Introduction to Ladakh

Khardungla INStructions
Originally uploaded by ankur_gupta10.

Read the board for some Introduction to Ladakh. Some important instructions and points to note.

You would be able to read the board after clicking on all size button the flickr page.

Magnetic Hill- Believe it or not

Magnetic Hill
Originally uploaded by ankur_gupta10.

Magnetic Hill came just a few kilometers outside Leh on our Leh--shrinagar trip. Somehow prashant knew about this hill but we were not sure wheter such a thing really exists.. or can it even exist. I thought it to be some rumor. Then we asked the driver and he confirmed that such a place exists and then i got even more confused.

When we reached the place I was still very sceptic, then we parked the vehicle in the spot that was marked on the road, and as soon as the driver started the Sumo, it started moving ahead uphill...

For the cynics, i have the video, this is RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!

Battle of Tiger Hill

Battle of Tiger Hill
Originally uploaded by ankur_gupta10.

On our way from Leh to Shrinagar was Kargil and Drass. The memories of the Kargil war came to mind. At some stretches along the road, there was a sign board "You are being watched by the enemy".

The Army learning from the previous war now has many weapons and positions that can are shaded from the hills under the control of pakistan. Then came Drass, the driver told us of about the peaks all around, tiger hill, Tololing etc.

More details on the war at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Kargil_Conflict

Check out pics of Kargil and Drass..Deepu/prashant can u give the links to your pics?/

Band of Boys

Leh 023
Originally uploaded by ankur_gupta10.

Here is the complete gang that went to leh..i don't think we would have a better pic than this of the entire group for the trip..

Zojila Pass

Zojila Pass
Originally uploaded by ankur_gupta10.

on our way from Leh to Shrinagar came the Zojila pass. When we saw the Board for Zojila pass we wondered " Why is this pass so famous?" The altitude is not that high. The slopes not all that dangerous.

When we moved further ahead of the Zojila pass board we understood why the Zojila pass is so INfamous. The road is not good. The slopes very steep on the sides. I can imagine how dangerous it would be under Snow/Rains.

Our driver told us of a recent truck accident at Zojila. It was a fuel truck, about half filled. Somewhere along the slope the truck jerked , due to being half filled the fuel exerted a backward push and the driver was not able to control the truck and it crashed down the slope....

Power station paani mein beh gaya

When we reached Leh, it was almost evening time. The generators were running everywhere. Then our driver told us that whole Leh is devoid of power because "Power station paani mein beh gaya" (The power station got washed away). We could not understand how something like power station can get washed away. The place was meant to be LEH, the capital of the Ladakh region. It was no small village!!!

One day we decided to eat out and there was all the diesel of generators that we had to inhale for free. Regarding the restaurants at Leh there needs to be another post. And maybe I would need Deepak’s help with the names of the places we SHUD NOT GO. Indians are a minority in Leh and we are treated as such.

La la la la Leh

Ladakh is literally the land of high passes. And in Ladakhi language, passes are known as ‘La’. This is an account of all the roads and passes that we crossed while reaching Leh from Delhi.

Friday, 11th August, 2006: The only pass was Azadpur Mandi by-pass and it took us a good two hours to pass out of constipated Delhi.

Saturday, 12th August, 2006: The bus reached Manali only after noon. After lunch and some rest, we started for Keylong. The highest pass of the day was Rohtang pass at 13050 ft. Note that it is still called pass here and not ‘La’. It was extremely windy up there and we could not stand there for more than five minutes. A few minutes later and at a lower height of 10301 ft at Koksar, we were much more comfortable. We reached Keylong at 2100 hrs.

Sunday, 13th August, 2006: Started at 0530 in the morning. This was a day full of passes – first came Baralachala at 16500 ft. Then after crossing Sarchu, came the famous Gata loops, where one ascends from 4200 m to 4667 m over 21 loops and 20 mins. Then came two passes in quick succession – Nakeela (15547 ft) and Lachulungla (16617 ft). We stopped at a place called Pang for lunch. Immediately after Pang, there were a few loops which took us to a higher plateau – the Mori plains. This was the most amazing sight with the plain stretching to miles on both sides and mountains in the distance. We quit the road and two Scorpios raced each other at 80 kmph. We gave up soon though, as we couldn’t resist stopping for a few snaps. After miles of nothingness, we reached the mountains. After a steady climb, we reached Taglangla – the highest pass of the day at 17582 ft and the third highest in the world.

After Taglangla, several long loops bring you down to the ‘plains’. Then on the roads take you through some purple and green colored hills, till you reach river Indus. After that the remaining road is as smooth as mirror – this expression is not mine but the driver’s. It is indeed a smooth straight road through a desert which gets you to Leh.

More Pics of Leh Trip

Finally I am able to load my share of pictures on net. Sorry to keep you people waiting for the pics.

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Check out rest of the Leh Pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/deepak79

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Six Album in total. Leh Trip pics from my camera are divided in 4 Albums. One album is for Panoramas that i clicked in the entire trip.

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The last album is of pics taken by Anubhav camera.