Must know information before you go to Nubra Valley Leh Ladakh
Throughout our journeys we’ve tried our best to use public transports and shared flights, any place possible. Not just has this been economical but also given us a distinct experience of the locations we’ve traveled thru, consisting of an individual get in touch with its individuals and their ways. So even at Leh we were quite figured out to find shared trips to Nubra valley.
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The budget-conscious travelers of Leh have found a reliable method of connecting to fellow tourists: they publish notes (handwritten or printed) outside travel firms, shops and dining establishments on Changspa or the neighboring market area about their requirement e.g. ‘Looking for 2 more individuals to sign up with a 5-day trek from Lamayuru to Alchi beginning on July 10th’ or ‘Looking for one person to share a 2-days-1-night jeep trip of Nubra Valley leaving on July 15th’.
Even the travel bureau use shared trips and promote on behalf of their clients. Madhu and I were absolutely thrilled when we initially encountered this system and instantly set about looking through all the notes searching for some similar folks to share the Nubra valley trip with. Nevertheless, we quickly realized that it was not going to be an easy task; finding the best number of people, leaving on the same date that we wanted to leave and with the same travel plan in mind as us, was downright hard! We were flexible on the date, however we desired to spend 2 nights in Nubra valley while the majority of others were just thinking about a 1-night trip. So in the end, after spending a number of days in Leh waiting without any luck, we ended up employing a taxi for ourselves.
To obtain to Nubra valley, one has to cross the magnificent Khardung La pass, which lies practically 40kms north of Leh. Our SUV climbed the pass gradually however easily and we got to the peak within a few hours. Thought about to be the world’s greatest motor-able pass at 18380ft, the pass is kept open throughout the year for army movement. Even in July there was snow everywhere and we might touch the snow sticking to the mountain-side even as we increased to the peak. We were practically stunned at how cold it was at the leading and the strength of the winds there. In spite of our down jackets, we could not stand around for too long. It was funny to observe, though, that while we shivered our chauffeur was standing around in his t-shirt looking totally unaffected by the weather condition!
The descent into Nubra valley was rather amazing as the mountains around handled a various color from the Leh region; they simply appeared more bare and statuesque! We descended to the dry river bed then turned west to the villages of Hunder and Diskit. We stopped at Diskit first to check out a guesthouse there. Then, at around 4pm, we left for the town of Hunder, which was 6kms west. The drive to there was absolutely gorgeous as the roadway wound along the mountain-side simply by the valley flooring. We passed the dune of Hunder as well as found some Bactrian camels plodding thru the sands with excited travelers on their backs. On our chauffeur’s idea we drove on to go to Hunder village’s Gompa initially.
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For a change the Gompa in Hunder wasn’t perched atop a lofty hill; it was right by the road! Regrettably, the entire complex was undergoing some sort of reconstruction so there was rubble all over. It was so chaotic that for a few minutes we couldn’t even discover the entryway to the prayer hall. We lastly found it hidden within a collapsed yard and needed to step over large, damaged structure stones to obtain to it. However the minute we stepped in thru the doors, the mayhem outside was completely forgotten. The prayer hall was dark and calm with a substantial (almost a floor high!) staue of Buddha against the far wall; it was enclosed within a big glass cabinet for security. There were unpainted murals — part of the remodelling work — on the other walls and they looked rather special from the brightly painted ones we were used to seeing.
When we returned out of the Gompa, our driver indicated some ruins atop a hillock prior to us and said that there were a number of fascinating Gompas amongst those ruins. To further entice us, he stated that views of Hunder village and the Nubra valley were awesome from the top. This left us with no option however to attempt the climb to the top. From the base it looked awfully hard but once we started climbing up, it wasn’t all that bad. Simply as the motorist had assured, we got wonderful views of the valley along the way and that distracted us from the discomfort of the climb.
We checked out about 3 shrines at the top of the hillock. They were all rather old, partly in ruins and extremely little. If it weren’t for the oil lamps burning in every one of them I would have believed that the Gompas were deserted too; certainly they weren’t. Each of them housed a lovely and special picture of Buddha surrounded by fading, ancient murals. They were all developed right along the edge of the hillock and looked precariously close to teetering over but likewise had the best views ever! We realized that we had the chauffeur to thank for coaxing us into climbing up to the Gompas — we would have never ever attempted it on our own initiative!
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Hunder is the furthest travelers can go to the west of Nubra Valley. So we reversed and headed back to Diskit. The plan was to stop at the sand dunes en route and take a more detailed look at the famed double-humped camels of Nubra. However we had to rush ‘coz the 15-minute ride on these camels is used just till 6:30 pm and by the time we got to there, it was past the designated time; the guys managing the camels were currently evacuating for the day. They refused to let us ride the camels unless their supervisor, who sat at the ticket counter, concurred. Madhu, at his charming best, requested the supervisor sweetly and it worked; we had the ability to acquire 2 tickets for a quick trip on the camels throughout the dune.
Said to have actually been left at the high-altitude desert dunes of Nubra valley throughout the trade crossings of Central Asia, these Bactrian camels were initially natives of the Gobi Desert. Those days they belonged to caravans that plied the Silk Route bring products from Central and South Asia. Today much of these camels have been domesticated for flights and transport around the desert region. The trip offered to travelers is a leading draw in the Nubra valley and most visitors come here just for it; we were delighted we got the possibility too. Up close we discovered that these animals looked much shorter than the single-humped ones we ‘d seen before. Likewise, naturally, the Bactrian ones were rather furry with thick tufts of hair around their necks and legs — they looked rather cute! We climbed atop them and were seated in between the 2 humps. Then the camels waddled across the dunes for precisely 15 minutes — it was an uneventful and bumpy however enjoyable flight!
Later on we rested on the little mounds of dune for a while taking pleasure in the lovely scenery and cold breeze before heading back to Diskit for a peaceful night. On hindsight, we wanted we had remained somewhere close to the dune (maybe in the village of Hunder?) so that we could have taken pleasure in that landscape longer.
The following early morning we started early to visit the Diskit Gompa before heading to Panamik, which is to the north of Nubra valley. Since melting snow would increase water levels throughout the roads in between Sumur and Panamik throughout the day, the plan was to tour Panamik and be back in Sumur by late afternoon at the newest.
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Diskit Gompa is among the largest and oldest abbeys in the Nubra valley. Like a lot of other Buddhist Gompas in the Ladakh area, it sticks to a mountain-side sitting simply above the village. Luckily, automobiles can go right up to the base of the abbey from where it’s a brief climb to the prayer halls and shrines. We were surprised to find that all of these were immaculately kept and preserved over the years. The abbey courtyard was beautiful and in the morning air looked absolutely wonderful. The within the shrines (we went to 3 in all) were as splendidly maintained as the exterior.
But the most amazing aspect of Diskit Gompa was the huge Maitreya statue that was constructed on a high terrace across from the village on a smaller hillock! We could see it plainly from the Gompa however seeing it from up-close while standing at its feet was just simply exhilarating! Unlike the Shanti Stupa in Leh, this one had actually been developed by truly experienced artisans — it was a splendid piece of work! At the time we existed, artisans and volunteers from the surrounding towns were working feverishly to obtain the monolith and the adjacent area all set for a see by the Dalai Lama who was to inaugurate it in about a week’s time! Things looked rather ready and just some complements (and loads of cleanup — there was building particles everywhere!) required to be done. I’m sure they need to have had everything in order by the time the Dalai Lama pertained to go to!
The drive east and after that north to Panamik took us throughout the valley flooring; it was splendidly scenic! There were numerous shallow streams of melting snow on the roadways however the Sumo had the ability to negotiate them rather quickly. As we went further north, the surroundings around us grew stark and more desert-like, with barely any vegetation. At the village of Panamik, our chauffeur parked the vehicle by the side of the roadway and pointed to a concrete structure, which seemed newly built half-way up the mountain-side; this was where we might find the warm springs that Panamik is popular for!
I’m not actually sure what we were expecting when we strolled up to the hot springs however the sight of unpainted, cement buildings by the side of a narrow stream was downright frustrating. There were a number of workers working on the construction of more cement blocks and it’s only after strolling around a bit did we understand that these were to be bathroom for people to bathe in using the water that spouted from the hot springs. We touched the water in the stream and discovered it to be rather warm to the touch. However I doubt anyone would wish to bathe in it; the springs had actually caused yellow-colored, frothy swimming pools everywhere and they certainly didn’t look inviting. On the whole the location was quite dull and I wish we hadn’t troubled going there!
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On our way back, on our driver’s suggestion we checked out the covert Yarab Tso (Yarab Lake). Someplace mid-way between Sumur and Panamik, he repelled the road and into the valley flooring, parked mid-way throughout then directed us to walk. The valley flooring was riddled with narrow streams of water; we had the ability to leap over many of them but at times needed to eliminate our shoes and socks to learn — it was a great deal of fun. At the other end of the valley, we treked up a rocky hillock (not too steep or tiring) and came up on its rim. On the other side, at the bottom, was a lovely, aqua-blue lake, which looked magnificent from the top. Madhu and our guide, the driver, decided to stroll down to it however I decided to stay put; the afternoon heat had actually tired me out and I didn’t feel like applying myself any longer. So I rested on a large boulder looking at the lake while the people strolled down and around it quickly; they enjoyed their walk while I loved my few minutes of solitude.
Our last stop for the day was the village of Sumur where the main tourist attraction is its Gompa. We looked into a guesthouse for the night and after that avoided to see the Gompa, which had to do with 2kms away. When we arrived we discovered the primary road preceeding the monastery being re-tarred and that the abbey itself had been repainted recently — all preparations for the Dalai Lama’s visit. Wide, terraced actions led from the gate as much as the monastery building, which is 2-storied with a beautiful, open verandah in the front. Because of the freshly repainted outsides, the monastery didn’t really look 150 years old from the outside however the minute we entered the prayer hall, its antiquity was clearly visible; there were ageing murals, silk paintings and idols everywhere- it looked stunning! The monastic complex is stated to consist of a number of other shrines as well but we saw only the prayer hall and left.
At night we strolled around the village of Sumur and discovered more dune along its western edge, which surrounded the Nubra river. When we looped around we passed some lovely green fields ablaze with little yellow flowers! We passed numerous locals who gave us friendly smiles and two little ladies who even posed for our photos — it was too darn sweet! As we roamed around aimlessly, we lost track of time and soon it began to get dark. We then realized that we were rather lost without any concept the best ways to return to our guesthouse quickly. With no other option, we asked around and were directed by a number of young ladies to cross a field to the road on the other side; the roadway would lead us to our guesthouse. We did simply as they suggested and took pleasure in a lovely walk thru the field and after that jumped over a wood fence to get to the road, making it back to the guesthouse right before it got entirely dark!
The tour of Nubra valley provided us an unique feel of the northern-most part of India and its residents. No tour of Ladakh might be complete without crossing the world’s greatest (alright, maybe among the highest) motor-able pass and taking a peek at the wonderful landscape on the other side. On hindsight, however, we need not have stayed for 2 nights. We could have quickly skipped Panamik, explored Diskit and Sumur prior to leaving for Leh in the afternoon.
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