Snapshots from Kashmir - Part 2
In the post called Snapshots from Kashmir I had detailed my trip through the Jammu and Kashmir region. From the Kashmir valley to Dras was a memorable drive. This post takes off from where that post ended.Day 3: Dras-Kargil-BudhKarboDras is cold. Winters are extremely harsh with average lows around -22 C (-10F), and as low as -45 C at the height of winter, which lasts from mid-October to mid-May. I can see the the Yulboh village and Gindyal village separated by the Dras river. There is a model outside my room that marks Batra Top, Tiger Hill, 5100 and Tololing. At a height of 10,700 feet approx, the rarefied oxygen makes breathing fairly labored. But that did not seem to deter our brave soldiers. The inhabitants of Dras, are Dard, Indo-Aryan people believed to have originally migrated to Ladakh from Central Asia. They speak Shina, a Dardic language. (Learn to speak the days of the week in Shina Language here)I went to see the War Memorial was getting decked up to celebrate Vijay Diwas (Operation Victory Day) on 26 July to mark India's victory in the Kargil war. The only thing on my mind as I looked at the long list of martyrs was that we can never do enough to repay our debt to the armed forces.
We drive towards Kargil and follow the gushing and excitable Dras river to our left. The river is a mix of greenish liquid with rapids that would make for great river rafting. But the mood in the car is sombre.
From Dras to Kargil. Kargil could easily pass off for a small town in the hills. It is indistinguishable from another. The Shiru river garlands Kargil town. We stop at Shilitsi village to pick ripe apricots and ponder why there are so many portraits of Ayatollah Khomeini in Kargil. I must have counted at least 20 portraits of Ayatollah Khomeini on the way to Kargil. I even saw some people dressing like that :) We pass by the occasional gang of bikers who are doing the Dras-Kargil-Leh route on their motorbikes.
The ride from Kargil (8780 feet) to the town of Budh Karbo (10750 feet) is dusty to say the least. The topography resembles gigantic red stone mountains that resemble dinosaurs that someone left incomplete to start carving another one and then changed their mind half way through only to start another. The mountains slowly mutate to start resembling the legs of gigantic elephants resting. I stop to see the giant Buddha carved in the Gompa at Chamba. The Chamba Gompa contains a 13.7 m high statue of the future Buddha that somehow reminds me of the Bamian Buddhas of Afghanistan. Next stop: the town of Budh Karbo.
Budh Karbo literally means the Buddha People. This is the first village that is entirely Buddhist. I request an old lady dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes. She looks at the photo on my digital camera and tells me, "the photo is not as pretty as I am". I loved her attitude :)It is time to halt for the evening. It is time to enjoy Raga Yaman by Ustad Rashid Khan as the sun goes down in dusty town of Budh Karbo.
Day 4: FutoLa - Lama Yuru - Nimmu - Leh
We drive from Budh Karbo to Leh today. The first stop is Futola Pass - the highest point on the Srinagar-Leh route. Fotu La or Fatu La is a mountain pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in the Himalayas Zanskar Range in India. At an elevation of 13,000 ft, it is the highest point on the highway, surpassing the famed Zoji La. Fotu La is one of two high mountain passes between Leh and Kargil, the other being Namika La.
Then stop to see the 11th century Buddhist Gompa at Lamayuru - one of the largest and oldest gompas in Ladakh, with a population of around 150 permanent monks resident. 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.A senior monk is here today to offer prayers. The village folk are all here to offer their respects to the Lama.
We see the Magnetic Mountain past the town of Nimmu as we are reaching the town of Leh. To test the theory of the Magnetic Mountain, I put the car in neutral gear and made it stationery. Would the car start moving on its own if the stories are to be believed. Yes, the car does move back ever so slowly... but it does.
Finally we reach Leh. The view of the city on the banks of the Indus river is absolutely breathtaking. At more than 10,000 feet elevation, you need to get acclimatized. Especially tourists who fly in to Leh from cities outside of Kashmir are advised to spend two days just relaxing in the hotel to avoid getting struck by High Altitude Pulmonary Odema.
Day 5: Changla Pass - Pangong Lake -Tangtse 
The Changla Pass is the main gateway for the Changthang Plateau situated in the Himalayas. It is home to the nomadic tribes of the region the Chang-pa. I was on my way to Pangong Tso. Tso is the word for Lake in the Ladakhi language.At 14000 feet, Pangong Tso is probably the single biggest reason to visit Ladakh. The journey from Leh to Pangong Tso is a gruelling 6 hour journey (one way) but it is so worth it. The lake made famous by the film Three Idiots (Read my review here). The journey to Pangong is amazing as you cross the snaking roads through the hills complete with Pashmina Goats also called Changthangi whose coat yields the fiber that Pashmina shawls are made of.
You also get to see the nomads herding the Yaks - the female is called a Dri. Each one of those yaks costs Rs30,000. So when you see the nomads who are herding 150-200 of the Yaks you can do a quick calculation to find out their net worth!!
After the grueling journey through roads that make your stomach churn when I finally reached Pangong Tso, I was hypnotized by its beauty. I have never clicked so many pictures even of the Taj Mahal. The color of the lake is a beautiful shade of blue.
You have to see this for yourself. If you have not seen Ladakh, then plan this as your next holiday destination.And now for some more pictures of that gorgeously beautiful place. Enjoy.
