Barren Lands - Vibrant Souls

Exploring Kashmir '09

It seemed eternity since I had been on a holiday. Work was hectic and desperately needed a break. The last real holiday was to Sattal nearly 7 months ago and before that was an all-girls trip to Ladakh a year ago.

The idea of going back to Kashmir was quite motivating. I wanted to see the snow-peaked mountains resting on the banks of Indus and Zanskar with a stretch of the sand desert next to it....all over again.

So finally, on the dawn of 4th September 2009, the epitome of excitement was rising higher as the 6 of us (Kiran, Sheela, Nithyanand, Hari, Ani and myself) with packed luggage were ready to board the flight to Srinagar.

The terrorised city of Srinagar has always stirred our imaginations, even as a child. The prospect of visiting this mysterious land was a pleasure we always fancied.

Our flight SG224 departed on time @ 08:45am from the Bangalore International Airport and stopped over at New Delhi for a good one hour. We were asked not to get off the plane and hence witnessed the cleaning procedures and security checks inside the flight. In half an hour we were ready to take off to Srinagar, but thanks to the busy schedules of planes taking off from Delhi, we had to wait for nearly 18 flights to take off before we got our turn.

Inspite of the long wait and 5 hrs of flight travel, the view from above was just breathtaking.

We landed at Srinagar by 13:50pm. Lt. Col Narayan and Mrs. Roopa Narayan were all excited to receive us at the airport. Our first drive in the city witnessed some tight security at every 100 mts. As we drove into the Badami Bagh Cantt on the Peer Panjal hill, the whole scenic beauty changed. It was just like any of us had always imagined Srinagar to be.

Not everyone is lucky to have a home in the terrorised land, but thanks to my family, we started our Kashmir journey with a good 4 hours rest at my uncle’s residence. The exotic dishes prepared by Roopa aunty, (chapatis, palak paneer, dal makhani, brinjal curry, the most wanted hot tomato rasam, rice, curd, rice paysam/kheer and carrot halwa....oh and a lil bit of previous night’s aloo sabzi) made us eat our tummies full and enough to sustain even if we did not get food for the next 10 days. We even carried a part of it for our onward journey. Post the lunch session the guys raided my uncle’s bar storage and picked up a few bottles to keep ourselves warm for the next couple of days.

We then headed for a guided tour within the Badami Bagh Cantt. The journey in the army jeep was first among all excitements. We first visited the Pani Mandir....a good start to a wonderful holiday. The Pani Mandir or also called as Pandrethan, is a small temple surrounded by water and houses the Shiva Lingam. The temple on the basis of architectural motifs can be dated back to the late eighth century. The temple stands on a base carved with a row of elephants, and the decorative motifs on the pillars and roof are the major exterior embellishments. The temple consists of a double pyramidal roof with triangular pediments on all the four sides enclosing a trefoil arch.

During winter, since the weather gets really chill and being barefoot is quite an unseen phenomenon, the authorities provide wooden chappals to be worn inside the temple. There is a tiny bridge that leads us to the inside of the temple, where shiva lingam is placed right at the centre. Every individual is allowed to do the pani abhishekam to the divine deity.

After being blessed by Lord Shiva we witnessed the township inside the campus as we drove past the Badgam Memorial, Chinar Library, The Training Ground, Shopping Complex, Golf Course, etc and finally reached the ‘Sarva Dharma Sthal’. Being a Sai devotee, was quite excited to see a place where all religions are worshipped under one roof.

The Sarva Dharma Sthal is a huge meditation hall with a temple, mosque, church, gompa and gurudwara inside it. It gives us a feeling of being one, the feeling of all religions leading to One Almighty.

Bidding farewell to the comforts of the army campus, we headed to our houseboat on the banks of the Nageen Lake. It was the season of Ramzan and the drive witnessed the real spirit of Ramzan. The fast had just broken and dry fruits were distributed to every passersby....whether a Hindu, Christian or of any other religion. The women would stand with baskets of dryfruits and the men and children would run upto every vehicle and distribute the juicy khajurs. This is one sight you wouldn’t witness in any part of India other than Kashmir.

We reached Nageen lake by around 7pm. It took us a long walk in the garden to reach our houseboat and pooooof...a fairy tale come true. We felt like royals having a splendid and huge houseboat all to ourselves. A typical mughal style of intricately designed wooden walls, men at our service, beautiful view of the lake, some spirits to warm ourselves, hot delicious dinner, nothing more could we ask for on a cold moonlit night.

Day 2:
We were scheduled to leave the houseboat by around 7am and hence finish breakfast by 6:30am. But thanks to the comforts of ‘Jewel of Kashmir’, we delayed ourselves. The shikara shopping kept us busy while we were at breakfast. Inspired by the romance in the Kashmir ki kalis, Sheela and Kiran bought a shikara made out of paper mache with their names engraved on it.

We finally made it to our vehicle an hour later. We made the rest of our journey in the Innova JK-10 5544 with Mr. Tundup Sehphel, our Driver. Tundup is a common name in Ladakh, but our south guys took quite some time to get used to that name. They finally coded it as Tund-uppu (small portion of salt in kannada), to remember it.

As we drove out of Srinagar, the picturesque beauty of the place was caught in our cameras.
We had planned to stop for lunch at Sonamarg, also called as the ‘Meadow of Gold’, around 80kms north-east from Srinagar. It is at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level. The drive to this place is through the Sindh valley, one of the largest tributaries in Kashmir.

Sonamarg is of enchanting beauty surrounded by dense forests, full of sycamore, alpine flowers, silver birch, fir and pine trees. The meadow presents a captivating sight , especially during spring and hence is also called as the ‘Golden Meadow’. Ponies can be hired here for the trip to the base of the Thajwas Glacier.

We reached there much before lunch time. The very first ‘not hungry’ turned out into a full-fledged brunch of maggi, rotis, dal and rice, followed by tea as well. The one hour stop at Sonamarg was quite enthralling and refreshing. It energised us for the rest of the journey before we made our next halt at Dras.

Dras is a tiny town in the Kargil district of Kashmir. It is also called as the ‘Gateway to ladakh’, located 56kms before Kargil. It is also the coldest inhabitant place in India. Winters are extremely harsh and can fall as low as -45 degree centigrade. This tiny town became famous during the 1999 Kargil war. The town was shelled by infiltrators and luckily recaptured by our very own Heroes – The Indian Army.

A little further from the Dras village is the Kargil Memorial, situated at the base of the Tiger and Tololong hills. This war memorial was built by the Indian Army following the war with the neighbouring country, Pakistan in 1999. The memorial houses some of the sequence of events that happened during the course of the war along with details of the Indian army personnel, who sacrificed their lives in the process of recapturing some of the peaks occupied by Pakistan.

The main attraction of the ‘Operation Vijay’ memorial is the sandstone wall, in the open, which has the names of all the Indian Army personnel, who laid their lives during the Kargil war. Visitors to the memorial can also see from here, the Tiger Hill and Tololong Hill, captured back from Pakistan.

There is a museum with lots of photographs on how the brave soldiers fought for our country and also many remains of the bomb shells found on Tiger and Tololong Hills.

While the rest of us were enjoying the drive to Kargil, Nithyanand was heading for his operation Vijay. He had to reach Kargil much before anyone fainted in the car....guess it was the ‘no hungry’ meal turned into ‘full fledged meal’ made his bottom loose.

It took us about an hours’ drive from the Vijay Memorial to reach the town of Kargil. Hotel Siachen, located at the heart of Kargil is one of the best places to stay in this rustic town. We reached the hotel by 3pm, right in time for a cup of tea. We relaxed for a bit except for Nithyanand who had to visit the loo regularly.

By evening, after a nice hot shower, we decided to head towards the market and explore the village of Kargil. Bound by the hyms from the mosque, being the Ramzan season, the roads seemed quite desserted but the moon lit night was a worthy sight especially for Kiran’s photography skills. Nithyanand and Ani, who were quite experimental with food, tried out the road side sheek kabab also called tujji, with roti and raddish chutney.

On returning to our hotel, we settled in for an early dinner. A full four-course meal starting with tomato soup and ending with delicious apricot stew was served by the hospitable staff at Hotel Siachen. Not quite used to getting into bed at the early hours of the night, we gathered at Hari’s and Nithya’s room and began with our warm up session. A couple of card games got some of us lucky to make some quick bucks. The Gin and Rum picked up from Srinagar was finding its way down our throat and the laughter was loud enough to wake up a few neighbours. It was pretty late after a tiring day and retired to our respective rooms.

Day 3:
It was almost 9.30am when we started our onward journey to Alchi after a hot breakfast. The drive from here was a drastic change. The greenery around slowly turned into shades of brown. The typical essence of Ladakh was setting in with huge mountains and streams flowing. We were moving into the Ladakh region of Kashmir.

Enroute we stopped at Mulbek, situated 45 kms east of Kargil on the road to Leh. Mulbek is predominantly a Buddhist area. The Chamba statue at Mulbek is a 9m high rock sculpture of the Maitreya, the "Future Buddha", which reflects a unique blend of esoteric Saivite symbolism, with early Buddhist art.

To head to Alchi, we had to go through the Namika Pass (Namikala) at a height of 12198 ft above sea level and Fotula at 13479ft above sea level. It was so windy up there that one could just fly away if not for the heaps of clothes we had on ourselves to keep us warm.

It was at Fotula where acclimatization was getting to be a problem for me inspite of being on Diamox. I fainted because of the sudden loss of oxygen and this was a little scary for the group as we were 13,500ft above sea level, no humans around for help and me lying there unconscious. It took me about 5-10 mins to recover and rested for a while in the vehicle before we took off again.

At around 12.30pm, we reached the Lamayuru Monastery. A trek uphill would have been an ideal way to get to the monastery, but thanks to the city slops that we are, we chose not to waste any of our precious energy climbing all the way up.

Let me tell you a little bit about Lamayuru before I proceed. Lamayuru Monastery is situated in Ladakh, in between Bodhkharbu and Kha-la-che, on a steep rock mountain. It lies at a distance of approximately 127 km to the west of Leh town. Lamayuru Monastery belongs to the Red-Hat sect of Buddhism.

‘Lamayuru’ is also called as ‘Yungdrung Monastery’. The history of the monastery begins with the visit of Arahat Nimagung to this place, when there was merely a lake here. It is said that Arahat made a prophecy that "a monastery will come up at this spot" and he made offerings (prayer with grains of corn) to the Naga (serpent) spirits. The corns mixed with the earth and formed the shape of Swastika (Yungdrung), and hence the name ‘Yungdrung Monastery’. The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo constructed a temple here in eleventh century. Naropa also visited Lamayuru and meditated here. Gelukspa or Kadampa school of Tibetan Buddhism initially looked after Lamayuru, but later; it was taken over by Digungpa Order. Its monastic festival is called "Yuru Kabgyat", which takes place on 17th and 18th of 5th month of the Tibetan Calendar.

The landscape around this monastery (due to the drying of the lake), is said to be very similar to the landscape on the moon and hence is also called as the ‘moon land’.

Lamayuru is the one of the largest and also one of the oldest gompa in Ladakh with a population of around 150 permament monks residing here. It has, in the past, housed up to 400 monks, many of which are now based in gompas in surrounding villages. Lamayuru is host to two annual masked dance festivals, in the second and fifth months of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when all the monks from these surrounding gompas gather together to pray.

The monastery is made up of a number of shrines and also has a very rich collection of thankas and magnificent wall paintings. At the outset, the Lamayuru Monastery consisted of five buildings, out of which only the central one exists today.

After visiting the prayer hall, we went around the monastery turning the 108 prayer wheels. Spinning the written form of the mantra around in a Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and Mani wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.

We had the packed lunch (carried from Kargil) at the Monastery canteen. Post the heavy lunch, our drive to Ule was quite serene. We were soon on our way, following the course of the muddy Indus River of the Zanskar valley. Amongst the dusty roads and tall brown mountains, the only patch of green was the Nimo village. Passing through Nimo we arrived at a sleepy little hamlet known as Basgo. Overlooking it were the ruins of a huge fort perched atop a hill. By passing Basgo we headed along the Kargil-Leh highway towards Ule (Uleytokpo). It seemed like a long journey though it took us just one hour to reach our destination.

Uleytokpo or Ule – in short, is located on the Srinagar-Leh highway around 70kms from Leh, in the Sham region of lower Ladakh. If you are looking for an ethnic & peaceful environment to stay at Ule, then Ule Ethnic resort is just the right place. The concrete tents amidst the apple and apricot groves allow you to relax and rejuvenate yourself in the greenery among the dry landscapes of Ladakh.

With the Indus river flowing right next door, we decided to take a walk to the stream and re-energise ourselves with a dip in the water. The six of us set out on a good half an hour trek with hills on one side and the water flowing on the other. The water was cold, the weather was chill, a lil bit of rum and home-made khakhras kept us from falling ill.

The sun was setting behind the myriads of mountains and it was time for us to step back into our concrete burrows. A tiring day left us with not much time and energy to socialise till late and hence hit the sack early.

Day 4:
The morning departure was delayed again, thanks to me, as my tummy had not agreed with the Chinese cuisine served for dinner the previous night. But the bottle of electoral really did the wonders. Pulling up my socks, made it to the car and hence began a new day’s adventure.

It was a half an hour’s drive to the very famous ancient Monastery of lower Ladakh. At the village of Saspol, we turned left towards Alchi. As we drove, the valley below was dotted with little houses and stupas, spread out like a carpet of green curling into the folds of bare hills that seemed to rear up against the horizon. In a short while, we were making our way through the beautiful village lined with poplars. The 11th century Alchi Monastery stood in solitary splendour, in the midst of a cluster of apricot trees. Built in sections, one adjacent to the other and not in pyramidal style that is typical of Buddhist monasteries, this place of worship was abandoned centuries ago, but is now maintained by the monks of Likir, the nearest functioning monastery.

The walls of each of the five sections of this religious building are covered with the most exquisite paintings & murals of the Kashmiri Buddhist art form. There is absolutely no source of illumination inside the monastery and hence flashlights or mobile lights had to be used to admire the art.

Inspite of being a ‘National Heritage’ (as proclaimed by The Archaeological Survey of India), the monastery is falling apart and needs professional expertise to restore this ancient edifice.

After the visit to the Buddhist shrine, we settled down at the German Bakery. Our first of the many lemon-ginger-honey teas. As the afternoon sun was shining bright and making us drowsy, we decided to skip Likir Monastery. We had already seen two big monasteries and needed a break from them. We straight headed towards Leh.

As we drove back towards Nimo Village and took the Kargil –Leh Highway, a little further from the village is the Indus-Zanskar Confluence. The blue waters of Indus meet with the slit laden murky water of the river Zanskar. From this point on, the stream of water is regarded as the Indus River and the Zanskar does not exist beyond this point. This confluence is a good place for white water rafting as well.

At about 30kms just before you hit the Leh Town, there is a famous sightseeing destination called as the Magnetic Hill. This is a gravity hill alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill.

Imagine the movement of a vehicle moving uphill with its engine switched off. Sounds quite unbelievable, but yes, this is the phenomenon at the famously known Magnetic Hill. It is a well defined concept of an optical illusion.

A little ahead of the magnetic hill is the Pathar Sahab Gurudwara constructed in the memory of Guru Nanak.

According to the legend, there lived a wicked demon that terrorised the people in that area. The people prayed to the Almighty for help and is said that Guru Nanak heard their woes and came to their aid. He settled down to meditate on the bank of the river below the hill where the wicked demon lived. The demon got into a rage and decided to kill Guru Nanak Dev and rolled down a large pathar (boulder) from the hilltop. The boulder came rolling down and when it touched the Guru's body, it softened like warm wax and came to a halt against Guru Nanak's back. The Guru kept on meditating unhurt and undisturbed. On seeing this, the demon realised his own powerlessness as compared with the spiritual powers of the great Guru. He fell at the feet of Guru Nanak Dev and begged for forgiveness. Guru Sahib advised him to get rid of his wicked ways and asked him to lead a life of a noble person. This changed the life of the demon, which gave up evil deeds and started serving the people. Guru Nanak Dev thereafter continued his holy journey towards Srinagar via Kargil.

The pathar pushed down by the demon, with the imprint of the body of Guru Nanak Dev, is at present on display in Pathar Sahib Gurdwara. It is said that since the visit of Guru Sahib (in 1517), the local lamas have held the pathar sacred and offered prayers to it. During 1970s the care of this gurudwara was given in the hands of the Indian Army. Even today passersby stop over at this gurudwara to take Guru Nanak Sahab’s blessings and give up evil deeds and serve the society with love.

With blessed food from the shrine of the Sikh Saint, we headed towards the most awaited town of Leh. It was the Ladakh festival season at Leh and the town was full of colour and frolic.

Leh is the the largest town of Ladakh. The district is bounded by Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) in the West, China in the north and eastern part, and Lahul Spiti of Himachal Pradesh in South East. For a long time Leh remained the capital of the Rajas of Ladakh. It lies at an altitude of 10,800 ft above sea level and the district comprises of the main Leh town and 112 villages.

September 1-15 every year is the time for the Ladakh Festival. The inauguration ceremony takes place in Leh on a large scale with the procession of various cultural troupes from different part of Ladakh. It passes through Leh Market, as the troupes sing and dance in colorful traditional Ladakhi dresses, and finishes at Polo ground after performing their best dances and songs. The festival lasts for 15 days with regular program in different villages. The program includes Archery, Polo, and Mask Dances from the monasteries and traditional dances by cultural troupes from villages. There are series of musical concerts and dance programs in Leh town for these 15 days. People from all over the world come to witness this grandeur.

For most of us the very first impression of Leh was very different from what we had imagined. A small town on the hillock among the snow peaked mountains is what Leh was all about in our minds, but what we saw here was a bigger and more commercialised place with loads of people walking around. This could also be the outcome over the years and more so because of the festive season.

We soon checked into Hotel Pangong just off the Fort Road, very close to the main market area. The courteous Mr. Shankar at the reception made sure that all comforts were at our finger tips. Some hot black tea and mix veg pakodas was how we started the perfect stay at our base camp – Leh.

The market being close by, we decided to take a stroll and get some fresh air in return. There are a lot of Tibetan Refugees Markets selling a lot of junk stuff. Teenagers would just go crazy with the kind of stuff they sell there. Prices aren’t very cheap as expected, a lot of bargaining is very necessary to get a good deal out of these people.The main street is varied with a typical vegetable market on one side and emporium material on the other. A good place for Pashmina shawls, but again, one should know a little about Pashmina to avoid getting cheated.

As the sun set, our tummies growled for some hot authentic momos and thats how we ended up at the very famous restaurant called ‘The Tibetan Kitchen’, famous for their momos. Sumptuously satisfying our hunger, we headed back to the hotel. The weather was getting colder and in the process, Sheela lost her breath by the time we got back and had to give her some emergency medical aid to bring her back to her normal self.

We had to leave early to visit Pangong Lake the next day and hence had an early dinner. Since most of us were tired, we tucked ourselves into the bed.

Day 5:
The excitement of seeing snow, the much awaited and the prime objective of this trip, made us get ready at the early hours and we were all set for our onward journey by 8am. Our driver Tundup, the always punctual fellow, was already waiting for us at the hotel lobby. With a fulfilling breakfast, we set off on the 135kms journey towards the Pangong Lake.

As we drove on the Himank roads, we sighted some really interesting signboards. A couple of them were really hilarious.

A few more that kept us laughing:
Alert today, alive tomorrow
Safety on road means 'Safe-Tea' at home
Be late than being Mr.Late

At around 75kms from Leh, on the way to Pangong, is the world’s third highest motorable road - Chang-la (‘la’ in Ladakh means ‘pass’) at 17,586 ft above sea level. It took us a full 2hrs drive uphill through narrow roads to reach the highest point of Changla.

As we drove higher, one could see the excitement on our faces as for most of us, it was the very first time with snow. For years, which remained a dreamy fairy land story, it was now coming true to be playing with snow.

At around 11am we reached the top of Changla. At every pass, the Indian Army guys are stationed for the security of the nation. Infact, thanks to our intruding neighbours, we have had the strength to build motorable roads at such heights.

We were warned about the low oxygen level outside before we got off and also asked not to stay out there for more than 20 minutes. Exertion was a complete ‘no-no’. Accepting these conditions, all excited we stepped out. First thing, we visited the shiva temple at the pass and thanked him for getting us safe this far and also prayed for a blissful onward journey. From here, we headed towards the snow, played like kids, made snow balls and threw on eachother. Then began the photograph session with different poses (just to make the unfortunate few back at Bangalore to envy us).

After the cold play, it’s nice to enjoy a hot cup of tea. Thanks to the army guys, we got to have some complimentary hot tea at such heights. Refreshed and energised once again, we got into our vehicle and set off to Pangong.

Thought it’s just 70kms, it takes about 2 hours from here to reach the Pangong Lake because of the narrow roads and the rough terrain. So, a few of us took this opportunity to catch a nap.

On the way, about 14kms before Pangong, amidst the browns is a patch of grassland where we found 5 friendly Himalayan Marmots. These aren’t the friendly types, but since they’ve got used to people travelling in that area who mean no harm to them, they have become friendly with humans.

The Himalayan Marmots are large ground squirrels hailing from the family of rodents and are one of the highest living mammals in the world. They are found only at those heights in the Deosai plateau of Pakistan and Ladakh (India). They are also commonly known as ‘Snow Pigs’.

As winter sets in, the vegetation gets scares and hence hunger strikes for these cute little creatures. This is the time they are ready to eat anything you give them. We had carried some bananas, dry fruits and krack jack biscuits for our journey, but looking at those cute faces, begging for food, we spent a good half an hour feeding them.

With this good deed, we got into the car and packed ourselves warm. The evening was setting in and the weather was getting cold.

Our first glance of the Pangong Lake was unbelievable. One could never imagine a bright blue lake amidst the dusty brown mountains. We thought it would be beyond the hills on a plain surrounded by greens, but this was something really different.

At an altitude of around 14,300 ft, between the low rolling ranges of the Changtang plateau lies the Pangong Tso (Tso means Lake in Ladakhi) or also called as the Lukung Tso. It is a 134km long salt water lake. The lake spans across India and China, with the bigger part of the lake being in China. During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline.

It is endorheic in nature, which purely means that there is only inflow of water into the lake and no outflow to other water bodies such as rivers and oceans. Most of the water in the lake comes from the melting snow. Although it is a saltwater lake and has virtually no aquatic life, it supports a variety of fauna that include migratory birds and mammals. The black-necked Siberian crane, bar-headed geese and Brahmini ducks are a common sight here. It also supports wildlife species such as the Kiang and the Marmots.

Tourists need to acquire an Inner Line Permit to visit the Pangong Tso. Being on a sensitive border, boating is not allowed on the Indian side.

We reached Pangong by around 3pm. The breathtaking view made us begin with the photograph session, then Sheela and I like brave souls got our feet into the water. It was freezing cold. But to our wonder, after the feet dip, our body kind of warmed up and didn’t find the weather too cold. The guys were still shivering.

The cold and the hunger were overthrown with every sight of the enormous lake. Often, the haunting play of light and shadow on the hills around the lake is a great attraction and when the clouds clear, sun rays play magic with the crystal clear water imparting colours from aqua to shades of orange. The effect is surreal.

Our packed lunch boxes were opened at the tent on the banks of the lake. Along with the packed sandwiches, we had some hot maggi noodles to soothe us in the cold environment of the beautiful lake. We drove for another 7km towards Spangmik Village to arrive at the Pangong Camp Resort, a cement cottage, on the banks of the Pangong Tso. The fort was held by a one man army.

As we settled inside our cement cottage, the tiresome drive showed up on us finally, and we all wanted to take a nap before we could enjoy the sunset later that evening. After a cup of hot tea and some giggles, we dug ourselves into the cozy beds. Not long after that was I woken up by my darling who was literally shivering and wanted to head back to our base camp. It was quite unusual because he was the type who could tolerate the cold much better than I did. But here, I was completely fine. Things had changed...ladakh does that to you. Anyways, since going back was not an option as it was too late to drive back on the passes, we packed him up with three more layers of clothing. Ani was there on the banks of Pangong, standing like an Eskimo all covered up and to the contrary, we see Nithya walking around the camp in his shorts!!! Now trust me, Ladakh really does this to you!

The evening was getting colder and the Old Monk (well, the bottled one) was out. It was the only way to keep us going as this basic place did not even have hot water bags to keep us warm. Dreading the night, we drank till we dropped just not to feel the cold anymore. Hot dinner, full of veggies was served and with that we called it a (long) day!

Day 6:

Waking up before the sun is out, is something unreal for me, but there is always a first time. The mountains and the sky are indistinguishable in darkness. Gradually there are hints and gleams of light on the eastern horizon and the pale yellow bars of light are slowly tearing away the night sky.

It was a pleasant surprise to find all of us awake and gazing at the horizon to see the frolics of the rising sun bringing back the blue colour of the Pangong water. The cold muscles slowly turned warm and for the first time we really cherished the rays of the Sun God.

We could hear the wind saying ‘come back again’ as we bid farewell to the blue waters and departed to Leh. Back on the Changla, we stopped for some cold play with hot tea and went straight towards Hemis.

The Hemis town which is about 40kms before Leh, is well known for its ancient monastery, the biggest in Ladakh. It dates back to 1630 and even today holds the distinction of being the wealthiest of all Gompas (in Ladakh). It is positioned inside a gorge on the western banks of the Indus river. An entry fee of Rs.50 is charged from tourists who wish to visit the Monastery and the museum inside.

The Gompa has a rich collection of ancient relics and an array of items like copper gilt statues of Lord Buddha, gold and silver stupas and thangkas.

The Thangka is the sacred appliqué work tapestry which depicts Guru Padmasambhava. This Thangka is displayed once in 12 years during the well known Hemis Festival.

Our next Lunch halt was at the Thiksey Monastery. Anirudh, again wanting to be experimental, ordered for some Thukpa at the Monastery canteen. We were all hungry and eagerly waited for this exotic dish to fill our tummies, but little did we know we were in for a big surprise. The Thukpa what we imagined was nowhere close to being exotic. Not being satisfied, we had to go back to ordering Maggi noodles...which we quite enjoyed. With some noodle energy in us, we started climbing towards the Gompa.

This Monastery is situated on a hill next to the Stagmo village on the banks of the Indus River. It is about 20kms from Leh town. It houses one of the largest Buddha Statues (15 meters tall), which is also the main worshipping deity here – ‘The Maitreya Buddha’ or otherwise known as the ‘Buddha of Future’.

Thiksey, is one of the finest examples of Ladakhi architecture. The 12-storey monastery complex contains numerous stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings, swords and a large pillar engraved with the Buddha's teachings apart from the sacred shrines and other precious objects to be seen. It also houses about 100 monks who live there to teach and learn the traditions of Buddhism.

This is one of the most photogenic and visually appealing monasteries found in Ladakh. My personal favourite followed by Alchi.

After having a lovely view uphill and at the enormous Maitreya Buddha, we headed to the Shey Palace, situated a few kilometres from Thiksey.

The Shey Palace had nothing much to see as it is more or less in ruins these days. It was built in the 16th century and was vacated by the Royal Family in 1834. This palace has the largest Victroy Stupa in Ladakh, the top of which is made of pure gold. There is a shrine of the Sakyamuni right at the top. The seated statue is made of copper and brass, plated with gold, silver and studded with gems and precious stones, truly one of a kind.

A little further from the Shey Palace, on the other side of the road is a less known tourist spot called the Lovers’ Point. It is a scenic beauty, with the stream flowing amongst the green trees and bushes. I must say a perfect getaway for the teenagers of Leh.

Half an hours’ drive from here, we head back to our base camp. Thirsty and dirty we dump our bags in the room, have a quick wash and head to the Penguin German Cafe. The most relished hot lemon tea soothes us as the cold night sets in.

Day 7:
Khardung La! Does it sound familiar? Yes, it is the World’s Highest Motorable Road. It stands at an altitude of 18,380 feet above sea level. It is just about 39kms North from Leh, on the Leh-Khalsar route, also known as the Silk Route amongst trekkers and bikers. Inspite of the short distance, it takes about 1 and a half or sometimes even 2 hours to reach the pass. The winding roads are narrow and dusty and most of the times victims of landslides.

Khardung La is also the gateway to the Nubra and Shyok Valleys. Vehicles on this road are allowed only in one direction at a time. From 9am to 1pm: the Leh – Khardungla direction and from 1pm to 5pm: from the Nubra Valley via Khardungla towards Leh. It is best to check timings before proceeding with the journey.

Inner Line Permits are not required to go to the K-Top, but will need them to cross North Pullu Checkpost if you are heading towards Nubra. These permits can be obtained from the DC’s office at Leh or from your travel agents if you don’t want to sit through the formalities. A group of minimum four travellers are needed for each permit.

There is nothing much one can do on the K-top other than take pictures at the top of the highest Motorable road and do a bit of souvenir shopping at the Army Camp. Visitors are advised not to spend too long at the top because of the low oxygen levels.

After some more of the snow play, and some Maggi with hot tea served at the Army Camp we started to descend. The road that rose steeply from Leh to meet Khardung La was now dramatically plunging into a whirlpool of bends and turns to gradually unfold itself along the rushing Shyok River that flows into Pakistan.

The empty brown and dusty roads slowly started turning into lush green with streams flowing, kids playing, women involved in their chores, and this is when we knew we had entered the Nubra Valley of the Hunder Village.

The fertile valley of Nubra formed a part of the trade route between Tibet and Turkestan. Once dotted with garlands of camel and yak caravans, this silk route is also known as the ‘Valley of Flowers’ of Ladakh. It is relatively a warmer and one of the greenest valleys in the region, ideal for a good holiday break.

We reached the Chamba Deluxe Camp right in time for lunch. It was a pretty camp site with canvas tents covered by plants and flowers all around. The chirping of birds and the sound of the flowing water made us feel like we were in a fairy land. This place was totally different from the other regions of Ladakh.

Post lunch, we drove towards the Diskit Village. The road between the Hunder and Diskit Village winds through a gorgeous stretch of sand dunes, surrounded by snow covered peaks. This white sand like desert is created by the Shyok River. It is also known as the ‘Cold Desert’ due to the extreme cold situations and remains cut off from the rest of the world for almost 7-8 months during the year.

It is difficult to imagine camels in Ladakh as one generally associates them with sandy deserts and not snow deserts. The only difference though, is that these camels are not the average desert camels, but a double-humped kind, which are shorter and stouter. Their humps are plump and pliable and collapse in winter when food is scarce. They are the double-humped Bactrian Camels.

One can take a ride on these camels and walk across the desert and between the famous villages of Diskit and Hunder. These double humped camels were earlier used by traders as pack animals to load spices, fruits, clothes, etc. For the last 50 years, they have been bred from the tourism point of view. In the past few years, these camels have emerged as the hot favourites among tourists for Camel Safaris.

When we see sand, everyone remembers their childhood. I still remember how excited we used to get seeing those little sand hills outside the construction sites. The thought was similar even now. Sliding from the top of a dune and climbing back again.....did that quite a few times. Initially everyone hesitated, but then once the game was caught on, we felt sad to leave the dunes behind.

We decided to walk back to our camp and that was to me, the best decision we had taken on this trip. It was a wonderful walk along the stream on one side and the village houses on the other. This actually gave us the real essence of the Hunder Village. The Sun was setting behind us as we got ourselves into our camp site. The night at the camp site was a fascinating one. Nithya’s birthday celebrations were on, the alcohol kept us warm, the sky studded with stars seemed oversized due to the altitude, the countless shooting stars left a shimmering tail and the sound of the gurgling stream drifted us slowly into a restful sleep.

Day 8:
A fresh morning and a sumptuous breakfast, that is how our day began. We were ready to head back to Leh though not very happy about it as our journey was almost coming to an end.

The idea was to visit the 350 year old Diskit Monastery on the way out. This is the oldest and the largest Gompa in the Nubra Valley. As we drove towards the Diskit Village, located slightly off the little hamlet of Hunder, we changed our minds. We had seen enough Monasteries past couple of days and decided to skip this one.

Of what I remember from my previous visit, the Monastery is situated on the hill, just above the flood plains of the Shyok River. The approach to the Monastery is through a flight of steps made of stones. At the base of these steps there is a stall where one can purchase the lucky charms and also refresh themselves with some snacks and soft drinks.

The Diskit Gompa has quite an interesting legend attached to it. It is believed that a Mongol demon once lived here and was considered to be a sworn enemy of Buddhism. He was annihilated near the monastery, however, even after his death, his body kept coming back to the monastery. It is said that even today the wrinkled head and hand of the demon lies inside a temple of the monastery.

The Monastery has a huge prayer wheel just outside the prayer hall. A statue of the Maitreya Buddha is enshrined in the prayer hall along with a huge drum and many images of fierce guardian deities. There is also a 32 metre statue of Maitreya Buddha near the Monastery facing down the Shyok River towards Pakistan.

If you are in the mood for yet another monastery, you can walk to the Ensa Gompa that is over 250 years old, situated near the Panamik Village. The waters of the hot sulphur springs in this village are believed to have certain medicinal qualities that cure a number of ailments. This village is also the last destination tourists are permitted to travel to in Nubra.

Since we skipped the visit to the Monastery, we reached Khardungla much before we expected. We had plans to get off near the pass and play with some more snow since we had the time, but to our surprise, it started snowing. We were asked not to get off the vehicle. So with that, we bid farewell to the white mountains and headed back to Leh.

After a good lunch back at our base camp, The Pangong Hotel, we went around the city of Leh for the last time. Roamed around its famous bazaars, antique showrooms, clothes street, vegetable market and the final hot lemon tea at the German Cafe. On returning, we packed our bags and settled our dues. Thanked the team for their hospitality before retiring to bed.

Day 9:
It was time to say goodbye. Our luggage was packed and dumped into the Innova. Our always punctual Tundup was waiting for us at the Lobby. We had the ever delicious Breakfast and once again thanked the guys at Pangong hotel for the wonderful service they gave us. And as we drove to the airport, we bid farewell to the Leh city which had become like a home to us.

Flying out of Leh, the cold desert land, over the magnificent Himalayas was a beautiful experience. But Kashmir once again became the fairy tale country of my dreams covered by cotton clouds and mists and I promised myself that it wouldn’t be long before I return to this Wonder Land once again.

Quick Facts on Ladakh
Getting There: By Flight from Delhi or Srinagar, By Road from Srinagar or Manali
Climate: The days are dry and warm with cool winds blowing and the nights can get cold.
Temperature: The temperature can go upto 25°C and drop to even -20°C
Best Time to Visit: June to September
Language Spoken: Ladakhi or also called as Bodhi
Religion Followed: Dominated by Buddhism