Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience

Tripoto
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas
Photo of Nubra Valley – The Silk Route experience by Vistas

The ancient silk route stretches from China to Turkey, and it is older than many civilisations and a treacherous but adventurous route. This year 2012, I got an opportunity to visit a stretch of the silk route in Nubra valley which is a part of Ladakh.

Nubra valley lies in the northern most tip of the Himalayas and it is here that the towering Himalayas clash with the towering Karakoram range. Here one can find many lonesome monasteries in the high peaks, sulphur hot springs, a big territory claimed by white shaded sand dunes. But the biggest attractions which magnetize modern day adventurers is the two humped central Asian camels. A complete package for people who are looking for a serene valley towered with white peaks, nestled in pale yellow mountains where colours change so dramatically every twilight or whenever the not so persistent clouds pay a visit.

Rather than four legged beasts of the ancient times, we had the luxury of choosing a two wheeled ship, loaded with camping gear and food, running on petrol, nosier but gave us the leverage of speed, thrill and the wind chill factor. Every Royal Enfield on the mountains must have its own rider, because it demands a relationship like no other, it must have trust like no other. Trust which every rider must have on the bike because the of the risk of it breaking down in the middle of nowhere for weeks and the so many near death experiences one must be acquitted to before making it back home after a ride like this.

We had been riding for more than a week from Delhi to Leh. We did cover a large part of Ladakh on the ride from Manali to Leh, but we hungered for an adventure and since Nubra was unchartered territory for me, it sounded like a good plan and the two weeks spent there were worth every minute we spent there.

To enter Nubra valley one must confront with the Kardung La pass at an altitude of 18,380ft, which is easily done in a SUV but the entire experience changes when done on a motorcycle that also on a royal enfield because, the behaviour of the bike and the rider drastically changes on such an altitude.

Our first stop was at Diskit which is the only town in the valley. Established on a small hill is the Diskit monastery which provides an excellent view of the town and the green farm fields which are only green for a couple of months.

And Hunder which is only 12kms from Diskit is where one can find the timeless sand dunes with tiny streams flowing through ridges of shrubs and small trees which must be active oasis for weary travellers in the ancient times.

My camping experience in the shrubs of the desert was as ravishing as it was thrilling because of the chilling desert breeze which sent me drooling of nights spent in the Thar Desert but then I realised this was different or I should say better because this desert was in the lap of the Himalayas which makes it so remarkable.

After dealing with some petrol crisis in the area we, refuelled our ships and set was our ride to the next destination Panamik. A tourist village is zipped in the northern tip of the Nubra valley and the only souls to cross this village apart from the tourists is the army since, it is the only way connecting the Siachen Glacier from the rest of the country by land.

Ten days had gone and we thought that we had tasted the essence of the place and that we were satisfied with all we had seen but we were wrong.

We were told about Turtuk by a local guide. Turtuk village was under the P.O.K till 1971 before it was liberated by the Ladakh Scouts in the war. Our mission was to ride to yet another last village before we headed back, but what we found there was a place beyond our wildest imagination.

Since the village had been opened for tourism only in 2011 and many of the current thriving population were born as Pakistanis who had to convert to Indians , we were sceptical about staying there for the night and had initially planned to just visit during the day and head back but once we laid our weary eyes on the sublime village crowned on a stepped valley, jewelled with white fields, this was one of the most unique places I have yet seen in the country and our hearts refused to leave the place. Our stay was extended for another two days which comprised of lazing around the white sheets of flowers reading books, listening to our favourite music, in reflections of this timeless village.The ride back was not weary as usual in my case, since I was really appeased with my experience of the valley and with a surprise for us.

We took a different route back to Leh this time from a much remote route which takes you from Nubra to Pangong Valley to Leh through Wari La Pass and on the newly made but lonesome road we, found Agham. Agham, a village with a population of 18 thriving in just 4 houses had its name on milestones 100kms back which should give you a approximation of how remote this region was.

Hordes of Yak crossing icy streams, chilly winds were overlooked with hovering rainbows, straight downhill roads were taken instead of the usual curves, in all the ride back was a knock on the ancient ways of travelling and in our minds what remained were the postcard memories of the landscape.

As experienced and written by Dushyant Singh Kushwaha.

This travelogue was first published by  http://earthentrails.com/blog/