Road trip to Leh-Ladakh Part-III

The sight of state of Jammu and Kashmir board reminded us of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s quote- gar Firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hamin asto, hamin ast- which means-if there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here. After crossing Sarchu which is not at a higher elevation when compared to Baralacha La, we were seized by High Altitude Sickness (HAL). Harsh sunlight further aggravated our discomfort. Driving through desolate mountainous terrain at a high elevation through mystic rock formations will force anyone to cherish the marvels of nature. Soon we drove towards the much talked GATA loops, though I can’t figure out the logic of name GATA. Certainly, this part was another toughest and tiring phase of our journey. The place is well-known for its haunted story. It is believed that once a truck driver, supposed to make an urgent delivery was traveling through this highway. Suddenly, his associate and cleaner of truck falls sick and to fetch water for his mate, he leaves the ailing cleaner and goes in search of water. He reaches a village in search of water by foot. But by the time, he reaches the village, the weather worsens, starts snowing heavily, forcing him to take shelter at the village for the next two days. By the time he reaches the truck parked near Gata loops with water, the cleaner had succumbed to death. Left with no other option, the driver buries the cleaner there and moves ahead. It is now popularly believed that even now, an old man, is seen at the Gata loops asking water. Interestingly, even now, we can find a pile of water bottles near a temple like mount with bricks there. 

Beyond Sarchu

Near GATA Loops

GATA Loops

The arduous steep ascent with 21 hairpins on winding section of the road is not only challenging but the breath taking scenic beauty of the place leaves anyone spell bound. We arrived at this zone at around 12 noon and hence driving through these meandering curves has been exacting with the sunrays directly hitting the mirror and obstructing vision. Scorching sun drained our energies. After passing through these loops just before the third highest Nakee La, pass feeling completely dehydrated and tired, we pulled our car to an edge and slept. Compounding physical stress, I noticed my husband’s face turning red and when I touched his forehead, his body was hot. He began to show all symptoms of viral fever. I suddenly felt helpless, since all our mobiles stopped working after Keylong and there was no way I could call for any help or assistance. He complained of difficulty in breathing. Keeping myself calm and alert, I asked him to rest and forced him to drink lots of water.  As a precaution, to avoid any stomach sickness, during the strenuous mountain drive, we thrived on fruits and other easily digestible stuff. But never anticipated that we will suffer from HAS. After a break for one hour, we resumed driving and crossed fourth high mountain pass on this route-Lachulung La, at 16,600 ft. Though our overnight stay at Keylong had been a good acclimatisation, my husband was affected by sickness. Better road conditions made our drive through this pass relatively easy. To our relief as we descended the pass, we found few tented accommodations and dabhas, several kilometres ahead of Pang. We searched for a place where my husband could lie down for a while and relax. After taking medicine he slept for over hour and got better. 

The small temporary dhabhas which exist for at the most four months of a year are real life saviours. Located in the remotest parts of the World, these dhabhas have good stocks of nearly all the essential items needed to serve a hungry traveller. The hospitality extended by the locals in these small eateries is priceless. While the town and city dwellers are to be constantly reminded of cleanliness while serving customers, people in these high mountain terrains will certainly stump us with their etiquettes in hospitality. They invariably served customers tasty and piping hot food. Severed from the maddening crowds, who claim to be the face of modern civilisation, locals in the mountain terrain simply awed us with the way they offered food in sparking clean dishes. Noticing my anxiety, an elderly woman, who runs the dhabha with his husband, initiated conversation. Upon hearing about illness, she recommended a strong tea, some rest and medicines. She informed that in case of urgency, we can rush to the nearest Army camp, which provides good medical facilities. Keeping fingers crossed, I just prayed for my husband’s recovery and thankfully after few hours of rest, he was good to go.

Towards Pang

The road towards Pang is completely broken and unimaginably gutted. Driving through the valley next to towering mountains and a flowing river alongside under punishing sun was really tiring. This discomfort was exacerbated by terrible roads. Dust began to rise as huge cloud whenever a truck overtook us. At places the road became narrow and frozen rivulet flowing next to the road, gave an illusion of fine sand over the river bed. Unable to contain this surprise, we crossed a barbed wire to walk on the riverbed. It turned out be a glaciated stream. The unending bends and loops on these dusty roads led us into a mysterious wonderland, resembling the sets of Lord of Rings or miniature Grand Canyon. Mesmerising rock formations transported us to a wonderland that offered surreal experiences. The breath taking arch formation amidst these mountain ranges left us spellbound. Soon we made to highest army camp of the World at Pang situated at 15,640 ft. 

Rock Formation

Stunning rock formations

From Pang, the journey got better as the roads are exceptionally good. Despite the sudden ascent, the fantastic scenic beauty liberated us of listlessness and mental fatigue. After 4km uphill drive, we reached one of the World’s highest plateaus in the lap of Himalayas. Extending over 40 kms, its is perhaps the most beautiful place one can ever imagine. The picturesque beauty of place is simply amazing. Aside the stunning rock formations etched on the distant mountain slopes, the vast expanse of the extensive sand fields embellished with grass stubbles added a distinct beauty to the place. The late afternoon sunlight reflection created characteristic mirages with a golden hue. With no trace of human habitations, the distinct golden hue that pervaded the open fields, in the unspoiled environment qualified to be a fallen piece of paradise on earth. The surreal experience of nature in its splendid hues can leave anyone spellbound. Filling our hearts and minds with the mystifying beauty of this pristine beauty, we drove past these plains which had one of the best roads in this entire stretch. While the pothole-free roads might tempt the rider to drive at 120kmph, the road is quite bumpy, and driver must exercise extreme caution. Soon we reached Debring which bifurcates towards Tso Kar. We avoided the road to Tso Kar and continued our journey towards Taglang La, pass, fifth Pass on this Manali-Leh highway. The road towards Taglang La are extremely steep and most people often have trouble in breathing. It has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous roads in India. Baring occasional motorbike and trucks, the roads are almost deserted, the mountain slopes are barren. Perched at a height of over 17,400 ft, though we encountered some bad patches on road, we closed on to the summit relatively easily. But the sharp sunrays of setting Sun dehydrated us. The summit has numerous Buddhist prayer flags. Typical of higher elevations, people can experience dizziness due to low oxygen levels. We just clicked few snaps and moved on.

Moore Plains

Unlike City dwellers who boast themselves as torch bearers of modern civilisation and are adamant to even acknowledge the existence of a higher power, people in hills have supreme faith in the creator of this magnificent universe. They adore and worship the omniscience of this Divine power in various forms. They revere, respect, protect the nature and all geographical manifestations. While we tend to mock their tradition of worshiping mountains, rivers, streams or even hot springs their lives are inextricably connected to nature. Being closer to nature they are vulnerable to natural calamities. Even mildest disturbance in nature can create a havoc in their lives. Life on upper terrains is very difficult and full of challenges. Hence these people pray nature for strength and to cope up with extreme weather conditions or natural calamities. The undubitable faith in Divine is source of their inexhaustible courage and equipoise to embrace nature and its fury alike.

Descending Taglang La 

Maintenance of roads at such elevation is a great challenge and kudos to the (BRO) Border Roads Organisation and its operational force, GREF (General Road Engineering Force) for their painstaking efforts in keeps roads in excellent condition. This task of building roads and maintenance of its allied infrastructure in the Ladakh region started in 1985 is styled as Project Himank. Their catchy punchlines at various places is just a sweet reminder of exercising caution while driving on these rather steep and dangerous curves. 

Downhill drive was quite relaxing and soon we approached Rumste, a small town with good number of chortens. Treks to Tso Moriri, Tso Kar and Spiti Valley start from here. With plains approaching we could spot some vegetation and suddenly the hills turned so colourful exuding a special charm. We crossed villages Sasoma and Gva which were extremely clean with no trace of plastic of any debris of any sort. The roads of these villages would put even most advanced metros of the country to shame who lack basic civic sense.

Rumtse

We drove next to hills which are had truly unique formations. The steep slopes in their splendid greenish brown hues resembled slides in children’s recreation park…their natural counterparts of gigantic proportions. Few kilometres ahead of Upshi, another town, we had the first sighting of the Indus or the Sindhu river, after which our great country, derives its name. We paid toll at Upshi and soon crossed Karu, a small town with a huge military cantonment and petrol pump. The last petrol pump was at Tandi village 10km before Keylong. Leh is 34km from Karu. The huge overarching mountains from Karu were entirely different and resembled huge mounds of sand. Sandstorms are quite common in the region. Indeed, majority of the monasteries and Shey palace are constructed on these huge sandy mounds. By the time we reached Leh, darkness has set in. After a long and strenuous journey, we just longed to hit the bed. Unsure of our travel plans, we haven’t booked any room earlier. So, we were back on the streets of Leh in search of a decent accommodation and luckily we managed to find one without much difficulty. 

Jarred-rock cut formations

Pics Courtesy: Dr. T. L.S. Bhaskar

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