Roving Traveller

14/01/2020

It's not the place that makes the experience worth remembering, it's the people that makes it worth remembering

18/12/2019

08/12/2019

I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams.

15/10/2019

View from Jaigarh Fort.

09/10/2019

Tunnels connecting Amer Fort to Jaigarh Fort. @ Amer Fort, Jaipur

07/10/2019

Amer Fort in monsoons.

03/10/2019

(33/33)
The Lake of the Sun God - SurajTal

The last thing we visited on the whole trip.
Deriving its meaning from two words, i.e., Suraj meaning sun and tal meaning lake, it is often revered as the lake of Sun God. Most people believe that taking a holy dip in the waters of Suraj Tal Lake will cleanse their spirit and absolve them of all their sins.
It is said to be the third highest lake in India being situated at an altitude of 4950m above sea level. Suraj Tal Lake is fed by the Bhaga River, which lies below the summit of Baralacha Pass, which is also known as the ‘pass with crossroads on the summit’. In fact, it is exactly the location that the roads leading to Spiti, Ladakh and Zanskar meet.
The region is mostly uninhabited because of rough climatic conditions, where the temperature goes up till 13 degree Celsius and the lowest recorded had been -27 degree. It also seems that the region receives snowfall all throughout the year.

01/10/2019

(32/33)
Crossing one of the passes on Leh - Manali highway. Pass was covered with huge amount of snow and the road is cut out between the snow forming large walls of ice beside the road. Thanks to Border road organization (BRO) for making the road open during harsh conditions.

28/09/2019

(31/33)
The Gata Loops

Gata Loops is a series of 21 hairpin bends that leads to the top of one of the highest motorable passes in Ladakh region that is Nakee La pass. This steep and winding section of the road is considered as one of the tourist attractions of Manali to Leh road but we were lucky enough as we were travelling from Leh to Manali and we had to descend these Gata loops. As it is a single road at most places, it's really difficult to ascend the vehicle with incoming traffic when you have to stop aside and give way and then pick up the vehicle again at that ascend. It's really tough for those who had not driven in mountains that much and these type of people are the main reason for traffic jams as they get stuck in the middle of high ascend road.
People who do know the name Gata Loops know it because of its stunning location and breathtaking scenery around it.

24/09/2019

(30/33)
Fed up from the Passes!

After returning from pangong lake back to Leh and having a great experience of Khardungla and changla pass, it was time to return to our regular routines. But some more thrill was awaiting. The route from Leh to Manali itself was one of a kind road trip and was to be covered in 2 days but we didn't knew there were more passes along this route.
Generally, it's human nature that if we experience something more than once or twice, that same experience seems repetitive. Same was the case with these passes. As we traversed these passes, we just had the glance of all the milestones and didn't get off the vehicle because we were too lazy to do so.
Names of the passes are Tanglang La pass, Nakee la pass, Lachung la pass and Baralacha La pass.

PS - All the passes were covered with snow
PPS - "La" word already means pass

20/09/2019

(29/33)
The road through the passes are very narrow and vehicle crosses one at a time. As it was snowy and roads were frozen, a break in the momentum of the vehicle can cause a problem to an unskilled driver like us who are not used to driving on hilly roads. Though army personnel are skilled at this, still everybody prefers to give way to the upcoming vehicles climbing up.
A huge number of army vehicles can be seen moving across the valley to provide resources at extreme corners like Pangong lake (India-China border) and Siachen Glacier. Also, army vehicles are equipped with chains to provide extra grip to the tyres on the icy road. It has an added benefit. The chains on the tyres break the ice on the road and it's easy for normal vehicles to traverse.

18/09/2019

(28/33)
Changla cafeteria

One of us knew that everybody will stop to have a look at the "second highest" motorable road in the world.
Wanna make profit? Open a cafe here.
So, here's the Changla cafeteria at the top of the Changla pass offering you some hot and cold in the mix!
Hot food and icy water to have!

15/09/2019

(27/33)
The second Highest Road

Staying here at Pangong lake was a great experience but being a driver was difficult for my head. To think of the mighty Changla pass which is a sibling of Khardungla pass and we had a terrifying experience at Khardungla, especially me.
Hoping for a clear weather tomorrow and so it was, we started our journey back to Leh via Changla pass hoping everything to be normal.
As the pass was near, all mountains were covered with snow hinting at the recent snowfall that happened. Me being a driver was fearing of the roads covered with icy snow but we were lucky enough that all snow on the roads had melted due to bright sunlight at that moment. But the roads were no roads. The only passage of mud and slush. Though there was little or no difficulty while climbing to the pass and this time, I literally enjoyed the whole experience while driving to the Changla pass which I didn't during the Khardungla pass ascend.
It was a great experience to conquer the "second-highest" motorable road in the world.

14/09/2019

(26/33)
Wildlife of Ladakh

Pangong Lake serves as a breeding ground for a variety of birds, especially migratory ones like seagulls, rare black-necked cranes and Brahmani ducks. During summers, bar-headed geese can also be witnessed here. All this makes the lake a favourite spot for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts. In addition to birds, the region around the lake supports some wildlife species as well, such as the Ladakhi marmot (beaver; as seen in the post) and kiang.

12/09/2019

25/33)
A blow at the Nature

In my previous posts, I had talked about how commercialization affected the beauty and natural habitat of the places in Ladakh. And Pangong lake is no exception here. After 2008, there's a surge in tourism which led to local people planting more and more campsites for accommodation and this increased their earnings. But they didn't know what impact it would make to the environment because generally, people think about themselves first and later, the environment.
I stayed near the lake in one of the campsites and it was a great experience looking at the star bed above you. When you are critical about the environment, you easily spot places which disturbs it. There's too much dump near the campsites caused by the people and poor drainage system. I was curious to know where did the human waste go but this question was left unanswered.
Though the government is trying to restrict the exploitations caused. Earlier, there were 50 rows of campsites which are reduced to 20. Waste carrying trucks are deployed in the area.
It's very strange to know that Ladakh is the only hill station to have it's own waste landfill ( if you remember Delhi's dumping area and compare).
Overall it was a once in a lifetime experience staying at Pangong lake but not spreading waste should be our priority during the visit here.

10/09/2019

(24/33)
Never Ending

Situated at a height of almost 4,350 m above sea level, this natural wonder is the world’s highest saltwater lake. Its water, which seems to be dyed in blue, stand in stark contrast to the arid mountains surrounding it. Cradled between India and China, the lake extends to almost 160km. One-third of the endorheic lake lies in India and the other two-thirds in China.

Pangong Lake, one of the most famous high altitude lakes in Leh Ladakh. This scenic wonder derives its name from the Tibetan word, “Pangong Tso”, which means “high grassland lake”. You could spend hours in contemplation here, and still not have enough of its beauty. Pangong Tso is also known to change colours, appearing blue, green and red at different times of a day.

During the night, the stars of the sky shine in all their glory. The feeling you get is that of oneness, of the skies and the universe immersing themselves in you. At dawn, get out of your camp and watch the sunrise. Watch, as the rising sun gradually disperses the darkness and ushers in the light. Carry a camera with you, and capture these splendid moments while you spend a wonderful time at one of the best lakes in India.

08/09/2019

(23/33)
Glimpse of the Mighty Lake

Travelling for around 6 hours between the valleys, we witnessed many mesmerizing views which can't be described. According to local people, this route (Nubra to Pangong) is very dangerous as the roads are flown away by the river crossing over the road. Hence, the route is risky when there is a possibility of rain. We didn't have many options, so we moved.
We were expecting an army barricade/check-post where we had to show the permits and we made up our minds beforehand that we had to argue with the personnel but luckily, we didn't come across any check-post and soon, we connected to Leh-Pangong road of which we had the permits.
Moving ahead towards the lake, there was so much commercialization along the way. Eating points in the name of the movie "3 idiots" and "Jab Tak hai Jaan" were opened to attract people. The whole road was filled with these kinds of shops.
Some positives were that the local people had conserved the habitat here. Pangong lake is home to animals like Beaver.
There were too many passages at intervals cutting the road which I think was to give way to the river to flow easily. So, during monsoons, this road would be chaos. And finally, we had a glimpse of what we were waiting for the whole day - the giant Pangong lake. This sight made me felt good that at last, we reached.

04/09/2019

(22/33)
Way to Pangong Lake

Our plan was to go back the same way to Leh via Khardungla Pass but it has received heavy snowfall yesterday itself. Once the sun rays fall over the snow, it melts and freezes. We were unaware of the fact that car would skid and literally it did! I was scared when the car tyres were freely rotating and sliding down the road. Generally, human instinct says to push anything forward in this situation and I tried to push but slipped and hit hard on the icy road.
Khardungla top was just 2km away from us but we had no chance to cross on this road. Another option was to take the direct route from Nubra Valley to Pangong lake which had no such passes (probably no snow) but was reluctant initially because we didn't apply for the pass for that route and army personnel won't let us pass the check post (had a bad experience earlier with the army personnel)
But did we had any other option? Did we?
We turned the car back to Diskit for the way which leads to Pangong lake but we were low on fuel. There's only one petrol pump in Diskit and fuel is available early at 6 am. We were scared of what would happen if we didn't get the fuel but luckily that day, diesel was available but petrol wasn't. We fueled the car to the brim and zoomed towards Pangong lake.
This was the best impromptu decision we took to hit this road and witness this mesmerizing view.
PS - Apply for all permits at Leh office. You never know what's in store for you.

01/09/2019

(21/33)
Diskit Monastery

Also known as the Diskit Gompa, it is one of the highest points in Nubra valley and one can witness the view of the town amidst the desert and the beautiful Shyok river flowing beside.
The Diskit monastery was constructed during the 14th century by Changzem Tserab Zangpo. The huge 100 foot Maitra Buddha statue was inaugurated by the well-known holy priest Dalai Lama is the key attraction among a number of tourists across the globe.
The main part of the monastery is a prayer hall that features several images of fierce guardian deities and a huge drum. The Diskit monastery features plenty of shrines along with Tibetan and Mongolian texts in the storehouse. According to Mongol mythology, an anti-Buddhist Mongol demon lived in the Diskit monastery and he was killed. And today the body parts along with the wrinkled head of the demon are believed to remain inside the monastery.
PS - This monastery gets featured in many travel videos with some amazing aerial shots but one has to pay the price of Rs. 600 to get some.

30/08/2019

(20/33)
Only double-hump Camel in India

Now I believed that Nubra valley is a cold desert witnessing sand dunes just like the views of the hot desert in Rajasthan but the desert is incomplete without camels.
The thing which is only found in Nubra valley out of the whole India is double hu**ed camels.
People come here to ride double hu**ed camels.
The local governing body manages the camel rides and charges a fee of Rs. 400 for 10-15 min ride which is enough for us. Each camel can hold two people between the humps and after seeing the condition of the camels, I was reluctant to ride the camel. Still, I rode the camel and it was a good experience.
Commercialization of everything is bad and so for the camel ride. Looking at the condition of the camels, their humps were broken and I feel pity for the camels and anger on the people gaining profit from the whole business.

27/08/2019

(19/33)
Life in Cold Desert

In one of the previous post, I mentioned that everybody requires a permit to visit Nubra valley, which is issued by the Leh authority. Also, photocopies of the permit are needed because the original permit is submitted at South pullu and a photocopy is needed to be submitted at North pullu, after crossing Khardungla pass.
Being unaware of these facts, we reached North pullu and the army personnel didn't let us cross the barricade without the permit. This is what he's been instructed to do. After one long hour of persuasion, he agreed on only one condition - Get the photocopy of the permit, saved in the phone as we clicked earlier, (the personnel didn't accept the digital image too) from Nubra valley and hand him over during return journey. Everybody relaxed as we finally crossed the barricades, enjoyed the views but we didn't know what's coming ahead.
Diskit is a town in Nubra valley where we expected to get photocopies done.
First, we needed a memory card ✅
A card reader ❌ we roamed around the market and found one with difficulty.
A friend copied the image from his phone to the memory card ✅
Lastly, we needed a shop having a printer but there's a catch. Nubra valley receives electricity only for specific hours. ❌
We asked for people for a shop having a generator and found one but the owner had left 10 mins ago. We called the owner, started the generator and got the photocopies done. ✅
Think of this, how easy it is to get a photocopy done in your city and here in Nubra valley, it was a 2 hour long tedious task. So, one can imagine how difficult life would be at Nubra valley.
Also, only BSNL network works here. No other.

25/08/2019

(18/33)
Cold Desert between a Valley

In Ladakh, towns are based in plain deserted areas but travelling between these towns will end up crossing one of the highest passes like the Khardungla pass which we just crossed for travelling to Nubra valley from Leh.
I have heard that Nubra valley is a cold desert and we, general people have a picture of sand dunes, camels as a desert in our minds.
After crossing the Khardungla pass, snow-covered mountains turned into barren land and I can exactly see what I thought of. Sand dunes. Not huge heaps of sand but witnessing sand at such a height where the place is covered with snow in winter is unbelievable.
As the name says, Nubra valley is a tri-valley with Nubra and shyok rivers flowing in between.
Nubra river from one valley joins the shyok river from another valley, making a large river which flows into the Indus river at Leh.
Sometimes, people call the valley with Shyok river as Shyok valley. Its last village is turtuk after which Pok starts.
And the valley with Nubra river is called Nubra valley. Its last point is Siachen Glacier where only army personnel are allowed.

24/08/2019

(17/33)
Atlast, we reached

Slowly slowly, we crawled in the traffic and reached Khardungla Pass. It was so difficult to park the car as it was so crowdy and had to check that the car doesn't slip.
Finally, I found a sweet spot to park the car and went to see what's in store for us.
Snowing heavily, nothing to see but people, a small cafe namely khardungla cafe which is packed with people ordering food, shop owner baffled whether people paid him for the order or not, toilets frozen with snow, no place to p*e or poo which is very difficult for especially old ladies, a board written with information of khardungla pass - the tag and the height, the board feeling privileged like a celebrity as everyone is getting clicked with it.
All this happening wasn't pleasant for me but those who hired taxis were enjoying as they don't have to care about the car. For them, snow was like an icing on the cake, which they didn't expect to be served but won't mind it eating if served.
In my view, anybody driving for this time with little driving experience in the mountains cannot enjoy to the fullest as fear and liability loom in the mind.
But I can say that it feels good and a sense of accomplishment to pass the 'Highest Motorable road in the world".

PS - you can witness two heights written on different boards - one says Khardungla pass and other says Khardungla viewpoint.
Pass is from the where the road crosses.
The viewpoint is above the pass which is the highest point of that area.
PPS - Khardungla pass is not the highest Motorable road in the road. It's at 7th according to SRTM (NASA).
Umlingta Top, at the height of 19300 feet is the highest, constructed by Border road organization (BRO) in 2017.

22/08/2019

(16/33)
Way to Highest Motorable Road in the World
Leh > South Pullu > Khardungla Pass

One day I woke up in Leh and it was drizzling which is unusual in Leh as per past records and it's demography.
"If it's raining here in Leh, then it would be snowing at Khardungla Pass", said a local lady as my smiling face soon showed a sad expression. I had a dream to self-drive on the roads of Ladakh but I had no experience in snow which scared me.
We had to visit Nubra valley today as per scheduled itinerary and had to cross Khardungla Pass to reach there.
We took the risk and moved forward. Vehicle's papers were checked just after leaving Leh as non-leh registered commercial vehicles are not allowed further to Nubra valley. Roads were super smooth and I was driving with a slow pace. Soon, drizzling turned into snowflakes and everybody rejoiced but they were not the ones' to drive the car. I was. I enjoyed at my capacity with fear in my heart. As we moved forward, snow covered the whole scenery and it was difficult to see with naked eyes as the snow was reflecting the sunlight. I borrowed sunglasses from my friend as I had a responsibility to drive, leaving my friend nearly blind. The most difficult part was to drive in the middle of huge traffic on a slanted road, picking up the car every time the traffic crawls on a slippery, snowy road.

PS - Every vehicle has to submit a pass issued by Leh authority at South Pullu and North Pullu, to and fro. Please carry copies of the same (at least 4).

20/08/2019

(15/33)
Nightlife at Leh

I didn't expect the nightlife of Leh town to be so crowdy, lively and happening even at this hour of the day. But due to a higher number of tourists, there are a variety of shops, cafes and restaurants opened at the mall road.
There are various options for shopping enthusiast and also, variety in food especially non-vegetarian cuisines.
We had our dinner at 10 pm and the mall road was still live with people roaming around with little drizzle making the weather more cool than usual. We roamed around the mall road for quite some time and I noticed that almost 90% of the shops were handled by females. The reason behind it is that Ladakh is mostly supported by tourism, so males drive taxis for earnings and females handle shops along with their houses to earn more.

Leh town is the only town in whole Ladakh region which is so much developed in terms of the number of hotels, restaurants, petrol pumps, internet connectivity, vehicle service stations, photography accessory shop etc. due to the fact that it is well connected by road as well as air. That's why it is the centre point of most of the traveller's journey during the entire Ladakh expedition.

17/08/2019

(14/33)
A new Civilisation in the making

After roaming around on the streets of Leh, I noticed how well managed the city is. Nobody is allowed to park cars along the roadside. Dedicated parking is made to curb the traffic in the city. These measures are being done because the number of tourists visiting Leh is increasing.
Ladakh is known as a symbol of peace but if there's too much crowd in the area, where the locals seek peace?
Then I remembered the visual as shown above in the post and confirmed from a local that a new colony is being built in Leh. Why? Because there's too much crowd in the city. People have rented their homes as guest houses for the tourists in the city. A local said that he bought land in this new colony and once it's built, he'll stay here in peace and go in the city for business.
Is this the scenario happening in every other tourist place? Instead of restricting the number of tourists visiting, more and more commercialization is being promoted so that local people can earn more.
Who's at fault? Everybody.

15/08/2019

(13/33)
Leh palace - History of Ladakhi Dynasty

Before the partition of India in 1947, there were dynasties ruled by the kings.
And there was Ladakh ruled by Namgyals in the 17th century before the East India Company conquered India and sold Jammu and Kashmir state to the Dogris (ancestors of the Hari Singh - the last king of Kashmir)
Founder of the Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh, Tsewang Namgyal embarked on the building - the Leh Palace on the Tsemo Hill in 1553. The construction of this regal building was completed in the 17th century by Sengge Namgyal known as the 'Lion' King. He was the nephew of Tsewang Namgyal. While the upper floors of the nine-storied palace were used for residential purpose by the royal family, the lower floors had storerooms and stables. The royal family had to desert the palace and shift to Stok Palace in the mid 19th century as the Dogris forces invaded and took over Ladakh.
The beauty of the Leh Palace still stands in pride with a lot of ancient Buddha relics, paintings, old utensils, cutlery used by the royal family and artefacts adorning the walls of the palace. The majestic palace is presently under the Archaeological Survey of India, which is working on renovating the ancient structures of that era and striving to keep intact the history of the Namgyal dynasty in Leh.

13/08/2019

(12/33)
Shanti Stupa - Symbol of Peace

Situated at a height of 3609 metres, Shanti stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district, Ladakh. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Originally stated in 1914 and built in 1991 by Japanese and Ladakhi Buddhists, the main motive of building this monument was to spread peace and try to resurrect Buddhism back in India (origin).
It is also considered a symbol of the ties between the people of Japan and India.
Since it's inaugural, it has become a popular tourist attraction providing panoramic views of the city and the best point for sunrise and sunset.

11/08/2019

(11/33)
Gompa Soma - A Monastery which lost importance

Namgyal Tsemo Gompa is located on a hill right above the Leh Palace. This mud-brick monastery, built-in 1430, houses an 8m-high statue of Maitreya Buddha (the future Buddha). It can be accessed on foot from Leh Palace and there is also a road up to the gompa.
When I visited the Gompa, hardly any tourist was seen at the place as it seems the least interesting place to visit but this place caters eyes of people having an architectural interest.
It is one of the highest points in Leh and the view of Leh town from this point is beautiful and spellbound.

09/08/2019

(10/33)
A city amidst mountains

This looks exactly what it is called. A cold desert. When you witness this view for the first time, you are sp*echless and want to stay and watch this forever.
Small patches of green pastures which sustain little vegetation for the city in between huge ice-capped mountains, though mostly barren.
But many of you may not know the reason for it to be a cold desert. Geographically, the city is in the valley covered by huge mountains all around which blocks the clouds from entering the city. Therefore, the city experience bright sunlight and moderate temperatures despite being on the higher altitude.
Mostly, the city's economy is largely dependent on tourism which is both a boon and bane for the city - boon as it provides a livelihood to people, bane as increasing tourism every year destroys the natural beauty and environment of the area.