3 Days on Roof of the World

As a result of an important assignment I along with two other gentlemen visited Ladakh Region from 02-05 October 2011 in the Indian-held Jammu & Kashmir. This area comprising two districts namely Leh and Kargil lies at an elevation between 13500 feet to 7000 feet, and is locally and commonly called as “Cold Desert”. Cold Desert because most part of the year, this region remains without rain, under intense cold and extremely dry with almost no humidity at all.  District Leh is at a higher elevation than Kargil and hence experiences more severe weathering conditions.

Understandingly high altitude creates breathing problems due to loss of oxygen in and around Leh Town. The local people advise for excessive intake of water and that newcomer/visitor must take rest and acclimatize at least for a couple of days before embarking upon the trekking on high, dirty and bald mountains or enjoying rafting in the pristine waters of Indus River. Cold and dry weather makes Leh a perfect place for the treatment of burns and the town runs a hospital for this purpose. It has a large airport and receives tens of flights every day. In winter, air route is the only way of transportation in the whole region. Road journey remains cut off for almost 6 months.

And yes; if you want to see how sky looked like when Allah (SWT) created this world, perhaps this is one of the few regions where the sky remains in its purest color, the original blue or sky blue. One can also watch moon on the horizon all day long in the presence of sun. Moreover, one may love to remain under the sunlight to enjoy cool breeze but it proves awfully wrong because sun rays can be unnoticingly very piercing through your skin and vanish all the moisture from your face and body instantly.

Leh Valley is comparatively flatter and as such the town is quite big and has wide roads with little or no plantation. Leh Town has a population of over 100,000 people, and consists of predominantly Buddhists, followed by about 20% Sunni Muslims.

While travelling on National Highway (NH 1) connecting Leh with Kargil (about 250 km) one can find interesting and picturesque spots like Camping sites, Rafting clubs, Green valleys/villages with abundance of Apricot trees, ancient Monasteries, Pagodas, and an “Anti-Gravity” spot.  This spot is located about 20 kilometers from Leh where you just need to park the car in neutral at a particular location marked on the road, turn off the engine and get stunned to see that it starts moving for some distance up the hill instead of down the slope. Tourists throng this spot throughout the day.

Kargil Town is located in a comparatively narrower valley on the banks of Suru tributary of Indus but it is much greener than Leh. It is a small town of about 25,000 people with almost entire population comprising of Shiite Muslims.

People of Ladakh Region especially Leh district are very friendly, hard-working, peace-loving and hospitable. Literacy rate in the region is better than Pakistan, with percentage of women workforce is greater than men. Rice is the staple food, along with variety of vegetables like Mushrooms, Palak Panir, Kashmiree Momo, Kaddu Ke Koftay, etc. The size of Chapatee is 4 inch diameter only. Guests are usually served with locally produced dry Apricots (Khobani) and Khobani seeds.

Travelling back from Kargil to Leh we took a different route via Batalak-Darchik-Khaltsi road which was narrower and also not in a very good condition. I wanted to take a glimpse of Tiger Hills and Batalak Hills where Pakistan Army took a brief control in 1999 but they were not on my route. While passing through Batalak I saw two relatively not much old graves along the road. My host informed me that although no one knows for sure whose these last abodes were but people say that Pakistani Jawans are in eternal slumber here.

Just crossing the Batalak, one enters Dharchik; an area where ancient “Ariyans (Remember Mohen-Jo-Daro)” still live here. Like women in Kailash Valley of Chitral, these women also dress traditionally, smell foul and ask for money if you want to take their photographs or ask them for a traditional dance.

My assignment required exhaustive traveling and almost all the work under the sun. High altitude and scarce oxygen kept constant severe headache till I touched down the beautiful Indra Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.  At the end of the trip I was absolutely fatigued, suntanned and my lips, nose and edges of the eyes turned excessively sun-burnt.

Lastly; visiting Ladakh Region will remain an unforgettable and unique experience in the memory and I will keep cherishing it for the rest of my life.