Day 6 – now to the final destination Leh! From Kargil to Leh the road is simply beautiful. Nature is at its raw best. Generally the heights are correlated with Hill stations and greenery – Leh is desert at more that 10500 ft!
Once you leave kargil, you pass through many towns like Lamayaru, Khalatse and Saspol. These places are beautifully embedded in the mountains. From the distance they more look like Ant houses peacefully carved in nature than man encroaching on nature.
Fotu-La (La means pass) point is the highest point at close 14000 Ft on Srinagar-Leh highway. But the road condition is impeccable and once you have done Zoji-La – this part is a “No-stress” zone. The whole Kargil-Leh road is nature’s “Rock-N-Soil” show at its best. This is not a green zone but the rocks change colors to provide a really colorful vision.
Once you cross Fotu-La you pass by the river Indus. The drive is mesmerizing – River Indus is on one side and you pass through the narrow passage created between high walls of the mountains. This combination becomes so beautiful at places that you have no option to stop and admire. There is a particular patch where you pass through tall purple walls created by the mountains as the green river flows through brown rocky land next to you!
As you come close to Leh, you come across a place where River Indus meets River Zanskar. You get a top view of this confluence from the road. You see the confluence not only because of two streams meeting each other but two streams also have distinctly different colors. One of those spots when you realize that photography is extremely easy in this part – you just have to take out your camera and randomly click – pictures generally are outstanding – and it has got nothing to do with your photography skills
As you approach Leh, the road passes through a vast land of desert and the highway is excellent. As you come closer to Leh you are blessed by holy Patthar Sahib shrine – a beautiful place which Guru Nanak-ji blessed with his own presence. There is a rock (patthar) that was hurled at him from the top. But as the rock touched him – it softened and just left an imprint of his back. Hence the name Patthar-sahib. When you look at that rock – you get a very distinct feeling that Guru-ji must have been here – simply impossible to describe in words.
There is a place on the way called Magnetic Hill. You can park your vehicle on the road and turn off the engine leaving it in Neutral – the vehicle starts going up the hill on its own – quite an experience!!
When we finally could see Leh – it was a moment to behold after driving for 6 days through different terrains and more than 3000 Km! Our feelings were summed up by the lines so well written by our Armed forces – “Terrains so difficult that only the fiercest enemies and best of the friends dare to visit us!”
Once you leave kargil, you pass through many towns like Lamayaru, Khalatse and Saspol. These places are beautifully embedded in the mountains. From the distance they more look like Ant houses peacefully carved in nature than man encroaching on nature.
Fotu-La (La means pass) point is the highest point at close 14000 Ft on Srinagar-Leh highway. But the road condition is impeccable and once you have done Zoji-La – this part is a “No-stress” zone. The whole Kargil-Leh road is nature’s “Rock-N-Soil” show at its best. This is not a green zone but the rocks change colors to provide a really colorful vision.
Once you cross Fotu-La you pass by the river Indus. The drive is mesmerizing – River Indus is on one side and you pass through the narrow passage created between high walls of the mountains. This combination becomes so beautiful at places that you have no option to stop and admire. There is a particular patch where you pass through tall purple walls created by the mountains as the green river flows through brown rocky land next to you!
As you come close to Leh, you come across a place where River Indus meets River Zanskar. You get a top view of this confluence from the road. You see the confluence not only because of two streams meeting each other but two streams also have distinctly different colors. One of those spots when you realize that photography is extremely easy in this part – you just have to take out your camera and randomly click – pictures generally are outstanding – and it has got nothing to do with your photography skills
As you approach Leh, the road passes through a vast land of desert and the highway is excellent. As you come closer to Leh you are blessed by holy Patthar Sahib shrine – a beautiful place which Guru Nanak-ji blessed with his own presence. There is a rock (patthar) that was hurled at him from the top. But as the rock touched him – it softened and just left an imprint of his back. Hence the name Patthar-sahib. When you look at that rock – you get a very distinct feeling that Guru-ji must have been here – simply impossible to describe in words.
There is a place on the way called Magnetic Hill. You can park your vehicle on the road and turn off the engine leaving it in Neutral – the vehicle starts going up the hill on its own – quite an experience!!
When we finally could see Leh – it was a moment to behold after driving for 6 days through different terrains and more than 3000 Km! Our feelings were summed up by the lines so well written by our Armed forces – “Terrains so difficult that only the fiercest enemies and best of the friends dare to visit us!”
Thanks for the post Yogesh. It helped me relive my experience. Salute to Army for maintaining Patthar Sahibe Shrine so beautifully.
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