After breakfast {on Saturday the 8th Aug} we bundled into the car and off we headed to the Nubra Valley which just happens to be on a road that takes you to an altitude of 18380ft or 5602mts above sea level! This high mountain pass which is 49kms from Leh is known as the Khardungla Pass meaning the 'Pass of Lower Castle' - this is the highest motorable road in the world!
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| this is one of a number of settlements we passed as we headed up to 18380ft |
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| the road cut into the side of the mountain |
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| there is a glacier up this valley but I cannot remember the name! |
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| motor cyclists checking out the best route through this large body of water on the road |
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| the road below and the road high up on the right mountain side |
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| one long, bumpy & dusty road! |
The views are just spectacular! We passed little villages, people working on the side of the road {this is necessary to maintain the road and done in the dry season, summer season} We passed monasteries and car wrecks that reminds one of tricky this road is! Speeding is not recommended nor is overtaking when one can't see what's coming…..that didn't stop some of the crazy drivers out there!
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| this man's job - chip away at a large rock until you have lots of very many small stones! |
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| a road side worker |
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| one of the very many wrecks! |
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| a monastery |
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| a small settlement |
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| a home with low windows |
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| a settlement/village |
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| nomads |
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| men & stupas |
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| a monastery |
When we got to the top, we got out of the car for a 15 - 20 minute maximum break to stretch our legs and use the delightful {not} eastern toilets. We thought we were fine, why wouldn't we be? We've been in a car slowly making our way up to the top of the pass. Well, 15 minutes of wondering around and taking photos proved otherwise. It is the weirdest sensation! You think you are fine and yet, literally within minutes, you body is telling you otherwise. The thing is, you cannot see 'thin air' or 'less oxygen' which adds to the craziness of what's going on in your body! Your head gets thick & a headache starts, your legs are very heavy…walking is just strange as your legs are going far too slow and you are wobbly as if you've had a few too many drinks….sitting in the car is fine….getting out and moving around, not so much! There is a big sign at the top and it says 'staying for more than 20 - 25 minutes can be harmful to your health'! I lasted about 15 minutes and I was back at the car; it took at least 30 minutes before I started to feel more like myself as we made our way slowly down the other side of the pass towards the Nubra Valley. The headache stayed for a good few hours afterwards. Was it worth it? Yeah! Not just because you've been on the world's highest motorable road, but the views….oh my goodness, the views….
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| 'on top of the world' |
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| prayer flags everywhere! |
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| more prayer flags |
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| I felt awful after 15 minutes…not much oxygen around up there! |
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| Charlotte, Chemeth {our guide} and Andrew |
To get to where were going to stay for the night, we had to drive through a village called Khalsar. Khalsar Village was partly washed away during a flash flood a few days before. As we approached the village from the hills above, we joined a queue of vehicles and waited. It was hot, very hot and there was no where to hide from the sun. We could see what was causing the tail-back; there seemed to be a dispute of sorts on the bridge that spanned the river that was a raging torrent a few days ago. The elders of the village were in talks with the army {there is a fair-sized army base just outside the village} and some other officials as to why no-one had come to help them {we found this out during our wait}; half of their village had been swept away and they wanted answers before they were letting any traffic through! So we sat and we waited and we waited and we sat! Around 2 hours later some agreement was reached and the road was reopened and we were on our way!
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| very sensible drivers; even though the road was 'blocked' and there was a long tail-back, the drivers parked their cars on the side of the road as they didn't know which side of the river would get to go first and that way the road wouldn't be blocked completely! |
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| you can see the army camp in the top half of the photo and in the very middle, the large angry and upset group of villagers |
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| negotiations are happening here! |
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| the army base at the foot of the mountain but in an area that can flood very easily! |
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| utter devastation! |
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| heart-breaking….make shift walls of blankets |
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| not much left standing here |
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| I cannot imagine what these people were thinking or feeling…. |
Before we got to where we were staying for the night, we stopped at {another} monastery. We chose not to go to the actual monastery which is Diskit Monastery but we viewed it from the Big Sitting Buddha Statue. It's quite an impressive statue!
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| Big Sitting Buddha Statue |
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| a view from Big Sitting Buddha Statue {looking down the valley} |
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| Diskit Monastery from the road |
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| Diskit Monastery |
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| a view from Big Sitting Buddha Statue in the other direction {looking up the valley} |
We were staying the night at a 'camp' in the Nubra Valley. After driving through desert-like terrain all day, we arrived at our accommodation for the night and oh my goodness, what a treat to the eye! We were staying in an 'oasis' in the desert for the night! Hotel Mystique meadows Campsite was a just what we needed even though we didn't know it until we got there. The food was delicious, all the veggies are home grown. The beds comfy and the en-suite bathroom adequate.
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| our first glimpse |
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| tents in a gorgeous setting |
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| lots of sunflowers |
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| potatoes growing in the middle |
The following morning we visited Samstanling Monastery, it was a quick visit! We then drove back towards Leh but first stopping to say 'hi' to some bactrian camels. A small population exists in the Nubra valley of Ladakh, they are the double humped desert camels. The camels we saw are for the benefit of tourists; hand over some cash and you get to ride them for 30 minutes or so. As we'd had a fantastic experience riding camels in the Sahara a few years back, we decided to take a couple of photos and hit the road. The only way back to Leh was back over the highest motorable road in the world. Seeing the same views for a second time in as many days was just as 'wow' as they were the day before; breathtaking!
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| Samstaliing Monastery |
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| beautiful detail |
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| a mural |
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| a mural |
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| kind information for tourists! ladies, you cannot stay the night…. |
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| I missed the monk milking the cow {Andrew got some photos though} |
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| the tuck shop |
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| a very cute baby camel! |
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| bactrian or two humped camels |
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| Andrew and the camels |
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| Charlotte saying hi! |
seen on/from the road…..
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| Chemeth our guide {on the left} and Shabir our driver |
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| the Stupa in Leh |
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| love this! |
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| army chaps on the very top of the pass |
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| yaks! |
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| a herder and her flock |
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| there were plenty of signs on all the roads... |
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| a stupa |
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| three men and a prayer wheel |
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| bactrian camel {wild we think} |
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| an egg seller |
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| moving day perhaps? |
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| horses are used to take goods {possibly for their homes or for trading} high up over the mountains where vehicles cannot go |
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| I saw this German lady a number of times; 15 years ago she left Germany to work for a tour company in India focusing on motor bike holidays - today she owns her own company and spends 6 months of the year riding motor bikes in the mountains as she leads motor-bike tours….{there were a LOT of motor bikes!} |
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| that's a pretty steep path down to the water {so grateful for taps in our home} |
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| back on the streets of dusty Leh there is a man selling locks and knives! |
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| contemplation |
Wonderful photos, so evocative, a trip of a lifetime
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