Ladakh revisited
Azaadi.....Azaadi...... The small crowd was shouting, no....chanting almost, these words as we drove out of the Srinagar airport. Our drivers opined that the crowd is there as they have nothing else to do. No tourists in a tourism based economy. Free time, politics, videshi taaqat or whatever the reason for these protests, we were on our way out of Srinagar and to Sonmarg. Wasn't our original plan though. A night on the Dal lake was what we had in mind. But....
Sonmarg. Tourists go there to see, touch also, a glacier even in the middle of summer. For us it was the (forced) walk on the Sonmarg-Kargil road which made it memorable. Stream, wild horses, first glimpse of snow covered peaks. And the guys got a first hand experience of exactly how much a basket of cut-wood weighs (which the pahadi women carry daily for 5-6Kms). It will suffice to say that it took 3 of us to lift one.
Zoji la is a very historic pass. Through it caravans have passed for centuries as they crossed over the Greater Himalayan range and traded with central asia. From the green valleys of Kashmir one enters the brown starkness of Ladakh. Drass, with its now historic Tiger hill and associated 'points' is the first major town. Kargil soon follows. And then we enter the land of the world's last surviving Tibetian Buddhist society.
The future Buddha is the oldest. Ok, before you get too philosophical, I mean the rock-cut statue of Maitreya (future) Buddha at Mulbek is amongst the oldest testiment of Buddhism in India, dating to 1st AD. From there we are well and truly in Ladakh and soon reach Lamayuru, the oldest monastery in Ladakh. Btw, by now we have crossed over the Zanskar range also.
Leh. The meeting place of many routes of the silk trade. The main hub on the network. Historic. Now more of a shopping hub where a migrant population descends for 3 summer months, drive the locals out of the main market by paying higher rents and then proceed to fleece the tourists. It nevertheless is very charming. The warm sun, the blue sky, snow covered peaks on all sides, quite side roads of changspa, garden restaurants.... all combine to make it a very walkable place.
Siachen glacier. The highest battlefield. And to get there, the highest motorable road- over Khardung la. Ofcourse civilians can go only upto Panamic village in Nubra valley. Nubra valley is a fertile desert. Ok, sorry, its a fertile valley and has huge sand dunes also, where breed the only bactarian camel population of the Indian Himalaya. Two humped ones. Fun to watch, not ride.
Trekking. Why not walking, one may ask, as thats what it is actually. But then it wont have that glamour quotient. On our trek from Spituk we spotted many herds of bharal (called blue sheep, no one knows why) as they have descended to the valley coz of the coming winter. And the winter was coming fast. Much ahead of time. It snowed all day and night as we snuggled in our rustic homestay in Rumbak village. And the Stok la, our lakshya of the trip, 4900M high, was covered in 4 feet snow. We admired it from Rumbak and not so reluctantly walked back to Leh. Early winters, harsh summers, unseasonal rains.... the Himalayas are seeing it all. The battlefield of Global warming.
In an adjective laden trip, two more. The third highest pass took us to the 2nd highest salt water lake in the world. You know how some days are just perfect. It was one of them. Ah, the joy of frolicking in fresh snow on a crisp, bright, sunny morning. Even the tracks of bharal who scampered up the mountain as they saw our car approaching were well marked. Pangong Tso is shared by India and China, on paper. It is so beautiful...... well let me put it this way. We saw it, clicked pictures, felt its ice cold clear water, walked around its edges, dissipated to our quite corners and just sat for almost an hour by ourselves. Then we got up and drove back.
The snows we got in Rumbak were not just for Rumbak only. The entire range from Ladakh to Lahaul, Manali, Spiti, Simla, Uttarkashi received heavy snow and rains for 2-3 days at a stretch. The passes were blocked, the roads swept with landslides. The battle is raging. We waited for 2 days for the road to clear up, and so did most of the other tourists in Leh, but nothing happened. The airline companies, the ones who report crores of losses daily, saw in this a saviour and increased the prices three fold. Who can blame them. We had to fly. But as always the Himalayas gives back what it takes from you in some form. We flew over the entire breadth of the Himalaya on an exceptionally clear day (the pilot confirmed visibility of more than 100Km).
Juley!
Sonmarg. Tourists go there to see, touch also, a glacier even in the middle of summer. For us it was the (forced) walk on the Sonmarg-Kargil road which made it memorable. Stream, wild horses, first glimpse of snow covered peaks. And the guys got a first hand experience of exactly how much a basket of cut-wood weighs (which the pahadi women carry daily for 5-6Kms). It will suffice to say that it took 3 of us to lift one.
Zoji la is a very historic pass. Through it caravans have passed for centuries as they crossed over the Greater Himalayan range and traded with central asia. From the green valleys of Kashmir one enters the brown starkness of Ladakh. Drass, with its now historic Tiger hill and associated 'points' is the first major town. Kargil soon follows. And then we enter the land of the world's last surviving Tibetian Buddhist society.
The future Buddha is the oldest. Ok, before you get too philosophical, I mean the rock-cut statue of Maitreya (future) Buddha at Mulbek is amongst the oldest testiment of Buddhism in India, dating to 1st AD. From there we are well and truly in Ladakh and soon reach Lamayuru, the oldest monastery in Ladakh. Btw, by now we have crossed over the Zanskar range also.
Leh. The meeting place of many routes of the silk trade. The main hub on the network. Historic. Now more of a shopping hub where a migrant population descends for 3 summer months, drive the locals out of the main market by paying higher rents and then proceed to fleece the tourists. It nevertheless is very charming. The warm sun, the blue sky, snow covered peaks on all sides, quite side roads of changspa, garden restaurants.... all combine to make it a very walkable place.
Siachen glacier. The highest battlefield. And to get there, the highest motorable road- over Khardung la. Ofcourse civilians can go only upto Panamic village in Nubra valley. Nubra valley is a fertile desert. Ok, sorry, its a fertile valley and has huge sand dunes also, where breed the only bactarian camel population of the Indian Himalaya. Two humped ones. Fun to watch, not ride.
Trekking. Why not walking, one may ask, as thats what it is actually. But then it wont have that glamour quotient. On our trek from Spituk we spotted many herds of bharal (called blue sheep, no one knows why) as they have descended to the valley coz of the coming winter. And the winter was coming fast. Much ahead of time. It snowed all day and night as we snuggled in our rustic homestay in Rumbak village. And the Stok la, our lakshya of the trip, 4900M high, was covered in 4 feet snow. We admired it from Rumbak and not so reluctantly walked back to Leh. Early winters, harsh summers, unseasonal rains.... the Himalayas are seeing it all. The battlefield of Global warming.
In an adjective laden trip, two more. The third highest pass took us to the 2nd highest salt water lake in the world. You know how some days are just perfect. It was one of them. Ah, the joy of frolicking in fresh snow on a crisp, bright, sunny morning. Even the tracks of bharal who scampered up the mountain as they saw our car approaching were well marked. Pangong Tso is shared by India and China, on paper. It is so beautiful...... well let me put it this way. We saw it, clicked pictures, felt its ice cold clear water, walked around its edges, dissipated to our quite corners and just sat for almost an hour by ourselves. Then we got up and drove back.
The snows we got in Rumbak were not just for Rumbak only. The entire range from Ladakh to Lahaul, Manali, Spiti, Simla, Uttarkashi received heavy snow and rains for 2-3 days at a stretch. The passes were blocked, the roads swept with landslides. The battle is raging. We waited for 2 days for the road to clear up, and so did most of the other tourists in Leh, but nothing happened. The airline companies, the ones who report crores of losses daily, saw in this a saviour and increased the prices three fold. Who can blame them. We had to fly. But as always the Himalayas gives back what it takes from you in some form. We flew over the entire breadth of the Himalaya on an exceptionally clear day (the pilot confirmed visibility of more than 100Km).
Juley!
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