12th August
This was the original road trip, the one planned right from the start as a must do while in India. Like our previous journey, this road only has a short window of time each year when it is open. The road generally opens in July when the passes clear and the removable bridges are put back in place. Its review in Lonely Planet - raw and elemental, the high altitude scenery will most certainly astound and impress and what better reason do you need than that! What indeed? I was hooked, had to do it.
However, in those stages we had not planned the Srinagar/Leh trip (we weren't going there), and, as I have described , there were some scary, seat-gripping moments on that trip. This one is noted by locals in Leh as much more dangerous. Soooo.......... will we, won't we, will we, won't we, will we take the road. The alternatives - fly to Delhi or fly to Jammu. Neither destination took us near to where we wanted to go which was Himachal Pradesh. The road it is! The only stipulation - we want a careful driver who knows the road and is capable of anticipationg dangers/difficulties.
And off we went. Toshi was our driver and we were in a Toyota sedan - not a 4 wheel drive as I had hoped but a very comfortable vehicle.
From Leh we travelled through the Indus Valley along a good but dusty road past the magnificent gompas of Thiksey and Shey. From Upshi we started our climb away from the green lushness of the valley floor as we ascended to Taglang La.
Taglang La Pass, elevation 5328m - second highest road pass (desputedly in the world- - but definitely in India), second highest temple in the world and, believe it or not, once upon a time the highest toilets in the world. Those aren't there anymore but the shell is sooooo.... behind it.......
And wow, the views! Not behind the old toilets but there at the pass! And the amazing elation of being so high, almost on the roof of the world. I felt like an excited small child at Christmas.
FromTaglang La the tarred road was replaced by rocky gravel. Hence the dust factor rose markedly once again. We descended to the Morey Plains, a stretch of flat land flanked by low hills.Here it was hard to imagine that we were still high, very high, in the Himalayas. Either side of the road was deep dust. When the road disappeared, which it had a habit of doing because of roadworks or because it simply did, the driver chose his own path. We were in a sedan so hopefully one we would not get bogged in. Toshi was turning out to be a highly skilled young driver and I was beginning to have complete faith in him! It is difficult to imagine living in this area but it is home to the Khampa nomads.
Winding once again downwards we entered the Gorges of Pang. My utterances are becoming very limited and monosyllabic - I'm sorry. Wow! the execution of the numerous bends by the trucks along this stretch was interesting. Rather than negotiate the tight bends they opted to go straight over the the edge and down the mountainside. So glad that our driver did not follow suit.
This was the original road trip, the one planned right from the start as a must do while in India. Like our previous journey, this road only has a short window of time each year when it is open. The road generally opens in July when the passes clear and the removable bridges are put back in place. Its review in Lonely Planet - raw and elemental, the high altitude scenery will most certainly astound and impress and what better reason do you need than that! What indeed? I was hooked, had to do it.
However, in those stages we had not planned the Srinagar/Leh trip (we weren't going there), and, as I have described , there were some scary, seat-gripping moments on that trip. This one is noted by locals in Leh as much more dangerous. Soooo.......... will we, won't we, will we, won't we, will we take the road. The alternatives - fly to Delhi or fly to Jammu. Neither destination took us near to where we wanted to go which was Himachal Pradesh. The road it is! The only stipulation - we want a careful driver who knows the road and is capable of anticipationg dangers/difficulties.
And off we went. Toshi was our driver and we were in a Toyota sedan - not a 4 wheel drive as I had hoped but a very comfortable vehicle.
From Leh we travelled through the Indus Valley along a good but dusty road past the magnificent gompas of Thiksey and Shey. From Upshi we started our climb away from the green lushness of the valley floor as we ascended to Taglang La.
Taglang La Pass, elevation 5328m - second highest road pass (desputedly in the world- - but definitely in India), second highest temple in the world and, believe it or not, once upon a time the highest toilets in the world. Those aren't there anymore but the shell is sooooo.... behind it.......
And wow, the views! Not behind the old toilets but there at the pass! And the amazing elation of being so high, almost on the roof of the world. I felt like an excited small child at Christmas.
FromTaglang La the tarred road was replaced by rocky gravel. Hence the dust factor rose markedly once again. We descended to the Morey Plains, a stretch of flat land flanked by low hills.Here it was hard to imagine that we were still high, very high, in the Himalayas. Either side of the road was deep dust. When the road disappeared, which it had a habit of doing because of roadworks or because it simply did, the driver chose his own path. We were in a sedan so hopefully one we would not get bogged in. Toshi was turning out to be a highly skilled young driver and I was beginning to have complete faith in him! It is difficult to imagine living in this area but it is home to the Khampa nomads.
From the Morey Plains we continued to Pang, a tent town where we stretched our legs and breakfasted. Pang only exists in the summer. It offers refreshment, and, accommodation, if you are game.
Winding once again downwards we entered the Gorges of Pang. My utterances are becoming very limited and monosyllabic - I'm sorry. Wow! the execution of the numerous bends by the trucks along this stretch was interesting. Rather than negotiate the tight bends they opted to go straight over the the edge and down the mountainside. So glad that our driver did not follow suit.
Then we were climbing gradually up again one hairpin bend after another to Lachlung La Pass at 5060m and onto the next tent town of Sarchu and time for a chai stop. With a strong dose of ginger and cinammon added, if not the best chai that I have had in India, it would have to be a close second. Our chai mum was delightful. We did not have a common language but smiles got us through. Back home in the planning days I had though that the notion of sleeping a night out in the Himalayas was rather a romantic notion. So glad I saw sense and got us a hotel room further along. Somewhere just before Sarchu we ha passed into Himanchal Pradesh. The passport checkpoint, however is in Sarchu. Yes, we were in India all the Time but Jammu and Kashmir, of which Ladakh is a region, is bit of a touchy zone because of its proximity to Pakistan and they like to check up on us foreigners coming in and out of it and numerous places in between.
Chai Lady and moi in Sarchu
Sarchu
Checkpoint Charlie
There's one on every road. Madness!
After Sarchu it was not that long before we reached Jispa, our overnight stopover. The landscape was gradually changing. Green was creeping in and the mountains had many more streams cascading down the ravines and many across the road creating more problems. It isn't any wonder that they never get on top of road maintenance.
One of the many army barracks out in the middle of
nowhere
Our first yak, in Jispa
Jispa
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