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| Day 10 - Leh, via Kargil |
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10.50am: Camp > Kargil > Namikala > Fotula > Leh :9.45pm
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After a brilliant night under the stars, and early morning ablutions in our personal spectacular
loos with a view, we set off towards Leh at a leisurely pace.
We took our time packing the camp up and getting ready, and left fairly latish, after our meadow was taken over by a huge flock of sheep brought into graze by a villager. Some nearby villagers came up to us and watched us pack curiously, finally asking us for some plastic water bottles which we handed over, glad that we neither had to litter our beautiful meadow nor carry unnecessary baggage till our next stop.
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| morning at camp |
The climb continued today, and the terrain got increasingly beautiful as we progressed. We
passed through Drass, a picturesque little town where we stopped in the hope of making
some phone calls, but without luck. The occasional spots of green amidst the stark brown landscape of Ladakh were fabulously lush and one couldn't help envying the people who stayed in the villages set among these oases. Of course, we weren't thinking about the hardships they went through making ends meet in this desolate land.
We spotted another truck that fell into the river; instead of trying to get it out, they had just tied it with cables to prevent it from flowing downstream. There it stood bang in the middle of the river like a strange amphibian, reminding us once again that you can't fool around with nature especially when behind the wheel.
Lunch was at Kargil with some tasty Kashmiri dishes, where we managed to make all our
phone calls. It was strange to imagine such a sleepy little town was in the middle of a war just a few years ago.
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| kargil town |
Climbing steadily, we crossed the Namikala Pass at 3000 odd metres and then the Fotula Pass at 4090m. The climb has been steady but steep, and this is the highest we have been so far.
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| namikala |
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| fotula |
We passed the Lamayuru monastery as it neared dusk, and we decided to reach Leh rather than stop by at the monastery. Soon after, we came to the famous 'moonscape' region where the terrain looks incredibly like the surface of the moon. Unfortunately, it was getting dark fast, and I couldn't get any really good pictures of the moonscape.
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| the moonscape |
We reached Leh late at night around 9. 30pm and checked into Oriental Guest House, the
same place I had stayed in when I came in May.
This is a highly recommended place to stay in Leh - the owner, Dawa Tsering, being an extremely hospitable host with a wealth of information on the region. We'll be using his place as a base while we visit the nearby Khardungla Pass and Nubra Valley. Dawa will also be organising permits for us for our exploration of Ladakh.
Leh town was shut for the most part at this time of the night, so Dawa arranged for us to have dinner at another restaurant he runs called Oriental Bar and Restaurant. He joined us for dinner and it was a pleasure catching up with him and making our plans for tomorrow and beyond.
Highlights: The climb to Leh with the spectacular views, seeing Kargil
Downsides: Seeing the remains of the truck that fell down the cliff |
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<< | >> |
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| today's route - 313 km |
| day 10 |
km |
odo |
| Camp Zojila |
|
183806 |
| Meena Marg |
4 |
183810 |
| Matayen |
5 |
183815 |
| Drass |
19 |
183834 |
| Thasgam |
25 |
183859 |
| Kargil |
33 |
183892 |
| Mulbek |
41 |
183933 |
| Namikala |
15 |
183948 |
| Khangral |
9 |
183957 |
| Bodh Kharbu |
6 |
183963 |
| Fotula |
23 |
183986 |
| Lamayuru |
14 |
184000 |
| Khalsey |
20 |
184020 |
| Nurla |
12 |
184032 |
| Saspol |
22 |
184054 |
| Nimmo |
26 |
184080 |
| Leh |
39 |
184119 |
| total |
313 |
3625 |
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