Chapter #7 - We are coming, Khardung la !

After a blissful night at Leh, it was mesmerizing sunrise and I woke up to the announcements of the garbage collector truck. I looked out of the window and a big truck was collecting garbage from all hotels, homestays just to keep Leh clean. Though it is a common practice in most of the cities, Ladakh is a fragile ecosystem so it is of utmost importance to keep it clean.

After taking the morning shower, I went downstairs to as aunt about what she is going to prepare for breakfast and we finally agreed on aloo paranthas ( stuffed Indian chapati). I sat there in the kitchen itself and we had a long conversation and after a while, Rathore also came downstairs. Finally, we jumped in for the delicious paranthas, and to be frank, the paranthas were too good. Then, it was time to have some hot tea as paranthas and tea is a deadly combination. 

After filling our tummies with food, we decided to get our permits for Khardung la stamped from the district magistrate office in Leh. There was a small bike rental service just outside the homestay. The guy there was skeptical about Activa being able to climb the steep slope of way to Khardung la but we both were determined. He was trying to convince us to rent a bike but we were sure in our heads that we are going to Khardung la on our own Activa. 

Let's talk a little about Khardung la. It is the highest motorable pass in the world and is about 48 kilometers from Leh town. The air is so thin at Khardungla that you will start feeling dizzy in no time. There is a small oxygen cafe at Khardung la in case if someone is not able to breathe. People with breathing issues and asthmatic individuals are often advised not to visit Khardung la. Nevertheless,  You can always visit Khardung la but just make sure that you do not stay there for long.  From Khardung la, descent to Nubra valley starts and the same path goes to the famous Siachen Glacier

Let's go back to Leh. Finally, we decided to stick to our lovely Activa. This time, we did not have backpacks with us so the ride was somewhat less loaded. Then, we headed straight to the office where online permits needed to be stamped. This is a very important step as without permit, you will not be able to cross the very first check post.  As this was my first time in Ladakh, I did not have any knowledge about the places we can visit so just to be on a safe side, I selected all the places from the list. This permit is called Inner Line Permit and is mandatory. 

At the office, you can always tell them the places you would like to visit because charges for permits vary as per the places. You can visit the remotest areas of India like Loma bend, Pangong Tso, Chushul (last village), science observatory using this.

This is how a stamped permit looks like. I have doodled the aadhaar id just for security reasons. 

 

This permit was valid only for Pangong lake as written. At the top, you can see the list of places to visit. Most of the travelers to Ladakh select number 7 on the list as it has all the favorite places to visit but do not limit yourself and explore as much as you can. Do not forget to make photocopies of each permit as there are a lot of entry/exit points and we are supposed to deposit the permit at each point. 

We got ours stamped in no time and the person at magistrate office was extremely helpful. 

Finally, It was time to leave Leh and head for Khardungla. We bought some snacks and a 5 lts packaged water bottle. At this point, we did not buy any petrol as we already had ample and it was enough to do a round trip from Leh - Khardung la - Leh.  Remember, fuel is costly in Ladakh. 

At around 11 pm, we left for Khardung la. After about 2 kilometers, we reached the first check post. This was not a government check post, in fact. It was actually a check post of the Bike union of Leh town. If you remember from my previous blogs, I mentioned that you cannot enter Khardung la if you rented a bike in Himachal. Yes, there will be some exceptions but very few. At this check post, we were asked to prove the ownership of the bike. They asked about the vehicle's registration certificate and License. Make sure that the License and registration certificate details match, otherwise they will not let you pass. In short, you just need to prove that the bike is not rented, and is private and if it is rented, it should be rented from within Leh area. This is to ensure that the bike rental business is not affected. This is indeed very helpful and is totally justified because tourist season in Ladakh lasts for around 4-5 months and this is the time when locals earn from tourism and people coming to Ladakh. The rest of the time, Ladakh stays disconnected from the mainland due to excess snowfall. Remember, Ladakh is a cold desert, and winters in Ladakh are extremely harsh. Please do not bargain unnecessarily while you are in Ladakh.  

Finally, we crossed the check post without any problem as we had a private vehicle. The road was pretty good for the first 20 kilometers and we did not face any problem in covering those 20 kilometers. Suddenly, the road became dangerous and full of stones and water. The slope was too steep and the engine was gasping for air. The workers there were trying their best to keep the road open and working and a big salute to all of them. The road condition kept on getting worse and worse as we got close to Khardung la and we could literally feel the air getting thin. It was a hell of a ride to the top and after a lot of struggle and patient driving, we finally made it to the top and my god, it was so beautiful at the top and was completely worth the effort. It felt like an accomplishment. 

Enjoy some shots!

LOVE MY COUNTRY

ACTIVA ROCKING A POSE AT KHARDUNG LA

While clicking pictures, we could literally feel the lack of oxygen and the presence of thin air.  It was too tiring but the weather and beauty of the surroundings were enough to blow away the tiredness. People there asked us "where are you coming from" and when we answered "Chandigarh" they were like " on a scooty " and we were like "everyone and anyone can come here on a Royal Enfield but we wanted to challenge ourselves".  This was probably the only reason why we were able to complete the entire trip of 10 days in just 11,000 INR and this helped us save at least 10 - 15k. 

We were filled with joy and those moments will always be there and I will cherish those moments always as we met some of the nicest, best humans on this blue planet. The khardung La pass had completely different vibes and it was no less than heaven !!

After spending around half an hour at the pass, we left for Leh town. The descent to Leh town was pretty satisfying and pretty easy because the engine had to do very less work and gravity was the force doing most of the work. We still had to be careful as dust and ice on the road was slippery and a little overturn of the handle would have brought us both down on our knees. 

I hope you are enjoying this series. Please do comment because two-way communication is the best thing. In the next blog, I will share a brief of all the expenses till now and I will take you all to our next destination - The most famous and serene place where beauty is on a whole new level - The Pangong Tso !