DAY 11 – Top of the World! Sept 2nd 7:00am
Location: Leh
Destination: Diskit/Hunder
Route: Leh – South Pullu – KhardungLa – North Pullu – Khardung – Khalsar – Diskit – Hunder – Diskit – Khalsar – Khardung – North Pullu – KhardungLa – South Pullu - Leh
So we were to depart from the hotel by 7:00Am towards the world’s highest motorable road. There are arguments that the measurement is wrong but what the heck! We will follow what the BRO has put.
Woke up by 6AM and was feeling much better after yesterday’s sleep and light eating. Was further refreshed by the warm water bath. Since there was no driving today as we were taking the taxi, I took charge of Venkat’s camera. I was quite happy to hold a camera for the entire day for the 2nd time in this trip. Now that I had got used to how the Nikon works it was easier.
But before we proceeded from the hotel an issue cropped up with Sathya who was wanting to go, not being able to find a place. Plus he was also not wanting to drive alone for obvious reasons for height and medical condition. It was not the best of moments that morning but we had no other go but to ditch Sathya at the hotel. I know it was bad on us but we each had our own reasons. Well what happened to him, you will find out in due course.
So finally we were away, with me taking the front passenger seat and Manoj reluctantly moving to the 3rd row. The driver was Rizgin and during the course of the drive we found out that he has almost 30 years of driving experience. He was driving for the army for 17 years and then past 13-14 years was driving tourist taxi. He is a really good driver and we never felt worried on the road. If any of the group has his number we can post it here.
Early morning empty Changspa Road Sun peeps out from the clouds
Since it was early morning Leh was just waking up from its slumber and we quickly got out of the city. As soon as you get out, you start to climb as Khardungla is just about 35kms from the city center. The morning was cool and sometimes cloudy but we got nice views of the Leh city and its different attractions on the way.
That is the Leh Palace Clouds covering the Leh city Distant Shanti Stupa, this structure cannot me missed if you are in and around Leh
We were gaining height quickly. As usual we had the water supply that we had taken from the hotel to help keep us hydrated all the time. Once you start to climb you can gauge the height you have gained by looking down and seeing how small most of the things become.
Leh city becoming smaller with each turn The idol sitting in the Innova protecting its occupants
We were nearing South Pullu, the first check post where one needs to write their name and deposit one copy of the permit. Since it was early morning around 7:37AM, the roads were clear but it had started to become cloudy. Not your usual fancy white clouds but dark and gloomy ones.
The roads were still good but narrow with dark clouds over head
After a few turns Rizgin stopped at the view point for us to take a break and pictures. Being a routine road for him he knew where to stop. We got out and the first thing that everyone does normally is to take pictures, but we were not normal and definitely not in a normal place so first thing we did was loo. After taking the usual leak, we got down to some pictures. It was a pleasant surprise to know that Rizgin did not mind taking a group picture and he was pretty handy with the camera. While we were fooling around, the Sumo went ahead. It was now becoming funny that we won’t stop till be reach the destination, no photo breaks in between. I guess if Jaswant & I were driving we would have done the same and not stop.
Check that road on the left of the picture, that’s the road which we came some time back Why are we living in the concrete jungle? The 5 of us, all packed except our iron man View of the switch backs that we used to climb and stand at the view point
Moving ahead, we reached South Pullu, it was empty without any other cars, only ones were the Innova & the Sumo. The road after South Pullu gradually starts to lose its tar, in fact that is the norm of all passes and we were not surprised by it any more. But what was mesmerizing were the clouds that were so low down that we could almost touch them. Or maybe we were so high up. With each turn the cloud cover grew and we started to see drizzling. At that moment we were given the most exciting news that we all probably wanted to hear. Rizgin emphatically announced that since it is drizzling down here, it will be snowing up at KhardungLa.
Driving in the clouds, I was missing driving the white whale among the white clouds Slight rain and few flakes of snow They don’t call the Himalayas the highest mountain range for nothing The way that we came That is the India Gate of Ladakh, once you pass this gate, you are just a few switch backs from the top
Finally after a few more turns and some sections of bad road we reached the highest pass in the world where you can drive up. And the best part was there was snowflakes falling from the sky. Though not a huge amount but still got to touch snow for the first time in my life before it touched the ground. The altitude was huge and it was a labor to walk a few meters, plus the added zero temperature made it worse. But still we were happy to have achieved the 2nd biggest agenda on this trip. The Sumo joined us a little while later, they were climbing slowly. Rajesh’s long fulfilled dream of taking his own vehicle and sitting on top of the world finally became true.
The board says it all. Date: 2nd Sept. Time: 8:33AM Excitement all around, if you noticed Jaswant, he was finally packed with jackets and gloves, indicating how cold it was up there that morning. Yours Truly quite elated to be here, The Manza would have been an icing on the cake. Quote:
To keep myself motivated to complete this dream trip this year, I had actually photo-shopped my Manza along with me and wife in front of the previous KhardungLa board and stuck it all over the house. Though the Manza and my wife did not actually witness the Ktop in real but it would have been the best situation to come true. Nonetheless as they say there is always a next time. In Arnie language “I will be back.”
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The entire gang standing tall and breathless at Ktop
After some 10mins Rizgin, started ushering everyone to move ahead as any longer and there would be chances of AMS hitting you. So we obliged though grudgingly and the small convoy started moving ahead to our next destination, Hunder Sand Dunes.
A Yak close by before North Pullu Suddenly we start to drive on proper roads just before North Pullu The sign board with information about all the places from North Pullu
As you can see from the picture above, we were going to come down some 10,000 feet which was a relief in a way as we were all adjusted well to a height of around 9-10k feet. But before we reach Hunder, we need to fill our tummies as we have started with just tea in the morning. Here again Rizgin comes to the party as he knew a nice little restaurant in Khardung village. Not a big place but they had a nice outdoor sitting and fresh food.
Nice and smooth after the judders of the road near Ktop The perfect mode of travel if you have your own wings We raided the small café, in fact Hari & I were inside the kitchen, talking to the chef Proper outdoor seating and the nice atmosphere made for a good place to have breakfast Caught this fellow howling a lot Something caught my eye and beng a lover of abstract pictures, I could not resist this Reached 30 post limit. Continuing in the next post