Whatever perception I had about the Srinagar-Leh highway being less beautiful than the Manali-Leh road was totally proved wrong after seeing the majestic and picturesque view of the valley.
After driving for a few kms reached a beautiful place called Gumri. The wallpapers would also not do justice to the beauty of this place. A well laid road, mountains towering on both sides, a river flowing on one side and glaciers melting is a view which I could only dream of.
Nikhil and Deepak had went ahead at this point and I was lagging behind by almost 5kms or so. But, I did not want to waste the chance to admire this beauty. I sat down at this place, switched off the engine and was listening to this beautiful song . (JTYJN-BGM). There was no vehicle which crossed me for the next 10 mins , the only sound was that of wind and flow of the river and It was just an out of the world experience. :)
After driving for about 20kms more reached Drass. Our initial plan was to have lunch here and then move on to Kargil. But, we were not hungry so just ate few chocolates. Also, called up home and informed them about my experience. I had got a BSNL post paid sim especially for this trip and it paid well as all other networks were not working here.
Nearing Drass
Drass greener than expected
Drass is often called 'The Gateway to Ladakh'. It was under heavy shelling during the 1999 Kargil war.
We finally managed to leave Drass by 2 PM with our next stop being the Kargil War Memorial which is just about 6-7kms from Drass. Once you reach here the army officer posted there explains in detail about what exactly had happened during the war and how our war heroes captured all the peaks.
The rightmost peak is Tiger Hill. This is the peak which the Pakistanis had captured and used for shelling the NH1A. Re-Capturing of this peak by the Indian Army turned the tables in the war. It is said that the Tiger Hill peak was reduced by 50m due to the continuous shelling.
Tololing peak was also captured and the peaks above used to be Pakistani posts. Indian army placed Bofors guns just opposite this hill which provided great assistance to the jawans who had to climb up to recapture this peak. At this altitude it was difficult to breathe and walking a few steps would make you pant. It is truly unbelievable that Indian army had to climb up this peak to recapture the posts.
Finally after spending a good one hour it was time to move on to Kargil.
Wohooo, and what a road it was. The next 50kms was a breeze and we crossed it in 1 hour.
Reached a point called as the Suru confluence. The LoC is hardly 5kms from here but civilians are not allowed to go there.
Finally we reached Kargil by 4:30 PM and you would be amazed to see what a town it is. I came with the impression that it would be a war torn village with hardly 100 people living. But, I was in for a surprise it was a bustling town like any other. And, the folks there have an amazing fashion sense.
Took us about 15 mins to get a hotel. Finally settled at Hotel Scion just beside the main market for Rs. 500.
The caretaker gave me a bucket of hot water so we freshened up sat with him while he told the whole story of the Kargil war and how it impacted them. During the war the army had constructed a bunker in the hotel premises. Also, a major portion of this hotel was destroyed by the Pakistani shelling.
After the hotel tour we headed to the main market and had our dinner. Again, we slept off early by 9:30 PM as tomorrow "I am going to get Leh'd" :)...
Petrol filled at: Srinagar
After driving for a few kms reached a beautiful place called Gumri. The wallpapers would also not do justice to the beauty of this place. A well laid road, mountains towering on both sides, a river flowing on one side and glaciers melting is a view which I could only dream of.
Nikhil and Deepak had went ahead at this point and I was lagging behind by almost 5kms or so. But, I did not want to waste the chance to admire this beauty. I sat down at this place, switched off the engine and was listening to this beautiful song . (JTYJN-BGM). There was no vehicle which crossed me for the next 10 mins , the only sound was that of wind and flow of the river and It was just an out of the world experience. :)
After driving for about 20kms more reached Drass. Our initial plan was to have lunch here and then move on to Kargil. But, we were not hungry so just ate few chocolates. Also, called up home and informed them about my experience. I had got a BSNL post paid sim especially for this trip and it paid well as all other networks were not working here.
Nearing Drass
Drass greener than expected
Drass is often called 'The Gateway to Ladakh'. It was under heavy shelling during the 1999 Kargil war.
We finally managed to leave Drass by 2 PM with our next stop being the Kargil War Memorial which is just about 6-7kms from Drass. Once you reach here the army officer posted there explains in detail about what exactly had happened during the war and how our war heroes captured all the peaks.
Finally after spending a good one hour it was time to move on to Kargil.
Wohooo, and what a road it was. The next 50kms was a breeze and we crossed it in 1 hour.
Reached a point called as the Suru confluence. The LoC is hardly 5kms from here but civilians are not allowed to go there.
Took us about 15 mins to get a hotel. Finally settled at Hotel Scion just beside the main market for Rs. 500.
The caretaker gave me a bucket of hot water so we freshened up sat with him while he told the whole story of the Kargil war and how it impacted them. During the war the army had constructed a bunker in the hotel premises. Also, a major portion of this hotel was destroyed by the Pakistani shelling.
The caretaker took me to the bunker which was still there. I had a strange feeling getting inside thinking what is he going to show in a such a small bunker. But, to my surprise the bunker was 2 levels below and could easily accommodate 50 people. There were atleast about 5-6 rooms and place for kitchen as well.
Petrol filled at: Srinagar
You have such an adventurous spirit. I admire your fearlessness in exploring new places. Please click on this link Leh Ladakh Pangong Lake Tour Package
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