[gearhead_mait]

Introduction

When one says Ladakh and combines it with a road trip, instantly a lot of things start processing within our mind. For we have seen a lot of pictures on social media and read a lot of content on internet over the years, about "The Land of High Passes". We have seen emotions of people ranging from jubilance to struggle, from ecstasy to misery, from successful attempts to unsuccessful counting of years going by and then looking forward to the next year.

Jaw-dropping landscape never seen before, barren mountains with streaks of color, vastness that terrifies even the strongest of minds and the place that changes the way we perceive the vividness of color "Blue" - Is this what Ladakh all about? Negative.
Ladakh is an experience that is almost impossible to pen down. These attributes are just a small part which superficially highlights the beauty of the region, but deep within Ladakh is an endless charm that attracts people from all over the world, countless times!

There are numerous stories circling around the region of Ladakh - the stories of people visiting the place, of the local inhabitants and their lifestyle in the unforgiving climate, of the monks residing in the ancient monasteries spread all over the region, of our soldiers who stand guard and perform their duty even at the harshest of climatic conditions and of the BRO workers who work round the clock to clear the roads in spite seeing their work being destroyed in seconds. May be these stories, the story of the people in Ladakh, that gives the place the true essence. The reason for which we see many people driving or riding all the way for thousands of kilometers to be a part of the story, rather an epic, called Ladakh.

Although a trip to Ladakh is straight out of a dream for many, it is definitely not a dreamland that one can sail through. If one is not prepared, it has all the ingredients to make the trip a misery to be remembered for life. Very High mountain passes, tough terrain, low oxygen level that tests the mettle of both the vehicle and the rider/driver/co passengers. Even for people flying in to Leh, safety is only ensured through preparedness, being aware of the problems of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and proper acclimatization.

Overcoming the difficulties to witness the majestic beauty of the landscape and be a part of it, that is how many have written their episode in the epic. And now it was our turn to be associated!


GPS track log of the entire journey



A teaser picture to kick off the travelogue | More Plains, Manali-Leh highway


Table of Contents:

• Day 1 - Kolkata(WB) - Allahabad (UP)
• Day 2 - Allahabad(UP) - Mohali (PB)
• Day 3 - Mohali(PB) - Manali(HP)
• Day 4 - Manali(HP) - Rohtang La - Jispa(HP)
• Day 5 - Jispa(HP) - Baralacha La - Sarchu - Nakee La - Lachulung La - Pang - More Plains - Tanglang La - Leh (Ladakh)
• Day 6 - Leh and local attractions (Ladakh)
• Day 7 - Leh (Ladakh) - Khardung La - Nubra - Turtuk (Ladakh)
• Day 8 - Turtuk (Ladakh) - Panamik - Hunder - Diskit (Ladakh)
• Day 9 - Diskit (Ladakh) - Agham - Shyok - Durbuk - Lukung (Pangong Tso)(Ladakh)
• Day 10 - Lukung (Pangong Tso)(Ladakh) - Chang La - Hemis - Stakna - Leh (Ladakh)
• Day 11 - Leh and its Marketplace (Ladakh)
• Day 12 - Leh (Ladakh) - Nimmoo - Lamayuru - Fotu La - Namika La - Kargil (Ladakh)
• Day 13 - Kargil (Ladakh) - Sankoo (Suru Valley) - Drass - Zozi La - Sonamarg (J&K)
• Day 14 - Sonamarg (J&K) - Srinagar - Ramban - Chenani Nasri Tunnel - Jammu (J&K)
• Day 15 - Jammu (J&K) - Amritsar (PB). Amritsar and local attractions.
• Day 16 - Amritsar (PB) - Agra (UP)
• Day 17 - Agra (UP) - Visit Taj Mahal - Varanasi (UP)
• Day 18 - Varanasi (UP) - Kolkata (WB)
• Conclusion

[gearhead_mait]

Planning for the trip

The preparation for the trip started in December 2018. Reading numerous travelogues, virtually going through the experiences of fellow travelers and jotting down important points derived out of it - that's how the initial days of planning went by. The most difficult part of the planning was preparing the itinerary and finalizing on the month of travel. Since the months of September-October had been quite generous to us in terms of weather in our Spiti drive in 2017 (Link here (Kinnaur & Spiti: Diametrically-opposite marvels of the Himalayas with a strong bonding)), we decided to stick to September for our travel to Ladakh as well. But instead to pushing the itinerary into October our trip, which could be a risk with so many high passes to cross, we finalized on the date from end of August - mid of September'19.

With the date being finalized as August 30th, next was preparing the itinerary. Single itinerary without back any back up plan wouldn't work, at least for Ladakh. So, initially there were three itineraries:

• Plan A- Going and returning via Srinagar
• Plan B - Going via Srinagar and returning via Manali
• Plan C - To and fro via Manali

In our previous long road trips to Kashmir Valley (Travelogue here (A drive to the 'Paradise on Earth' : 5226 km grand road-trip from Kolkata to Kashmir)) and Spiti Valley, HV Kumar, the renowned travel expert, had been our
guide cum mentor in the planning process. Though we experienced the deterioration of his service during our Spiti trip itself, but we decided to take his opinion and service in our Ladakh road trip as well. We prepared and shared the itineraries over the email and it was good. Plan A i.e. to and fro via Srinagar was our primary itinerary with back up of Plan B and Plan C. Everything was taking shape perfectly, until on the fine morning of 4th August'19, barely a month to our travel start date, the revocation of Article 370 and 35A in J&K was announced and Ladakh and J&K were proposed to be Union Territories.

I sincerely hoped that this was the end of surprises, but destiny had some other plans. Around the same time, the Chamba and Kullu-Manali regions witnessed cloud burst and R.Beas washed away important connecting roads. It was looking like the dream of Ladakh road trip getting shattered in front of our eyes.

In the next few weeks, there were many interaction with HV Kumar whereby he proposed Plan C (to and fro via Manali) as the only option, if the trip was possible at all
.
But who would have thought at that time that:

• 1) We would have to take the decision to drop HV Kumar's support, nearly at the start of the trip, in order to save our trip and ourselves (More on that later)
  
• 2) We would end up taking Plan D (Going via Manali and returning via Srinagar).

Road trips are strange. You plan something, but you get to experience "surprises". You pay someone for service, and end up getting help from unrelated and unexpected sources. It brings a smile as I type!

Nevertheless, let's get along with the travelogue.

Day 1 (Kolkata - Allahabad)

Working in IT industry, both my wife and myself, seldom have time to pack our luggage on weekdays. As a result, 90 percent of the packing was done over the weekend prior to the start of the journey. Apart from dresses and warm clothing, there are other items which are essential in a road trip of magnitude like this. To name a few:

• Tire puncture repair kit
• Portable Tire inflator
• Medicine box, including drugs for preventing AMS symptoms like Coca 200 and Diamox 250
• Oxygen canister
• Jerry Cans for carrying petrol (4*10 liters)
• One spare head light
• Tool kit
• Polythene cover for the car

Apart from the items mentioned above, four new tires were fitted on Sherdil. Previous set of Apollo Amazer 4G performed flawlessly for 54K kilometers, not only on the city roads, but also on long trips to J&K and Kinnaur & Spiti valley and a few other North Bengal, Sikkim and Panchalingeshwar/Kuldiha (OD) trips thrown at it. So, the choice was simple - Apollo Amazer 4G Life it is!.
The car battery was also serving for three years, so replaced it with a new one. Service of the car was done a month earlier than scheduled to nullify any surprises during the trip.

A little background on the interaction with HV Kumar at this point of time:

As mentioned earlier, the itinerary was finalized with HVK's consent. We bought the "Ladakh 1501" plan from HiVayKing portal two weeks prior to the trip (as mentioned in the website). Earlier the package was priced at INR 901, but for INR 1501 we were informed that we would get Rout-O(claimed to the best app surpassing any other navigation app available in the market) with maps of our journey loaded in it. Our MMI navigation along with google map support was sufficient during our earlier trips, but we thought an additional app would not do any harm. Everything was going fine until, 5 days before the trip, I pinged HV Kumar and requested him to load the maps in Rout-O, as it would help me understand the functionality of the Rout-O better. HV Kumar suddenly became furious out of no where and started replying in harsh tone - "My time is precious. Loading the maps would cost me 15 minutes and you think my time has no value. Blah, blah, blah...". I thought, hey, what did I ask that caught him off-guard. Only reply from my side was - "Time is important for everyone, Sir" and this resulted in myself getting the threat of withdrawing all support from HV Kumar. Nevertheless, without dragging it any further, I decided to keep silent and not ask any questions to him (But HVK says, planning, guidance, hotels on the move, support on the move. Is it actually so? I was wondering!)
Eventually, the maps were loaded and the WhatsApp group for hotel booking was created 3 days before the trip. I only said "Thanks" this time, not a word more.

The day before our trip, we returned from office early. We had our dinner and went to sleep after completing few last minute packing. Excitement was high, it was quite natural to be so, a road trip like Ladakh and that too with so many uncertainties regarding weather, political disturbances etc. Sleep was hard to come by

We woke up early around 3:30 am in the morning, loaded all the luggage and started from home around 4:35 am. Tire pressure and fuel refill was done last night itself while returning from office, so we made good progress in the early morning hours.

The boot space utilized fully


...And every nook and cranny of the rear seats used up


We stopped briefly at Shaktigarh for breakfast and tea. In these kind of trips where we traverse from Eastern boundary of our country to the Northern most frontier, extensive driving is involved in the initial two days (~1800 kilometers in two days). Coupled with the uncertainties involved in Indian Highways, this mandates minimal stops and sometimes even skipping one of the food break. So, we always have a bag filled with dry food in our car for east munching on the move.

After Shaktigarh, it was a continuous drive till Chouparan (Jharkhand).
Road condition till Dhanbad is fine, but then Jharkhand roads are being widened. So there are a stretches with diversion and bad roads.

Autumn is here! @Asansol outskirts


Road trips brings smile to the faces


We were at Chouparan around 1 pm and refilled the petrol from an Indian Oil outlet. It was time for lunch and we were looking for a clean food joint. There were many Dhabas on both sides of the highway in Jharkhand and Bihar, but not all are clean. We stopped at a Dhaba with decent parking space in front and which was relatively clean. Surprise was this was the same hotel we stopped during our onward journey to Spiti Valley as well. We ordered our lunch from the menu which would take less time to prepare. Roads in Jharkhand had slowed us down a little, we wouldn't like to slow down further. Within 45 minutes of stopping, we started off again.

Sherdil, in front of the Line Hotel at Chouparan


NH road quality improved as we entered the state of Bihar and we were able to make up some time. Soon we crossed Dehri-On-Sone and stopped for a tea break on the Sasaram Bypass, in front of Chandi Mata Mandir. This place is hard to miss as the roads are surrounded by rocky hills, which gives the place a trademark feel. Little rainfall when we arrived set up the mood perfectly for a warm cup of tea. A worthy break, indeed!

Tea break on the Sasaram bypass


In the meantime, as asked by HV Kumar, we were sharing our location over WhatsApp periodically over the day. After crossing Sasaram, we asked HV Kumar's CHD group to book our hotel at Allahabad. In reply we were told that Rout-O is not available till Agra-Lucknow Expressway. We thought, so what! We only need hotel booking to be done as promised. But, Mr. Kumar seems obsessed with his navigation app - where Rout-O starts, his service start (LOL). But the itinerary was finalized with HV Kumar's consent. End to end guidance, hotel booking - Where are the promises now?We then realized that we were on our own and we were sending the location in WhatsApp without any reason. On asking about the route to connect to ALE, Mr. Kumar even said that he would not provide any guidance before we enter ALE, period! What a service we bought!

(Though, its a separate matter that after checking into the Allahabad hotel (booked by us) and informing the WhatsApp group, the first question was asked by HV Kumar himself - "How was the road condition?" )

Nevertheless, we were not first timers in this route and we knew the hotels in Allahabad and their location from our past experiences. We stopped our car by the side of the Highway, opened up GoIbibo app and booked "Hotel Polo Max" at a discounted price, silently laughing over the HVK fiasco.

After crossing Mohania, diversions on the road started and it continued till the start of the Allahabad Bypass at Handia. There were countless diversions due to flyover construction over congestion prone village crossings and sometimes these diversions came within 500 meters apart of each other. The progress was indeed slow and we reached Hotel Polo Max around 10 pm. The staff at the hotel were courteous and helpful. They even kept the kitchen open late so that we could order food for dinner. Many thanks to them! We had our dinner in the room. Before going to sleep, I decided to quickly pay the Manali Green Tax (INR 200) and Rohtang congestion charge (INR 50) online and save the PDF in the mobile. It was far more convenient than paying while/after entering Manali.

Hotel - Hotel Polo Max
Room Type - Deluxe Double Bed AC room
Price - INR 1712/- from GoIbibo app
Comments - Very close to Railway Station. Proper public parking in front of the property with CCTV coverage. Very good property. Recommended.

Day 2 : Allahabad - Mohali

We checked out of the hotel around 6:00 am in the morning, but before that the staff at the reception was kind enough to print the documents (Receipt for Green Tax and Rohtang congestion charge) for us. The hotel being located at the centre of the city, taking the bypass would be detour. Rather we chose to drive through the city and merged with the northern end of the Allahabad bypass. As per our assumption, the road condition for this part of the journey was the best. We crossed the Kanpur flyover, refueled our car and stopped for breakfast. Déjà vu, again we were at the Dhaba where we had our breakfast during the Spiti trip. We started reminiscing the fond memories of that trip while gulping on the lip smacking Tandoori Roti, Dhaba special curries and kadak chai.

At the Dhaba after crossing Kanpur. Same location during our Spiti drive in 2017 here


An awesome start to the day


After a hearty breakfast, we were on the road again. Beautiful stretches of road till Etawah, where some rough patches exist. Last time, we took the service road through Etawah and turned right towards Karhal to connect to Agra-Lucknow Expressway.

This time a proper exit connecting the Agra Lucknow Expressway was already in place with proper markings and we followed the Google Maps to connect to the ALE.

ALE, smooth as ever


Needless to say, we cruised on the ALE and connected the Yamuna Expressway in about an hour.

Customary photograph point!


We took a small tea break after connecting to the Yamuna Expressway and continued further.

We had to take the Eastern Peripheral Expressway to avoid the Delhi congestion and as suggested by HV Kumar, I asked Monosree to start the RouteO app for navigation. My bad that I didn't walk her through the app before and as a result she got furious trying to load and use it for the first time on the go.

Feedback on RoutO:

1. Everytime you load the app, the map loads which takes about 2 minutes
2. You would then need to click on the map and navigate to a particular route as suggested by HV Kumar. Sadly, the app crashes every now and then and then you are back to square one on point #(1).

My wife has worked extensively in mobile app development and won state level hackathons representing the Company and is not a layman in terms of using a navigator. Yet she was having difficulty in using it for first time! Such was the usability of RoutO.

She switched it off and we started following Google Maps again and gladly we merged with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway which joins NH2 again at Sonipat.

On reaching Sonipat, we faced congestion due to flyover construction and we decided to stop for an early dinner. We stopped at Pahalwan Dhaba and ordered for Aloo Paranthas and hot tea.

Pahalwan Dhaba


Lip smacking Aloo Parathas with dollops of home-made butter- mouthwatering!


Our destination for the day was not yet fixed. We knew that we would have to take the Una route to Manali the next day and wanted to stay as close to the desired route as possible. We kept on chatting with HV Kumar asking for his suggestion for a place to stay overnight. Karnal would be too close and hence we fixed Chandigarh for our stay for the night.

We started towards Chandigarh and asked HV Kumar to book our stay at Chandigarh. He asked us to navigate through the RouteO app and stay in the Kurali route while he books the hotel for us. We kept on asking for the hotel name so that we could navigate and have an idea on the ETA, but he sticked to his decision and said we are quite far way from the destination so it was not the right time for us to know the hotel name!

Lastly when we were about 50 Km from a fictitious destination (which I had to provide in the map to be able to navigate somewhere!), I had to stop my car at road side and ask for the hotel name so that we do not travel to other direction by mistake! Finally, after waiting for about 15 minutes, he sent us the hotel name and told us to "only" use RoutO if we don't want to get lost and said that we would need to reach the hotel by 12 A.M at max to have our booking valid. It was already past 11 PM and I kept on driving without giving a thought on 'what if we don't reach by 12 AM!'

At about 11:45 PM we reached the hotel at Mohali and found that the parking that the hotel has is on the footpath! We were tired enough and were in no mood to have another round of chat either with HV Kumar or with the hotel staffs and checked in to our room.

The hotel staffs assured us that they have CCTV installed and nobody can harm the car if anybody does it would be recorded. Well, if it is already harmed who would have time to check the recordings and investigate! I cursed myself and went off to sleep.

Hotel: Treebo Trip Kamron-Hotel
Room Type : Deluxe Double Bed AC room
Price : INR 2000+GST. Booked through HVK CHD.
Feedback: Location wise okay. Room was not cleaned thoroughly. Overall, an average hotel.

[gearhead_mait]

We checked out around 6:30 AM from our Mohali hotel and glad to find Sherdil all intact. Thank God I did not have to test the workability of the CCTV cameras of the premise.
We took the Kurali bypass and started progressing steadily

A few kilometers after Mohali


We crossed the Bhakra Nangal dam on the Sutlej river and stopped for a while. Photography was prohibited in the area. We reached Una and took right turn towards Bhota.
This time we started the RoutO app from the beginning of our day and as a result the app kept on crashing (sometimes during vital turns) and we had to constantly run Google Maps and RouteO in two different phones and MMI navigator, as usual, fitted in the windshield. Felt like we were on a Mission!

Weather was a little cloudy and thoughts of the recent flood situations recurring in our minds. As we crossed Mandi, it started raining heavily and we kept our fingers crossed for the road conditions to not worsen. As we progressed towards Manali, the first sight of Beas sank our heart a little. It was flowing with tremendous ferocity and we could see chunks of road being blown away as if someone had a large bite on a piece of cake! Road work was in progress and BRO was allowing only one side of vehicle to pass at a time in areas where landslides had taken place. Road condition was also quite bad as compared to our last visit.
As a result our progress was a little slow. Our parents were off-course quite tensed when we started the journey and whenever they called, Monosree picked up the phone and said "Yes, the roads are fine, do not worry" and rolled her eyes asking me to shut-up so that I do not end up telling the actual scenario which would make them even more tensed!

A video of Mandi-Manali stretch (Please watch in HD setting >720P)
(Ignore the date time stamp, the dashcam setting went back to default and was corrected once we reached Jispa)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeJ2TOxuFFE

Few pictures enroute Manali from Mandi











River Beas in full glory!


At about 5 PM, we reached the hotel booked for us in Manali. It was on the Manali Leh highway. One has to cross a narrow bridge over R.Beas to reach the hotel. We stopped our car on the other side and decided to fill in the fuel tank and backup jerry cans. The petrol pump at Manali was located just one kilometer from the hotel where we filled the fuel tank to the brim and took an additional 24 litres of petrol in jerry cans. The workers at the pump assured us that the petrol pump at Tandi (last petrol pump after Manali and before Karu in the Manali Leh highway) was functional and petrol would be available there. But we didn't wanted to take any chance.



We had a chat with few of the local drivers regarding the road condition and then crossed the narrow bridge to check into our hotel. It is a nice property with clean rooms and a fantastic restaurant on the roof. We were mesmerized by the concept of the restaurant. The hotel owner being a travel enthusiast and a biker himself had designed the restaurant with the same theme. Beautiful travel quotes, stickers of various travel groups adorned the walls while another wall contained a huge hand drawn map of the entire Ladakh circuit. The tables were made up of gears and spanners. Motorcycle seats were used as stools.

We spent about half an hour looking and appreciating his idea and then realized we were hungry as well. The restaurant had a buffet spread (the table top where it was served resembled a scooty!) with veg and non veg items but we decided to have a-la-carte. The food was mouth watering to say the least and we also tried their home made apple ice cream.

We met a couple from Bangalore who were returning from their Spiti trip and had a chat before returning to our room.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention about our interaction with BHPian MU009. He saw the Team BHP sticker on my car, came up to me and asked - "BHPian?" We had good conversation for a few minutes and came to know that he was returning from Ladakh and going back to Jabalpur (MP). We gathered some vital information from him regarding the current situation of the roads.
Mu009 (apologies, I am not so good in remembering names) - Many thanks to you buddy and it was nice talking to you!

Our hotel at Manali - Ride INN


A special wall in the restaurant


A hand drawn map of entire Ladakh circuit was flaunted on opposite wall


Biker themed decorations around the restaurant





And, lip smacking food






Based on our research and what everybody had said or documented on travel forums it was evident that the route from Manali to Leh is adventurous, covering 5 high passes and very high altitude roads. The journey from Manali to Leh should be broken down to 2 days, if not 3. So, as per our original plan the next day stay was decided at Jispa as beyond that there was no place advised by any traveler for an overnight stay option without being affected by AMS.

On returning our room, I texted HV Kumar saying we would like stay at Jispa. He informed that there are no CHD tie-ups in Jispa so we could either stay at Keylong or drive straight to Leh. Keylong was about 25 kilometers before Jispa and as next day (Jispa to Leh) there would be more than 350 kilometers of travel, we wanted to progress as much as possible but stay safe from the risk of AMS at the same time.
We knew that there would be plenty of hotels in Jispa and was not much bothered about CHD tie-ups any way. HV Kumar kept on saying that people do Manali to Leh in a day and asked us to start early around 4 am and reach Leh by evening. I was doubtful and was giving a second thought of following Kumar's suggestion but Monosree completely ruled it out. We had already travelled more than 2000 Kilometers in 3 days and another 450 Kilometers in a day that too in such high altitude did not sound that convincing.
I then texted Soumitra Bhattacharya, an avid traveler from Kolkata who is well known for doing very long trips and driving thousands of kilometers at a stretch. His reply was "doable, but tough". All my doubts were cleared as something tough for Soumitra da would mean impossible for us right away.
I politely asked HV Kumar that we were tired and would not be able to travel or drive that much the next day, so we would prefer to stay at Jispa. Not sure what made him furious, he started typing long texts calling us impractical and far away from ground reality and as usual threatening us to withdraw the support.
We then decided not to indulge in any kind of chat with him as it was affecting our mood and trip as well. We sticked to our plan of reaching and staying at Jispa next day and look for hotels on the go.


Words that truly defined the state we were in


Hotel: Ride INN, Manali
Room Type : Double Bed AC room
Price : INR 2200. Booked through HVK CHD.
Feedback: Highly recommended! Only downside is the distance from center of Manali town, but location wise very peaceful by the side of R. Beas.

[gearhead_mait]

Woah! The morning for which we have been waiting for, was finally here. A nice, hot cup of tea sitting on the bed with a view of surrounding mountains, soothingly adorned by sunlight filtered through the thin cover of cloud, gave a perfect start to the morning. Much has been said on the Manali-Leh highway, the challenges, the beauty etc. but it's always special to experience it for the first time. Adrenaline was high as we packed our bags. We called up our parents, for we were aware of mobile signal issues going forward. The route ahead was rough, mobile signal weak or inexistent, help would be time delayed in days not hours - but who cares when Ladakh calls! Rohtang, here we come!

Climb to Rohtang starts


Initial few kilometers climb to Rohtang is beautifully lined with pine trees with old wooden cottages peeking through. The road is also tarred with few bad stretches here and there, which made sure that the initial part of the climb is not too adventurous. The morning sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds rendering an exquisite canvas of the valley below, as we made our climb towards Rohtang. But, there was something odd, something very different from what we had experienced on our way back from Rohtang to Manali in October, 2017 . The traffic!.At that time, the distance of ~50 kms from Rohtang to Manali took us more than 3.5 hours - such was the rush! But now, its almost empty. Few trucks far between and minimal tourist vehicles. It was unexpected, provided the Ladakh season is still ON and the route through Kashmir Valley is out of scope due to the ongoing restrictions. Probably the flood like situation around HP and devastation caused by R. Beas towards end of August turned the tourists off this circuit.

Desolate climb to Rohtang La. Spot the trucks, and the Tata Sumo!


Scenic beauty all around


Few bad stretches


And an unknown lake


Within two hours of starting our climb from Manali, we were at Marhi. Referred as the mid way point between Manali and Rohtang Marhi is the last
place with eateries/food joints till Kokhsar on the other side of Rohtang. In early summer months of April or May when Rohtang is closed for traffic, tourists go till this point to play around with snow. My wife recollected memories of her visit to Marhi with her parents when she was a child. There was no snow in Marhi at the time of our visit, but the lack of tourists rendered a peaceful ambiance to the place. We stopped our car to have a cup of tea before moving ahead.
As we were lazing around the place, we saw a PB registered elite i20 with 3 three Punjabi gentlemen inside it parking their car just behind ours. We had chat with the elder one of the three and got to know that they were also heading towards Leh. They were surprised to see a WB registered car being driven all the way, but it was our turn to get surprised when the gentlemen in grey beard and orange colored turban revealed that he was going to Leh to participate in the 42 km Leh marathon. His name is Satnam Singh and he was accompanied by his brothers on the road trip to Leh. Running 42 km at an altitude of ~11500 feet requires stamina and skill and Satnam Singh was not an amateur. He participated in multiple marathons across the country and was confident of successfully completing the marathon in Leh as well. Leh Marathon was scheduled on 8th September which would give an acclimatization period of 3-4 days before the finale. They had their breakfast at a food joint and moved on. We took a picture together and wished them all the good luck for the coming days.

As we were preparing to leave as well, a truck driver came up to me and asked if I was driving from West Bengal. On affirmation, he got us engaged in another conversation whereby he mentioned the congestion at Dankuni Toll Plaza (entrance to Kolkata) he faced recently and his remembrances of places in Kolkata. A local also joined in the conversation and came to know of our plan to drive to Ladakh in a small car. His instant reply was:

"Leh to bohut duur hai, aap to thodi upar ja ke hi ro doge!"
(Forget Leh, you will repent your decision to drive here after a few hairpin bends from here)

His comments did not inspire confidence, but it seldom does when someone sees Sherdil from outside. We know what's inside and that's what matters. Moreover, the truck driver asked us to move ahead before them so that they can help if we got stuck. With the assurance of the truck driver and Sherdil's track record in maneuvering across these terrains, we moved ahead with confidence.

The beautiful Marhi with "in-season downtime"


A picture alongside Satnam Singh and his brothers. Picture Courtesy : Monosree


A frame for ourselves!


As we progressed beyond Marhi, the road indeed turned from bad to worse. The tarmac vanished but that was manageable, for we have seen roads much worse than this. But from experience we know that when one spots a JCB by the road side in the Himalayan region, there is something to worry. After a hairpin, we indeed saw a JCB lying by the side of the road and there was queue of trucks ahead. The trucks were moving dead slow and there no oncoming traffic. From the corner of my car's front windshield, I had a glimpse of what lies ahead. A terrible landslide triggered by overnight rain reduced the road to a narrow, slushy passage restricting to one-way traffic movement. Traffic management was not an issue and it was being managed efficiently by an army personnel. Problem was the state of the passage which had nearly a feet deep slush with boulders strewn all over. Moreover, the heavy trucks had created deep ruts making things worse for a hatchback. As the truck in front of us entered the slushy patch, we decided to wait and watch its stance. It was dangerous as there were undulations on the stretch that could end up toppling the fully loaded truck.
The truck crossed over safely and it was our turn to try our luck. Following the track made by the trucks could be a disaster for a hatchback as there were boulders in the middle that could severely damage the car. So, it had to be one wheel (FR, RR) on the middle and one (FL, RL) on the leftmost edge where the cleared landslide mass was accumulated. As we went in, the slush got deeper and I could feel the tire slipping and hitting boulders lying among the slush. Taking it slow was not an option, but I had to slow down once for I could spot a sharp rock that could severely damage the left tire if I continued. And the car stopped midway! Being surrounded by deep slush all around there was no option to get down and judge the way ahead. As I was thinking of the way out, a truck driver came up to my side and assured that I was on the right approach and should go ahead without slowing down. Followed his advise and came out without any problem!

A video depicting a few bad roads in Ladakh!. The above mentioned incident is captured in the initial footage (Please watch in HD setting >720P)
(Ignore the date time stamp, the dashcam setting went back to default and was corrected once we reached Jispa)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8sVlLwcfCI

Crossing that bad stretch gave us the much needed confidence and the rest of the climb to Rohtang didn't pose much challenge. In fact, unlike many other passes there was blacktop for approx 3 kilometers on either side of Rohtang La. Challenges start before and after those precious 3 kms.

Top of Rohtang La - the first mountain pass of our trip




A quick check for any damage on the underside of the car - it was clean!


Roads may be rough, but vistas all around are to die for


Like all good things, the tarmac vanished within 3 kilometers from the top of Rohtang and on came a different avatar of the road that we faced while climbing up. This side of Rohtang was devoid of any rain but the boulder laden road made the descent trickier. Negotiating this kind of road continued for around 18 kilometers till we reached Koksar. Koksar is a small village on the Manali-Leh highway and there are a few dhabas around. We were already stressed out and needed a break before continuing on our journey. We ordered Aloo Paratha and hot cup of tea from a dhaba. The dhaba is run by a local from Lahaul district and there is provision for staying overnight as well. Around 5 tents were in place on the backside of the dhaba facing the mountains, but all were empty thanks to the tourist downtime. The breakfast served to us along with home made pickled vegetable tasted superb and the ambiance of the surrounding mountains was an icing on the cake, but we could not take the offer of INR 800 for a tent from the owner of the dhaba as we already made up our mind to stay at Jispa.

Beautiful village of Koksar


Post Koksar, the road condition improved. The weather on this side of Rohtang was clear and the sky was devoid of any nimbus clouds. Slowly and steadily, the blue sky that we all crave for on a trip to Ladakh, was making its presence felt. The beauty of Manali-Leh highway have been mentioned many times across various travel forums including the travel experiences shared in Team-BHP, but one has to experience it in person to get the feel of the place. The beauty that cannot be explained in words, nor can be expressed through some photographs. Only way to get the feel is to stretch one's arms out wide, whether riding or driving or simply walking down the lane, and let the cold winds coming from the mountains soothe your soul. If there is one place where one would like to get down from the car every 500 meters or so and simply walk, without bothering to look at his/her watch for once, it is right here. The place where the time gets defeated, or loses its importance over Nature!

Referring this as scenic would be an understatement


Hours would pass by, just gazing at the beauty


Vistas all around garlanded by mountains covered in snow!


We lost count of the number of times we stopped for taking photographs


Tandi, an otherwise small village, is special for riders and drivers along Manali-Leh route. The last petrol pump before Karu (35 kms from Leh) is located at Tandi which means the provision for 365 kilometers have to be sourced here. In our case, we already tanked up from Manali and were also carrying extra jerry cans, hence could have skipped filling up from here. But as I said, the petrol pump at Tandi is special. 5 liters of petrol was all Sherdil could manage to fit in, but still..

The Indian Oil filling station at Tandi


365 kms ahead without any Fuel station


Tandi bridge


Keylong(or Kyelang) came up shortly after crossing Tandi. Being the administrative headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti region, Keylong is more developed than Tandi or Koksar and has some good accommodations available for overnight stay. Keylong is probably the only place on Manali-Leh highway where we got Airtel postpaid network. We took this opportunity to call our parents and update them on our progress.

Entry to Keylong


Beautiful vistas continue



Keylong to Jispa is merely 23 kms, but the beauty surroundings was holding us back tightly. There were more photography breaks in the stretch between Koksar and Jispa than anywhere else on our road trips done so far. Moreover, staying at Jispa for the day meant that we could actually afford taking it easy and relax a bit.

We reached Jispa around 1 pm and our first job was to get a hotel. There were a few hotels in the area including a few tents by the side of Bhaga river. We randomly went inside a decent looking hotel and asked for a room. We were little surprised to find out that the entire hotel is empty and the caretaker of the opened a few rooms for us to choose from. On being asked regarding the lack of tourists in the area, the caretaker replied that the instability in Kashmir was one of the reason but more importantly the flood like situation and related damage around Manali and Kullu for the past two weeks wrecked havoc on the tourism. His fear was that the season for Ladakh may be over before normal time this year.

Each room in the hotel was very neat and clean having windows with view of the adjacent mountains or Bhaga river. When we asked about the price, we were taken aback when the caretaker said INR 800/- (off season rate).
He said that they have another property 200 meters away, where the rooms are better and that would cost INR 1000/-. We agreed to pay a visit and a young fellow, hailing from Nepal, accompanied us to the property. Keeping Sherdil parked for the time being, we decided to walk to the property.

Norbuling Guest House - the signboard read. A cute looking two-storeyed building with no other property around it, it looked impressive for a night stay. The rooms also turned out to our liking with a attached balcony having a spectacular view of the area. We ordered our lunch here and as it was getting prepared, I had the time to bring our steed back from the other property.
After lunch we had a quick nap in our room.

Sherdil entering the Norbuling property


Cozy little guest house - Norbuling


Mesmerizing view from the attached balcony of our room


Colors around the property


Around 3:30 pm we decided to walk around the place taking pictures along the way. Slow steps, squeezing through the passage between the tents we reached the Bhaga river bed, probably the best area in Jispa. The sun was slowly hiding behind the tall mountains and the gurgling of icy cold Bhaga river with chirping of Robins and Doves made our day. We just sat beside the river and stayed there till sundown, silently patting our back for taking the decision to stay at Jispa. A small decision that washed away all the tiredness and rejuvenated our soul!

Cloud formation around the peak


The beautiful Bhaga riverside


A Magpie Robin, enjoying the dusk


Bliss is pure, it can't be hidden nor re-created!


The evening was spent talking among ourselves, recollecting incidents of previous road trips and few from this one as well. We had our dinner early and retired for the day.

Hotel: Norbuling Guest House
Room Type : Double Bed
Price : INR 1000. Booked after reaching Jispa.
Feedback: Recommended for stay at Jispa. Food is also good but its variety may depend on availability of resources. Being remote, please don't expect every item on the menu to be available on demand

[gearhead_mait]

Nestled between tall mountains all around, the morning hours at Jispa is special. The morning sun floods the green meadows around rendering a glowing effect to the valley and adds a sparkling effect on R.Bhaga flowing gently. We woke up early, when it was still dark around and no souls around. A peek through the window revealed a clear sky with the stars slowly fading away with time. It was a clear indication that we were in for a clear, blue sky and what could be more relaxing than experiencing the beautiful road to Leh with such a backdrop lined with stunning barren mountains.

The previous night we had a chat with the boy of Nepali origin in the hotel, and asked him about the time it takes to reach Leh from Jispa. The answer was quick - "9-10 hours!.."

but there was catch in the continuation of his answer - "...for us. For you it will depend on the number of stops you give. We give minimal break."
Going by his reply, we were sure that the ETA for us would increase as we would be taking multiple stops en route for taking photographs.
Taking that into consideration, we started early from hotel around 6 am.

As we were driving along the zig zag turns of the mountains we could see the mountains steadily getting devoid of vegetation in the entirety. The view of the barren mountains, uniquely designed by the effect of erosion, all around with deep gorge on one side of the road was indeed a treat to the eyes. We never turn on the car AC in the mountains and that day was no different. Windows were rolled down slightly and the cold wind blowing over the mountains created a strange noise through the window slit before making our bodies dance to its tunes. Jackets and thermocots made sure that we enjoy the drive but it was indeed tough to hold on to the steering with bare hands. Sherdil's engine note was perfectly in sync with the winds reverberating from the mountains, only to be marred by the thump of Royal Enfield's engine, occasionally passing by. But a "thumbs up" from both sides synchronizes the feel, the passion, the dream associated with the journey of a lifetime!

Before ZingZingBar, we encountered our first challenge of the day - The Darcha Nallah. Unnoticeable till a sharp left turn, the bad portion of the nallah is not restricted to water flowing over the roads for about 20 odd feet, but the bad roads start around 100 meters ahead with puddles creating confusion over the depth of the water. But trouble started even before getting on the bad section due to the narrow trail of about 200 meters around the nallah. A single vehicle can cross over at a time and the L-shaped region(midpoint being the nallah) with blind spots on both sides ensured that its impossible to sight oncoming traffic before taking it on. I took the left turn and could see a line of trucks from the other side coming over. Backed up and parked my car along the side of the mountains. But the queue seemed endless and there was no way to indicate the truck drivers of our turn. Flashing of headlights didn't help - may be they didn't understand (very unlikely) or may be the road on the other side of the nallah was not wide enough(we found out later it was wider than our side). We waited patiently till the last truck in the queue passed over and then made our move. It was a first gear crawl all the way and with some careful driving we were on the other side of the nallah without much issue.

Darcha nallah!


ZingZingBar marks the start of the ascent to Baralacha La - the first of the four high passes to be crossed during the day to reach Leh. Apart from a 100 meter stretch of boulder filled road with flowing water around ZZ Bar, the rest of the road to Baralacha La was well paved and the climb was relatively fuss free. The elevation of 16000+ feet of Baralacha La presented a challenge of a different kind- the challenge to tackle Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Having driven to high altitude places before, we were aware of the complications arising due to AMS. So we were taking regular dose of Coca 200 from the day we started from Chandigarh.

With the gradual ascent to Baralacha La, we could feel the lack of oxygen and the wind speed had increased manifold times. In some places, the climb appeared tame with no hairpins but it was not possible to engage even second gear and it had to be first gear in the majority portion of the climb. The bikers were also struggling to keep momentum and with their body exposed to such brutal conditions they were at higher risk of AMS, if the ascent is not taken easily.

One may ask why take the risk and venture on this kind of roads and elevations. The answer lies on the place itself. The beauty around the Manali-Leh highway is unmatched and I am saying this taking into consideration the places of the Himalayas I have seen. The terrain is straight out of a fantasy book and we were now treading on the best portion of it - Jispa to Leh. What a beauty it is!

The bad stretch after crossing ZingZingBar


A drive through mesmerizing landscapes!


Photography stops were frequent


Magnificent Suraj Tal just before Baralacha La


Mighty Baralacha La top


Baralacha La, at an altitude of greater than 16K feet, was the first 16K+ pass we crossed during the trip. Just like any other high altitude pass, the top is devoid of any vegetation with snow at places, even in the month of September. Staying there for more than 15-20 minutes was not advisable, so we decided to click some pictures and move on. Before we arrived at Baralacha La, there were a group of bikers celebrating their feat of reaching the top. On enquiry we found that 2 of them were from West Bengal and rest from different parts of India. We exchanged greetings, took a picture together and moved on.

With the biker group at Baralacha La


Just like the ascent, the climb down from Baralacha La was relatively easy considering the good condition of the road. Baralacha La onwards one stays above 14000 feet all the way to Leh with three more high passes to cross of which the highest being Tanglang La at 17582 feet. This makes this stretch the most treacherous in terms of acclimatization issues.

Adding to that are surprises that crop up suddenly. Around 2 km from Baralacha La top, the good road vanishes all of a sudden with only a boulder filled pathway in front. Referred to as the Bharatpur Nallah, this place forced me to leave my car and walk through the boulders to get a sight of the exact path ahead. I walked for some distance along the dry, boulder filled road and found that the road turns left after a small water crossing. After the crossing there was a bailley bridge, the other side of which was partially washed away by flowing water leaving a small portion for one car to pass over. There was no one around to ask for directions, so it was a good decision to walk, judge the road ahead and then make the move.
I went back to my car, crossed over the nallah. There was a commercial Bolero coming up from the other side of the bailley bridge, so had to let it pass before stepping on the bridge. With careful driving we were out of the bad stretch, but the low oxygen level of the place and exertion associated with tackling these stretches were definitely not a good combination.

The Bharatpur Nallah


Next came the Killing Sarai. As the name suggests and going by its reputation, on a particular day this place can wreck havoc on the car. There is a bailey bridge over a river crossing which is in dilapidated condition and if it breaks, which happens often, the only way out is wading through the river. Luckily for us, the bailey bridge was intact but on the verge of being closed down due to repair. We requested the workers to let us through, which they obliged. Phew!

The bailey bridge at Killing Sarai


The alternate route at the place i.e. through the river


Road improved for a few kilometers after Killing Sarai and we made good progress. The 360 degree view of barren landscape with a patented blue colored sky, which is closely associated with the Ladakh and Lahaul & Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh, was unfolding before our eyes.
Soon, we could see the tents at Sarchu on both sides of the road. Although the thought of a night stay at these tents with the surrounding beauty may induce a sense of thrill but Sarchu, being at an elevation of 14K feet is definitely not a comfortable option for staying overnight.

Sherdil basking at the beauty


Straight out of a dream!


The tents at Sarchu


After crossing the tents at Sarchu, there was a hairpin curve just before the boundary between Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Within 100 meters of entering the hairpin, the tarred road disappeared completely giving way to exposed boulders with water flowing over the road surface. Unlike other water crossings, this one has the water flowing along the road rather than obliquely crossing it. The road was too narrow for two vehicles and only space for crossing of vehicles was right at the hairpin.
As I started towards the hairpin, 50m or so into the bad stretch, I saw a queue of trucks coming up. It was not possible for me to reverse along this boulder filled road with water continuously flowing underneath, which I indicated desperately to the truck driver. This time, the truck driver responded to my signal and stopped right at the curve. On seeing his move, the next truck also lined up behind him, leaving just about sufficient space on the left of me to pass. But that small space is laden with rocks that could damage the car if not driven carefully. As I was coming down, I visually inspected the area and chose the track I would use. It was a different story though that the bonnet went slightly inside the belly of the truck (without hitting it of course) in order to maneuver safely along the curve, but in the end Sherdil crosses over safely. But problem didn't end there itself. I could see that the entire stretch on the other side of the curve was full of rocks but the section just ahead of me was a blind spot. One has to get down from the car to judge the approach, but a truck driver came down from his vehicle and decided to guide us. He said:

- "Bnaye ghumaiye" (Go Left)

..and when I turned left

- "Nahi Nahi, lag jayega, sidha kijiye" (No, no. It will take a hit. Re-center the steering)

Then he scratched his head and said:

-"Samajh nahi aa raha. Apka gadi hai, apko utarke dekhna hoga"

I smiled and thanked him for he really wanted to help. I went down, my shoes got wet but the path was finalized and we were on our way!

We crossed over the boundary of Himachal Pradesh and entered Ladakh. The joy couldn't expressed in words. Leh, our destination for the day was still 250 kms away and it was already past 11 pm on the clock, but not for once the thought being late hit us. We were enjoying the journey more.

We stopped at a road side food joint and ordered Tea and Maggi. Coming from the Manali side, the food joint was probably the first one in the Ladakh region. The breakfast, although quite late, was indeed tasty and coupled with the view outside, it made our day.
We finished our breakfast, clicked a few pictures and as were bidding goodbye to the owner of the café - a Ladakhi middle aged gentleman, we heard him saying:

"Jullay!"

This was the first time we heard the word in person and it gave us a feel that we were in Ladakh finally - a dream come true moment!
Considering the altitude we were currently in and further ascent ahead, both of us popped in another dose of Coca 200

The road quality post Sarchu was the best we travelled on. Excellent surface, proper markings, appropriate road banking and demarcated places for layby.
And for the the scenic beauty around, I will run out of words to explain. Request everyone to scroll through the few photographs below

Us, in front of the food joint


This is the actual representation of - "Road on the lap of the Himalayas"


Excitement and enjoyment - that's what a road trip to Ladakh is all about!


Heaven do exist, but miles away from the chaos of the city


Gata loops, the road with a series of hairpin bends, marks the ascent to Nakee La - the third of the five high passes on the Manali-Leh route. There are shortcuts for the more adventurous soul, but we stuck to the road which was tarred all through the loop section. The Ghost of Gata loops is another story that unfolds as one climbs up the lopps (check the internet in case you are unaware). We didn't witness anything but looking at the collection of plastic trash (bottles of water thrown to satiate the thirst of the ghost), frankly it looked more terrifying than any ghost. We didn't add to our mistakes that would cause further degradation to the environment. Rather we emptied half a bottle of water at the place and carried the bottle with us. We let either the myth to continue or the thirsty soul get its share.

While climbing up Nakee La, I was not feeling well. Not that it was something very bad, but it started with a slight headache. The low pressure was causing the packets of chips and cakes, that we were carrying, to burst producing a sound that was no less than a lower decibel firecracker.
We reached Nakee La (Alt. 15547 feet) after climbing the 21 hairpin bends of the Gata Loops. We took some pictures and started our climb down from the mountain pass. The headache by then had spread across my neck and shoulder area and this was definitely not a good symptom. My entire focus went towards the "What ifs" associated with the fear of AMS. The location we were in, it would take a minimum of 6 hours, if not more, to reach Leh. And to top it all, there were two more high passes to cross after Nakee La, both having altitude greater than 16K feet.

With these thoughts lurking inside, I almost forgot a memorable milestone associated with Sherdil. Just about half a kilometer down from Nakee La, Sherdil touched the magic figure of 1 lakh km on the odometer and my wife was first to notice that. A reliable companion for us, one who loves the mountains just like we do, our Sherdil touches the magic figure and that too on top of Nakee La - truly a bond with Himalayas that grew stronger with time.

Magnificent view of Gata Loops


Please, No more plastic disposal here! The ghost is happy with the surroundings, he doesn't need your trash

Nakee La top


A memorable milestone at a special place...


..where the view from Driver's seat is like this


Seen at a distance is another zig zag climb, this time to Lachung La(Alt. 16616 feet). Picture taken while coming down from Nakee La


The climb to Lachung La starts just after the descent from Nakee La. On the midway, there are a 2 to 3 food joints, very basic ones. I stopped in front of one of those food joints for a cup of coffee. My wife was also feeling a little bit of stomach pain, but I was the one who was slowly giving in to the high altitude symptoms. As I went to the washroom, located a bit far from the food joints, I could see that my steps were unsteady. Came back and ordered a cup of hot coffee for both of us. Coffee did help a bit, but both of us took one pill each of Diamox 250 which we were carrying with us. I could feel the instant effect of Diamox and was feeling much better. But this was a temporary solution and I had to climb down to lower altitude quickly. Problem with the stretch between Sarchu and Tanglang La (141 kms) is that one is continuously exposed to altitude of greater than 14K feet, which poses a serious threat of AMS. Nevertheless, with the preliminary symptoms of AMS we were sure that going forward (till Leh) the photography stops, which were countless till that time, had to be cut down.

We reached Lachung La, another deserted high altitude pass standing at 16616 feet, within a short span of time. But the road condition from the Lachung La till about 2 kms before Pang village, a distance of around 20 kms, was in bad shape. It took us close to an hour to reach the village of Pang (Alt. 15280 feet) from Lachung La.

The most deserted of all high altitude passes crossed on Manali-Leh highway - Lachung La


Sigh of relief! The road turns like this 2 kms before the village of Pang


High altitude village - Pang


Pang has some options for overnight stay, but one is traveling from Manali this is not the right place to stay for the first night. AMS is for real in this stretch and can be deadly. Considering how desolate the surrounding areas are and being miles away from proper medical attention in case of any health issues, that too after crossing 4-5 high passes with altitude averaging 16K feet, one thing I learnt is that the criteria is to be "fit" and "aware".

After crossing Pang, the good roads continued and we were soon on the arrow straight roads of the More Plains. Just like the icing on the cake, the More plains are the perfect compliment to the Manali-Leh route.
Having driven at many parts of the Himalayas over the past few years and few parts of European and British countryside, I could say the beauty of More Plains is unmatched. Arrow straight roads with vastness of the open field evident on both sides bordered with barren mountains, this place would seldom make one feel that it lies at an altitude of greater than 15500 feet.
I was not feeling fully fit at that time, otherwise I would have taken the wooden chairs out of the boot of the car and spent a good half an hour just gazing at the beauty of the place.

The beautiful road of the More Plains attracts speeding but one has to be careful of the culverts which could make the car airborne. 60-70 kmph and one should be safe and enjoy the scenic beauty at the same time.

Place that incites the feeling of ecstasy


The More Plains - beauty redefined!


The good roads continued and soon we were at the top of the highest pass on the Manali-Leh highway - the Tanglang La (Alt. 17582 feet). Although being the highest pass, it has the best roads of the three other high passes we crossed over the day.

Tanglang La


As the sun was making its way behind the mountains, I was hurrying a bit to reach Leh. One reason being my health for which I needed rest, and the other one being we had to search for a hotel once we reach Leh. Yes, we decided to give up on the HV Kumar's support by then(More on that on the later part of the post)

I took just one stop for a few minutes between Tanglang La and Leh to splash some water over my face. For the rest of the journey till Leh, I didn't even bothered to look around the places going by.
We reached Leh city around 7 pm. My wife prepared a list of hotels in Leh which were suggested by fellow travelers in the various travel forums. Among them, we zeroed in on Hotel Jorchung and set the navigation accordingly using google map (Hotel Jorchung was not present on the POI list of our MMI navigation device).

For first time travelers like us, navigating the roads inside the city of Leh is a bit tricky. For fellow travelers, few lines below that may give an overall idea of the direction vis-a-vis POIs:

Coming from the Manali side, one would encounter a 5 road junction on reaching Leh. This would mean:

• The road to the left from the junction is the Srinagar-Leh highway

• The straight one, a narrow road goes towards the back side of Leh city and Shanti Stupa. This road also connects to Srinagar-Leh highway on the other side

• There are two roads on the right:
  1. A narrow one (slight left) goes towards the center of Leh city including the Leh Market, Leh Palace and a lot of hotels.
  2. A broad divided road on the extreme right goes towards Khardung La

In order to reach Hotel Jorchung, the straight narrow road have been a better choice as its less congested, but at that time Google predicted a shorter route - the narrow road through Leh Market. As a result we were stuck at stop and go traffic and nothing can feel worse than this after a long and exhausting drive from Jispa.

Nevertheless, we reached our destination and found the gate of Hotel Jorchung closed. There was no one around to ask for and the phone number that was updated in google for the property was also not working. Suddenly, we spotted a rotating lever on the metal door and on slight turning, the small gate opened up. My wife went inside the property, while I stood outside. In some moments my wife came back to me and confirmed the availability of rooms and I was a bit relieved. Shyamsundar, one of the two caretakers of the hotel, opened up the gate for us and we parked our car inside the property. After a few check in formalities, we were shown our room which was a double bed, relatively spacious room on the first floor. We got the room at a cheap rate of INR 1000/- per night, which in season time is charged at INR 3000/- 3500/- per night.

We came to understand from Shyamsundar that the lack of tourists have forced the owner of the property to do away with the chef. So, we would have to make our food arrangements outside the property. But, for that night though, Manoj (the other guy at the hotel) took our orders and brought us the food from outside.

We asked whether they could make some tea for us and Shyamsundar replied with a big smile "Bilkul, kyu nahi" (Offcouse! why not). Perhaps we were tired and a bit restless after such a long drive, that too on such high altitudes. But as soon as we got inside our room, we were feeling better.

Both of us thanked God, that we did not get carried away with HVK's opinion of driving Leh straight from Manali. We were sure to have died of fatigue and AMS! Monosree typed a fitting reply in the HVK CHD WhatsApp group. We unanimously opted out from the so called support and from there onwards, we were officially on our own! With no more of so called "support" (although there was hardly any since this trip began) and with an end to "..We virtually travel with you" mantra, the thrill of the Ladakh trip doubled.

Screenshot of the HV Kumar's chat in whatsapp and Monosree's fitting reply to end the episode:



After freshening up a bit, we decided to have our dinner and went to the dining area. While having our dinner, we came to know that Manoj would be leaving for his home at Jammu the day after. I couldn't resist but ask the way he would be traveling. He confirmed that vehicles are being allowed to pass through Kashmir during night time. He said he would start around 10 PM from Leh and reach Sonamarg. From Sonamarg, vehicles start around midnight and reach Jammu without stopping at any place in between. An important question toggling in our heads for long was answered and we had a slight hope to exit out of Srinagar route which would give us the opportunity to visit the Golden Temple at Amritsar, one of our long cherished dream. Manoj promised to keep us updated on this, but for the time being the focus was shifted to the dream that carried us here - The Ladakh

We went back to our rooms and had a well deserved night's sleep.


A video to recap a wonderful day - The beautiful Manali-Leh highway (Please watch in HD setting >720P)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMzsyuvajwQ&t=19s

Hotel: Hotel Jorchung
Room Type : Double Bed
Price : INR 1000. Booked after reaching Leh.
Feedback: Recommended for stay at Leh. Excellent location - away from hustle and bustle of the Leh city, yet very close to the POIs and walking distance from the Leh market. The hotel is adjacent to the house of the owner. The owner of the property and every member of his family are very caring and takes care of the requirements of the guest with due diligence.

[gearhead_mait]

We woke up a bit late and we were feeling fresh after a good night's sleep. Whatever fatigue and AMS related symptoms was accumulated, specially by me, was washed away. Hotel Jorchung has a wonderful terrace with 360 degree view of the mountains and with a clear and unhindered view of the Shanti Stupa. There was arrangements for chairs and a small table in one corner of the terrace whereby the guests can laze around sipping on tea/coffee. We didn't waste this opportunity and asked Shyamsundar to serve our morning tea on the terrace. Sky was absolutely clear without a speck of cloud and the pristine white Shanti Stupa with barren mountains around looked amazing. We spent some time lazing around and clicking pictures of the property.

The owner of the hotel came to meet us and we spent some time chatting with him. He chalked out a rough plan for us to visit the nearby POIs around Leh and assured us that the permits for the coming days would be arranged by his son.

Shanti stupa seen from the terrace of Hotel Jorchung


Can any place rejuvenate better than this?


Yes, we were gifted with clear blue sky!


Sherdil taking a deserved rest in the hotel parking, while Shyamsundar waters the plants in the beautiful garden


Every corner of the hotel feels lovely


The house of the owner of the property


As we came down for breakfast, we saw a middle aged gentleman waiting at the hotel reception. He was introduced by Shyamsundar as the younger son of the hotel owner, who would procure the permit for us.

Although one can procure the permits online as well, but a visit to the DC office is mandatory to get the permits stamped. Also, permits for few routes in Ladakh are not available online eg. Hanle. Most of the travelers in this route plan to stay in Leh for 2 days to acclimatize before venturing out to places like Nubra Valley or Spangmik (Pangong Lake) that lies on the other side of high altitude passes like KhardungLa or ChangLa respectively. That spares only a day time to explore places in the vicinity of Leh. There are beautiful monasteries, palaces and stupas around Leh that are worth a visit. So, paying INR 150-170 as agent fees per head (on top of permit costs) proves to be a worthy investment for buying the time to witness the beauty around Leh.

Documents submitted for the permits:

• Our itinerary - includes Nubra till Turtuk, Pangong via Agham Shyok, Hanle as well as we included the Dah-Hanu circuit for the permit procurement

• Photocopies of our Aadhar Card

After handing over the documents, we had our breakfast and got ready to visit the points of interests.

Sankar Gompa

We started our day trip with a visit to the Sankar Gompa. We took the road towards Shanti Stupa from our hotel. Our plan to visit Shanti Stupa was during the evening and stay there till dark to witness the dazzling beauty of Leh city at night. Instead of taking the winding road on the left towards the well known white colored architecture, we went through the narrow lanes of Leh. These narrow lanes adorned with tall Fras trees and with houses on both sides representing typical Tibetan architecture were a joy to drive along. It was so calm and quiet that one could even hear the sound of the wind whistling past the leaves of the trees. Google map guided us accurately and we were in front of the Gompa within 10 minutes of starting from our hotel.

As we parked our car, we found the entrance gate of the monastery to be closed. We knocked a few times when a foreign tourist opened the gate and informed us that it was lunch and resting time for lamas and that's why nobody was there to open the gate. We thanked him and went inside the monastery. The inside of the monastery was very peaceful but the entrance to the main shrine was locked, so we waited patiently outside appreciating the architecture of the monastery.
Within 15 mins or so, the head lama came and opened the gate of the main shrine for us.

Monosree in front of the entrance to Sankar Gompa


Sankar Gompa as seen from inside the premise


Leh Palace

After spending a quarter to an hour here, we moved towards Leh Palace. This was one place google map had difficulty locating, specially for the car. It was pointing towards a walking path that takes one to the palace. Nevertheless, with some help from the 'ever helpful' local people of Leh we were able to reach the Leh Palace without much of a problem.

The magnificent, multi-storeyed Leh Palace overlooks the city of Leh on the other side of Shanti Stupa. The building has a lot of historical importance but its elegance in simplicity draws attention. Just before the entrance to the Leh palace, a moderately steep walking trail goes towards the Namgyal Tsemo monastery. Being located higher than Leh Palace or Shanti Stupa, definitely the view of Leh city and surrounding area from the monastery would have been a treat to watch. But the steep approach road put us off!

We bought the entry tickets of the Leh Palace and went inside to explore the beauty of the architecture. On the ground floor there was large projector screen showcasing the cultural side of Ladakh and its close association with the history of the Palace. It was a wonderful start to the tour being able to know the historical background and how this palace turned into a heritage as it stands now. The Leh Palace has 9 floors and each floor has different layout with terraces facing different parts of the city. We were slowly getting immersed in the beauty of the Palace and the Archaeological department needs special mention for the excellent maintenance of the heritage of Leh Palace.

Stone staircase connecting the floors


The Buddhist prayer flags adds spark of color to an otherwise barren landscape - A beautiful contrast!


The Namgyal Tsemo Monastery, as seen from Leh Palace


Another view from the terrace in Leh Palace reveals the Shanti Stupa at a distance


While another angle projects the snow-capped mountains


A whole day can be spent in the Leh Palace, such is the engrossing nature of the architecture and its history. But as we had other places and monasteries to visit as well, time had to be managed well. Slowly, we were realizing that paying a visit Ladakh requires some luck but in order to explore Ladakh to one's content, time is required. So, whenever luck permits, bring in sufficient time along with it.

Shey Palace and Monastery

Next on our list, on the same Leh-Manali route we came from, was the Shey Palace and Monastery. Lying by the side of the road albeit at an altitude, over a small hillock, is the Shey Palace with an adjoining monastery. The main entrance to the Shey Palace was closed, so we chose to take the backward path, which in turn lead us to the Monastery. While we paid the nominal entrance fee for the monastery, we came to know that the Palace is currently lying abandoned as the King's current descendants have shifted to Stok Palace. But inside the monastery, the giant Shakyamuni Buddha statue made with copper, stole the show. Shey also offers majestic panoramic view of the landscape of the Leh outskirts.

The Shey Palace


Shakyamuni Buddha inside the Shey Monastery


"Hey, I am beautiful too!"


One of the Ladakh-scape!


Monosree with the backdrop, on the other side of the Shey


Thikse Monastery

From Shey, we went along the Highway for a few kilometers to Thikse Monastery. Thikse monastery probably span across a larger area than most of the monasteries around Leh with proper parking places for vehicles and demarcated approach and departure roads. Only deterrent is the climb up to the monastery with steep staircases and at an altitude close to 12K feet, the climb up wasn't easy. But the beauty of the surroundings with colorful flowers
decorating the walls of the monastery and with intermediate sitting places to enjoy the chill of winds, made up for the exhaustion involved.

Color against barren!


Scenic beauty around, as one climbs up the Thikse Monastery


The main building of the monastery


Maitreya Buddha inside the Thikse Monastery


Too bright. I need the sunglasses, please! At the Thikse parking


When we came down from Thikse, it was already 3:30 pm on the clock. Although, there were a few more monasteries in our list like Hemis, Chemrey etc that lies further South, but we decided to cover those on our later part of the journey. Stok Palace was on our wish list but the detour involved due the broken bridge near Choglamsar, made it out of the list. We were hungry by the time we were on the road and there were a few road side Dhabas near Shey and Thikse that could have been the answer, but Monosree's choice was Tibetan Kitchen in Leh. Hence, we were on our way back to Leh city.

There were a few hiccups involved as we went to a wrong restaurant at first with a similar name and then had to negotiate through a one way road. Ultimately, we decided to park our car a few hundred meters away from our hotel Jorchung and walk our way to the Tibetan Kitchen. It proved to be an excellent decision as within 5 minutes of walk, we were at the restaurant.

The famous Tibetan Kitchen


A day long excursion around Leh is indeed fulfilling for a soul accustomed to city scapes, but nothing compliments it better than a sumptuous lunch, however late it may be. We ordered Chicken Sabagleb and Mutton Thenthuk, the dishes that belongs to the core of Ladakh. And taste wise, simply WOW!

Our favorite - The Mutton Thenthuk


Chicken Sabagleb


After a hearty late lunch, we went back to our car, turned the car around and went straight to Shanti Stupa. With the evening setting in, the Shanti Stupa was all glorified with lights and looking down upon the city of Leh, perhaps blessing it with glory as well. It was such a sight to behold that we remain glued to the place till around 8 pm at night, however tired we were, just to relish the moments flowing by. Probably this is what is called - 'The icing on the cake'

The majestic Shanti Stupa at night


The glory of the city of Leh at night. Picture taken from Shanti Stupa complex


We returned to our hotel, reminiscing the events during the day. On return, we found our permits (for Nubra, Turtuk, Pangong, Hanle and Dah Hanu) ready at the reception of the hotel with photocopies done as well. It was a heart warming feeling indeed.

A wonderful day spent at Leh, which not only washed away all the tiredness that was accumulated throughout the journey till that time, but it breathed in fresh air to rejuvenate our souls and prepared it for even bigger challenges and better scenic locations that lie ahead.

Ending the days' note with a panoramic view from the Shey Palace

[gearhead_mait]

We woke up early around 5 am, packed our bags and were ready to hit the road again. Excitement was oozing out as this was the day we tread on one of the highest motorable roads in Ladakh - The Khardung La and witness the world famous beauty of the Nubra valley and Hunder Sand dunes. We have read a lot of travelogues and seen innumerable pictures of the Nubra valley before, but to witness it with our own eyes is something completely different, perhaps an answer to all the Why's, If's and But's posed by the challenges we encountered so far.

As always, in that early hours of the day Shyamsundar was ready with two hot cups of tea to bid us good bye. We asked him to keep a room for us on the fourth night from then, as we would be coming back to Leh from Pangong. We thanked Shyamsundar for all his help during these two days and started on our journey.

First we went to the Indian Oil fuel station located on the 5-way crossing and topped up on the petrol. We also carried ~27 liters of extra petrol in 10 * 3 lts jerrycans. Petrol was costly at Leh, amounting to INR 81 per liter, but considering the condition of roads and the risks involved to bring that in, the extra seems nothing.

After filling up on Petrol, we took the road towards Khardung La. Initially, the road went through some settlements but after a few hairpins we gained altitude rapidly and soon found ourselves free from the chaos of city traffic. Our permit was checked at South Pullu and we reached the top of Khardung La within 2 hours of starting from Leh. The road quality was superb throughout the climb and the entire climb was free from traffic. We saw only a handful of private and commercial registered cars on the entire route.

Shanti Stupa from a different angle. Taken from one of the hairpin bends enroute South Pullu


That narrow line is actually the road to Khardung La


One of the best photographs we clicked! Sherdil against a perfect background just before Khardung La top


We, at the Khardung La top


There has been debates regarding the over hyped claims regarding Khardung La being the highest motorable pass in the world or not. Whatever be the outcome of those debates, if one takes Khardung La lightly considering that the climb is relatively easy as 90% of the climb is well paved (only last 6-7 kms is unpaved), then he/she is surely in for a surprise. There is no second thought on the fact that Khardung La is a high altitude pass, and if taken for granted could pose serious health hazards leading to AMS etc. We could feel the lack of oxygen on reaching the top of the pass. There are basic medical facilities at the top and very unclean and unhygienic washroom. But the cafe was good serving piping hot coffee and other refreshments. As we had to limit our stay at the top to approx 20 mins, we ordered a cup of coffee for two of us and I must say it was a wonderful break interacting with fellow local travelers who were doing their daily job of traveling to and fro Nubra and Leh.

Post our coffee break and a few customary pictures at Khardung La top, we started our descent and reached North Pullu where our permits were checked again. There was a cafe cum restaurant at North Pullu, where we decided to have our breakfast. We ordered maggi with vegetables and a cup of tea for us. The washroom here was cleaner and a much better option than the one at Khardung La.
As we were having our breakfast, we saw a couple who were sitting on a table opposite to ours. Going by their accent, we guessed they would be from West Bengal. We initiated a conversation with them and came to know that they were on their Honeymoon tour to Ladakh. The lady was not feeling well and preferred to stay inside the cafe while her better half was all excited to click pictures and went outside. The lady was constantly asking their driver how long would it take to reach Diskit, their place of stay for the day. Looking at her symptoms, we doubted the initial attack of AMS which was confirmed when we asked them when and how they arrived at Leh. They landed in Leh via a flight from Delhi the day before and just staying one night at Leh, were on their way to Nubra Valley. Gaining altitude from New Delhi (~700 feet) to Leh (11562 feet) and then to Khardung La (~17900 feet) within a span of 24 hours is surely a recipe for disaster which many travelers, just like this couple, are unaware. Their response was that they have limited leave from office within which they had to accommodate the plan. But in doing so they couldn't judge the health hazard it can bring to the extent of ruining their trip and perhaps much severe than that. We advised them of the symptoms and how to tackle that and wished them good luck for their journey ahead.

Moments of a lifetime! Taken during descent from Khardung La


At the roadside cafe at North Pullu


As beautiful as it can get!


The scenic beauty changes on the other side of Khardung La


A cold desert, an oasis and River Shyok in one frame


While there are many reasons to get lost here, a desperate attempt to keep one on track


Driving beside R. Shyok on the way to Diskit


The landscape changed on the other side of Khardung La with the cold desert feel of Nubra Valley prominent with every kilometer we drove towards Diskit. Just before Khalsar, we were excited to see white sands beside the road which indicated we have reached the Nubra Valley. The scenic beauty was one of a kind with black tarred road piercing through white sands on both sides.
At Khalsar, the road divides with the straight one going towards Sumur, Panamik and Siachen by the side of the River Nubra, while the left one going towards Diskit, Hunder and further towards Turtuk. We took the left and continued towards Diskit. Just after the turn, we were driving along an arrow straight road cutting across what appeared to be as a dry river bed. The feel of the place is an experience in itself and we lost quite bit of time for photography breaks.

After the straight road ends, a few hairpins takes us again to higher altitude and within a few kilometers we were at the scenic village of Diskit. Just at the start of the village, a road to the left climbs further up towards the Diskit Monastery. An absolutely breathtaking monastery located on the top of a hill, overlooking the sands dunes of Hunder and blessing the Nubra Valley and Diskit village is the Diskit Monastery with the biggest Maitreya Buddha statue in Ladakh region. A journey to Nubra Valley is incomplete without paying a visit to the monastery and with the beautiful panoramic view it offers of the valley, incomplete would be an understatement!

White sands, just before Khalsar


Arrow straight roads and the surrounding beauty - A dream of every traveler!


Surreal!


Diskit monastery comes into view


Maitreya Buddha - Masterpiece of an architecture


Panoramic view from the Diskit Monastery


A visual treat!


Everywhere you look, its picture perfect!


Hours would pass just staring at the beauty around. No wonder Nubra is considered a gem of Ladakh


Next we went towards the village of Hunder. When we say Hunder, the famous sand dunes and bactrian camels comes into perspective. Our plan was to take a camel ride on the sand dunes of Hunder before moving towards our place of stay for the day at Turtuk. But as we reached Hunder, it was around 2:30 pm and we were told that it was the feeding time for the camels and ride would start around 3:30 - 4 pm. Considering that we have to travel 70 kms till Turtuk, it would have been late if we were to take the camel ride that day. So we decided to take the camel ride the next day.

We had our lunch from a road side food stall at Hunder and moved on. We saw a few hotels at Hunder and thought of inquiring for our stay on the next day. What we got to know that most of the hotels at Hunder offers (food + stay) package as there are very few food stalls around Hunder, but even after giving attractive discounts (off season), the rate was on the higher side. But the rooms were nice and clean and with our plan for camel ride the next day at Hunder, we kept the option open for these hotels.

Scenic Hunder


Sand dunes at a distance


A selfie with the famous sand dunes of Hunder in the background


Serenity redefined!


After lunch and little bit of inquiry of hotels around Hunder, we started for Turtuk around 3:35 pm. We had a chat with locals at Hunder and were informed that the road to Turtuk is in good condition. But at the same time, we didn't have any hotel booking at Turtuk and it has tobe done at run time on reaching the village of Turtuk. So, we have to check on the number of photography breaks on this stretch.
As we proceeded towards our destination, slowly the traffic volume decreased significantly. Due to downtime in tourist influx, the traffic was always on the lesser side, but on this road we couldn't spot another vehicle for, say, 15 kilometers at a stretch. After a few kilometers just like before Khalsar, we were again driving beside River Shyok. Only difference being the rapids and turbulence of R. Shyok increased many times as it was flowing beside the road now and we were presented a violent side R. Shyok. There are places where the bends in R.Shyok and its aggressiveness at those bends would increase the adrenaline for drivers taking their cars on the road whose base is directly being hit hard by the rapids of the river. It was feeling like anytime the road would be washed away. The landscape which felt one of kind at Hunder and Diskit, turned a bit on the rough side as we traveled towards Turtuk. Tall mountains blocking the setting sun completely, with large rocks dispersed on both sides of the roads, aggressive nature of R. Shyok as it was accompanying us and minimal traffic coming from opposite side - these factors instilled a state of fear among the two of us, more so as were unsure what lies ahead. My wife openly admitted her fear while I stayed calm and strong and convinced her that we will reach safely. Although, I must admit that at that time I wasn't that strong as I portrayed. But it was necessary to keep things in check.

After a few more kilometers, we reached a check post where our permit was checked and we were given a go ahead. We moved ahead and in this stretch we saw an Alto driven by a local and decided to follow the car, in order to stay in a convoy. As we crossed a Bailey bridge with wooden planks, over the aggressive R. Shyok, we saw a military officer sitting alone. We waved at him and made our way forward but the fear that we had till then was somehow washed away by the thought of the hardship that our Armed Forces go through in order to protect us.

Post the bailey bridge, there are a few villages before Turtuk, one of them being Boghdang. When we reached Boghdang, we were little amazed by the physical appearance of the people residing there. Later we came to know that they were from Baltistan origin. We did get a chance to interact with the people of Boghdang as well, somehow unexpectedly. There was a bad stretch of road right as were crossing Boghdang, where I had to stop and went out of my car to judge the way ahead without injuring the under body of the car. When I came back to the car, I found that our car was surrounded by little children on the passenger side. Actually, there were a few chocolates on the dashboard which was spotted by a child and my wife gave him a piece. And by the next second, around 15 more joined in. Their accent was different and we couldn't understand a few words, may be the same problem faced by them too. But there was no communication issue as expressions from both sides spoke more than the words can ever do.
Then an old man, probably in mid sixties, came up to us and said smilingly-

"Is bacche ko bhi kuch de do"

Everyone broke out in laughter and we obliged happily. The whole incident of hardly 10 minutes, but it will be etched in our memories forever.

When R. Shyok came into view, a few kilometers from Hunder


A board that says it all


The destination is indeed inviting


One of the bailey bridges with the quaint surrounding


The rough stretch of roads. But the word 'rough' is not pointing to the condition of roads here


After the Boghdang episode, we reached Turtuk around 7 pm. The last rays of the sun was kissing the sky and we started looking for options for stay around the village of Turtuk. But unlike other tourism villages around Ladakh, we could not spot many hotels. Only we could see Shyok River Camp, which was way too much costly at INR 10000/- per night, as confirmed by the security at the gate. We moved ahead and started asking the locals, when a local driver advised us to go ahead and after crossing a small bailey bridge take a left turn. We followed his advise, but with darkness setting in and being in an unknown village barely a few kilometers from Indo-Pak border without any confirmed place of stay, was indeed uncomforting. After taking the left turn, we stopped our car and I got down to speak to some of the locals. But they were unable to understand our language and vice versa. Ultimately, the same driver who pointed us the directions, came up and asked us to park our car at the car parking spot a few meters ahead, cross the wooden walking bridge and go through the village road. He also informed us that there are a few good guest houses such as Kharmang Guest House and others.

We followed his advise, parked our car and crossed the wooden bridge to tread on the village road. A narrow walking road twisting and turning between the houses, with small children looking down from the houses above in little surprise seeing the visitors walking on their roads. We saw a Cafe on the right side and asked for the Kharmang Guest House. They pointed us about 100 meters ahead. And at last we were standing beside the signboard reading "Kharmang Guest House". The next moment one guy came up to us and we asked for the availability of rooms. He showed us a room with attached toilet facing a beautiful garden. The room was basic but clean with clean washroom and being priced at INR 900/-, was a good deal. We immediately decided to move in. My wife was still in little bit of fear of the surroundings. Turtuk, as we found out, is a favorite among foreign nationals. We didn't see a single Indian tourist, but the entire guest house was booked by foreigners. A guy at the guest house helped us bring in the luggages from our car, which was parked far away, on the other side of the bridge.
We decided to have our dinner from the Cafe that we spotted on our way to Kharmang. As we moved out of our hotel, a beautiful voice of a young girl (~ 10 years) asked us -

"Aap kahan se ho?"

Monosree replied with a smile: "West Bengal se. Jante ho aap woh kaha hai?"

Young girl : "Nahi. Apka naam kya hai?"

Monosree : "Main Monosree. Aapka naam kya hai?"

Young girl : "Mera naam Ayesha!"

This short interaction with the girl indeed reduced the anxiety of Monosree and she was feeling much better, at least a little bit connected to the place now.

We were bit worried about our car being parked far away, but sometimes we have to settle with a little bit of anxiety having a little bit of trust on our surroundings. We went to Friends Cafe, where we found a few foreign nationals having dinner. We ordered a local dish "Kashmiri Aloo dum" with Roti, in spite of the warning from the cafe guy that it may not taste that good to us. They were right and it was indeed too sour for our taste, but we didn't waste the food.
After an eventful day, we went back to our room and called it a day.

The beautiful village of Turtuk


Hotel: Kharmang Guest House
Room Type : Double Bed with attached toilet.
Price : INR 900. Booked after reaching Turtuk.
Feedback:
Pros : Located right in the middle of the village, with rooms facing beautiful garden. Scenic location surrounded by mountains. Restaurant within the property, but prior ordering has to be done
Cons : Basic room and facilities. Car parking far away.

[gearhead_mait]

Turtuk may not exactly fall into the same perspective like the other places in Ladakh, but it has a feel of its own. A feel that one can sense only with the passing time - something like the opposite of "Love at first sight"! Turtuk is not only about the place, its about the people living there, their daily routine, their hardships day in and day out and a smile at the end of it.

Last night while we were coming back from Friend's Café, it was around 9 pm at night. It was pitch black all around, only the trail was lighted with dim street lights, that too at large intervals. Under one such street light, we interacted with a little child named "Shoaib" and his mother. At that time the lady was washing the clothes in icy cold water coming from the mountain streams while Shoaib was playing around. Studying at 2nd standard, he is a jolly little boy. We spent quite some time chatting with him, giving him a background of our city Kolkata, where we live in. In return, he shared some stories of his daily lifestyle, his school and his friends. All this while, his mother was silently laughing at Shoaib's reply while continuing on her work. These small interactions, the stories being shared become memories of a lifetime.

We would have liked to spend another day at Turtuk, but we only had this day to explore the other side of Nubra. We packed our bags and went towards the car parking.

Beautiful village of Turtuk


The narrow trail running through the village


Aerial view of the wooden bridge with the car parking area in the background


The wooden bridge at Turtuk


We were glad to see Sherdil parked overnight in a secluded parking area. After loading the luggage and setting up the MapMyIndia device (mobile tower was not present, so google map was of no help) we were on our way to the other side of Nubra - The road that leads to Siachen.

There is only one route to and fro Diskit and Turtuk, so we were on the same path as the previous day. But the landscape looked different in the bright morning sun and with the cool breeze coming down the mountains, the drive was awesome.

Somewhere near Chalunkya


Where has the road gone?


The story of barren mountains and empty roads


Who wants to stay inside the car when the weather is like this!


Happiness inside!


We didn't stop at Hunder, instead our plan was to go directly to Sumur and Panamik Hot Springs, spend some time there and come back in the evening for the bactrian camel ride at the Hunder Sand Dunes. We reached the village of Diskit in 3 hours from Turtuk and stopped for breakfast at a dhaba right at the junction of the road that leads to the village of Diskit. We went towards the market to get some more photocopies of the permit, in case we need that. After coming back to the dhaba we found a familiar PB registered Elite i20 parked in front of our car. On seeing us, out came three gentlemen with broad smile on their faces. It was Satnam Singh and his cousins whom we met at Marhi 4 days back. They were happy to see us and we exchanged greetings. That's the beauty of road trips - unknown people become closest of friends within a span of a few days. Satnam Singh, still on the acclimatization process for the Leh Marathon scheduled 2 days from then, was coming from Pangong via the Agham-Shyok route. He advised us to be extra cautious as they had some trouble in the route with a few water crossings. We thanked him and wished him the best for the journey ahead as well for the Marathon.

After breakfast as we were going towards Diskit Monastery, we spotted a nice hotel by the side of the road named "Sonam Guest House". Monosree decided to inquire of the room availability for the day and came back with the key of a room. The rate was INR 900/- for a spacious and clean room with a attached balcony, offering picturesque view of the mountains and Maitreya Buddha clearly seen as well. It was a good deal, that was only possible as there are hardly any tourists around the place at that time. We were indeed lucky to explore Ladakh at a time when it was nearly devoid of tourist influx and the weather god has been very kind to us.

We kept a few of the luggage inside our room in the hotel and started again.
At the junction of Khalsar, we took the left turn and after a few kilometers crossed the bailey bridge over R. Shyok and we were on the other side of Diskit and Hunder. The road is relatively free from traffic with the road condition deteriorating at places. For one driving along this route, there are a few culverts with water crossings which seems innocent at first sight. But the culverts are broken at certain places which may cause damage to vehicles, if one is not careful. Suggestion is to do a visual inspection at those places before moving on.
On this side of Nubra, 90 percent of the road is tarred and of good quality. Rest 10 percent is also easily manageable with careful driving.

Zoom in! That narrow thread like thing is the road and there are vehicles plying on it. Such is the vastness!


Sumur - As beautiful as it gets.


A driver's paradise


After driving for about an hour in the secluded stretch of the road, we reached Panamik. Although Government of India is planning to allow tourists till Siachen, but at the time we visited tourists were allowed till Panamik only. But one could proceed further based on his/her judgement.
At Panamik, there was steep uphill climb on the right with loose rocks and mountain soil which leads to the Panamik hot spring. On the top, there was a good parking area with a nice and cozy local cafe. Icing on the cake was the view from the top - it was just amazing! We couldn't resist taking a lot of photographs of the landscape, us and Sherdil as well! Then we went inside the cafe.
At first we couldn't find anyone, but after a few calls out came two Ladakhi women, as usual with a smile on their face. There was two medium sized chart paper pasted on the wall of the cafe displaying the menu. We didn't even heard the names of many of items on the menu, they were typical local Ladakhi dishes. But the ladies tried their best to explain the items but the two way communication was difficult as they were not so familiar with Hindi and we failed terribly on local Ladakhi language. But in the end, with some sign languages and 'broken pieces of common words', we did understand each other and placed the order. We ordered Khambir - a local bread with butter and curd and vegetable momos. Tsutagi was on our list as well,but it was unavailable at that time. We were simply bowled over by the hospitality of the ladies in the cafe and we were being treated as their own family. After initial hiccup of communication problem, we found that we had we were able to understand each other better and we exchanged a lot of stories between the four of us.
After a nice conversation and tasty food break, we moved towards the Panamik hot spring. A little uphill walk led us to the Panamik Hot Spring, which to be very frank, was not that appealing. This place, and may be most of the places in Ladakh, is not only about the hot springs or any other POIs, its more about the people living there. We were happy that we simply didn't see the hot springs and moved on.

View of the Nubra Valley from the Panamik Hot Spring


A selfie at the place


Sherdil at the parking


The menu card. How many names have you heard before?


Khambir and butter with curd


Momos


The beautiful ladies at Panamik cafe!


The Panamik hot springs with sulphur deposit


Dust storm at a distance over the Nubra Valley


It was nearly 1:30 pm on the clock and we decided to start on our way back to Diskit. On our way back, an elderly person requested a lift till Tigor. With luggage loaded in the the rear seats as well, it becomes difficult to accommodate another person. But as we had dropped one luggage at our Diskit hotel on our way to Panamik, we were able to make some space for him. We got to know from him that his son is in the Indian Armed Forces and the locals, including him, help the Army to carry the essential supplies up the mountains in case of any emergency. We dropped him at Tigor and he wished us all the best.

We then moved to our hotel at Diskit, relaxed for an hour and then went to the Hunder sand dunes around 4 pm. This time we were able to see the bactrian camels and booked tickets for a 15 minute ride at INR 350/- per person. We were assigned our respective camels and were taken deep into the sand dunes in a group of five. With the orange colored sky of the dusk setting in and Maitreya Buddha overlooking us at a distance, the ride was a lifetime experience to say the least.

View from the balcony of our hotel at Diskit


First sight of the double humped bactrian camel


Camels and the sand dunes - an inseparable entity!


This one is still too young to carry people on its back


Ready for dune bashing - the authentic way!


Our group


The essence of Nubra


Partners!


Beautiful Hunder!


After an enjoyable two hours in the Hunder sand dunes, it was time to head back to the hotel. In the car parking area, we saw a local Innova driver and thought of asking him about the Agham-Shyok route to Pangong. We got to know that he arrived in Nubra from Pangong using that route and he was skeptical on the idea of taking a small car in that route. He said there were two places in the route where the road goes through the Shyok river bed and advised us to exercise caution in those places. He also advised us start little late around 8:30 am, as there will be few tourist vehicles at that time who would help in case I get stuck. We thanked him for his advise and moved on.

On the way to our hotel, we stopped at the same road side dhaba where we had our morning breakfast and ordered for early dinner. While we waited for the food, contrary to the advise of the driver I made up my mind to start early the next day around 6 am in the morning. When I placed this idea before Monosree, she was thinking along the same line as well. From our past experiences in the mountains, we found the water level at the river crossings to be significantly less in the early morning hours and it increases as sunlight hits the glacier during the later part of the day. So, 6 am start was finalized and we took the drivers advise on how to tackle those two regions of water crossings but not his suggested start time.

We returned to our hotel and went off to sleep.

Hotel: Sonam Guest House, Diskit
Room Type : Double Bed with balcony
Price : INR 900. Booked after reaching Diskit.
Feedback: : Excellent location, clean rooms with nice view from balcony

[gearhead_mait]

It was a beautiful morning at Diskit but we were a little heavy in our heart as it was the day we leave Nubra Valley. The excitement to visit Pangong Lake somehow managed to console our minds, but the memories of the two days we spent at Nubra Valley would remain with us forever.
We packed our bags and as planned, checked out of our hotel at 6:15 am sharp. It was the same route we took while arriving from Leh till a junction where the road bifurcates, with the right one going towards Khardung La. But we would be taking the road going straight from the junction, that is commonly known as the Agham-Shyok route to Pangong. This road is referred to as one of the most dangerous roads in Ladakh to drive on and goes along R. Shyok all the way and in places, the river bed is the road.

In front of our hotel at Diskit - The Sonam Guest House


At this junction, you have two choices for Pangong. A "no road" through/along a river bed or the road through two of the highest passes in the world - Khardung La and Chang La!


The choice of Agham-Shyok was simple, it was much shorter and would have saved us a day. Else, we had to cross Khardung La to Leh and on the next cross Chang La in order to reach Pangong. The choice was obvious but at the same time very adventurous.

From the junction till the village of Agham, the road was tarred and smooth. Although, the road goes along R. Shyok with little climbs here and there, but definitely a question or two would linger in the mind regarding the authenticity of the road being termed a adventurous one. On the way to Agham, we saw a few JCB's and trucks carrying heavy loads and one could just stand and applaud the way the drivers negotiate the narrow lanes and hairpins while going uphill. On one such case, we happened to meet a truck driver who was originally from Sikkim. While crossing us and on seeing our West Bengal registered car, he called out :

"Bhalobasi, Bhalobasi!" (means "Love You" in Bengali)

We couldn't resist but burst out in laughter but returned to our senses quickly and asked him about the road ahead, which he said was fine. Having driven 23 odd kilometers into the Agham-Shyok route from the junction and with the truck driver comforting us with the road condition ahead, we were confident to make it through with ease. Such was our confidence, that when we reached the village of Agham, we didn't even consider the option of Wari La-Sarkti-Chang La-Pangong (the road going straight from a hairpin bend after Agham village), but instead took the road along the hairpin towards the village of Shyok. And the drama started a few kilometers along this route.

The best section of Agham-Shyok route


After a few kilometers from Agham, suddenly the tarred road ended and as far as the eyes could see it was a boulder filled track with river water flowing over. On the initial stretch, the water level was easily manageable although the embedded rocks had to be tackled carefully. But after 200 meters or so, there were two river crossings with ice cold water gushing through. For the uninitiated, there is a difference between a water crossing over the road and a river crossing in the river bed. In the case of the former, one could just revv through the water crossing safely assuming (in 90% of cases) the underneath of the car would not be impacted if negotiated carefully. But in river crossings on the river bed, when the water is gushing down with force, it is hard to assume the depth of it. So, blindly revving through would, in most of the cases, put one in danger of being stranded.

We stopped our car before the first river crossing and decided to judge the depth of it. With the force of river and having only loose boulder all the way across the crossing, it was nearly impossible the see through the depth. So, in order to the judge the depth, it had to be crossed on foot. Monosree shown extreme act of bravery to cross over on foot, albeit my warnings of the water being extremely cold. She repeated:

"I will cross over on foot, then you drive through the crossing taking the judgement of the depth"

With the firm decision already taken by my better half, I took the driver seat while watching carefully. She took off her shoes, held it in her hands and started crossing the river on foot. Barely a feet into the river crossing, I saw her turning back. Perplexed, I rushed out of the car, went towards her and held her hands and helped her get back to the dry section of the river bed. On being asked she said that the water is freezing cold and its next to impossible to cross over on foot. I had a look at her feet, and it had really turned red with cold. I asked her to stay away from these hasty decisions in future. I searched for a long stick which would have been of help in judging the depth without treading into it, but couldn't find any. Walking across was difficult, but the possibility of being stranded in this section with very less traffic around was surely worse. I took off my shoes, folded the trouser and went into the crossing. As suspected, there were places in the river crossing where the depth could cause problems to the under body of the car, to the extent of making the car stuck in the middle. Putting across a few rocks around, I made a safe track for the passage of my car. Crossing was still challenging, but the strategically placed rocks ensured that there was no under body hit thereby giving me the option to press the accelerator to move forward in the direction perpendicular to the river flow. Sherdil made it through safely without a single scratch in the under body.

Relaxing in the middle of nowhere with nobody around for kilometers, post the crossing


Monosree, with a smile at the end of the episode


The river bed area around the crossing


Zoomed in section of the river crossing


Within 100 meters of this crossing there was another small crossing, which was tackled without the need to get down from our car. The road continued to be in bad shape but we negotiated the bad sections using our past experiences of tackling such terrains. But after a few kilometers, again the road ahead was blocked with landslide and the diversion, pointed out by the two traffic cones on either side of the passage, was made through Shyok river bed. There was nobody to ask for any direction, so we had to enter the river bed as indicated by the traffic cones. But after that there was no trace of any roads/trails ahead. As long as we could see, it was the river flowing through multiple channels along a vast river bed. The way in was indicated by the traffic cone, but the way out was unmarked.
It was risky to take the car forward, that too when we are not sure where the actual trail was. We stood there for nearly 20 mins, when we saw a Delhi registered private Innova coming down from the marked entry to the river bed. We felt relieved to at least have some company. After parking the Innova behind our car, the driver and another passenger came up to us and asked if we found the way ahead. Then we walked ahead together to see if we could find the way out, but all in vain. After 15 mins or so, a biker came up and the Innova driver took the bike and moved ahead to search for the pathway. He came back and said that he had spotted the exit, which lies on the other side of a large pool formed by the accumulation of river water. The biker stood on the bike and revved his way out of the water, but looking at the depth of water the Innova driver decided to try out a different route by the right side of the pool, which would shorten the length of the water crossing. But as the Innova started moving in, it was evident that the depth of water was much more there and the nose of the Innova kept on diving inside the water, coming very close to a dangerous level. But the Innova made out of that with little scare. Sensing the difficulty involved, the driver of the Innova as well as the biker waited for me on the other side. Now I had to take a decision on the route to take, as there was no way the water crossing could be avoided. Luckily, at that moment a local, commercially registered Xylo came up. Being a local driver, it can be assumed that they were aware of the correct route and we could follow the route they take. I watched closely as the Xylo went straight through the large pool at speed (the same path the biker took) and came out on the other side. I observed that 2/3rd of the tire of the Xylo was submerged in water at the highest depth, but the positive was that there was no significant lateral movement in the Xylo as it pressed forward indicating that there was no rocks or boulders underlying the pool of water. I decided to follow the same track. Monosree said she would walk to the other side which would reduce the weight, but I decided against and asked her to remain seated. Started the car, slotted 1st gear and revved ahead. As the car started treading deeper into water, I could feel significant loss of power and it was heart in the mouth situation. But I didn't move my feet from the accelerator for a second. The water stood just below the bonnet, but the splashes of water was going over the bonnet. Suddenly, out of the blue Sherdil regained the power and grip and came out successfully on the other side. The Innova driver was pointing something on the front of the car and asked me not to turn off the engine. But at that time I already turned off the engine and went outside to check my car. I found that the pressure of water has dislodged one of screws of the number plate from the bumper, which luckily was still stuck with metal plate and the number plate was slightly twisted at the other end. Out came the tool kit that I was carrying and it was a 2 minute job getting the number plate fixed. Next I opened the bonnet and found that the water has indeed entered the engine bay and it was wet. I went back inside and started the car and it started at the first crank without any drama. That's what I call reliability of Sherdil. Bravo champ!

We thanked the Innova driver and the biker as they went ahead on their journey. We cruised along slowly towards Shyok, with the faith on Sherdil, standing at more than a lakh kilometers on the odometer, quadrupled.

There were no more river crossings after that till the village of Shyok, but a very bad stretch where the road was washed away by the river resulting in a awkward climb. Some stones needed to be placed on the edge where the tarred road was washed away for safe passage of our car. Still careful maneuvering was required as the edge was too high to be taken straight up. With the guidance of the driver of another commercial car as I took on the climb, we made it through safely. The commercial car (Mahindra Xylo) was taking foreign tourists to Pangong from Nubra side and the driver asked me to follow his car and he would arrange for a stay at Pangong for us. The rest of the road to Shyok was in good shape and we stopped at a café near Shyok village. After a cup of coffee, the driver of the Xylo moved ahead. We promised to catch up with him on reaching Pangong as we were in no mood to hurry to the destination.

In no time, we crossed Durbuk and we were in the junction where the Chang La road meets. From the crossing, we took the first exit while the second exit climbs up the mighty Chang La. A few kilometers from this junction is the village of Tangtse. Many of the tourists coming to Pangong stay overnight at Tangtse instead of the tents/cottages around Pangong, as the temperature around the lake drops drastically after sundown. Also, the high altitude of Pangong Lake poses difficulty in breathing for some. But the stay around Pangong has a charm of its own, and also in case one is staying at Tangtse (35 kms away from the Pangong Lake) it will cost them an extra time of 1.5 to 2 hours, to and fro.

At Tangste, we took the road on the left that goes towards Pangong. One of the best landscapes lie on this route with the road cutting across high mountains decorated with vivid colors. And the best part was the Marmots playing around the road! Monosree spotted one first just by the side of the road. We were the only vehicle on the road at that time and we watched from a distance. One by one, the tourist vehicles passing by stopped and one of the driver got close to these fantastic creatures. The marmots weren't afraid of us at all and were playing at a touching distance from us. Soon the marmots became the center of attraction of the tourists. But the drivers managed to control the tourists from touching the marmots or feeding them. Kudos to them!

The beautiful road : Tangtse to Pangong!


The Marmots!


Just look at them!


Fantastic creatures


After spending quality time around Marmots, we moved on. After a few water crossings en route and tackling a few hairpins, we reached place where the signboard reads:

"The first view of world famous Pangong lake"

We were speechless at the beauty. All the troubles we overcame to reach here, seemed to bear fruit. What a beauty, you majestic Pangong!

First view of the majestic Pangong Lake


There it is!


The one who made it all possible


The first view of Pangong Lake was like a dream come true. One could spend hours just gazing at the blue lake peeping through the barren mountains.
We moved on for a few kilometers till a junction where the road bifurcates with the left one going towards the village of Phobrang while the trunk road climbs a bit and after a few hundred meters it renders a view of the Pangong Lake like no other. On the left side of the elevated road is the crystal clear blue colored lake surrounded by mountains, and on the right are the accommodation facilities including tents, cottages, restaurants etc. The place was Lukung. In order to conserve the cleanliness around the holy lake, tents and cottages are restricted to the other side of the road. We stopped for a while on the road itself appreciating the beauty of Nature and thanking God for providing us the opportunity to witness the same.

Lukung, in peak season, normally remains crowded with tourists and one craving for serenity around Pangong has to move towards Spangmik or even as far as Merak and stay in tents. Considering the chill around Pangong at night, that is definitely not a comfortable option. But luckily for us, when we arrived at Lukung, there was hardly any tourist around and we got the flavor of serenity in Lukung itself, without moving further. We looked around for the Xylo car and the driver whom we met on the Agham-Shyok route, but we forgot to ask their place of stay for the night and hence couldn't locate them. We went to the "Go Green" restaurant at Lukung, which is located just next to the famous "3 Idiots cafe", and asked for staying options around the lake. They quickly confirmed that they have cottages as well as tents located by the road above the restaurant and there are no prior bookings as well. Negotiating on the price was easy and we got the one of the cottage at INR 1600/- per night which are normally priced at 3500-4000 per night during peak season. We went to check the cottage we booked post having lunch at the Go Green restaurant and found them to be clean and spacious with attached washroom and rendering a wonderful view of the Pangong lake. There were 6 cottages in total, which were all vacant except the one we booked.

The entry to the model village - Phobrang!


Beautiful Pangong! Picture taken from the road at Lukung


Sherdil proudly posing with Pangong Lake on the empty roads at Lukung


The "3 Idiots" scooters kept along the Pangong Lake, for tourists wishing to click pictures with them as mementos


Go Green cottages, Lukung. The left most one is the one we stayed in


Monosree standing just outside the cottage offering panoramic view of Pangong


The name says it all!


Post lunch, having the staying place sorted at Lukung, we decided to drive towards Spangmik and explore that side of Pangong. The road became narrower than at Lukung with gradual climb as we progressed. We couldn't locate a single vehicle on the route and as it was getting darker and being tired after a hectic journey through Agham-Shyok route, we decided to go back towards Lukung and spend some time roaming around the lake. On our way back to Lukung, we saw a few bikes and Force travelers going towards Spangmik.

We went back to Lukung, parked our car and went towards Pangong. We brought some biscuits and mango juice which we savored while sitting by the side of the lake. We spend the rest of the afternoon till dusk lazing around Pangong, clicking innumerable pictures and spending quality time between us.
After dusk, we went back to the restaurant and ordered vegetable momo and tea. We went back to our cottage post the evening snacks at the restaurant.

For dinner we ordered egg thukpa and while it was being prepared, the guy at the restaurant helped me cover up my car with the tarpaulin that I was carrying. I knew the temperature would be below freezing point at night but at the same time I was aware of the fact that Sherdil tackled such temperatures prior to Ladakh as well, without even needing any protective cover. But why take the chance!

View of Pangong en route Spangmik


Close up on the 3 Idiots scooters


How can I miss the chance to pose


Monosree with the scooter owners


Few pictures around Lukung











Post dinner, we went back to our cottage and called it a day. It was an end to another memorable day on our Ladakh chapter when we drove on the trecherous Agham-Shyok route and saw the mesmerizing Pangong for the first time. Such days are rare in life, and thus becomes a memory for a lifetime.

Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake are two of the gems in Ladakh. One small dedication from our side to the forever beauties of Ladakh, below:

A video on the journey to Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso (Please watch in HD setting >720P)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-292YYilWg

Hotel: Go Green Cottages, Lukung
Room Type : Wooden cottage with attached washroom
Price : INR 1600. Booked after reaching Lukung.
Feedback: : Excellent view of Pangong, adequate space and clean cottage

[gearhead_mait]

The night was indeed cold with the howling of the winds penetrating through the narrowest of openings in the door and windows of the cottage. But it was far more comfortable than the tents at Chandratal which we experienced during our Kinnaur & Spiti road trip during October 2017.
We woke up in the morning around 7 am, packed our bags and went outside the cottage to cherish the beauty of Pangong Lake under the morning sun. We were not hurrying that day as we had no other plans but to reach Leh covering a few monasteries that lie on the way. Still, we wish to avoid a delayed start from Pangong as we had to cross the mighty Chang La on the way.

The sky was absolutely clear that day which enhanced the color of Pangong and the morning sun added a brilliant sparkle to the lake. These factors combined to create a visual treat which is impossible to express in words. We had our breakfast from the restaurant and then strolled around the lake clicking pictures. Before we could even realize, we were an hour back on our schedule. Time flies in beautiful places!

When the sky and Pangong compete for a brighter hue


The cottages, tents and the surroundings at Lukung


The trademark of the Himalayas :: Fluttering prayer flags


Our trusted partner on adventurous road trips


The sparkle of glory!


On road trips like these, you ought to perform visual inspection of the car now and then. Picture courtesy : Monosree


Brilliance!


Jaw dropping stuff


Till we meet again! Parting shot of Sherdil with Pangong


Remember the "Jab Tak hai Jaan" sequence at the start of the movie?


We drove through the same route till the junction near Durbuk, where we took the left turn towards Chang La. The initial climb was tarred and moderately steep. While taking the hairpins, I found little loss of power in the car, which is very unlikely of Sherdil. Not that it was difficult for us to climb, but the ease with which Sherdil normally climbs up was lacking. Within a few kilometers of climbing, the tarred road gave way to broken patches of road. When we were around 7 kilometers from the top, the broken road disappeared as well giving way to rocky and loose mountain soil filled road which was little difficult to manage at places. We saw a gypsy coming down and asked the driver about the road condition ahead. The driver said that the road is like this only till the Chang La top and around 6-7 kilometers on the descent as well. He added that there was a steep climb ahead where I have to drive at first gear through the entire climb. We thanked him for his advise and moved on.

As mentioned by the driver, we arrived at the mentioned stretch after a hairpin bend. It was a straight 200 meter steep climb with uneven surface of mountain soil and filled with medium sized boulders scattered here and there. I slotted in first gear and started the ascent. It was good till about 2/3rd portion of the climb, when I saw a large boulder partially embedded within the surface running across the entire width of the road. The speed at which I had to take on the climb could have damaged the lower portion of my car on this boulder if I didn't slow down a bit. But once I slowed down and crossed over the boulder at low speed, it was so steep that I couldn't manage to accelerate from near zero speed. I tried again, but the car would not go up from that position. Only option was to reverse till the beginning of the hairpin and take the climb again. Monosree went down from the car in order to reduce little weight while I started reversing. It was tricky to reverse on a steep narrow stretch with loose mountain soil and boulders, that too when the hairpin had to be taken in reverse. A loss of grip and that would be the end of the story. I reversed slowly till the end of the hairpin, slotted first gear again and climbed up. Now came the tricky part where the boulder had to be crossed without slowing down. I didn't slow down this time, but from my past experiences I decided to take on the obstacle at an angle, starting from my left, rather than going straight up. This maneuver had some risks involved as one couldn't be sure if there was any vehicle coming down at the same time, which could possibly result in an accident. But I had to take the risk and luckily it paid off without any under body hits. Although it did scare a biker coming down the slope, but there was ample space for a bike on his left and he managed to stop on seeing my car revving up.
After the steep climb, I stopped my car at a relatively wider stretch of road. But Monosree thought that the road was narrow and hence she ran for 50 meters or so uphill to reduce the stoppage time and that was a big mistake. At an altitude of around 17K feet, running for even a small distance is risky. On reaching our car, she was feeling short of breath and the low oxygen count at that altitude was making things worse. I was a little puzzled with the series of events, but soon Monosree got hold of herself and took a Diamox tablet and soon was feeling okay and we moved on.
Just about 2 kilometers from the Chang La top, we saw a large convoy of military vehicles coming down. The road was narrow, so I had to stop at a distance beside wider passing place and wait for the convoy to pass. As I was waiting, the constant thought of sudden loss of power in my car was haunting us. I went outside to check the engine bay, opened up the air filter box and shockingly found the air filter to be moist. Instantly I recollected the large water crossing on Agham-Shyok route the day before and the splash probably would have entered through the air filter chamber. It was not a problem till we were at lower altitude, but at the altitude of Chang La it resulted in loss of power. As the large military convoy crossed us, I utilized the time to bring out the air filter and put it under direct sunlight. It helped as by the time the last truck crossed us, the air filter dried up a bit. The power increased a bit but was still on the lower side. The rest of the climb was event free and we were at Chang La top around 11 am.

The Chang La top


After a short tea break at the cafe at Chang La top, we started on the descent from the top. The initial 7 kilometers of the descent was in bad shape but the rest was smooth with fresh tarred road welcoming us back to the lower altitudes. The village of Sakti at the end of the descent from Chang La could be easily identified by the valley wrapped in green color of the vegetation. It was a welcome change after a few days we spent at a cold desert and a high altitude lake surrounded by barren mountains.
We planned to visit Chemrey monastery but by the time we checked on the the location in gmap, we were already on the Leh-Manali highway. Instead of traveling back, we decided to visit Hemis Monastery and the museum inside and then went to Stakna Monastery. While the Hemis monastery showcased its rich heritage and history, we couldn't find a single soul inside the Stakna Monastery. Just like us, a few tourists entered the Stakna Monastery and on finding no one around, left the place after clicking a few photographs.

The beautiful village of Sakti




That's the result of low pressure at extreme altitudes


En route Hemis monastery


An elegant structure on the way!


Few pictures of the Hemis monastery








Surroundings of the Stakna monastery


Inside the Stakna monastery


Few pictures around the Stakna monastery






After an eventful episode of Chang La followed by the visit to two of the most beautiful monasteries in Ladakh, we returned to Leh city. We were extremely hungry as it was already 4:30 pm on the clock. We went straight to Tibetan Kitchen again and this time ordered Kothe (Shallow fried momos) and our favorite Mutton Thenthuk. We seem to have developed a connection with Tibetan Kitchen and its mouth watering food. After a sumptuous late lunch, we went to Hotel Jorchung i.e. our initial place of stay in Leh.
As we went inside the hotel, we were greeted by Shyamsundar and the hotel owner like a family and it was a feeling similar to homecoming. Shyansundar immediately got hold of our luggage and took them straight to the room we stayed earlier, while we were chatting with the hotel owner about our experiences of the journey. By the time we were at our room, Shyamsundar was ready with a hot cup of tea for us. The feeling of "A home away from home" - we were extremely happy to be back to Leh.

Our experiences of Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake was a memorable one. As per plan, we had ample time (2 days) to cover Hanle and Tso Moriri and we even procured permits for the same. But we decided to spend some more time at Leh and utilize the extra day for the Golden Temple visit at Amritsar. Yes, we finalized on taking the Srinagar route while going back and it would surely be an adventurous one considering the ongoing situation and a Dejavu for us as well. Tso Moriri and Hanle would be kept for our future travels to Ladakh.

We had our dinner early, and being extremely tired we retired for the day early as well.

Hotel: Hotel Jorchung, Leh
Room Type : Same room as our initial stay at Leh
Price : INR 1000. Booked after reaching Leh.
Feedback: : Mentioned earlier during our initial stay at Leh

[gearhead_mait]

It turned out to be good decision to drop Hanle and Tso Moriri from our plan as we were really tired and needed proper rest. Moreover, its not always about ticking the check boxes. The Changthang desert region including Hanle Tso Moriri, Tso Kar etc. requires time and energy to explore and its recommended to keep aside 2-3 days, if not more, to explore.

With no plan to wake up early that day, we had a good night's sleep and woke up fresh around 8:30 am in the morning. We spent some time chatting with the hotel owner learning more about their lifestyle. Shyamsundar as usual was busy with his daily work like gardening etc. Probably after Manoj (the other caretaker of the hotel) left, Shyamsundar was feeling a little down. So, when we arrived from Pangong, Shyamsundar was very excited. Sometimes all we need is someone to talk to and when we are far away from home then, something as simple as, to be able to talk to someone in mother language seems to the best gift one could have. Shyamsundar revealed later that it was already close to 5 months for him being away from his home at Jharkhand and talking to us gives him a feeling of being close to home.

For breakfast, we bought some locally baked chocolate croissant and cinnamon roll from the Leh market last night. And what better than having the first meal of the day on our favorite place of the hotel - The roof top zone!

After having our breakfast we got ready to stroll around the Leh marketplace. Sherdil would have a well deserved day of rest and we planned to walk around the market.

Bright and Sunny - the weather as well as our mood for the day!


One photo with the brave heart before we move out


One more photograph taken within the property


An apple tree within the property!


A beautiful path to the Leh market..


..with snow-capped mountains around


Kashmiri handicrafts on one side of the street..


..And Tibetan art on the other


Yes, there is a dedicated local market for Tibetan handicrafts as well. Shopaholics, rejoice!


Few pictures inside the Tibetan handicraft market






Monosree was quick to spot the appropriate zone..


...While I clicked a few more pictures around






After the shopping spree in the Tibetan market, we went ahead towards the Leh market area. From the junction of Tukcha Main Road and Fort Road it is a 300 meters walk towards the left for the Leh market. On the junction, we saw a Kashmiri handicraft store. The displayed items attracted us and we moved in. We were welcomed by a middle aged man, who was in charge of the store along with his son. They indeed have a wonderful collection of items at attractive prices, but what we liked more was their behavior and their local language which had the same sweetness that we experienced during our Kashmir trip in 2016. And when Kashmir comes to the mind, that too during lunch hour, how can the Kashmiri Wazwan stay out of it.
We asked the gentleman at the store if there was any restaurant around where we could get the Wazwan, and he readily pointed us towards a restaurant on the first floor 100 meters away from there. We asked him for some time and promised to come back after lunch.

We went straight to the restaurant and asked about the availability Kashmiri Wazwan and there was a positive reply from the other side. We were ecstatic and started reminiscing the memories of Hotel Paradise, Srinagar where we had our first experience of this Kashmir delicacy. We were talking among ourselves recollecting our "Kashmiri Kahwa" experience at the Tulip Garden in Srinagar. Its sad to even think about the current situation in the beautiful valley. As we were talking, a voice cut through the silence of the retaurant:

"Aap yahan pe bhi Kashmiri Kahwa order kar sakte ho"

Instant smile was on our faces, as we ordered two cups of Kahwa. First the Wazwan was served followed by the Kahwa. Wazwan platter had Tabak Maaz, Methi maaz, Seekh kabab, Rice, Rista, Mutton Yakhni, Mutton Rogan Josh, Raita and Salad. We chose the Yakhni over Gushtaba, as we haven't tasted Yakhni till that day. Taste of the wazwan platter was very similar to the one we had at Srinagar 3.5 years back and even the Kahwa tasted just like the one at the Tulip Garden. We couldn't thank the guys at the restaurant enough!

The wazwan menu outside the Kasmiri Wazwan restaurant


And little elaborated one on the table


A selfie at the restaurant as we wait for the delicacy to arrive


Kashmiri Wazwan! (Suddenly I am hungry again as I type. LOL)


Kashmiri Kahwa!


After a stomach full of delicacies and mind filled with good memories, we went back to the Kashmiri handicrafts store. We first thanked the gentleman at the store for suggesting the restaurant to us. We bought a few items from the store, both for us and for our families back home. We then had a conversation going where they mentioned about the hardships they face due to the ongoing turbulence at Kashmir valley. They were not able to open their shops in Srinagar, hence had to come all the way to Leh to do business. The colleges and schools were closed, that's why he has called up his son here to help him with his business. We sincerely wished them good luck and prayed to Almighty that the situation normalizes soon.

We then went back to our hotel to get some rest. But we were back at the Leh Market again in the evening, and it was simply beautiful with all the lights and decorations. We roamed around, bought some dry fruits from a wholeseller, had our dinner from Hotel Lamayuru in the vicinity of the market and went back to our hotel.

A happy face tells a lot about the taste of Kashmiri delicacies


An evening at the Leh market


Few pictures around the beautiful Leh market at night






The dry fruit mixture we packed for home. Anjir, Apricots, Almonds, Raisins and more


It was a wonderful day spent relaxing around Leh and its people, getting to know about the lifestyle of people living here and more importantly it provided us with the break we required to rejuvenate and replenish our energy. We went back to Hotel Jorchung and after another round of conversation, called it a day.

[gearhead_mait]

The day has finally arrived when we experience the Leh-Srinagar highway. Our destination for the day was Kargil, but we initially planned to take the unconventional route through Aryan Valley (Dah-Hanu-Batalik) to Kargil crossing the Hamboting La. As our permit was valid for 5 days, we had to extend that for another day to include Dah - Hanu circuit. All the formalities regarding the extension was handled by the owner of the Hotel Jorchung at a nominal cost. With the plan set for the day, we loaded the luggage in the car, thanked everyone at the hotel for all the help and making us feel like home and moved on.

A picture highlighting the milestones ahead


After driving for about 20 kilometers, we arrived at the "Gurudwara Pathar Sahib". Located by the side of the NH1, this is where Guru Nanak took rest while returning from Tibet. We went inside the Gurudwara, paid due respect to the divine soul and sat calmly for a while inside the gurudwara. After a while as we decided to move on, an army officer asked us to have our breakfast at the gurudwara. We went inside the langar where there was proper sitting arrangement on carpet and food being served by the army jawans on duty. The ambiance was such that simple Maggi and a hot cup of tea seemed out of this world. We never anticipate such gesture, but in our road trips we get such surprises out of the blue (Link here (Kinnaur & Spiti: Diametrically-opposite marvels of the Himalayas with a strong bonding), for the beautiful episode in our Kinnaur-Spiti road trip).

As we were having our breakfast, we asked one Army officer about the road from Kargil-Srinagar-Jammu and if private vehicles are allowed to ply considering the ongoing tension in the area. His reply was affirmative and in line with what Manoj said in Hotel Jorchung i.e. travel to be made during the night. Just beside myself were two gentlemen who were also having breakfast just like us. Overhearing our conversation with the officer, the one sitting immediately next to me confirmed that vehicles are allowed to ply at night as he travels regularly on that route. With the assurance, we were feeling a little relieved. Then the other gentleman asked us where from we were coming and on hearing about our road trip from Kolkata, he was a little surprised. We couldn't recognize him and even when he introduced himself as Sandeep Srivastava it didn't ring a bell. We had a decent conversation with him for some time where he said that he was in Kargil for the shooting of an upcoming bollywood movie named "Shershaah" on the life of Kargil martyr Captain Vikram Batra starring Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani. Pardon my knowledge on the recent developments in Bollywood, but at that moment I couldn't make out who Kiara Advani was, leave aside aside Sandeep Srivastava. We wished him good luck for his shoot, while he wished us all the best for our journey ahead. As we could make out, the guy who shared information with us regarding the existing situation at Kashmir Valley at the langar was Sandeep's driver who drove him to Gurudwara to seek blessings of the Almighty. They asked us to follow them as they are headed to Kargil as well. They were in an Innova and we were behind them for some time, but we stopped at the Magnetic Hill while they moved on. Later we googled and found the details where we found that Sandeep is the writer of the story of the movie named "Shershaah" to be released in 2020. Sometimes its good that we are unaware of the identity of the individuals while interacting with them. Otherwise the opportunity of a decent conversation would be replaced by a series of selfies and autographs. And eventually, one side is left with photographs to showcase "See, I was with him. Yeah!" to a set of uninterested audience and the other side feeling the agony of "No, not again!".

Sandeep (@inkpapercoffeee) - In the distant thought, if you are reading this sometime, then myself and my wife Monosree would like to convey all the best wishes again for your upcoming movie "Shershaah" and thanks for being extremely down to earth.

At the Magnetic Hill, we decided to stop and test the gravity defying phenomenon. I stopped my car, moved my feet from the brake pedal and the car started moving on its own. It was real fun as I started rolling downhill with Monosree recording on the video mode of the camera. "But wait!"- Monosree screamed. "The car is rolling downhill and that's expected. Where's the gravity defying phenomenon?", she continued. I will keep the debate aside and only say - "It was fun!"

The famous Magnetic Hill


Keeping aside any scientific explanation, this place is special for many other reason


Sherdil deserves a picture at Magnetic Hill!


As I said - It was real fun!


We moved on and soon we were at Nimmoo, the place famous for the confluence of two important rivers in Ladakh - The R.Indus and R.Zanskar. We stopped there for some time to witness the glory of two rivers happily bonding with each other.

After crossing nimmoo, there is a road diverting from the main trunk of NH1 and going towards Likir Monastery. Likir was our on our plan as well, but after consulting with the owner of Hotel Jorchung the previous day, it was suggested that we could skip Likir monastery if time does not permit. But he suggested that we should make an attempt to visit Alchi monastery. It was said that the Alchi monastery is different from all the other monasteries in Ladakh.

Time constraint was there, considering we were planning to take the Aryan valley road to Kargil at that time, and as a result Likir monastery was ommitted from our plan this year. A few kilometers ahead, we took the diversion on the left towards the village of Alchi. We crossed a bailey bridge on the way over the R. Indus and as we approached Alchi the road became narrow. There was a parking place for the cars and from there one has to walk through the narrow lanes to reach the Alchi monastery. We paid the entrance fee and went inside the monastery premise.

The first thing one would notice about the Alchi monastery is the dated structures which are completely different from all the monasteries we visited till date, not only in Ladakh but anywhere. Its also one of the oldest monasteries in the world. Its better to refer it as a monastic complex rather than a single monastery. There were multiple structures inside the complex, each housing different Buddhist gurus. The wooden pillars supporting the structures and the fresco's dated thousands of years combined with the silence inside took us into a bygone era. Inside each such structure, the standing idols of the Buddhist gurus climbing over 30 feet, make us awe at the masterpiece of art thriving at that period of time.

Rivers Indus and Zanskar confluence at Nimmoo


Inside the Alchi Monastery premise


Each corner speaks of the history behind


One more picture inside the monastery premise


Monosree, lost in her thoughts about the history of Alchi


The locals busy with their daily work just outside the Alchi Monastery


After a nice time spent at Alchi monastery and the beautiful village of Alchi, we decided to move on. We were already running behind schedule, but the beauty of Alchi deserved the time we spent there.

Next on our list was Lamayuru monastery, but there was a catch. Approximately sixteen kilometers before Lamayuru, there is place named Khaltse. From Khaltse, the road to Aryan Valley, covering Dah-Hanu villages,
diverts from the NH1. With our plan to take the Aryan Valley route to Kargil we had to skip the Lamayuru moonland which we didn't want to. So, the plan was to travel 16 kilometers to Lamayuru and come back to Khaltse and take the Aryan valley route to Kargil as planned.

En route Lamayuru


Presenting the Lamayuru Moonland!




A quick selfie with the majestic natural formations


And then we went towards the Lamayuru Monastery


Few snaps taken inside the Lamayuru monastery




Magnificent view from the Lamayuru Monastery


Sherdil standing out among the local tourist cabs


Lamayuru didn't disappoint at all. On the contrary it provided an opportunity to witness a landscape that we have not seen elsewhere. In fact, Ladakh as a region has provided us with varied natural beauty which is hard to find anywhere. Probably that's why Ladakh is still a dream destination for many, and rightly so.

It was already late and we retraced the 16 kilometers to Khaltse and this time took the left turn towards the Aryan Valley road along River Indus. The scenic beauty of the road leading to Aryan Valley was worth the effort of traversing 32 kilometers of detour to Lamayuru. As we witnessed in other Ladakh regions which are slightly off the tourist route, the road was more or less empty and narrow. About fifteen kilometers from Khaltse, near the settlement of Damkhar, we were stopped by some workers who mentioned that road work was in progress and we would have to wait for 1-2 hours. It was already around 2 pm, so losing precious time means that we would not get much time to explore Dah and Hanu villages. Also, the Hamboting La had to be crossed to reach Kargil and taking the delay we were facing into account, we would reach the high altitude pass after sundown. Definitely not a good idea to cross a high mountain pass after sundown, so we decided to move back and take the NH1 route to Kargil.

With the route finalized, we moved on towards Lamayuru again. A few kilometers before the Lamayuru moonland, suddenly there was loud thud on top of our car. I went outside but couldn't find anything and hence proceeded further (Later, while I gave the car for service in Kolkata after the tour, a dent was found on the roof of the car, though nearly invisible to naked eye. This pointed towards the fact of a rock fall on top of the car).

On this route we had to cross two high mountain passes, namely Fotu La and Namika La. These two mountain passes are comparatively lesser in altitude than all the other passes we crossed during our Ladakh journey, except the Rohtang La. Also, the entire Leh-Kargil highway was tarred, even the entire stretches of the climb and descent from the two high altitude passes. So in comparison to Manali-Leh highway, the Leh-Kargil highway was much easier to tackle - both in terms of road quality and altitude. But in terms of the scenic beauty, Leh-Kargil highway (NH1) doesn't stand a chance. Manali-Leh highway is definitely more beautiful and at the same time, treacherous!

The road to Aryan Valley | Enroute Skurbuchan


The ascent to Fotu La


Fotu La top (13479 feet)


View from Fotu La top


Few pictures enroute Namika La




Namika La top (12198 feet)


We reached Kargil around 5 pm and there was still daylight left. We crossed the bridge after which the road to the left goes towards Zanskar while the one to the right goes towards Kargil market and further towards Srinagar. As we approached Kargil, we could sense some tension in the air. We were stopped by armed forces from taking the road towards the Kargil market as there were some agitations and meetings being held.
We turned left and started searching for options for our overnight stay. Within a few hundred meters, we saw the Zozila Residency hotel. It had proper parking within the premise and we went inside. After little negotiation at the hotel reception, we got a double bedded room at a nominal price of INR 1800/-. The room was neat and clean and relatively large. We dropped our luggage and made some tea for ourselves in the hotel room. The location of the hotel was awesome and our room had the view of the River Suru from the window. It was wonderful to be able to spent a nice afternoon together, sipping on a cup of tea with the view of the River Suru from the window sparkling with the reflection of orange colored light of the setting sun.

We strolled around the hotel and walked towards the Kargil market in the evening, but the market was closed due to the agitations and unrest. We went back to our hotel, had our dinner early and called it a day.

The Zozila Residency, Kargil


The Suru River flowing in full glory


Kargil, at dusk


Hotel: The Zozila Residency, Kargil
Room Type : Double bed room
Price : INR 1800. Booked after reaching Kargil.
Feedback: : Highly recommended stay in Kargil. Spacious room, clean washroom, excellent location and service

[gearhead_mait]

Ladakh is unique, its beautiful, its vast and rugged. There are very few places on Earth that has the diversity as Ladakh possess. Being a cold desert, majority portion of Ladakh is barren and rugged. After spending more than 12 days in Ladakh, driving through rough terrains and mesmerizing landscapes we were a little tired. If there is any place that can rejuvenate our energy, it had to be "Suru Valley". With the roads meandering along the R. Suru bordered with Fras trees and green valleys all around, beautiful would be an understatement!

That day our plan was to visit the Suru Valley, then come back to Kargil and move towards Sonamarg. For the uninitiated, the road to Suru Valley continues till Zanskar (Rangdum, Padum) but in order to continue till Padum (Zanskar valley) one has to keep 2-3 days aside. A road is being built to connect Zanskar valley to Nimmoo and once that is done, it would be possible to travel directly from Zanskar to Leh, cutting short the journey by at least one day.
With a lot of ground for us to cover, we woke up early and packed our bags. As we went towards the reception, we saw a middle aged gentleman who identified himself as a local tour operator, who drove a flock a tourists into Kargil from Kashmir valley last night. We wasted no time in asking the details regarding the ongoing situation in the valley and put forward our plan to cross the valley at night time. On hearing our plan, he straight away told us not to travel during the night through the Kashmir valley. He cited the reason that the local population throw stones at the windshield of the cars and other vehicles from darkness and its impossible to spot them. Also, the curfew being imposed in the valley between 7 am till 6 pm, it would be safer to travel during that window in the morning when the security forces would help if required.
It was a change from our initial plan, and we had to stay in Sonamarg that day. The next question we asked the gentleman was regarding the staying options in Sonamarg. He replied saying two or three hotels were open for tourists and one name that was etched in our mind was - "Hotel Glacier Heights".

We thanked him for his vital inputs and set forth towards Suru Valley around 7 am.

Go Green in Ladakh? Then Suru Valley is the answer!


Green revolution in Ladakh?!!


The calmness around R. Suru..


..And the roads that meanders along


Where the vista takes this form...


..Multiple stops for photography becomes a norm


As we moved on, the beauty of the Suru valley revealed itself. We were so bowled over that once it came to our mind to continue till Padum. But we managed to get hold of our emotions but made up our mind to explore this part of Ladakh next time we were here.
Initial plan was to go till Panikhar but we went till Sankoo, may be a few kilometers from it, and then decided to turn back. Our mind ruled over our heart but we decided to spent some time beside the Suru river. We stopped our car and brought out the materials needed for preparing a nice warm cup of coffee. (Yes, we were carrying the raw materials and the hot water, sourced from the hotel, was carried in a thermos flask)

The combination of spellbinding Suru valley and a nice cup of hot coffee - Pure bliss!

Somewhere near the village of Sankoo


Views like these - "Pure love"


Cheers!


Sherdil enjoying the colorful valley..


..With views like this on the right hand side..


..And colors to complement on the left hand side.

[gearhead_mait]

We wished we had some more time to spent in the Suru valley, but at the same time we would like to reach Sonamarg early as there were only a few hotels open for tourists. And if we didn't get any rooms available in Sonamarg we had to cross the Kashmir valley at night, which was against the suggestions that was shared by the locals.

After a nice coffee break among the secluded part of the Himalayas, we started on our journey to Kargil and further towards Sonamarg. We reached Kargil in about an hour and moved straight towards the Kargil market. There was a little chaos in the market with the morning traffic and crowd, but it was limited to 500 meters or so. After that we again found ourselves cruising on NH1. On the outskirts of Kargil, we were stopped at J&K police check post but it was a formality to enter the details in their register. This section of NH1 covering Kargil-Drass-Zozila lies very close to the Indo-Pakistan border and hence little sensitive with strong military presence.

Bidding adieu to Kargil


Somewhere on the Kargil-Srinagar highway


Vistas along the Leh-Srinagar highway!


Another confluence | The turquoise blue river was coming from Pakistan side


Our next stop was the Kargil War Memorial, located a few kilometers before the village of Drass. There was proper parking place for the vehicles on the opposite side of the memorial and, being a military controlled zone, the area was absolutely clean with proper amenities in place for tourists.
As we moved inside, basic security checks were done post which we had to provide an identity proof. Then an officer on duty explained the basic guidelines to follow before letting us on our way to roam around the memorial.

The memorial showcases the valor of our fellow Jawans of the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of our Country and us. But at the same time, one cannot deny that it gives goosebumps while reading the stories, the history and the bloodshed associated with one of the worst battles to be fought till date to save our Country from intruders - "Operation Vijay"!

Kargil War Memorial, seen at a distance


The entrance to the memorial!


The true heroes!


Path to glory


The MiG fighter


And the famous "Bofors" cannon


Its a sacrifice for Country that demands immense respect


Way to "Manoj Pandey" memorial hall


Respect from the core of our heart


The operation that ensured safety for our country but costed us a lot of bravehearts. Salute again!


The stance that instills fear among the enemies


Some more pictures from the War memorial




View of the famous "Rhino Point" (left) and "Tiger Hill" (right)


After a memorable tour of the Kargil war memorial, we moved on towards Zozi La. On our way to Zozi La, we crossed the village of Drass which is said to be the second coldest inhabited place on Earth. Just after crossing Drass, we saw a road diverting to the right bearing the sign "Mushko Valley".
Famous for being the battleground during the bloody war of Kargil but we saw some stunning pictures of the valley on the internet. But that day, we were already late and it was close to 4 pm on the clock. With the mighty Zozi La still to be crossed, we dropped the plan for Mushko Valley and moved on.

As our Ladakh journey was drawing to a close this, we realized that we saw some magnificent places in the region and the Almighty had blessed us with the perfect weather that one can ever have. But at the same time, someway or the other, we had to drop a few places from our plan. May be, Ladakh chapter is still not over for us and we would be back when the call of the prayer bells reaches our ears again!

We moved on towards the Zozi La. The settlements disappeared slowly and ruggedness of the mountains with vast open spaces came into view. The road had some hair pins, but major portion of the climb was gradual and not steep. Within some time, we were welcomed by the gate bearing "Zozi La Altitude 11649 feet". We were a little surprised with the easiness of the climb to Zozi La. It was tarred with no particular stretch that could trouble even the amateur drivers. We stopped for a photograph of 'Sherdil' on top of the last high altitude pass of our first Ladakh journey.

As we started our descent from Zozi La towards Baltal, the mightiness of the pass came into perspective. The tarred road vanished and roads were reduced to a dangerous track filled with loose mountain soil. It was narrow at places where two vehicles would nearly touch at the time of passing each other. The only road that we saw till date, where one could see multiple layers of road one below the other, on the same side of the mountain at a near vertical drop. One slide and you are history. We could see trucks which were looking like match boxes, right below us but 4-5 switchbacks below. The sheer drop from the road is enough to send a chill down the spine, but it has more. First, the truck volume are high on this route and secondly the landslide prone nature of the mountain. The combination of high volume of truck traffic and loose mountain soil made sure that the visibility was near zero, that too at critical places where careful driving had to be done. Only option is to stop and let the visibility improve. And when the visibility do improve, you make sure not to look downwards or sideways! We know now, what Zozi La actually is - its different!

Drass


Approaching the mighty Zozi La


Sherdil at Zozi La top


This was the last picture we could click of Zozi La. No picture of the descent, focus was on driving


Tarred roads returned after crossing Baltal, and we were on the outskirt of Sonamarg just before the sundown. It was dejavu for us, with the beautiful moments we spent at Sonamarg during our Kashmir road trip in 2016, flashing before our eyes. Same road, some new hotels have sprung up along with the existing ones, the military base on the left - everything was in sync with what we we saw in 2016. But where are the tourists? With the onset of Autumn, there should be people everywhere in Sonamarg. But that was not the case. Every hotel that we saw by the side of the road was closed and the entrance door locked. The silence in the air was petrifying, which was occasionally broken by the gust of winds flapping the loose corner of the GI sheet of the roof, at one of the closed hotels.

We were in shock and couldn't decide on the next step. We stopped by the side of the road, only to hear a whistle being blown from the tower of the military base informing us that it was a no stopping zone. Puzzled, we moved ahead and saw a car standing in front of the "Tranquil Retreat" hotel. The entrance gate was half shut and we managed to open that and went towards the hotel. There were only two staffs taking care of the hotel who informed us that the hotel was closed. But they told that they could open up a room for us, but the restaurant being closed we had to make arrangements for our food. We were okay with that, but the price of the room they quoted (INR 6000/- per night) made us think of other options. We assured them that we would look for some other options and in case we didn't get any, we would definitely come back. At that moment, it came to our mind about the hotel that was suggested to us by the folks at Kargil - The Glacier Heights. We started looking around for the hotel, but with no one around we could not even ask for directions. And internet and mobile connectivity being turned off in the valley, we were clueless. Luckily, after some close inspection of the area, we found the hotel little inside from the main road. We went straight to the hotel reception and asked for a room. We were allotted a valley facing room at a decent price of INR 1200/-. More than the price, the benefit of staying in this hotel was the fact that there were other tourists staying in the hotel and also it had a restaurant in a running state.

With the help of the guys at the hotel, we put few of the luggage inside our room. We had some tea and snacks from the restaurant and went outside for a stroll. Sun was already behind the mountains with very little light adorning the sky. We went towards the bank of R. Sindh and relaxed for a while. A local police volunteer came up to us and we had a conversation with him where he expressed his deep concern on the ongoing situation. We too reciprocated the same feeling. After all, this was not the Sonamarg we visited earlier. We sincerely wished that the Kashmir valley regains peace and revives its lost glory.

As we were returning to our hotel, we heard some bengali voices in the background. We turned and found Mr. Ghosh and his family from Kolkata itself who were also returning from their Ladakh journey. We interacted for some time and then went to a tea shop and ordered some snacks and tea. After some time, the owner informed us that the shop had to be closed for the day. But the session continued as Mr. Ghosh took us to a Kashmiri shawl shop where the owner was kind enough to accommodate all of us, that too with no one in the group had the intention to buy goodies from the shop.

After another half an hour of gossip, we bade goodbye to Ghosh family and returned to our hotel. We ordered for dinner early and retired for the day.

Hotel Glacier Heights


View of the hotel from the main road


Near empty streets in Sonamarg


Not a familiar scene in Sonamarg, in peak tourist season!


Tranquility




Moon rises over the mountains


A selfie with Ghosh family at Sonamarg


Hotel: Glacier Heights, Sonamarg
Room Type : Double bed room
Price : INR 1200. Booked after reaching Sonamarg.
Feedback: : Nice hotel in budget. Good location and food quality

[gearhead_mait]

If there was one day in our entire itinerary which we were worried about, it was this one. The unrest in the Kashmir valley which forced us to take the Manali-Leh route about 14 days back, hasn't improved much. Still the curfew is in force in many places in the valley with staggered violence breaking out at random places. Mobile network was down in the entire region, which means that we could end up in big trouble if the situation worsens.

We woke up before sunrise and were ready to hit the road.

Sonamarg was still asleep when we left!


But the Thajiwas Glacier already received its share of gold!


One picture of Sherdil with the background of Thajiwas


Beautiful Sonamarg


The trademark bailey bridge, just before entering Sonamarg from Srinagar side


Unrest, Agitation, Curfew! Nature doesn't care. It preserves its glory


As we moved on towards Srinagar, the roads were nearly empty. The overall environment reflected the tensed situation prevalent in the valley. There were heavy deployment of Armed Forces, CRPF personnel and J&K Police, sometimes at an interval of 200-300 meters along the road. We were not stopped anywhere by the security personnel and at the same time we didn't even think of stopping on our own to take photographs etc. In the early morning hours, the locals were busy performing their daily work and few of them could be seen hurrying through their daily chores. The facial expression of the locals as well as the security personnel did not reflect any sign of happiness. And we were just driving by, leaving all the unhappy faces fading out slowly in the rear view mirror.

We knew that we had to drive through Srinagar but our plan was to avoid the Lal chowk area. Just before Srinagar, we were at the fork where the road to the left goes towards Srinagar via the Boulevard road via Hazratbal, while the trunk road goes straight to Lal Chowk. MMI was indicating Lal Chowk road, but we knew from our past experiences that the situation could turn worse in that region anytime. With internet services being down, we were in a dilemma. We stopped our car and went towards a CRPF officer on duty at the junction. He was heavily armed and with the tension in the air, I was a little afraid as I moved towards him. But soon everything was fine, and the officer on duty helped us to the best of his capacity. At first, he suggested to avoid the inside lanes towards Srinagar but when we raised our concern on the Lal Chowk region, he promptly agreed and directed us towards the Hazratbal road. We thanked him and moved on towards Srinagar.

Char Chinar


Empty Shikaras


And lonely Dal lake


Hard realization | Deserted Boulevard road


And House Boats were shut down as well


The beautiful Srinagar was missing its usual charm. Many hotels were closed on the boulevard road and the Dal lake area, which normally remains crowded with the hustle and bustle of tourists, shikara owners and vendors, was nearly empty. We were guided to take the new 4 lane highway that bypasses Anantnag, Pampore, Bijbehera instead of the old two lane road and we stuck to the advice. Few kilometers from the Dal lake, at a crossing we took the right turn and continued for a few kilometers again to merge with the four lane highway.

The highway was good and it reduced the journey time to and fro Srinagar for sure. But the local traffic seemed not quite adapted to the norms of highway driving, so proper care had to be taken on my side to keep the margin of their error. Progress was steady, only to be occasionally stopped by J&K Police to let the military convoy pass.

We reached the Titanic view point much earlier than we expected. As we were driving non-stop from Sonamarg, we thought of taking some rest here before proceeding further. We searched for a clean washroom and were directed to the temporary camp of the CRPF on the opposite side of the road. As we went inside the camp, we met a gentleman who was the second-in-command of the CRPF battalion. It turned out that he was a Bengali with his hometown being Kolkata. It was a nice surprise to meet him and we exchanged greetings. We would never forget the hospitality we received. We were served with sweets, snacks and tea and was even asked to have our lunch together, which we had to push back due to time constraint.
After spending a nice time with the officer, we asked for his leave and went ahead. There were a lot of military convoy movement that day, where the other traffic were stopped for long period of time. But with the instruction and help of the gentleman, we were allowed to slip into the convoy.
Many thanks to you Sir, for all your help.

Although we were in the convoy, but after crossing Jawahar Tunnel till Ramban, the roads were narrow and it was difficult to overtake so many heavy vehicles in the convoy. As a result, the progress was slow and we could only reach till Chenani-Nasri Tunnel at sundown. We took a snacks break on the outskirt of Udhampur and decided to stay at Jammu for the day.

The town of Jammu was chaotic with traffic and we had difficult time maneuvering through unknown streets in parallel to searching for decent hotels. At last we found a place with proper parking in front of a hotel. We went inside, checked the rooms and confirmed on our stay.

After a hectic drive, we had our dinner from the hotel itself and retired for the day.

Hotel: Vardaan Hotel, Jammu
Room Type : Double bed room
Price : INR 1700. Booked after reaching Jammu.
Feedback: : Average location. Average on cleanliness. Parking available in front of the hotel.