Ladakh - A Slice of Heaven on Earth

My company wanted a travelogy around 200 words. I opted for the Ladakh one.

When I sat down to actually write this one up, I realized the difficulty of the same. A mere 200 words will not do any justice to the spectacular place, but  I still tried.

Here is the excerpt. The readers are the best judge of the small attempt.

Thankfully there were no restrictions on the number of photos, but the size was an issue from the office networks.

Here it goes....

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Ladakh is a place where all superlatives fall short. Magnificent vistas of Indus and Zanskar valleys, the solitude of Pangong Tso, the remoteness of Hanle (world's third highest astronomical observatory), the hightest motorable road in the world (Khardungla), a village with an absolutely different culture (Turtuk - belonged to Pakistan till 1971), from the snow-capped Khardungla to the sand-dunes of Nubra valley within a matter of hours - Ladakh has it all to offer.

But Ladakh is not just about the spectacular meadows, it is also a land of spirituality and culture. Ravaged through the several cross-border conflicts ( 1962: India-China, 1971 &1999: India-Pakistan), the essence of peace stood undeterred, although the scars of the bloodshed can still be seen (and felt) at places Kargil, Drass and Chusul.

We spent 16 long days, traveled 6500  long kilometers, crossed 12 of the high altitude passes and passed by 7 divine lakes but still much remains to be seen of this dream destination. Even after a few years, we still long for the rugged mountains, the barren lands, the scenic monasteries and the hospitality and simplicity of the people.

We solemnly took an oath to be back to the heavenly haven once again because end of one journey is the beginning of another.

******************** The End**************************

101 _ The Magnificient Dal Lake at Dusk

102_On the Way from Srinagar to Drass

103_Kargil River

104_The Scenic Lamayuru Gompa

105_Artwork at Hemis Monastery

106_Indus Valley with Thiksey Monastery at the Backdrop

107_Chhortens

108_Thiksey Monastery

109_The Way to Khardungla

110_View from Khardungla

111_The Deserts of Hunder

112_Snow and Sand at Nubra Valley

113_The Reflection

114_The Innocence of Turtuk

115_Mother and Her Baby at Turtuk

116_The Vastness of Pangong tso

117_The Flying Colors

118_Romance at the Pangong Tso

119_Camps of Pangong Tso

120_Hanle Astronomical Observatory

121_Kiangs - Wild Asses at Hanle Wetland Reserve

122_The Colors of Tso Moriri

123_Rock Formation - On the Way to Manali

124_Snow Capped Baralacha La towards Manali

125_Dilapidated House at Tso Kar

The Chronicles of Ladakh - Part 12 - Tso Kar , a Slice of Heaven

Previous: The Magical Tso Moriri

Day 12, 19th September, 2012

Tso Moriri > Namashang La > Sumdo > Polakongka La > Tso Kar (96 Km)

Adieu to Tso Moriri

The plan was actually to head up towards Sarchu and stay overnight there but we eneded up in Tso Kar eventually.

We bade farewell to Tso Moriri as planned at around 8 in the morning after breakfast. Similarly like Pangong, the resort is at western bank of the Tso, so we could not click the snap of the morning light being reflected on the lake. Never mind, we still managed some good ones I guess. Here they are. The peaks looked whiter because of the snowfall previous night.

Shades Again

On Our Way

The Sting of the Scorpio – the adventure begins

As we were driving through the remote lands and approaching Tso Kiagar, Rigzin announced that the clutch was not working. The news seemed like a bomb had fallen on our car. The car stopped, it wouldn’t go. Rigzin said not to worry as he had his own clutch kit which he can install. We got down, I was the helping hand while Rigzin did all he could. The area was so remote we could not see any cars passing us from any direction – we were praying that some car should come and check it out and the car would get fixed. Suddenly one car came, it stopped as well. The car was heading towards Tso Moriri. Without offering any assistance it went away. I was irritated to see people clicking photos of our hapless situation!! That must be a heck of a snap of one car stranded in the middle of nowhere.

A couple of hours passed and we started pondering over the fact whether we should start working towards Tso Moriri when Rigzin said we could start now as he had installed the new clutch kit. We were ecstatic, but our ecstasy did not last long as the clutch was still not working. We had to push it from behind so that Rigzin could start it on neutral gear. Changing the gear was all but an imagination now.

However the car started on neutral and downhill was no problem – we passed Tso Kiagar and then the ascent started for Namashang La – the car stopped. Rigzin, I don’t know how, kept on pressing the clutch and managed to change the gear to second. The car started again, it feels like we were going in a slow-motion like in movies. However, it was around 2.30 pm when we reached Sumdo – we crossed the journey in around 6 hours which should take not more than a couple of hours!

We had some lunch – Maggi again – at Sumdo. It was pretty evident that we could not make it to Sarchu today. So we were thinking whether we should stay at Sumdo itself or head towards Tso Kar. Rigzin, still trying to fix the car for the second time, suggested Tso Kar. I was doubtful whether we can even make it to Tso Kar, but he said he would do his best. Hat’s off to his driving skill, patience and the smile – he must have acquired these skills during his days with the Army! Slowly but surely we started once again. To add insult to injury, the road beyond Sumdo was like hell as we were climing another pass Polakongka La. It was all ‘follow tyre marks on the pebbled road’. The car did all sort of tricks – it skidded, went backwards, it stopped multiple times at places, but we made it finally when we saw tarred road after the mountain pass. From then on it was a straight forward drive – for us at around 30 kmph only on 2^nd gear – to Tso Kar. For this whole stretch, naturally, neither we had the morale to click photos nor the courage to stop the car for any reason.

Tso Kar, a glimpse of happiness

When we managed to descend from Polakongka La, we got a glimpse of a blue lake lying at least 5 kms ahead – Tso Kar as Rigzin announced. Finally! It was around 4.30 pm. As we drove ahead, the lake seemed bigger and bigger and eventually we could identify that there were a couple of adjacent lakes instead of one – they must have been a single lake at ancient times.

Tso Kar, the first view

Can you spot the Kiangs?

Like Tso Kiagar, Tso Kar was also surrounded by snowcapped mountains – Rigzin here mentioned that those mountains are shelter of Ibex and Snow Leopards and in winter they come to lowlands. Under the setting sun, Tso Kar was glimmering. The heavenly beauty indeed lifted our spirits. We could even see the Tso Kar village at a distance.

Tso Kar Wetland Reserve

Wetland Reserve of Tso Kar

Approaching Tso Kar Village

At around 5.15pm we reached Tso Kar village and managed to get a great room at a great deal at the Tso Kar Resort, courtesy Rigzin. The resort was amazingly located – a bit far from both the lake and the village which enhanced the calmness surrounding the resort. The staffs were too cordial and instantaneously we felt at home and our dampened morale got somewhat rejuvenated. Rigzin mentioned, since there was no mechanic until he reaches Leh, he would manage a separate car from Leh which would drop us at Manali. He went away to make phone calls from the resort and we started roaming around.

The place looked like a huge open ground surrounded by yellow mountains from all directions. The setting sunrays made the whole place look like molten gold. And it was too cold because of the emptiness and close proximity to the snow ranges. In our opinion it was the coldest place so far during this journey (little did we know what we still had to face), The staff mentioned that the owner of the resort was actually a guide, working part-time with the National Geographic and CNN photographers, as many of them frequently come here to shoot the snow leopard and the ibexes. In addition to that the Tso Kar Wetland Reserve houses thousands of migratory birds every year.

 

First Hut of the Tso Kar Village

Tents of Tso Kar Camp and Resort

 

Tso Kar Resort Building

Vast emptiness all over

Tso Kar Village - under the setting sun

Tso Kar Resort and Camp - a fantastically located heavenly haven

The cold was become unbearable slowly as the dark prevailed soon. We watched the TV at the dining hall and chatted with the friendly staffs. India was playing Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup, and all of us watched the TV together and were cheering for India. I realized, though we all were from different social and cultural background and belonged to different ethnicity we were bonded by one common thread – we were Indians. I realized the meaning of unity in diversity once more. I salute Ladakh to make me truly feel the essence of these phrases.

We had a great food and India won the match – a perfectly satisfactory combination to sleep in peace. Moreover, Rigzin now was the bearer of some good news as he intimated us that he managed to get hold of a car returning to Manali, which we pick us up from Debring (at Manali-Leh highway) and drop us at Manali with a night halt at Jispa in between. The day finally ended thus on a good note.

To be Continued...

Next: On Manali Leh Highway - the Real Adventure Begins

The Chronicles of Ladakh - Part 10 - The Remoteness of Hanle

Previous: Pangong to Leh

Day 10, 17th September, 2012 – The Remoteness of Hanle

Leh > Karu > Upshi > Chumathang > Mahe > Loma > Nyoma > Hanle (275 KM)

Around 8.30 in the morning we left Leh towards Hanle (the locals pronounce it as ‘Aanle’). We already submitted the required papers to the Leh IIA office for our accommodation at the IIA guest house at Hanle.

We were again on the Leh Manali high way through which we already travelled partially when we traversed towards Hemis and when we returned from Pangong. We crossed Karu and reached Upshi in no time. From Upshi one diversion towards the right leads the way towards Manali, crossing the Tanglang La. The road towards the left goes to Chumathang further from which Hanle is situated.

The journey again was uneventful and the landscapes were familiar to even us, so without wasting much time over photography, we drove all the way to Chumathang. It was a little village with only a single guest house – so staying here was not always a good idea if the guest house ran full. It did when we reached Chumathang. Anyway, at a small roadside dhaba we had our lunch with some tasteless food and Rigzin loaded some more Diesel.

Chumathang was popular for a hot water spring. We expected a lot from this hot water spring and in reality, it was just a small spring after all, but the water was too hot. The dhaba owner stated smilingly that they normally get the eggs boiled from the water within minutes.

Chumathang Hot Spring

Chumathang Village

From Chumathang, we reached Mahe where we had to submit our permits. A small wooden bridge towards our right indicated the road towards Tso Moriri. Rigzin mentioned that while driving to Tso Moriri we have to backtrack towards Mahe and then take the towards Tso Moriri crossing the bridge.

After Mahe, the landscapes changed completely, only similarity was the aridness. The mountains became too colorful gradually, vast patches of sandy valleys appeared and remoteness was too strong. As far as the eyes could behold, no symbol of human civilization could be found. That’s why perhaps this region was the abode of many wild creatures – one of them was the Kiang (Wild Ass), we saw many of them grazing in hordes. The Kiangs were too colorful as well.

The Kiangs

The remoteness of the route was so appealing that we wanted to stop our car at almost every nook and corner, we did so at many occasions but Rigzins mentioned to save some energy as we had to visit the Hanle Observatory as well and since we have to return through the same roads. We agreed. We crossed Loma, Nyoma and had to submit our permits once again.

The Way Ahead

We saw the diversion towards Koyul, Dungti, Fotula and Fukche but unfortunately tourirts are not allowed in these regions anymore, so we had to drive straight towards Hanle. Hanle Monastery appeared at our right side and the village on the left. One thing which struck us was the greenery all around. The whole village was more or less covered by a carpet of grass which was very strange given the desertscapes all around us. We asked our Encyclopedia – Rigzin. He mentioned that beneath the whole village there’s a big lake flowing which supplies the water to the village!

Desertscape

Where is it leading to?

Kiangs grazing

Hanle Monastery

Some Himalayan Buzzard - flying with speed of a jet

Hanle Wetland

We drove past the village and started ascending a hillock, on top of which the Observatory was located. When we reached the parking at the top, the village houses seemed tiny little boxes from there. The monastery even looked a house of the Lilliput. A 360 degree view of the gorgeous surrounding was a welcome, despite our tiring journey.

Hanle Monastery from the top

The observatory dome

The observatory curator explained the functionalities with eagerness to us, we saw how the telescope functions, how the dome above actually slides during the night in order to watch the night sky and how the mirror feeds the data to the computers. We saw how the liquid nitrogens were used to cool the machinery. We were too proud when we learned it was the 3rd highest observatory of such kind in the whole world.

Machinery

Coolant - liquid Nitrogen

Hanle Village from the top

Hanle IIA Guest House and the scattered data collection centres

The IIA observatory guest house was located at the base of this hillock. We reached there at around 5 in the afternoon. Getting a room was an easy task by showing the permission granted by the authorities. Rigzin dropped us there and left for his friend’s house where he’d spend the night.

The room was state of the art with all the modern facilities. When we were served with sandwiches and hot tea, we found some of our lost energy. After getting freshened up with hot water (the weather outside was too cold with severely chilled wind) we took rest till the dinner. The dinner was sumptuous too – no less than an extravagant hotel. So immediately after the heavenly food we sank into a delicious slumber.

To be continued...

Next: The Magical Tso Moriri