Khardung La - for a while now it had been my dream to drive up there with the family in the Safari. And it was on the verge of coming true. Call it over-reaction, call it what you will, but to me it was a big deal!
18,380 feet! Mind boggling!
We set out on our quest on 5th June at 7.50 am after Breakfast - followed the same route as we'd done for the Old Palace till just past the Bazaar, left turn just before the Gate & and then a right turn on the road to Khardung La (which went onwards to Nubra Valley)
The sign made it obvious where we were headed
and we kept climbing higher - there,
far below was where we'd come from!
We arrived at South Pullu approx 50 minutes later - this is where the permits were to be handed over before proceeding
The views, as expected, were to die for!
Despite the altitude to which we had to climb, the drive itself wasn't so steep or frightening & roads were in reasonably OK condition except for a few kilometers towards the top
Don't miss that aircraft up there in the sky - though I feel our experience would have been way better going by road
Our excitement was building up & it wasn't very long before we sighted the pass!
Reached & got off & went berserk clicking away & for far too long!
Ladies & Gentlemen, I proudly present The First 3 litre Team-Bhp Safari Dicor on Khardung La
And of course, this absolutely narcissistic one -
The Beast & Its Master!!
By this time, we realized that we had overstayed on K Top - almost
50 minutes!! Time to move on, back to lower & mundane heights. Soaking in these wonderful sights, we returned to the Hotel
through India Gate (its everywhere isn't it! Even up on Zoji La!!)
And how could we forget this cute Khardung La frog!!!
We reached back at 11.44 am, having covered a distance of 84 kms -
we had conquered Khardung La! I was elated! After relaxing for a while at the Hotel, it was lunch time. Today's venue was
Leh View Restaurant in the main market. They were supposed to be serving excellent Wazhwan Cuisine & it would be a good opportunity to check out the market offerings
A disappointment when we climbed up the stairs to Leh View - no lamb preparations! That meant - no Rishta or Gustabha or Yakhne
. Anyway, they prepared some excellent chicken for us & we decided that we'd go back there some other day for the lamb.
Next day was our Pangong Tso visit so it was time to Tank up with Xtra Premium.
Total Distance travelled - 146.7 kms, Diesel filled - 15.8 ltrs, Mileage obtained - 9.28 kmpl. Gone up despite the climb!
The rest of the day passed off fairly uneventfully & we did call it an early night since it was going to be a long haul the next day