Nubra Valley

Nubra valley is situated at the Northern part of Ladakh, around 150 kms from Leh. Nubra valley is the only place in India where one can find double humped Bactrian camels in a desert of white sand dunes situated at a height over 10,000 ft. A high altitude desert!! Y-shaped Nubra valley separates Ladakh and Karakoram mountain range. The valley is covered by mainly two rivers, Nubra or Siachen river and Shyok river. Nubra is a tributary of Shyok and Shyok is a tributary of Indus river. 

We left after breakfast for Nubra valley. Leh is at an elevation of approx. 11,500 feet. And Khardung La is at 18,500 feet. The distance between the two places is just 40 km. So, you gain an immense amount of altitude in a very short span of time - the fastest way to get altitude sickness! The view is breathtaking and the air just keeps getting thinner and thinner. The roads are pretty decent till South Pullu, but after that its the highway to hell! The way to Nubra goes through Khardung La pass. The signs at Khardung La show that it is the "Highest Motorable road". It was a magnificent feel being at 18380 ft from mean sea level!! We stepped of our car to enter the Rinchee cafetaria which almost cures you with hot black tea and Maggi that tastes so good, it can bring you back to life! They even have a Maggi Story written on the front wall. With faint smiles back on our faces, we were taking in the view all around us. And then, out of the blue, it started snowing! For few of us, that was a first. The faint smiles broke into huge grins. The bitter cold was instantly forgotten. Nature floored us that day. First, with its ferocity, and then with its beauty. Saw the might of human spirit too. So many people who cycled their way to Khardung La! Cannot fathom the level of strain that puts on the system!

The descent into Nubra valley was quite spectacular as the mountains around took on a different hue from the Leh region - they just seemed more bare and statuesque! The Nubra Valley had blown the beauty of my previous sights right out of the water. All the adjectives in the dictionary cannot do justice, and my attempts to capture the tiniest bit of its essence on camera have so far proved futile. I can only suggest you come and see for yourself. We passed through small streams flowing across the road. All along the road there were cheesy safety slogans like “If married, divorce speed”, “If you sleep, your family will weep”, “Be gentle on my curves”, “Feel the curves but don’t hug them”, “Check your nerve on my curve”, “Mountains are pleasure if you drive with leisure”,”It’s not a rally, enjoy the valley” and my favourite, “Love thy neighbor but not while driving”! We descended to the dry river bed and then turned west towards the villages of Hunder and Diskit. At Hunder, the high altitude desert begins. White sand dunes for several kilometers, clear blue sky above elegant Karakoram with Shyok river at the base - an unique place on the earth!! Desert, mountain with snow, river all at one place! Its such a jaw dropping sight! 

First we decided to get dressed in Ladakhi clothes and take photographs. It was fun! Then we went for a ride on the Bactrian double humped camels. Said to have been left behind at the high-altitude desert dunes of Nubra valley during the trade crossings of Central Asia, these Bactrian Camels Bactrian camels were originally natives of the Gobi Desert. Those days they were part of caravans that plied the Silk Route carrying goods from Central and South Asia. The ride offered to tourists is a top draw in the Nubra valley and most visitors come here just for it; we were glad we got the chance too. Up close we found that these animals looked shorter than the single-humped ones we’d seen before. Also, understandably, the Bactrian ones were quite furry with thick tufts of hair around their necks and legs – they looked rather cute! We climbed atop them and were seated in between the two humps. Then the camels waddled across the dunes for exactly 15 minutes – it was an uneventful and bumpy but fun ride!

It started raining and we had to rush back to shade. But it was only for a few minutes and then the clouds cleared and we could see the rainbow. It was amazing and we stayed around for sometime watching the beauty of this place. Soon, we could see the double rainbow - one lighter, but the other was distinct. We felt extremely lucky to have been able to see such a wonderful sight.  It was incredible to have mountains, a waterbody, vegetation and a desert; all within a span of a few kilometres. 

After sometime, we went back to "Royal Camp Hunder" - our stay for the night. The place was beautiful with a small stream running in between the beautiful tents. 

Next morning, we went to see the Diskit Monastery, the largest and the oldest surviving monastery in Nubra Valley. The Diskit Gompa has two distinct parts - one, the Gompa (monastery) itself, which, like most other monasteries is located on a inclined land and which you have to walk and the second, the statue of the Maitreya Buddha (future Buddha), upto which there is a motor able road. 

Diskit Gompa is one of the largest and oldest monasteries in the Nubra valley. Like most other Buddhist Gompas in the Ladakh region, Diskit Gompa it clings to a mountain-side sitting just above the village. Luckily, vehicles can go right up to the base of the monastery from where it’s a short climb up to the prayer halls and shrines. We were amazed to find that all of these were immaculately maintained and preserved over the years. The monastery courtyard was pristine and in the early morning air looked absolutely wonderful. The insides of the shrines (we visited 3 in all) were as wonderfully maintained as the outside. A climb to seven storied Diskit Gompa through a few hundred steps takes some time and effort; but the effort is adequately rewarded. From elevation of upper stories of the Gompa, the panorama of hills and the greenery around the Diskit village looks spectacular. 

But the most exciting thing about Diskit Gompa was the huge Maitreya Maitreya statue that was built on a high terrace across from the village on a smaller hillock! We could see it clearly from the Gompa but seeing it from up-close while standing at its feet was just simply exhilarating! Unlike the Shanti Stupa in Leh, this one had been built by truly skilled craftsmen – it was a marvelous piece of work! Not only the Buddha is huge (almost 3 storey high) it is also very well decorated and painted in bright colours. The view of the sky and mountains from this place is exhilarating. The locals believe that the statue was built with the idea of promoting peace with Pakistan and hence the statue faces Pakistan. 

The tour of Nubra valley gave us a unique feel of the northern-most part of India and its inhabitants. No tour of Ladakh could be complete without crossing the world’s highest  motor-able pass and taking a peek at the wonderful landscape on the other side. 

Gompas of Ladakh - An amazing blend of religion and beauty

During the long course of its history, Ladakh was ruled by several dynasties who brought their culture, religion and traditions to this region, giving it a unique feature. As far as religion is concerned, Buddhism is followed by a  major portion of the population. Irrespective of the rugged terrain and remote inaccessible areas, monks and preachers passed through them and built monasteries all over the place. There are are innumerable monasteries in Ladkah, some in ruins while others are still in inhabited, running as educational and religious centers. During our week long tour in Ladakh, we got an opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful monasteries and today I would like to share some of my experience. A typical character of the monasteries is that each monastery has a courtyard where main rituals in gathering are performed or yearly festivals are celebrated. The walls of stones which are inscribed with prayers and religious figures are called Mani walls. On the outer walls one can notice the lines of ‘prayer wheels’. Prayer wheels are wood and metal cylinders with prayers written on the long pieces of paper inside. Every rotation of teach cylinder is equated to prayers written on the paper and are sent to Buddha.

The first monastery we visited was on our way to Leh from Kargil - Lamayuru Monastery, one of the mysterious and the oldest monastery of Ladakh. The Lamayuru monastery is situated about 10 kms from Leh, on a big rock overlooking the Indus River. According to the legends, Lamayuru was a lake. It was blessed by a Lama after which the water of the lake receded up to the mountains leaving place for the monastery to be built. The monastery has Dukhang, the assembly hall, Gonkhang, the temple and residential buildings for monks. The main hall of this monastery is very impressive and houses numerous Thangkas and is worth a visiting place. There are caves carved out of the mountain wall and some of the rooms are richly furnished with carpets, Tibetan tables and butter lamps. Walls of the Dukhang are painted with colourful images of Buddhist deities. In front of the temple there are three chortens. The only disadvantage is that you are not allowed to do photography inside the monastery :(

The next monastery we visited was the Hemis Monastery. Situated in the foothills of Indus at a distance of 45 km from Leh, the monastery has access to motorable roads. Travelling to Hemis monastery itself is a thrilling experience and the surroundings make the journey a memorable one. Hemis Monastry is the wealthiest monastery in India and famous for its rich collection of ancient remnants like the statue of Buddha made of copper, stupas made of gold and silver. Monastery also has sacred Thangkas, murals and various artifacts. The Tibetan Buddhist monastery belongs to the Drukpa Lineage or the Dragon Order of Mahayana Buddhism. The Tibetan style architecture of the monastery is very colourful and attractive. It is divided into two parts – the assembly hall known as Dukhang and the temple which is called Tshogkhang. The huge courtyard of the monastery is also worth a visit. All the celebration and public functions are held here. Verandah is decorated with colourful wall paintings of Buddhist Kalchakra. Below the monastery there is Chomoling which is the abode of nuns.

Painting on the walls

The next one we visited was Thiksey Monastery. The 12 storey monastery has 10 temples, assembly hall, and residence for 120 monks and nunnery. The monastery buildings are structured in hierarchal order. The monastery is referred as ‘Mini Potala’ of India as it resembles Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. There is one big statue of Maitreya (future Buddha) which covers almost two floor of the monastery that is 40 feet in height. Tara temple of Goddess Tara is another major attraction for the visitors. Apart from visiting monastery one can also find some rare and precious stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords in the monastery.

From outside the monastery, we could see a panorama of beautiful landscapes all around. The green patches are a result of dedicated efforts by the local people. They have implemented schemes like water harvesting. The greenery everywhere often makes you forget that Ladakh in fact, is a cold desert!

This writing would remain incomplete without a glimpse of the Diskit Monastery, the largest and the oldest surviving monastery in Nubra Valley. The Diskit Gompa has two distinct parts - one, the Gompa (monastery) itself, which, like most other monasteries is located on a inclined land and which you have to walk and the second, the statue of the Maitreya Buddha (future Buddha), upto which there is a motorable road. 

A climb to seven storied Diskit Gompa through a few hundred steps takes some time and effort; but the effort is adequately rewarded. From elevation of upper stories of the Gompa, the panorama of hills and the greenery around the Diskit village looks spectacular.

The maitreya is visible from a far distance and hence, I am sure anyone would be curious to find out how it looks up-close : well, you should experience this for yourself. Not only the Buddha is huge (almost 3 storey high) it is also very well decorated and painted in bright colours. The view of the sky and mountains from this place is exhilarating.

Having written a few words on the various Gompas of Ladakh, some readers may feel tad monotonous on this aspect of Ladakh. If one is at Ladakh, one can not wish away Gompas and Chortens  which are the fountain heads of Buddhist religion and will make their appearance in every possible destination. These mountain clutching multistoried structures, invariably give a kind of divine dimension to the mountains of this Trans-Himalayan region and from layman’s point of view, break the monotony of the rugged hills. 

Pangong Lake - Blue Heaven

Remember the scene from the movie 3 Idiots when Kareena Kapoor comes riding on a scooter to meet Aamir Khan? Those of you who have seen the movie, already have seen the scenic beauty of the picturesque Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake. Situated in the upper reaches of Himalayan Mountain range in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, the most notable feature of the lake is the ever changing hues of the lake. Pangong Tso in Tibetan stands for "long, narrow, enchanted lake". One third of the lake is in India while the remaining two thirds lies in Tibet, which is controlled by China. Majority of the streams which fill the lake are located on the Tibetan side. 

Pangong Tso is about five hours drive from Leh. During our recent trip to Leh, we chose to go to Pangong Tso last to give our body enough time for acclimatization. At Karu, about 45km from Leh city, we had to deviate left for Pangong lake. The road till Karu, that goes along the river Indus, is in a very good condition and could be made to Karu in well within an hour. 

As we started ascending higher and higher, the temperature fell drastically and oxygen kept depleting. As we got closer to Chang La pass, the roads started getting worse with potholes and sharper curves. At Chang La, the second highest motorable pass in the world at 5360m, the mountains were magnificently snow capped and the weather was mind-numblingly cold. There is an army outpost at Changla pass which serves complimentary tea and has maintained public conveniences. Also there is a temple embellished with numerous fluttering Buddhist festoons, as colourful as a rainbow.  The flags are of vibrant colours and have prayers written on them.  The Buddhists put up this flags so that as the wind blows, it spreads its piousness in the air. It is such a selfless act for greater good that it touched my heart.

After a few clicks, we started our descent. The road conditions were pretty bad after Chang La pass, the descent was a steep one and at some places the roads were completely ripped off. We stopped for lunch at Tangste valley where stands a chain of war memorials in commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. Some of the historic army bunkers and trenches present here, are still in use. Tangste like any is a simple Ladakhi village - quaint and beautiful.

Tangtse Village

From Tangtse, it took us another one hour to reach Pangong. When we had the first glimpse of the azure, crystal blue color of this lake, we were awestruck by the beauty of nature.. It is amazing to look at! The mountains shadowed by the snow white clouds and visible till the snow peaks can be seen (yes, that far!)- engulf these beautiful blue green waters (I just can't get over the bright ever changing beautiful blues), and the overall scenery....WOW!!!! How can a place be so beautiful???

I felt like standing in front of the lake forever. It was clear, blue, pollution free and simply breathtaking. However, due to strong wind, the weather was extremely harsh and it was becoming extremely difficult to stand besides the lake. So, we decided to head back to the camp for a nice cup of hot coffee. The camp we stayed was "Pangong Resort Camp" which was beautiful and extremely cozy and well equipped to give us enough protection from the harsh weather outside. The restaurant had and added attraction with old Hindi songs being played continuously. 

After sometime, we went back to enjoy the beauty of the lake and the its crystal clear water. Once you see this lake, you'll know that you would go back, just to get a glimpse of this mesmerizing sight again...and again...and yet again. It is the most beautiful sight, I had ever seen.. And it seemed to me like a picture come alive from one of the dreams or some of the Hollywood fantasy movie.. Seriously, this is amazing!! 

Next morning, we returned to the lake just after dawn to watch the sun rise behind the mountains. The sky was slightly overcast and hence deprived us of the beauty. But what we saw was equally amazing. A rim of orange appears in the eastern ridges and rest of the landscape breaks into a dull dawn. The lake is dull grey, but slowly acquires its blue as the sun comes up. Clouds begin forming slowly and settle comfortably on the peaks to the east.

Soon it was time for us to leave. But before leaving, we decided to make one last stop at the starting point of the lake. The beauty of the place made me emotional and I stood there alone for some time - completely at peace. However, I definitely missed the absence of a loved one to share this amazing experience. We ambled around the lake for sometime photographing the brilliant blue lagoon. The cold winds from the lake made us shiver and dried our lips to crack, yet it was pleasure to promenade on the banks watching the waves of crystal clear water. I expected to see few aquatic birds but there were absolutely no fauna, probably due to cold. We continued on the road for few more kilometers in the direction of Sino-Indian border, clicked few photographs and started our return journey.

One notable mention of our return journey was a stop to see the marmots which are generally large ground squirrels. These cute looking animals were a treat to watch. They normally hide out in their burrows but in this route, you could see them as they know visitors would provide them with goodies. We spent some time with them clicking pictures and wishing we could take one home as a pet - to cuddle around!!

Overall this trip was memorable in every way - etched in my memory forever!!