Region:- Leh – Ladakh
Route:- Leh – South Pullu – Khardung La – North Pullu – Khardung – Diskit – Hunder Sand Dunes.
Leh the Mecca of adventure enthusiasts is the starting point
of our journey, which is at an elevation of 3,500 m. Kunal whom I met at YHAI
camp was the main driving force for the whole trip. Inner Line Permit is
required to visit Nubra Valley, which is available at the DC office in Leh
town. Kunal got the permit and rent a bike (Bajaj Pulsar 200NS) for the trip
the previous night.
23th September, 2013:-
From here the real ride begins, steep, narrow and twisted road
which are in really bad condition. A km ride in this sector feels that we have
covered a long distance. After about four and half km we have faced a snow fall,
so in order to protect our self we took shelter in the bunker of the people who
were trying to repair the road. The chamber was hot due to the heat generated
by the kerosene heater. There we had some hot water and a glass of tea. This
stoppage has in-fact warm and re- energize our body. Finally the snowing had
stopped so we started our journey. The bike was not powerful enough to ride in
this region, at first we thought that our bike is in bad shape, but on our way
we found and a rider who was facing the same problem. We nearly pushed the bike
in certain steep portion.
From a distance we could a white area when we came nearer we came to know that we have arrived “Khardung La” “The World’s Highest Motorable Road.”At the top there is a temple, restaurants, medical facilities, souvenir shop, army residence and small restaurant run by the army. We visited the Souvenir Shop and came to know that the area is under surveillance of Assam Rifles. We bought a few things and headed towards the restaurant to eat something as we had nothing except that glass of tea. There we met an army Jawan from Assam and had a long chat with him in my local language i.e. Assamese. The Jawan (I forgot his name) inform me that if we are planning to return on the same day then we have to cross this before 1500 Hrs. There we had some momos and black tea and click some photos and quickly started our journey towards Nubra.
On our way back we had tea at North Pullu, our hand was shivering like an anything we couldn’t even hold our cup of tea properly. We didn’t even have much petrol in bike; we tried to find some nearby but that was a failure. The local people suggest us to ride back as soon as possible. So, we didn’t waste more time, start our ride. We are lucky that there was no snowfall at Khardung La and cross it without much trouble.
The downhill road was slippery due to the recent snowfall, the road was better as compared to the previous 10 kms that we have covered. Within an hour we reached North Pullu, we were just worried whether we will be able to reached Nubra on time, so increase our speed. The road was well maintained except in certain areas. It looks beautiful in the valley of the dry mountain with the blue sky above, the sound of the bullet riders passing by added an extra charm. We have to stop in a few places just to click some photos, beside this we just kept riding. At last we arrived at the sand dunes at around 1300 hrs. We sat on the sand for half an hour, watch the tourist enjoying their ride on double hump camel and click some photograph. We have to rush back since we have to cross Khardung La as soon as possible.
On our way down, we turn off the bike engine to save petrol. Once we reached South Pullu we are relieved that we slowed our speed. We had a good view of Leh town from the top in the evening. We arrived at our guest house at around 1730 hrs. We are tired and were not even in the mood to talk and our whole body was paining due to long bumpy rides. But had some wonder full experiences thanks to Kunal for your effort otherwise I would have missed it.
That night I had a sound sleep...........
