Incredible Ladakh: Khardhungla and Nubra Valley (Day 3)

We decided to start early around 8.30 after a light breakfast to Nubra Valley. The journey to Nubra valley was through serpentine roads ascending rapidly to Khardungla Pass situated at 18,380 ft above sea level through Karakoram Range. The landscape appeared to be like pages from artist’s book – be it the mountains, be it the snow clad top, the long winding roads below that we could trace till our eyesight allowed, the clouds running past us, to name a few.

The roads were decent, thanks to BRO (Border Roads Organization) for their untiring effort to connect the borders of the country. Ladakh is known to be a biker’s paradise and we saw several bikers during our travel in these mountains. After a quick stop at South Pullu where our ILPs were checked we continued the drive.

Note : If you drive a motorcycle, you should not miss this opportunity. There are a lot of places in Leh (more travel agent shops than restaurants) where you can rent a motorcycle and related equipment. The only catch is that you need to be fit to ride on those roads. The roads to and from Pangong are not in good condition in several sections and it is possible that you may injure your back if you are not fit.

Khardungla Pass

We reached the Khardhungla pass in under 2 hours. It is suggested that one does not spend more than 20 minutes here due to very less oxygen in the air. We could find ourselves mildly breathless but were still able to manage well. Paljor kept asking us to sip water throughout the way and we promptly followed his advice. (Please watch for signs of breathlessness and listen to your body at high passes, descend immediately if you don’t feel well).

Not even a zillion pictures to capture this breath-taking view does justice. This view was something that I always dreamt of, since childhood but nature holds beauty that is beyond human imagination. The image that I had been dreaming for years fell flat in front of the reality. Reluctantly, we left this pass after around 10-15 minutes.

On the way to Nubra valley from Khardungla pass around noon, we stopped for a quick bite at North Pullu - hot masala chai, maggi and momos near an army camp. The weather had been conducive so far - a little cold at Khardungla but bearable at other places. As we descended, we could see roads being laid in several places – people working tirelessly at those altitudes and climate. Hats off to BRO (Border Roads Organisation) for the fabulous job that they are doing.

Nubra Valley

In around 4-5 hours we reached Nubra Valley and by this time we were doing perfectly fine as we had descended to an altitude of around 10,000 ft above sea level. This view was very different from the rest – the land was flat with sand dunes in several places. These dunes are supposed to be the world’s highest sand dunes at around 10500 feet above sea level.

We rode the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) in one of the dunes (charged at Rs.1000 /person and Rs. 1200 / 2 ppl) at Mikha Point (The place became famous after the movie ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’)

Diskit (Maithreya Buddha)

After the ATV ride, we proceeded on our journey to Diskit, a small village that is home to a huge Maithreya Buddha (108 feet high) and one of the oldest monasteries in Nubra Valley– Diskit Monastery or Diskit Gompa (built in the 14th century).

Diskit Monastery

The next stop was the 14th century Gompa at Diskit. All monasteries are accessible only after climbing up a couple of 100 steps and this one was no exception. Inside the monastery were the statues of various deities – Avalokiteshwara (buddha of compassion), Amithaba, Amithayus, Chamundi, Kali, Yama, Vajrapani, Vaisravana to name a few. Legend has it that a Mongolian anti-buddhist demon was killed nearby but resurrected several times. His resurrection stopped only after his head and hand were severed and held by Goddess Kali. One can see the skull and the hand inside the temple. The faces of all the deities in all the Gompas are covered. They are opened only once a year during festivals – it is believed that humans may not be able to receive the powerful sight of the divine if the faces are open.

The statue of Buddha is built in such a way that it is visible anywhere from across the valley – We were able to see the Statue of Buddha from Samstanling monastery at Sumur village the next day, some 35 kilometres away.

Hunder Sand Dunes Camel Safari

We climbed down the Gompa and headed off to Hunder – this is where we stayed for the night. Enroute, we stopped to ride the double humped Bactrian camels on the Hunder sand dunes. These camels are natives of Afghanistan and it believed that they were brought here during the silk trade as Ladakh was one of key passages along the Silk Route. The kids tried their luck with archery too. The Shyok river was giving us company all through the journey from a town Khalsar near Khardhung village until Hunder

At around 7 pm we reached our guest-tents at Hunder. We were allotted the last 2 tents in our line. A small stream was flowing right in front of our tents. The backdrop were mountains majestically looking down on us. This looked like a scene out of a story book – too good to be real. We were served hot chai and aloo pakoda after we checked-in. Our tents were made of thick tarpaulin. They are fully equipped tents with a bathroom that has hot water for an hour between 7 and 8 in the morning. Electricity is provided only between 7 and 11 pm in the evenings and from 6-8 in the mornings through generators. The tents are equipped with thick blankets and multiple comforters for each person, should it be cold. We could see the sun rays on the mountains in our backyard at around 8 pm while heading out to the dining area for dinner. Tired from the long and adventurous journey we decided to go to bed a little early though all of us wanted to enjoy the story book scenery