At the start of week 7 I was back at Pranav’s place in Leh which means I had another chance to enjoy some delectable food cooked by people from all over. His home had such an amazing vibe that it was always a happy feeling to go back there. Over dinner we decided that we will go to Likir next day. I had no plan of going to Likir initially, but travelling together with nice people and to beautiful places was always part of the plan.
We made a late start next day for Likir. I was joined by Pranav and two of his friends. Likir is a small village just off the highway that goes from Leh to Srinagar. On the way, we made few stops. Our first stop was at the below place, just to enjoy another fantastic view of river Indus.
Next stop was at Shri Pathar Sahib Gurudwara, a sikh temple some 25 kms from Leh. The Gurudwara is maintained by Indian Army and is famous for a huge rock that lies there. It is believed that this rock has Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s back engraved on it which got formed when it came rolling down from a nearby hill (after the rock was pushed by a demon with the intention of killing the Guru) and touched Guru’s back. After visiting the Gurudwara and enjoying a cup of tea there, we headed to Nimmoo where we stopped at a road side shop to have samosas. It turned out to be quite an experience as I was told that most of the people travelling on that road make a stop at that place to have samosas. Personally, more than the samosas I loved the chutney that is served with the samosas there. It was so good that we got some chutney packed to have it with our dinner at Likir. We started from Nimmoo and then decided to stop at Basgo, another small village just next to the highway. One of Pranav’s friend recommended this place. It was a fascinating place and looked like the surface of moon (no, I haven’t been to moon, but you get an idea). We climbed small hills and went inside the ruins of what appeared like an old watch tower.
From Basgo we headed straight to Likir where we were going to meet Yu-Ni who was already staying at a local potter’s house. It was already dark when we reached Likir and finding the potter’s house in the darkness proved to be a much bigger challenge than we had anticipated. We walked through the streets of the village, through the fields with only the light of the phone torches to guide us, but still couldn’t find the place. Finally, Yu-Ni’s friend who was staying with her at the potter’s place managed to find us and our ordeal ended. Potter’s family gave us a warm welcome and soon we were chit-chatting over some delicious food.
The Potter was an old gentleman who stays in this house with his wife and his son. I was told that once pottery was the occupation of the entire village but now it is practiced by only two families in Likir. Pottrey in Likir is still done in a traditional way (without electric spinning wheels) and involves pain staking work. It took almost one full day to make one pot.
I ended up staying in Likir for two days (Pranav and his friends left after one day). I spent my time in Likir visiting the monastery, trying my hands at pottery, helping the family cook meals and just soaking in the beauty of the place. Likir turned out to be such an amazing experience that I was so glad that I could spend some time there.
Next day, I thanked the potter’s family and left Likir to go to Lamayuru, another village along the Srinagar-Leh highway. Yu-Ni’s friend who managed to get us to potter’s place couple of days ago when we were struggling to find our way joined me and we decided to make a stop first at Alchi and then at Rizong. I loved the monastery at Alchi. It is quite an old monastery and the Kashmiri influence on architecture was quite obvious in the building design. From Alchi, we headed to Rizong where we spent an hour visiting the Rizong monastery. After Rizong, we parted our ways and I proceeded towards Lamayuru which has a famous monastery right off the Srinagar-Leh highway. Lamayuru was full of tourists as many people make a stop here on their way to or from Leh. After parking the car in the monastery parking area, I went around to see the monastery and the village. The night was spent in the parking area.
I woke up next morning to some shocking political news that had rocked the entire Jammu & Kashmir state. The news had the potential to quickly change the law and order situation in the State, more particularly in the areas where I was heading next. Through the next morning I remained glued to the news and after getting some re-assuring local news I made a cautious start towards Kargil from where I would take the long and treacherous road to Zanskar Valley. I reached Kargil in the evening where I refueled the car and bought some groceries. Kargil is a big town that became more famous after the Indo-Pak war of 1999. I found a decent spot by the side of a road to spend the night.
Next morning I got rolling for Padum, the main town in the Zanskar region, which is 250 Kms south-east of Kargil. Right from the very beginning, the scenery was spectacular and it kept getting better and better after every turn. The paved road continued for 60 odd Kms and it then gave way to loose gravel road which soon turned into a nightmare. If the road condition was horrible, the scenery was the exact opposite. Little after Panikhar, I made a stop for breakfast where I made an egg sandwich using exquisite bread that I got from Kargil.
I had a long way to go. I got rolling again after finishing breakfast. The vistas kept getting better and the road condition became a minor irritant in the otherwise beautiful drive. The other thing that I liked about the drive was the total wilderness around. The road hardly had any traffic and for hours together I didn’t see any other car pass by. I reached Rangdum around 2 pm and decided to stop for lunch. Post lunch, I got rolling again and soon I was on the ascent to Pensi La (4400 m), the only mountain pass between Kargil and Zanskar which also separates the Zanskar Valley from the Suru Valley. Once I reached the pass, I stopped to check out the two small lakes which are just off the road. The lakes were just stunning! These lakes were the perfect camping spots, but I got little scared to camp there!
Padum was still 100 odd Kms from Pensi La. Little after Pensi La, I came across this river of ice sitting by the sides of snow clad mountains. It was Drung-Drang glacier and it seemed a stone throw away from the road. This was the first time I came so close to a glacier.
Reaching Padum before sunset started to seem difficult, especially because of the road condition. It was already dark when I reached village Abran, still 40 Kms short of Padum. I found a spot by the side of the road and decided to call it a day there. The 14 hour journey covering 200 Kms had shaken every bone in the body. It was no surprise that I had one of the best sleeps of the trip that night.
Next morning, I started off early with the aim of reaching Padum in couple of hours and spend the day there. However, I never ended up staying at Padum and even did not reach Padum that day. I had covered around 20 Kms from Abran when I noticed on the map a diversion to Dzongkhul monastery. I decided to take the diversion and was soon on a narrow winding road that started going up the mountain. The monastery is perched on a cliff and has a cave inside which was once used by the monks for meditation.
Padum was still 30 Kms away from Dzongkhul monstery. Before going to Padum, I decided to visit a nunnery. More to follow……
sushil.is.out.of.office 