[rkbharat]

wonderful log.

BTW I not able to recall how the left turn in Kargil takes you to zanskar. IIRC, the left from the bridge takes you to the petrol pump and then towards Leh. If you continue straight through Kargil village that takes you towards Sankoo.

We first took left from the bridge for petrol pump, but came back passing towards NHPC office.

Ah you missed clicking some wonderful moments of festival at Parkachik, very rarely do we get see those. Lesson - always carry a camera with you, even if you are going for a nature's call in wild :P

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by lovethyrev

The storme itself is adding character to the pics. We have seen so many Leh travelogues, but the dusty beast smiling with the nature makes these pics really stand out. Gotta appreciate your effort.
Besides, I have a feeling that you visited Ladakh during the best time of the year. The liveliness of the greenery makes up for the lack of snow.
Subscribed and waiting.

Thanks for the appreciation mate! But Ladakh should not have been this green, essentially it's a high altitude desert. And snow was way too less. Weather/terrain is changing up there!!!

Originally Posted by voyageur

Really, the level of hard work put in is clearly visible from the snaps. But rejoice, as they have come out fantastic. Awesome indeed.

Waiting for more pics, and by the way have done any post processing of these snaps before uploading ?

Cheers

Thanks mate! Yup, used photoshop on the camera pics before putting them here.

Originally Posted by rkbharat

wonderful log.

BTW I not able to recall how the left turn in Kargil takes you to zanskar. IIRC, the left from the bridge takes you to the petrol pump and then towards Leh. If you continue straight through Kargil village that takes you towards Sankoo.

We first took left from the bridge for petrol pump, but came back passing towards NHPC office.

Ah you missed clicking some wonderful moments of festival at Parkachik, very rarely do we get see those. Lesson - always carry a camera with you, even if you are going for a nature's call in wild :P

Umm... within Kargil, we took a left at an intersection in the bazaar, went on a downhill road, took a right, went on a road (Circular road I think) next to the river, crossed a bridge and took the left towards Suru Valley. Also saw Hotel DZojila on the way. The pump and Leh were on taking a right from the bridge.

Yeah bud, lesson learnt!

[YanTra Makto]

Eagerly following, it is said that you have to see the valley in all four seasons to really know it. Well, I have seen it in autumns only and can not imagine it looking so green!

Rating all star

[prakhar1998]

Hey,
A very interesting travelogue indeed. Amazing photography with some amazing views. I am sure the Safari was a very loyal companion in this treacherous journey. BTW is your Storme 4X4? And I live in Noida too, maybe we can meet up someday. I plan on climbing these beautiful mountains in the coming years , well the dream is climbing it in an AMG G-Class but my pocket begs to differ. Anyway, well written and a very interesting travelogue indeed. I am eagerly waiting for more.

[madhkris]

Fantastic travelogue Lordofgondor and the pics are just awesome. Which camera and lenses did you carry along?
The storme pics are drool material! Your narration, pics and Storme are all gelling together to form a memorable read. Tell us some more on how the Storme performed and please more pics of the beast! (Drool)
Thanks for sharing and keep posting.

[lordofgondor]

I was expecting it to be cold in the night but it surprisingly wasn't. Even wifey commented that she was indeed overdressed for the occasion by going to bed with three sweaters! Anyway, I lazily woke up to a brisk morning around 6 AM and promptly went back to sleep. Don't blame me, it was the combination of the warmth of the blankets, the dark in the room and the chill I felt on removing my blanket. We had to get outta bed by seven as Drang Drung and camping at Rangdum were on the agenda. After a quick breakfast of sabzi & paranthas, we said goodbyes to Mohammad bhai, the caretaker, and were off. Soon came the main track towards Rangdum and we're confronted by a mean machine, the big daddy of all off-roaders, Mr. Bulldozer!! A road is being built and post 9 PM, they begin shaking the bejesus outta them mountains using tiny red sticks. Mr. Bulldozer was scuttling back after tending to it's duties for the prep work and now it stood in our way and it was a good old twist to the Mexican stand off. We're crossing a very rocky patch, with a small stream flowing on it and Storme's 4x4 engaged while climbing an incline when the confrontation happened. I made sure that "I was in no mood to reverse" was conveyed to the machine's driver, he just made it climb a few boulders lying next to the track as if they weren't even there and I passed comfortably. Just a weird thought but, just how awesome it would be to explore Ladakh in a bulldozer? You would be going slow, so you have plenty of time to take in the vistas. Bad roads, no roads; that terms won't exist. And you will probably end up helping some folks!

The standoff over, we resumed our journey but soon had to halt as we saw one of the many glaciers of Zanskar.



It was supposed to be coming down below the road, quite close to the river but I guess we're there in the wrong month!



Pretty sure the Storme enjoyed basking in the Sun!



Some distance off Parkachik, the road wasn't able to contain the swelling Suru and it began flowing on the track. The trouble was, we had to cross the track and were in no position to shoo the river off. Guess what, it was time to inaugurate the 4x4 of the beastie in Ladakh. I engaged 4H, let go of the clutch and it was a smooth sail through the waterlogged stretch. A 4x4 really makes you feel like the king of the road! Post the adventure, we're back on the rocky, sandy track with tall mountains, topped with snow, watching over us passing through. And did I tell you, the track passed through an exhilarating, beautiful valley.

Big snake slithering on!



Spot the road!



Valley View!



Wherever we looked, we could see towering peaks with dollops of snow on top.





Another interesting thing we saw were the bogs or marshes that were waiting to ensnare any off-roading overenthusiast coming their way. Luckily, we didn't take the Storme in there but I managed to get my feet stuck, thinking it's just some shallow pool of water.

Luckily it was just one, else I would have needed a winch!



Mountains @ Zanskar!



How time flew and when we reached Rangdum, it really didn't matter. We're lost in nature and that was the beauty of it. We're indeed doing what we'd set out to do. And it felt awesome sipping warm tea, with a cool breeze coming from the mountains...

The village of Rangdum!

[Kandisa]

Glad to see the travelogue is on. Crisp narration with beautiful photography as usual. The Storme has made the journey so far look easy. Looking forward for the next level of adventure.

[rahulsharma2008]

Absolutely lovely set of pictures ! I am sure you must have clicked hundreds of more pictures than that. Thank you for bring us the best ones. The Storme in brown colour makes the trip look even more dramatic.

[rawkeron]

beautiful pictures! I am sure the experience of being there would have been a million times more awesome than those neat pics!

Glad to know that Storme could master the harsh terrain and low oxygen levels so well.

It certainly lived up to Tata's claim as "Safari Storme - The real SUV"

[mksureshhere]

Beautifully written, picturesque travelogue, lordofgondor. Aptly titled - 'Storme in Ladakh!'. Your travelogue has increased my urge to visit Ladakh and experience the thrill that this landmass would pose. Thanks for sharing.

-mksureshhere

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Here starts my account of our travels, when we started from Noida for Srinagar on 22nd, hoping for 15 days filled with wonder. We expected to be awed, challanged, enthralled & showered by beauty. We were not disappointed, cause nature offered us these:

We were in for a thrilling TL spanning 15 days, and find that the flow has abruptly stopped soon after it all started.

This is not fair; you have not posted any updates for close to a month. All of us are waiting.

[gd1418]

Absolutely glued to the travelogue. You have a lucid way of narration. Brought back memories of my ladakh trip of June 2009 though I took the Manali-Leh route.

@Sommos: you remember ..gondor mentioned that he stopped short of throwing the fourth stone. So I guess Ladakh called him back, hence no updates.

Originally Posted by Sommos

you have not posted any updates for close to a month. All of us are waiting.

[Aroongupta]

Its 2.00 am and just finished the last of the posts on your both travelogues. Amazing stuff. Hats off!

If the pictures were top notch earlier, they just got better!

Already subscribed to the thread. Can't wait for more.

And my humble gratitude to you - post # 63 in my other thread to be found here

[Rajain]

Hi Lordofgondar

Nice narration, great pictures and the right set of wheels. Every Leh TL has its own story, its own pictures and every story has its own local narrative.

In July a group of us got together and had done the Leh circuit in - well a Tata Safari Storme and I drove 90% of the drive. It is an amazing drive and the vehicle totally lives up the capability. I wish they had not reduced the fuel tank capacity. But that apart we must celebrate what a lovely vehicle it is.

Our vehicle was also HR 26, and the same color too!

Keep em coming.

Cheers
Rajain

[ukoul]

Guys, Abhinav has been missing since October 2013...

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...se-help-2.html