Exploring the Dry India

Exploring the Dry India

Beneath the skies lies a wonderland where the echoes of giant moonscapes are heard, brown sands are glittered, the rippling water streams induce their joys and excitement, where the majestic desert is proud of its existence, where the smiling populace greets you “Ya Jullay!”, where at night, the stars sing the chronicles of glorious past and bravery; you realize that the place is no less than a heavenly abode. The rush of adrenaline suddenly fills in your mind; the soul escapes its body and enters a new phase of rejuvenation, it experiences the vibes of spirituality, springs of excitement, the auroras of energy revolve around it.  It is the place where the civilizations integrate, the trade routes conglomerate, it is the place where the miracles of divine are enjoyed by the mortals; it is the epitome of heaven on earth: LADAKH. 

 

Buddhist Prayer Wheel

Portrait of Peace Seeker

 

Lamayuru Moonscape

Arising our desire to travel 
we^* tried to explore the 
miracles of that heaven; 
heading directly from  
Delhi to Jammu to Srinagar,
 we proceeded towards 
our destination enjoying 
the scenic beauty of  
Srinagar – Leh Highway. 
The entry gates to the 
heaven welcomed us at 
Kargil where we were taken 
in to the flashback 

where sacrificing for the integrity of the country was paramount, Goosebumps of tribute and chivalry arose in the conscience. It seemed that the mountains stood reddish covered with sunset rays. Patriotic exuberance was filled within us. 

The gallantry of Jawans in Kargil War of 1999 left everyone applauding with pride and a tale of valor.  As the night grew colder and darker we stared at the gigantic Milky Way belt with millions of stars looking upon us.  At midnight we reached Lamayuru (Eternity), a peaceful place where terrains experience a feeling of tranquility in the lap of  mother earth.

Nation's Pride

We marched towards Leh city next morning where the majestic Palace, Military Convoys, the national flag flowing high and the faces who never missed to wish every passerby “Ya Jullay!!” (Have a good day) with enthusiasm and dazzling smiles. We along with our companion Mr. Yaseen paused ourselves to feel the charm of the city, we loitered around the local bazaar, had a taste of local delicacies, interacted with the natives and rested ourselves for the day watching millions of football fans hugging, cheering and shouting at every goal… (FIFA WC telecast)

Maitreya Buddha spreading World Peace

The Sun was shining bright and sometimes hides itself behind the clouds in azure sky… and we were all set to increase the hunger of our traveling souls, we started off to Nubra Valley, reached Diskit Monastery at 10,315 ft above sea level where 104ft statue of “Maitreya Buddha”, sitting right in the lap of dry mountains, blesses everyone for their well being. It teaches every person who passes by the statue that the way to face the world is to stay calm and embrace it. The Almighty itself along with the dry landscapes posed in front of us for photographs and panoramas. 

Bactrian Camel Ride, Hunder

We set our chariot towards the white sand dunes of the cold desert, where the double humped Bactrian Camels welcomed us with an invitation to ride upon them. We would strongly recommend the camel ride as this is the main attraction in Hunder.

At the height of 18,380 ft

Brace yourselves before you visit the native land of Bactrian Camels; Khardung–La Pass (18380ft) which is the highest motorable road on the earth awaits your graceful presence. To make this short: Once you pass it without any anxiety and headaches, you are eligible for a climb to Mt’ Everest. Just Playing!! :) The nature is not that cruel and gruesome.  

     

Star Trails over Leh Palace

  

Tired and exhausted we returned to Leh the next day, but the zeal to capture the starry belt didn’t stop us (Parth and Yash) to capture Star Trails behind the Leh Palace.

Shanti Stupa

The Sun rose bright spreading 

its rays wide, birds 

were chirping welcoming 

the pleasantries of the 

nature. We took our path 

towards Shanti Stupa, a 

Buddhist shrine, built by 

the Japanese monks in 1991, 

which spreads the message 

of world peace.  

We had Maggie noodles, the most common food for the North Indian Travelers  and a local drink i.e. Butter Tea (sounds cranky). 

Well, this is not it !! Its a just a day time looks of this peaceful shrine.

Shanti Stupa at night

When we were recording the star trails, on the opposite direction, we had one of the most beautiful view of the Shrine; enlightening us with knowledge and shines in the darkness with the heavenly illumination.

Indian Glory

We, then proceeded to pay our homage to the martyrs and took a glance of the glorious history of the region in HALL OF FAME. 
Parth experienced the most mesmerizing sunset in his life just outside the premises. We ended our day interacting with the locals and pumping ourselves for the new phase of our travel quest.

 

Sunset at Leh

We visited Spituk Monastery the next day where we met “Jinu” One of the youngest Lamas in the Ladakh region. He was very playful and was always ready to get captured by our cameras. Cheers to you too, bud !!! 

Selfie with Jinu

Pangong Tso Lake

  

Progressing towards the land we set our foot at the most awaited place of the entire region… PANGONG TSO LAKE… We were greeted by the Himalayan Marmot as if he was anticipating our arrival. As we entered the vicinity of the transparent waters we felt the breeze of serenity and tranquil hovering upon the entire area. We spotted Golden Ducks and Brown Headed Seagulls, who inhabit the gardens and saline waters of Pangong Tso. 

Fly high with the pride

Gull with freedom flight

Guys...! Take a fine look at these food robbers. Well, at some parts of this planet, they are known by this characteristic of them, but not in Ladakh.

They bring life to the Pangong lake with their beauty and constant live activities by making us feed them. 

Living in the nearby village, the 3 horsemen were extremely generous and one of the happiest men we've ever came across. We will never forget them, as they shared their knowledge of the region around the lake with us. 

 

The Horsemen

 

Rocks adding beauty

  

This is what the travelers do when they take rest. 
There isn't much to do other 
than admire nature and God's creation, so they place the 
rocks over each rock and yeah certainly they do not play "Seven-Rocks" with these :).
But we must confess that this adds more beauty to the landscapes as there are 
thousands of such structures 
in the entire Ladakh Region.

Golden Duck

Spotting golden ducks at Pangong Tso is extremely hard, as they are the migratory birds, but we were indeed lucky to have a good look at two of them. At night we had frozen to death as on the front of our tent, we experienced the drizzling rains and behind our tents we experienced the horrors of snowfall... Yes guys!! The mercury had dipped to -5 degree Celsius. (Too much to bear for Indians)

Someday, I will take a print and hang it on the wall. Such a remarkable and a perfect capture with timing by Yash, would definitely shine as a wallpaper.

The boulder thrown at Guru Nanak by the demon

 At the final doorstep of our travel, we visited Gurudwara Patthar Sahib; an experience of solace was filled in our minds, the chanting of “Satnam Waheguru” added to the positive aura of the place. Though the spiritual experience of the place was physically short lived, but it created an eternal impact in our conscience. 

The Gurdwara  was built in the memory of Guru Nanak, which is approximately 25-27 km away from Leh.



 

Magnetic Hill

Leaving behind the ancient relic we reached the MAGNETIC HILL where the natural force of the mountains defying the rule of gravity pulled us (of course it is an illusory power). 

Sangam

 

We also made Sangam with Sangam of Indus and Zangskar River, which was a track for enthusiastic river rafters. (P.S. Permission denied by family on the grounds of safety… Sob, Sob) But there is always a next time..!!

Ending our tryst with the heavenly abode of Ladakh, we finally paced ourselves towards Delhi, tired and penniless from the top to bottom but we got richer by re discovering ourselves during the travel and with abundance of memories, positivity and quest of exploring the unexplored which still continues in its full spirits….

* Parth Patel & Yash Sampat