Conquering Khardung La and exploring the Nubra valley

                         The excitement was paramount when we began the 7^th day of the ride from Leh, where we stayed after the previous day's ride. The reason was nothing but the thrill of conquering the mighty Khardung La, one of world’s highest motorable passes. We left Leh town by 7 in the morning with the temperature well below 5°C. We stopped at South Pullu check post, 14kms before Khardung La top, to submit the vehicle details and also had tea from a shop nearby, which was the only tea shop on the way.

                         As we went higher, the temperature was decreasing fast, which made driving more strenuous. My hands were going numb and was struggling to keep hold on the accelerator. The only option I found to get my hands some warmth was by often placing them on the engine. The initial greenery on the hills vanished as we went higher. Now, it was only barren brown landscape around. The road too had turned to path filled with slush and rocks, which added more pain to the already grueling ride. We could see small streams of water turned to ice alongside the road. 

                         Road maintenance was also going on, which along with minor rock-slides created short traffic jams, but since we were on bikes, that didn’t affect us. Riding through this narrow path that has no barriers separating the road and the abyss was truly adventurous, where one slip could be fatal. After a demanding ride which lasted more than a couple of hours we finally reached our first destination of the day. Yeah.., we have reached above 17,582ft.

                         When we reached Khardung La top the temperature was around -5°C, and the surrounding mountain was covered with snow. After the mandatory photo near the Khardung La sign board, we immediately went for a much deserved hot tea at the only tea shop on the top. We also spent some time playing in the snow, but the cold weather and the lack of enough oxygen forced us to leave the place without spending too much time on the top.

                         The drive downhill was also not easy for a few kms because of the bad roads. But, after an hour of ride we entered some really good roads. We had lunch once we reached a small village in the flood plains of the Shyok River. The river was not in full glory since snow melting has stopped in the peaks, marking the beginning of winter. Still, it looked so picturesque with its beautiful banks and the hills in the backdrop.

                         The roads through the Nubra valley, rightly known as the cold desert, runs amidst sand dunes with scant vegetation. There were a few leisure parks offering activities like Quad biking on these sand dunes, but due to time limitations we left it for some time later. We visited the Diskit Gompa on the way, the largest and oldest Buddhist monastery in the Nubra valley. One has to climb a staggering number of steps to reach this monastery built at the edge of the approach road. The 32-meter high statue of Buddha is also present near the monastery.

                         By last light we reached Hunder, a small oasis in the cold desert, where you can find sand dunes, water, snow-capped mountains, all together. We opted for a tent stay at this place situated 10,000ft above sea level. Immediately after unpacking we hurried for a unique activity only available in Hunder – the Bactrian camel safari.

                         The 20-minute long camel ride came at a cost of Rs.600 for four people, which was not a bad deal. Sunlight had already faded when we started the camel safari. The view of the desert just before it got completely dark was simply breath-taking. After the safari, we sat in the dunes, gazing the sky, chatting for about an hour. 

                     I wanted to try a Milky Way shot at this place, but there was not much stars in the sky and we couldn’t spend much time there because of the cold weather as well. After having some really nice non-veg food we retired to our tents and slept like a log…