Ladakh Trip: Day 17 (Kargil -> Srinagar)

Ladakh Trip: Day 16 (Leh -> Kargil)

Ladakh Trip: Day 15 (Diskit, Nubra Valley -> Leh)

Ladakh Trip: Day 14 (Turtuk -> Diskit, Nubra Valley)

We only had just under 100 km planned today to Diskit, Nubra Valley. Our tent attendant, Rashid, took us for a tour around the village, Turtuk. The local language here is Balti (from Baltistan). Before 1971, there were 80 villages, all in Pakistan. After the war, the Indian govt. got control over 4 villages including Chalunka, Turtuk, Tyakshi and Thang. Some families again were split.

We interacted with the local villagers and learnt about their way of life. They use the cold air from underneath the mountain to create a natural refrigerator. Take a look at this solar panel set up to heat the vessel.
They have built canals for agriculture (mainly wheat and barley along with some buck wheat). We took a few pictures with the local people.

Turtuk was also affected during the Kargil war. A number of brave soldiers laid down their lives here. There are memorials on the actual spots where some of them became martyrs. The whole experience is very touching. The villages nearby were vacated during the war and camps were setup by the military in the interior regions along the river.



After lunch, we decided to visit the Border, which was merely 5 km away. We were stopped by the Army officials near Tyakshi. This is the last point where civilians can visit. The LOC is just 7 km away from where we were. We could see the snow-clad mountains ahead of us that the official explained were in Pakistan. This was my 1st time visiting a sensitive border. The officials at the gate were very friendly. It goes without saying that photography isn't allowed here.

We left for Diskit. The ride was just under 100 km but the weather was cloudy. Shweta and I were worried it would rain; hence we rode without any break and reached Diskit around 5:20 pm. I realized that I had just crossed 3500 km on my trip somewhere in between :)

Our hotel in Diskit has Tata Sky! Catching up on some of the soccer World cup drama now as I write this ... Morning ride tomorrow back to Leh. Bye!

Ladakh Trip: Day 13 (Leh -> Turtuk, Nubra Valley)

Today was the day for Khardung La (K-top). I had seen pics of it so many times and was kinda desperate to take the picture of my bike at the (arguably) World's highest motorable road. We started around 7:30 am after filling up our tanks and took 2 full tanks of 20 liter each in the utility vehicle. There are no gas stations in the Nubra Valley.

The road to Khardung La was pretty good on the uphill. I saw this board of the famous silk route and got pretty emotional. It goes back so long in history. If you think about it that way, you will get high with the thought. I did.

Khardung La was pretty easy comparatively and I would say not so scenic when you compare it with the other passes. We reached the top around 10:15 am and took some pictures. There wasn't much snow. In addition, I was disappointed looking at the garbage people had disposed unresponsibly. Shame on us. Oh well.

The road on the way down is little rough. They were doing road widening and weren't allowing travelers between 10:30 - 3 pm. We didn't have any such issues. But I got a chance to take this picture. Himank is super-awesome building roads at this altitude. Can't talk enough about them.

We descended in the Nubra Valley and it's so gorgeous. So much openness, clears up your mind. We took off our thermals as the temperatures were so nice. The road is beautiful throughout the valley. We were headed towards Turtuk, which is a good 225 km ride from Leh. It's the last village on the border between India and Pakistan.

You feel it. The military posts, their trucks, photography not permitted boards. You are in army-land. At a narrow road, an army truck stopped and gave me the way. I waved at him as a gesture of thanks and the officer responded with a salute. Wow! What a feeling. Never experienced it before. Every person is an Indian here. You get that feeling. It's so true.

While we approached Turtuk, we crossed the Ladakh Sand Dunes.

Beautiful just before sunset. Passing through the villages, the school kids take our their hand for motorcyclists, so that you can give them a nice tap with your left hand. One guy almost slapped my hand hard! When we approached a narrow bridge, a little girl stopped us and demanded chocolates. Shweta luckily had a few in her pocket and gave them to her. So much fun in these little moments.

We were stopped at a check post. Shweta and I were riding about an hour ahead of the group and the documents needed to clear the post were with the service van. I requested the officer to let us go. They were all watching cricket on Dish TV! He was reluctant to let me go. At that very moment, a presumably senior officer, who was sleeping inside the tent said "Eh, jaane de re unko, kyu pareshaan kar raha hai". I assured the officer that my documents will be produced when my group gets there.

We reached the camp site at Turtuk around 5 ish. What a beautiful place in the Valley. We sipped some hot tea along with some biscuits served in the traditional Kashmiri baskets. Loved the experience. Felt like staying here for another day but the schedule doesn't permit :(

Ladakh Trip: Day 12 (Pangong Lake -> Leh)

I woke up around 4:45 am as I wanted to take a few pictures of the Lake around sunrise. There was just one photographer from Mumbai awake around that time. We spoke for a while as we took pictures. I was slightly late by a few seconds to take the picture of the first sun rays falling on the Lake. Oh well!


We left the campsite after breakfast. Wanted to hit the 3 idiots shooting spot where Phunksuk Wangdu is flying his kite.

The 3 idiots movie has given such a boom to the tourism industry here. The restaurants are named after them, when you talk to locals, they mention that tourism picked up after the movie. Till then, mostly westerners used to visit Ladakh. We captured some of this 3 idiots mania.


Shweta and I decided to ride non-stop to Leh and we moved ahead of the lot. Just stopped for tea at the Chang La top. Every time people saw my MH12 number, they asked if I shipped the bike. The look on their face -- once they hear I rode all the way -- was hard to capture in pictures. I have registered it permanently in my memory.

On the way, we took pictures of the local animals you see.
We weren't quite sure which ones are friendly and which ones aren't. Hence decided to keep some distance; especially from the big ones.

Shweta and I reached the Leh Market around 3:30 pm. We had skipped lunch and hence were very hungry. We stopped at the same place we had lunch yesterday -- La Terrase or something. Decent food but very slow service. Hunger made us ignore all the fallacies and we got back to the guest house around 4:30 pm. We had plans for Shanti Stupa but we were supposed to leave for Khardung La and Nubra Valley tomorrow; hence decided to take some rest.

Ladakh Trip: Day 11 (Leh -> Pangong Lake)

Ride Summary: Distance 160 km   Time: 7 hrs

We left the guest house around 8 am. Since vehicles from Manali aren't allowed in the tourist attractions near Leh, we got a different service man. Our favorite Nittu ji left in the morning for a non-stop 18 hr drive to Manali :)

We filled up our tanks and had breakfast near Karu. Off we were towards the Chang La. The road was pretty decent but the inclines were steep. Even on my 500cc model, I could see that the bike isn't pulling the way it used to until the Chang La. Other than that it was a very comfortable ride to the top. Wasn't even that cold.




Since it was a sunday, there was lot of rush at the top near the cafetaria. We quickly sneeked in a few pictures, had some tea and decided to move on. Today, Shweta and I were riding with the group. It was supposed to be an approx. 160 km ride to the lake.

Just when we thought that the ride to Pangong isn't as exciting as the previous ones, I got stopped by an Indian Army officer near the village Tsangtse. A nearby battalion had arranged a "Guru ka Langar" in this remote area and humbly requested us to have lunch and then proceed. We were overwhelmed by his request and decided to stop. We were hungry as well. Except for one, all the other group members decided to ride on. I think they missed the whole experience.

 All of the army men were in uniform. An officer cleaned a table for us and got us seated. They served us chole-bhature with exceptional service. Interestingly, they had a wash-basin erected and an officer poured water from the back side to ensure supply. We were so humbled by the whole experience. Our country is in safe hands of these true heroes.

We moved on and reached Pangong Lake around 5 pm or so. What a beauty nature has produced. Absolutely magnificent! We stayed at the Water Mark camp site and I must say, their service and location was very good. Around 6ish, I could get a few shots of the mountains reflection in the Lake. What a sight to behold!