Living in Bangalore has given me a clear distinction of seasons. It is hot in summer, cold in winter and wet in the rainy season. But the first time that I travelled to Ladakh, all my school lessons on weather patterns were toppled upside down. I experienced extreme weather conditions, all in one day. Stepping out of the aircraft, early in the morning I was welcomed with a pleasant 9°C and an overcast sky. By noon, it was positively hot, and by night fall, it had become nerve numbing cold. On the very first day of my trip, I knew that Nubra was going to throw a number of surprises at me– this was going to be an epic adventure.
My husband and I took 48 hours of rest to acclimatise our bodies to the unforgiving altitude. After all, we were at 11,480 ft! In the meanwhile, we planned out our road trip to Nubra Valley. We rented a Royal Enfield Classic 350, layered up in as many woollens as possible, and headed toward the land of pearly sands.
The road trip:
Just talking to the bike rental vendors gave us an insight into the immersive journey that lay ahead. There are three main phases to the route from Leh to Nubra. First, we cross Khardungla, which is one of the world’s highest motor-able roads, situated at an alarming 17,500 ft. Next, we ride through the valleys of North and South Pullu, and finally, we reach the rugged brown deserts of Nubra. Equipped with all the knowledge that we could gather about our route, we commenced our ride.
The weather conditions in Ladakh are known to be unpredictable, hence it is advised to be on road only when the Sun god is blessing you. Hot aloo parantha and kahwa tea is a mouth-watering breakfast combination, and that was my choice of meal most of the time while on the road. After a delicious breakfast, we went straight to the petrol bunk and filled up an extra can of petrol for the journey, and started off from Leh.
The initial route was fast and we were blessed with beautiful, butter-smooth roads. The highway passed a number of hamlets and village settlements. Every curve that we rode on, opened up to a whole different terrain of arid mountains. Just when I thought that this was going to be a comfortable and smooth ride, we hit a patch of rugged roads that seemed to never end. As our bike navigated through the patchy route, the winding hills got steeper and sharper. When earlier we were cruising at the speed of 60 kmph, we had now been forced to drive at the abominable speed of 10 kmph. Suddenly, I started missing trekking, which seemed like a better option even in this difficult terrain. As we approached Khardungla, one of the highest motor-able roads in the world, the wind began to pierce my skin, my nose dried up and the fingertips turned numb.
At first, the pass itself felt average and it was nothing out of the ordinary. There were tourists and motorists everywhere, and a long queue to take a picture with the Khardungla milestone. I walked away from the crowd and I was left stunned. The view in front of me was magnificent, an infinite number of peaks stood tall before me, as if a carefully crafted painting. As halting at the pass for more than 30 minutes is not advised, we rested at a quaint restaurant called Oxygen Cafe that was located right on the pass. This was a much needed break. We warmed ourselves up with a delicious cuppa of hot chocolate and began the next lap of our journey downhill, towards North Pullu.
The camps at North Pullu are concentrated at certain places which make them a good pit-stop to recover from the sudden change in altitude. We met many fellow bikers at North Pullu, had eerie, yet thrilling conversations with them about the roads we had left behind, while devouring on hot dal chawal (rice and curry). As we were sipping hot chai and discussing the route ahead, we had to run for cover from the sudden pour of rain. Like I said earlier, Ladakh’s weather conditions are extremely unpredictable. Realising that we had only covered a quarter of the total distance, we hurried towards our motorcycles and started in the direction of Nubra. It continued to drizzle in bits and pieces for the rest of the journey. It was a pleasant ride for the next couple of hours. We passed by small streams trickling down from glaciers, filling up the road and wetting our boots. The landscape changed colour as often as a chameleon does. After four hours on the road, we reached the intersection that would lead us to Diskit and then Hunder, our destination.
My jaw dropped in awe of the view that lay in front of me - the tiny dunes enveloped by humongous mountains, this was a sight to behold. We saw a tiny settlement from afar, a small collection of trees under one gigantic hill and knew that we had reached Hunder. Having had a long day, struggling through bumpy roads and being drenched in the rain, we quickly found a place to spend the night.
Our homestay was run by a middle-aged couple, Dolma and Lobzang who had recently built extra rooms in their home to rent to tourists. The owner’s parents had travelled this far, to the West of Leh and had settled here decades ago. When the tourist season starts, the couple that runs this place and right before Nubra is cut off from the rest of the world in winters, they return to Jammu. Most families in Ladakh have two businesses and two homes. A form of adaptation to the life around the extreme climate conditions.
I have always preferred home stays over hotels but this one will remain as one of my favourites for a long time. It felt like a home away from home. The entire place was carpeted, so we had to leave our footwear outside and were given chappals to wear inside the house. A simple home cooked meal was given, which included chapati and rice with a side dish. As meat is a staple food here, that was available too, on request. I can still smell the hot chai in the thermos, that was given to us out of sheer love.
Our decision to stay in Hunder, a lesser visited region in Nubra, over Diskit, turned out to be a great decision. This small village had one petrol bunk, a couple of cafes and a small stretch of sand dunes. Nevertheless, the location of the dunes was so perfect, that it almost seemed as if it was man-made. At the dunes, I saw tourists taking a stroll, bactrian camels waiting for their turn to take tourists around, and a number of travelers like us who were busy observing the scene. The mountain views overshadowed everything else, leaving me spellbound. As the sun set behind the hills, we sat there admiring the myriad of colours that the sky was painted in.
Our trip to Nubra Valley was a huge step outside our comfort zone. Navigating through challenging terrain and withstanding extreme climate, all while riding a bike was one of the most stimulating travel experiences that I have had. The journey was daunting as we traversed across non-existent roads, rocks and occasionally, even on water. With a heavy heart but a promise to return to this enchanting valley, we rode back to Leh.
I have travelled to Leh three times, but my sojourn to Nubra valley was a completely different experience. If you’re heading to Nubra, don’t bother with making a detailed itinerary. In Nubra, you would want your days to be flexible because at some points of time, you would do nothing but take a spot on the ground, and talk to the mighty mountains, meandering river and the flirtatious, chilly winds. If you listen closely enough, you’ll realise that they have their secrets to tell.
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