kargil, this is what happened to the Dzire guys in those 4 days.

After meeting them, I exchanged my story and this is what they told me.



These guys reached Jammu on 22nd (the day I reached Bairagarh) and stayed at one of their friends place.



The following day, they reached Srinagar (we were in Tiyari).



My wife was flying to Srinagar tomorrow and I was about 300Kms away. Fortunately, the Tiyari hotel had a BSNL landline. Called Badari and informed him about the situation and requested him to pick up my wife. Passed on the message to wife. This was sorted out.

So, on 24th, these guys first went to Kheerbhawani temple,



Then Badari went around clicking some birdies









When they reached the airport, they were told it was a Military restricted area. Confused, they went around asking people and found the right airport. After which, the security asked to remove all the bags from the car. So, Badari dropped two of them and all the luggage at a distant place, came back to pick up my wife. However, either of them had seen each other before So, he was looking for a lost soul and spotted her.



They went shopping in the evening,





The next day, they went to Gulmarg around 10 (I was somewhere near Sinthan Top)

So, they decided to take a horse ride to see a glacier.

Ishtyle!



Enroute!







They busted 1K per head to see this and worse all 4 of them had bruises on their legs, sitting on the horse for about 4-5 hours.



Well, Me and Pandu just exchanged looks, not knowing whether to feel pity or laugh out aloud.

[Driving_Nomad]

Scintillating pics aviorp!! Specially the Valley, river and the dam constructed.
The birdies' pics are good too
Give us some stats about the trip, like, time distance etc etc.
Glued to your thread.

[aviorp]

Day 9 : Aug 26th

Route : Srinagar - Sonamarg - Zojila - Drass - Kargil -> 220 Kms

We left Kargil around 6 in the morning, so we can have a relaxed drive. We stopped by the Dal Lake first before taking off,

The lake is huge and the hills surrounding it makes it look beautiful. The boats and the weather just adds to its beauty.







Re-union!



View from the place where we stopped for breakfast.





Badari's various avatars!







This is her first drive on the mighty mountains! Pandu as always, cool and relaxed.



Sathish's fashion at 10K ft!



Nature's fashion at 10K ft!







Shutterbugs!



Bug!



Feels good when you have a company and even better if the views are like these,



The roads are pretty good till Sonamarg,





and the views, just gets better!













Hottie gives a grand entry!



Reached Sonamarg around 11.







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