Far from city chaos finding yourself in natures lap is a blissful feeling. Its our third day in Leh. Our next venture was Khardungla at a height of 18380 ft above mean sea level which is claimed to be the highest motarable pass in the world. Its still under dispute whether it is highest or not. It connects Leh to Nubra Valley. Road leading to Khardungla was narrow and was in worse state. Nevertheless, the scenic beauty kept us captivated. Once we reached Khardungla, we were thrilled to see small snow flakes falling but it did last for few minutes. Mountains covered with snow and chilling wind make you feel you are on top of the world. There is also a small temple and a souvenir shop maintained by Indian Army. Oxygen level is low here. So, its advisable to get acclimatized before heading to Khardungla. Although a prominent warning is also displayed at the pass stating that "staying for more than 20 minutes could be harmful for you" still people ignore this warning and get involved in clicking photos with snow. We also managed to click some pics at time.
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| Khardungla |
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| Khardungla |
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| Khardungla Top |
We boarded our car and started our journey to Nubra valley. We were amazed to see the group of bikers who were managing to ride in such a slush road. In fact a biker ahead of our car slipped while crossing road filled with snow melted water. One need to be experienced to drive on such difficult route. We all started feeling hungry but our driver told us that we would find no food joint till North Pallu. Road condition improved after Khardung village. After few kilometers down the road the changing vistas and landscape was just breath taking for which Nubra valley is famous for.
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| Changing vistas on the way from Khardungla to Nubra valley |
Our next stop was Diskit, it is a administrative center of the Nubra valley. Diskit is famous for Diskit monastery which is the oldest and largest monastery in the Nubra Valley region in Ladakh. Opposite to the Diskit monastery situated a gigantic colorful statue of Chamba (Maitreya Buddha), from that point one can capture amazing panoramic views of the valley.
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| Chamba Statue |
Before leaving for Leh, I was not aware of such a huge landscape variation from snow clad mountains to desert in a single place. Its absolutely one of the god's miracle. Exploring the beauty of Nubra valley, we headed towards the most exciting and famous two hump camel safari site. Double hump camel are exclusively found in Ladakh. Finally when we reached there, we were startled to see the number of tourist waiting for their turn for camel ride. Managing tickets for camel safari was a struggle in itself. It was a hue and cry situation as some people were firm believer of breaking queue. Finally after much of struggle one of our friend managed to get tickets and we were ecstatic to be able to ride on double hump camel. Trust me guys the struggle to get the tickets was worth taking, it was amazing feeling to ride on double hump camel. Apart from camel ride the surrounding view was mesmerizing.
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| Cute Little double hump camel |
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| Tourist Rush for camel ride |
For overnight stay we went to our camp at Sumur Village which was 42 Kms from Camel safari site. We all were tired after a hectic day, we literally hopped from our car to our tents without wasting any time. Camp was lush green and Tents were beautiful, clean and cosy. Bonfire was arranged by camp manager on our request. We sat around bonfire for sometime admiring the beauty and clear sky which was indeed a treat to our eyes. We started feeling the chill as the bonfire extinguished. We went inside our tents and snug into the quilts. There was a long day waiting ahead too.....
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| Lush Green Nubra Valley |
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Resting Camp
Images through my lens. Will be back with part III soon....
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