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 :)