Wanderlust - My Travel Journals

Saturday, 20 October 2012

The Chronicles of Ladakh - Set 6 - Turtuk Village, Once Across LOC

Day 6, 13th September, 2012

Hunder > THOISE > Turtuk > Deskit (185 KM)

THOISE

Next day our major attraction, as planned, was Turtuk – the-village-which-was-once-across-the-LOC.

After a sumptuous breakfast, we started from Hunder around 8.30 in the morning. Within no time, through the smooth roads and the ever-charming and gorgeous landscapes, we came near to THOISE.

THOISE is not a village – it is a Transit Halt Of Indian Soldiers Enroute and arguably the highest military airbase in the world. The place was fully inhabited by the Indian Army and full of military installations. For reasons not unknown, Photography was strictly prohibited of these installations.

THOISE Airbase

Can you see the chopper?

Spot the same chopper if you could - shot behind the closed window of the car

On the way

On the way - Shyok Valley

Turtuk, a different world

Once we crossed THOISE, it was a straightforward drive towards Turtuk. Through the rugged mountains and keeping the Shyok river besides, we drove towards the LOC. The landscapes were us usual too mindblowing to be missed.

We had to submit our permits at a checkpost while nearing Turtuk. Turtuk was still around 25 Kms from this checkpost. Rigzin mentioned that prior to the 1971 Indo-Pak war, this place used to be the LOC. So we already entered the region which was once in Pakistan – in fact we were heading towards the new LOC and so was the river Shyok.

The feeling was inexplicable – we were spellbound by the victory of the Indian Army, while we realized that Pakistan was no different from India on the other hand, as far as the natural beauty was concerned. Nature does not bestow its generosity based on the barriers of the countries.

All through the road there was heavy presence of the Army, which was no surprise. At one point we were stopped by them, as a firing practice was ongoing. We were fascinated to see our jawans in (dummy) action from such a close distance.

When we reached Turtuk it was around 11.30 in the morning. The village was small and could be covered within an hour or so on foot – in fact the village is situated on such a hillock that a car cannot enter inside the village and one has to roam around on foot.

We also donned our explorer-suit (not literally, of course!) and started to visit every nook and corner of the small village. One has to cross a small stream to enter the village. Just besides this point, one road goes straight towards the LOC and beyond – obviously civilians are not allowed beyond Turtuk. Within just 20 Kms of Turtuk, the first Pakistani village, Franu, can be reached through that road.

The overall look and feel of the village was different from the usual Ladakhi culture – the people too. Most of them speak a language called ‘Balti’ and the region is called as Baltistan in local language. The ethnicity of the people was also different from what we can see in other areas in India.

Turtuk village is nestled on a flat valley over a hillock and surrounded by high mountains – some of the mountains house army bunkers from the respective countries. The flatland on top of the hillock was mostly covered by farmlands.

The village was small as we could cover it within an hour on foot and we reached to the bottom of the hillock through a series of steep stairs.

There was a small but newly built guest house (Ashoor Guest House) cum restaurant where we had our lunch. I engaged in a conversation with the friendly young manager. Most of the information I supplied above were the result of that chit-chat.

Abdullah also mentioned that the culture is absolutely similar in the Franu village as well because that also belonged to the ‘Balti’ region. Residents of both sides of the border wear the same clothes, eat the same food and speak the same language. They use the same water supplied by the same Shyok river and breathe the same air. It is us, the humans, who decide and divide.

We were so engrossed in the conversation that we did not even notice how the time had flown; it was already around 3.00 pm. Time to go! So we had to bid farewell to the cute little village at the frontier, its people and my newly found friend. We both agreed to meet again before we parted – a promise we have to keep.

Our Trusted companion Shyok

Rigzin - the great climber

An amazing pose by Rigzin

Shyok

Pakistan Village - within 100 kms

Just outside the Turtuk Village

A typical Turtukian house

A naughty little one

The village - surrounded by mountains

Farmlands

Another Turtukian

Innocence

Mother and Child

Farmlands

This memorial signifies hard-fought battle

LOC - 20 kms down this road

Deskit

The rest of the journey was uneventful. With a great joy emanated in our hearts we drove through the familiar roads towards Hunder this time. We crossed the military airstrip at THOISE, we surpassed the Sand Dunes of Hunder, for we had to go to Deskit.

Since we had to travel towards Pangong Tso next day, we wanted to stay at Deskit instead of Hunder. Compared to Hunder, Deskit had nothing to offer if one had already covered the Deskit monastery. No, I was wrong, Deskit had internet connection and phone booths!!!

In Deskit we lodged at the Eagle Guest house since all the renowned ones were occupied by a large shooting group. This guest house is not recommended for the travellers because of various reasons (I shall cover that under the Logistics post), but only go there if it is the last option.

Anyway, we reached Deskit at around 6 pm so we didn’t also have much time in hand to pick and choose. Rigzin advised us to take rest, since we’d have a long journey towards Pangong Tso the next day.

Shyok from a closer look

Rigzin's 'Baba Ramdev' avatar

Shyok at its roaring best

Approaching Nubra

THOISE Runway - classified

Hunder Sand Dunes once again

Deskit - a non descriptive village

To be continued....
Next: On the way to Pangong Tso

Sunday, 14 October 2012

The Chronicles of Ladakh - Part 5 - – Nubra Valley, from Snow to Sand in a Matter of Hours

Previous: Leh Local Sightseeing

Day 5, 12th September, 2012

Leh > Khardung La > Khardung > Deskit > Hunder (125 KM)

Khardung La

We started at around 9 in the morning towards Nubra Valley. The first major stop was going to be at the Khardung La top – World’s highest motorable road. Immediately after we left Leh, the road became an ascent, winding up. And we paid for our mistakes of not leaving early when we saw the Army convoys have already started embarking towards Khardung La. But fortunately we managed to overtake them after a little bit suffering – from diesel fumes and slow pace.

We had to stop at North Pullu first to submit the permit copy – which was taken care of Rigzin. The weather was clear with the snow-capped peaks visible, though the snow were really less, it was a bonus as we didn’t expect to find any during this time of the year.

But the ascent gradually became an affair of horrendous roads –narrow, untarred and full of slush and mud. On top of this, the weather gradually became cloudy and colder. Rigzin mentioned that there was a great a chance to find snow at the K-top. So we were literally excited and our joy knew no bounds when we saw the first heap of snow.

Through a somewhat scary drive, we reached at the K top where the famous signboard advertising the ‘World’s Highest Motorable Road’ was enough for us to rejoice. And the top was covered with snow and the weather was chilling. We had to have a cup of black tea at the ‘World’s Highest Cafeteria’. The top was crowded by people like anything.

The landscapes from the top were awesome. One can view the roads on both the sides of the pass. At one side it was fully cloudy whereas towards Nubra the clear blue sky was awaiting us – both the sides contained a few peaks snowed under. It was hard to believe that within a few hours we would be trotting on sand dunes!!

We spend close to quarter to an hour at the top before we started again. Fortunately we did not have any AMS symptoms while at the top, apart from a very slight headache to me.

North Pullu, on the way to Khadung La

First View of the Snow

Khardung La Top

Snow view from K Top

Continuous Maintenance by Army and BRO

The Boards says it all

Towards Leh, from where we came

From Snow to sand - only 86 KMs!!

View from K top, towards Nubra

Landscape from K top

On the way to Nubra

From Khardung La, towards Nubra was almost a complete ascent. The snowcapped peaks gradually faded into the background, and the familiar Ladakh landscapes took its place with high arid mountains.

We had another stop at South Pullu to submit another copy of permits. After that it was a straight drive to Khardung village where we had our late breakfast + early lunch.

From Khardung we started again towards Nubra, we passed by the diversion which we would take towards Pangong Tso through Wari La after a couple of days.

Slowly the vistas started transforming themselves into a desert. It was sand all over – the Shyok river, with its zigzagging ways, appeared as a resilient fighter against a hostile environment. And sometimes a patch of greeneries – Oasis – were too pleasing to watch. Rigzin mentioned that both Deskit and Hunder were two such Oases in the middle of these barren lands.

Leaving Khardung La behind

Phunshuk Wangdu's Resto at Khardung Village

Erosion

Nubra Valley - approaching

Shyok River

Sand throughout

Deskit, the Beginning of an Amazing World

A long drive through the sands and besides the Shyok river a diversion towards left would be required to move towards Nubra valley whereas the straight road ahead would lead the traveller towards Sumur and Panamik. We as planned headed towards Nubra.

We could spot Deskit from the moment we saw it as it was only patch of greeneries in midst of the ‘sandscapes’. But since we didn’t have a plan to spend the night at Deskit, Rigzin suggested we could simply visit the Monastery and then proceed towards Hunder.

The Monastery has built a gigantic Buddha statue on one of the hillocks. The place was fantastically located where we could see the whole of Nubra Valley from. The Shyok river made its own way through the sand and the greeneries. The statue itself was so huge that we felt ourselves like ants at the feet of the divine idol.

Deskit Monastery, like all other monasteries in Ladakh, was perched at the top of a hillock, followed by a steep climb through the stairs. When I reached at the Deskit Monastery through those killer stairs, it felt like the last day of my life, I was so gasping for breath. I forgot about everything, let alone clicking some snaps.

We proceeded to Hunder, 7 Km away from Deskit, only when I fully recovered myself.

Deskit Monastery

View from the top of the Deskit Monastery

Another view

Hunder, the Sand Dunes and Bactrian Camels

As we were approaching Hunder, the sand dunes appeared at the right side of the road. We were spellbound as well as delighted to experience this transformation – from snow to sand.

Hunder was our destination for today and since it was already 3.30 in the afternoon, the first preference was to find out a decent accommodation. Rigzin did it without any difficulty; he searched a great accommodation with a very decent rate (Ibex Guest House, 600 per night per DBR with attached bath) for us. We threw our luggages, relaxed for a few minutes and headed towards the main attraction of Nubra, the Sand Dunes.

When Rigzin dropped us at the Parking, we alighted and were instantaneously mesmerized. All our eyes could see was Sand, just beneath the snowcapped peaks – incredible. A small stream of water penetrated the desert with its tremendous will-power, giving birth to the patches of greeneries around and the Oasis as a whole.

We could see people riding camels from a distance so we moved towards the spot from where the camels could be hired. The camels, as we read, had two humps instead of one as found at the deserts. These are actually called the Bactrian/Central Asian Camels. They could not be classified as the best of beauties, but I believe beauty cannot replace when it comes to usefulness.

We took the Camel rides through the sands, for half an hour – one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Once the bumpy ride was over, we tried to explore the dunes.

The sand dunes were exactly similar to the ones found in the bigger deserts, formed from white colored sands. The whole landscape was truly remarkable and unbelievable – rugged mountains standing haughtily, their feet covered with white sand whereas their heads were painted white with snow. Such peaceful coexistence of two extremes can only be found in India I am sure.

The dark started engulfing the place fast, so after a long day it was time to take some rest, so we returned back to our guest house. The experience that we had throughout the day seemed like a gorgeous dream.