Ladakh : Part 4 (Srinagar - Kargil)

On day 3, we were at Pahalgam and then back to Srinagar by evening. And the end of the day started with planning for next day. We hadn't till then thought of conveyance for Leh (Capital of Ladakh region) from Srinagar..Srinagar-Leh is approximately 440 kms, generally traveled in two days with an overnight break at Kargil..There were 3 options available..First, take a shared taxi, generally Sumos that run between Srinagar and Leh with an overnight halt at Kargil, which normally costs Rs.900-1000 per head..But that option is pretty tiresome with 10 people excluding driver in a vehicle..Or one can avail public bus service with normally minus 400 bucks from your pocket..And the third option was to hire a private vehicle..We were more inclined towards the last option as we already had seen the fun during transition from one place to another in your own vehicle..We asked our driver who accompanied us over last 2 days..After a lot of bargaining he finally was ready at Rs.10500/-, which was more than regular charges for a sumo..We knew it..But the driver was quite good at driving and we were not in any mood to search a vehicle and bargain again in Srinagar..So we hired the same sumo for next two days..


We left Srinagar, on 14th June, at very early morning around 430AM..I guess we were the first to set off for Leh from Srinagar that day as no vehicles were seen on the road..There is one thing that gotta remember..Small vehicles need to cross a check post at Sonamarg before 10AM because after 10 AM heavy vehicles leave for Kargil/Leh, which many times get stuck in  Zozi-La pass creating major traffic jams which sometimes last 2-3 days..We narrowly escaped it while returning from Leh :)

Srinagar-Sonamarg..

 We reached Sonamarg within 2 hours, at around 630 AM..Everybody had become hungry till then..But restaurants were yet to open..Weather was very cold..Or maybe we were feeling so, hadn't been exposed to such weather before..We requested a restaurant owner who was just awake to prepare something..Parathas, Maggie..He kindly agreed and we had breakfast within half an hour..So what to see at Sonamarg?? It has a famous glacier Thajiwas, with snow that is 1000 years old it was said so by locals..After a major bargaining, we hired six ponies Rs.100/- each to take us to glacier and back..Initially, local guides were asking 400 bucks per pony :-o.. Never mind, they had to do the business and we had to haggle and see the glacier..We reached the glacier in half an hour..Sun was seeking to come out of clouds, which shimmered peaks of surrounding mountains..There is an option of skiing on the glacier..Personally I felt it was not worth to go for it..It was ill-managed and not properly conducted..Again rates for skiing were sky-reaching..It is not exactly the skiing by the way..You go little up at the glacier, 50/100/150/200 feet, a person who knows to carry skiing slate sit at the front and you sit behind him..He carries you down by slate sliding..Rates are according to feet..Normally Rs.100 for 100 feet..But Sonamarg is just stunningly beautiful..We early birds were yet to face the crowd, but faced elegant mountains all around us, glimmering with sunshine, white and white snow..A long and long valley divided by glacier..

On the way to glacier..At Sonamarg..

Thajiwas Glacier..

Sonamarg Valley..

Mountains after mountains..Sonamarg.. 

Sonamarg Valley..

We started to return..It was already 10 in the morning..So we hurried up..Reaching back to town, bought some woolen socks and gloves as we couldn't find them while preparing for the trip..And we resumed our journey further..Soon we were in Zozi-La..Arduous task it was to drive there..You have a very little distance from a horrible death..2-3 feet..Snow had started melting..Driver had to take wise judgement while driving..Sometimes more than half Tyre would be in a hole filled with water..We had to be very careful...And as we were being habitual of this, it appeared around us!! Snow appeared around us!! Yess!! I had not seen it so closely and touched before.. We stopped..Got down..I screamed like hell out of the joy..Oooooooooo!!! It was a lifetime moment..A wait of years ended..Like a patriot who takes soil of his nation in his hand with love, I took the snow :P:D We soon accompanied by a group of people whose vehicle was facing gas leaking problem..Our driver went to help them..Taking this opportunity, we got down to the deep valley which initially seemed quite difficult to approach, but Irfan took the lead and we all followed him down..It was not less than an adventure for us..We had fun, a lot of fun there with an enormous amount of snow :)

Treacherous and breathtaking Zozi La..

Curves of Zozi-La..

The first feel of actual snow :)

Unsaid excitements!!

 Having a long break, we hit off NH1D again..It is one of two ways that connects Leh to rest of India going through treacherous terrain and along Indus river..Control over this highway was one of the main motives of Pakistan for Kargil war..This highway is very very important and amazingly beautiful..

NH 1D :)

NH 1D :):)

Reached Dras in the afternoon..Dras..The second coldest permanent inhabitant place in the world after Siberia..In the winter, temperature goes down to -60 degree Celsius..And from here one can easily notice the slight beginning of Ladakh..Change in people appearances and their entirely living style..Dras is a mixture of Kashmiri and Dard origin people..Dras is famous for Kargil war and Tiger hill recapture..We took a break at Dras, had a little snack and moved quickly towards Kargil..


As we were approaching Kargil, we could see warning board saying "ALERT!! ENEMY IS WATCHING YOU!" Shit!! Yeah, there were such boards..But then the fun began..Everybody of us started, predicting where Pakistan post could be :D LOL!! Within that messed up discussion, within self-made strategies to find out the location of enemy posts, somebody would scream suddenly "I found it! I found it!". Then our driver would calmly say "Sir, it is amazing to see that you can point out enemy posts merely sitting in a vehicle that is moving at 40km/hr, indeed ingenious" :P:P (These days this incident reminds me conversations between Wooster and Jeeves of P.G.Wodehouse)..Then time for ROFL for others :D With some patriotic and fun filled feeling, we were just to enter Kargil, a truck from opposite came rashly towards us, pushing our vehicle to more left side..And literally we were an inch or two away to be galloped by Indus flowing deep in the valley..A horrendous moment of life!! Cursing truck driver heavily, we reached Kargil..It was 6PM already..We hunted for a hotel, and found a reasonably good hotel on the main street near taxi stand..Rs.150/- per room, 3 persons in a room..There is no need to take expensive hotels in Kargil..Driver said us that if we wished he could take us to Leh on the same day, till 12AM..We refused strongly to continue and that was a good decision..One problem faced in Kargil was to find good restaurant..Everybody was quite hungry and none of has lunch in the afternoon..We finally had our dinner and had a round in Kargil town at the late evening..Sound of furious Indus,frightened us and as it was getting dark, we were back to room and with not much further talking, but recollecting all day fun back in the mind we allowed our highly tired bodies for sleep, eagerly waiting for next more fun filled morning :)

Ladakh : Part 3 (Srinagar and Pahalgam)

"Confusion is the welcome mat at the door of creativity ".
- Michael Gelb 


Yeah!! It is!! We were confused..didn't know where we would be heading on the day 3..As said earlier in second part, we were not sure neither about staying a day at Srinagar nor wending directly to Leh (Ladakh)..We had a reservation of a day in our earlier planning for Srinagar..So spending a day there was not a time issue..The issue was where to spend that extra day..An argument was "Now we have come here so far, lets give a try to Kashmir, its a question of one day only"..Well not a problem..So finally I agreed to have a day in Kashmir :)


Then another problem was ready..What to see?? Srinagar has various beautiful gardens, some temples, a marvelous Dal lake (though personally I wasn't that much pretty impressed by it) and Nagin lake..You know what houseboats had been introduced accidentally..Officers of Indian Civil services in British era were used to come for vacations at Srinagar..They were not allowed to have permanent houses in Srinagar as Maharaja of that time was against the British..So those officers built boathouses in the lakes for temporarily stay.. Around the city is also full of natural beauty..A famous hill station Gulmarg is situated from Srinagar at around 60kms..Sonmarg is a well famous spot on the way to Kargil..Pahalgam is about 100 kms from Srinagar via Anantnag..We had multiple options and so the confusion..We had a chat in the market, tried to gather information on all these options..We heard that at Gulmarg, one has to take the rope way to access the top which was quite costly..Every one of us was really interested to have the first feel of snow..We came to know Sonamarg which is in the way to Kargil and so Leh, has a famous glacier..So we cut the option of Gulmarg as to just have skiing there, was an expensive option..Pahalgam was an another option..We got positive feedbacks over it so finally we converged on Pahalgam..We haggled with the driver heavily this time and managed the same vehicle (Sumo) for a day for Rs. 2000..So the plan for day 3 was ready..Leave Srinagar early in the morning, have a whole day at Pahalgam and come back to Srinagar by evening and leave for Leh on the next day..


So we got started early morning at 6AM for Pahalgam..Previous night was fantastic..We 6 guys in a room were restless..Everybody was relaxed..Only one of us (Neeraj) was in Kashmir before..We were having incredible feeling of being there..So the stories begin, imaginations got boundless and zero gravity zones were created..Most of the things were about terrorism..What if we would face a terrorist?? So everybody started blah blah..I will do this, I will do that..Funny and childish things were some..Guffaws were unstoppable..Every time you need not be sensible and stay within manners..Sometimes out of the world things need to be done and talked..Just for a change!! To refresh!! But I guess our hotel manager was not of that category..Listening to our non-stop loud chit-chatting and boisterous laugh, he smashed the door angrily and scared us of military saying "Don't think you are in your peaceful area. A man was killed yesterday by military and everything out is highly tensed. If you don't want to risk your life, go to sleep immediately and quietly" :-o For a moment, we remembered the famous story of mother scaring child to sleep by showing Gabbar's fear!! Another sudden loud laugh, instantly followed by another heavy "thak thak" on the door..Actually the issue was serious really out there..If you remember recent riots in Kasmir in which many people were shot by military, had the start the day before we arrived in Srinagar..The first day of this riot on which the first civilian was shot by military..Finally we tired ourselves after epic laughter session and went in dreams to see whether what we imagined could be seen in there :p


Morning was awesome..A morning where sun was rising behind Dal lake..Colorful houseboats in golden sun rays..Chirping of birds..Other public was yet to be up..But the military could be seen patrolling..We set off immediately for Pahalgam..Actually if I would have planned  more carefully, we could have saved more time and money..We came to Srinagar from Jammu via Anantnag which is almost 60 kms from Srinagar..And now we are again going back to Anantnag for Pahalgam..We could have directly gone to Pahalgam instead Srinagar, have a stay there and come to Srinagar next day..But as I said earlier we had no specific plan for Kashmir, we were ok with extra time and money required..Anyways it was far cheaper than that of Gulmarg..Being student, budget is always a critical point :) We had a break for breakfast after Anantnag..The best parathas were waiting for us..Many vehicles seemed moving towards Pahalgam.. Pahalgam is in Anantnag district situated at around 2740m from sea level..It is one of the starting points for holy Amarnath Yatra and at that time it was going to start on 1st July..Also, it is again highly sensitive area..Famous for rafting (we came to know it late after reaching the actual rafting point and no one was prepared for that :p)..We had next stop as soon as we saw some people doing rafting.. We guys got excited and suddenly demanded it :D But delayed it as none of us had extra clothes as we were unaware of rafting..So we decided to have it while returning..


As we started approaching Pahalgam, excellent scenery began..Fast and furious Lidder river was accompanying us..Mountains were all around us with sparkling peaks..

Lidder River on the way to Pahalgam..To reach Amarnath,
you have to cross the mountain range seen in the photo :o

We soon reached Pahalgam and the old game of tourist spot began immediately.. Local guides with pony started following us asking to take pony ride..There is a wonderful spot situated at the top of Pahalgam..One either can take pony to climb or on foot is another awesome and adventurous option..We preferred later as we had burning fire within us for trekking though none of us knew the path to the top and rules of trekking :p Pony rides generally take around Rs. 300-400 per pony carrying one person..When asked, pony carrier said Rs.500 :o..Irritated Dhruva asked directly for Rs.100 :D..One of the  guides said it is impossible to go on foot..You would not be able to do it..We then asked them to leave us alone and told we would mange our things.. Finally, guides gave up and we started on our own..

We reached Pahalgam..Needed to cross this green forest
to reach the destination..

At the beginning we started following many people riding on pony, soon  we found our own way along a brook :) We were already inspired by famous Man vs. Wild series on Discovery channel, so we followed the famous rule of it "Always follow the flow of water in the jungle if you don't know the accurate path" :) We did the same!! We left typical route and resume our trek along a creek flowing through dense forest of pine trees..It was a wonderful time, certainly it was!! We were six alone climbing the rocks after rocks..Finding more difficult path to follow :p Trying to get as away as possible from crowd and their common route..Sweetness of sound of flowing water, soughing of tall pine trees, chirps of unknown birds and an unexpected sudden shout by us because of excitement filled the surroundings..As we reached sufficient height, breadth taking view of Pahalgam valley was visible..It was an inexpressible incredible feeling..

The way we followed..

The way others followed..

Enthusiasm with no limit, though we ran out of drinking water soon :P 

A view to Pahalgam valley and beyond..

After an awesome trek of almost two hours we reached the destination we planned for..Huge crowd was there already, persons and ponies both :( The destination was a colossal and beautiful meadow surrounded by very very dense forest similar to a horror movie :D, which again covered from all sides by elegant Himalaya..Sadly it was so crowded, that its feel had been suppressed.. We had a break, it was little hot out there..But a die-hard tea fan Rahul, searched for tea instead of water the first :p Then we began to roam here and there, trying to capture the whole beauty in a single shot..

Pony crowd..

Meadow!!

The beauty!!

Soon after we reached there, sky was too crowded..by clouds :) And immediately it started raining heavily..The field became empty..Those who were still out, could be seen dealing with funny slippery game..Weather became suddenly very cool..Clear sky could not be seen..Peaks of mountain were lost in the clouds..Now we all too needed minimum a cup of hot tea :p

Now I am loving it :)

The rain effect..

Rain went away, taking away people from the field soon :) Now we entered the field..It was already afternoon..We heard that there was an another beautiful spot of waterfall deep inside the forest..We started planning for it, but soon we figured out it is almost 10 kms round way, back to field..And due to rain, everything was quite slippery and we did not have 'nuff time for that adventure..So we backed off with a heavy heart..Having spent some more time, we kicked off return journey..Everybody was hungry till then..We wanted to reach down as soon as possible, but the road we came up seemed quite difficult and slippery..So after a long debate, some decided to take normal route while others decided to carry along main route but not main route..We started crossing sinusoidal main route direct vertically down, cutting through in between thick forest..That was more adventurous than that of path along creek..Getting down was quite difficult..Mutual help was required..If any of us slipped, all chain following him would slip :o But this was extreme fun..One could see tall green pine trees spread over very large area densely..We were in the clouds..We could see Lidder river flowing through green forests and mountains with great force..Somewhere far in the mountain, it was snowing..

Clouds came down..

In fact they were everywhere :)

Everything was just perfect, till the midway of return journey, till Dhruva tried a shortcut to get down fast, till he ran down over highly sloped field, till a pit came in between, till he tried to avoid when he was in great speed and till he slipped speedily down :o This was not enough I guess..Seeing Dhruva running down, Nitish too started :o As soon as Dhruva slipped, Nitish too followed him in efforts to control speed..And this happened in almost 10-15 seconds..We reached down quickly checking whether anybody of them was hurt..Thank god!! None of both was hurt..But they got themselves painted with mud ;) After that too, some minor slippery moments came, but we managed them :)

Difficult fun time..

Dhruva must be saying, "What the hell happened just now??"

Finally, we reached the base after eventful down trip..We directly set off back to Srinagar, deciding to have lunch in between..We came to river rafting point..We jumped out of the vehicle..Long trek didn't seem to have any effect.. Still I was reluctant to have river rafting, maybe I feared of getting cold afterwards..It was really cold out there..Others fives went ahead after failing to convince me..I waited on the bank to capture them..They did it!! They did successfully in extreme cold water!! They were quite excited and shivering with the cold..It was a real adventure that I missed..Never mind!! 

The real adventure..Rafting in Lidder river for almost 2 kms..

Now they are tired, shivering with extreme cold, after extreme fun!!

So water rafting was enough to sap our remaining energy..We had multiple cups of tea and coffee..We resumed towards Srinagar, soon had lunch at 430PM..Crossed Anantnag, came to cricket bat factories..I couldn't resist myself buying a cricket bat..Got duped on the quality :( Of course, I came to know it later..Happens!! 

We reached Srinagar back at around 6PM..Had some rest in hotel..Had dinner and decided to take a long walk around Dal lake..Market was still open..We tried some cuisines..Some did little shopping..

Dal lake and its quintessential ingredient Houseboats..

We had a break at some point relatively calm place along Dal lake, looking at beautifully adorned houseboats..We were continuously discussing the day we spent at Pahalgam..The fun we had, we created..It was an amazing and unforgettable day which added enormous energy and enthusiasm into us for further journey to Ladakh!!

Ladakh : Part 2 (Kanpur-Srinagar)

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe."
-Abraham Lincoln

 A very well said quote in fact!! I experienced it..To plan a trip of 15 days, it took 2 months..Preparation details can be seen in part 1 of this blog series..It was fun actually.. Reading various blogs about Ladakh..Reading various itineraries..discussions on the itineraries, many thrilling experiences..asking suggestions..It never felt tiresome..I got to know amazing unknown things..History and Geography..Words of inspiration to take this trip..Words of precautions..And much more..I had to summarize it in my way and importantly implement it..During the actual trip and after trip happened, I came to know that many things that have been put on the web were simply apocryphal, though not major part..But one has to be careful about them..
So after rigorous preparation for the first big self-planned trip, we set off for the real expedition..Luckily train at Kanpur for Delhi (Puri-New Delhi) arrived on time (Average delay for the train was 3 hours :o) and we reached Delhi almost in time around 630PM...So the start was good..The next train was scheduled at 10PM and it was Duronto (Old Delhi-Jammu)..Everybody was curious about this train :) We had already heard about this train a lot since it has started..And it happened to be one of the best train experiences ever!!!

Boarding on Duronto..Fun forever :)

 The train reached Jammu 7AM (12/6), on correct time..Having done some breakfast lazily, we got fresh and stepped out lo leave Rail journey..We started hunting for a private vehicle to Srinagar..There are many options available..Public transport/Private Transport...We preferred latter one..Sumo,Tavera,Bolero,etc.(Forgive my little knowledge about vehicle names)..But one can find every type of vehicle depending on your needs like number of people traveling, budget, comfort and time..We had limited budget, 6 young people (comfort can be negotiated :)) and plenty of time :) So we decided to hire a Sumo till Srinagar..6 persons are ideal for a Sumo without a carriage..Even one more person may make it cumbersome..After a lot of haggling, we agreed for Rs.2800 to Srinagar..I guess thats little more though..Around Rs.2500 was OK..Other vehicles like Tavera might cost little extra..around 700-1000 extra depending on your bargaining skill..Public transport was too available..But none of us was in that mood at all..and also though we had plenty time, but not 'nuff to avail public transport as it takes around 10-12 hours from Jammu to Srinagar compared to 6-7 hours by a private vehicle..Plus latter option allows you to mould your journey in a way you want..Stop wherever you wish, resume whenever you like!!And the best part of the whole event was the road trip than sightseeing!! Yeah, it was the crux of this odyssey :) Whenever we six guys discuss this trip, the most fun appears at the transition part from one place to other..

We left Jammu around 10AM (12/6), hoping to reach Srinagar till late evening..Traffic and road conditions might pose a problem unexpectedly..Rock sliding and traffic jams are vey common in this area...So we were hoping for good..Another issue..We still were not sure where to stay at Srinagar..Left the issue to solve on the spot..Driver was a great person..Very adept at driving.. Good storyteller..He knew where to involve in our conversation and where not to..So neither at all irritating nor in a complete solitude mode..We stopped a while at a restaurant before Patnitop..There is not at all any problem of fooding during journey to Srinagar..Things were normal till then..Temperature was high as usual..The day was bright and fresh, and brimming with life..There was a song in every heart..And if a heart was young, the song issued at the lips (Envy you Twain for the saying :))..Bursts of laugh were being heard continuously..Lotta different things were in discussion..Some serious, some new, some typical boyish, and some blah blah :D But as we started climbing the first range of Himalaya and approaching Patnitop, nature too started changing..Hot air converted to balmy breeze..Greenery could be seen everywhere..Deodhar forests made their presence..We were entering again mighty Himalaya!!

A stoppage at Patnitop..

Patnitop is a hill station situated in Udhampur district at a height around 2000 meters..It is around 110 kms from Jammu..It sits in the Shivalik belt of the Himalayas..There was not a bit arid part that could be seen..Normal routine things stopped..Everyone stepped out of the vehicle to have a feel..I had been in Himalaya before and after this trip..But every time I enter, feeling is never the same..Each time a new incredible wave of satisfaction runs throughout the body!! 

At Patnitop..

We didn't stop in the city..Had a little break outside..Then soon hit the road again and soon had a break again :p To have lunch..You will find Rajma-rice everywhere in J&K..The main food..But excellently prepared..One thing for sure..Wherever I have gone in Himalayas, be it Chamba, be it Nepal, be it J&K or be it Arunachal Pradesh..You will be served with dal-rice and sometimes you will not get anything else..Parathas are also very common..We had lunch quickly..Had a time to click photos of Chenab river..

Chenab river..

Above the clouds :) After Patnitop and before Titanic View Point.. 

Valley of rice farms!!

First peek to snow capped peaks !!

Titanic View Point..

Titanic View Point..

"Capture us" mode :p

With the refreshed mood, we started again to Srinagar via Anantnag..There is a diversion to Pahalgam (another beautiful hill station) from here..Another road goes to Srinagar which is at 55 kms..This is very very sensitive area and military could be seen everywhere..A little scary feeling ran through..We wended to Srinagar..In between Anantnag and Srinagar, there is a huge market of cricket bat..Bats made here are exported to all over the India..It was almost late evening as we reached Srinagar..We asked driver to take us to a good hotel..The option for Shikaras (Houseboat) in Dal lake was a very expensive option..Rs.2000-4000 per night per room..So we preferred a hotel near to Dal lake..It was a heavy tourist season..We had heard about Srinagar so much till now, so we were very excited to roam in the city..We checked in a hotel..Hotel was so so..Only one double bedroom was available..But we decided not to search for other hotel and squeezed six bodies in a room :) Rs.800 was the rent for a night..It was a night call..so not much problem..In fact, room was 'nuff spacious for six.. 

Then we left immediately to have dinner..Having done dinner, we started searching for an ATM to withdraw money..To our surprise, we were unable to find a single working ATM :O..Finally, after exhaustive search, we found one with working condition..Amazing!! We still had some time to return to the hotel..So decided to have a walk along Dal lake and through market..Dal lake was awesome at the night..Shikaras were adorned with colorful lighting..We desperately wanted to live out there in Shikaras..But sorry boss!! Budget problem :( We sat along the Dal lake for some time..Had some chit-chat..Enjoyed cool breeze..Returned to hotel..

So we reached Srinagar at the end of second day of our trip..The Summer capital of J&K..A sensitive city..But at the same time a very beautiful city with beautiful lake and gardens.. With marvelous gift of nature..We wanted to have a taste of it and its surrounding..But an issue was still unanswered..As mentioned in the first part of this blog, we were unsure about 13th June's plan...Whether to have a day for Srinagar and its surrounding or to leave immediately for Ladakh and spend that day there?? I was inclined to Ladakh as Srinagar and Kashmir valley is well accessed most of the times with less days in hand in the future than that of Ladakh which is difficult to access and needs much more time to explore..Some of us wanted to have at least a day at Srinagar and some were neutral...So what's the plan for 3rd day?? Let me answer the question in the third part of the blog :)