Turtuk : The last village before the India Pakistan border

I was in Ladakh for the third time. It had been three years consecutively that i was visiting this place. If i say it is the most beautiful place i have ever seen, i am not exaggerating, maybe you will hear me saying this a lot of times. The last two times i went there to head groups for treks this time i went there for myself. I wanted to explore the place, meet new people make friends understand the Buddhist culture live in the monasteries and most importantly hitchhike. This blog is on a small little village called Turtuk.I was in Ladakh, i was planning to do this trek called The Markha valley trek and one of an acquaintance told me to visit Turtuk and chuck Markha valley. Chucking Markha valley was a good decision. I decided to go solo as my friend had to go back home.

Where is Turtuk ?

Turtuk is a small little village located at the end of Ladakh towards the Pakistan border. It is 8 kilometer before the border. Ahead of it is a place called Thang, but Thang comes under the sniper range of Pakistan army so think before going there. The village has a population of almost 1000 people and the place geographically used to be in Pakistan before the 1971 India Pakistan war. After the war, the territory was taken by India. The region was called Baltistan in Pakistan earlier and till now the language they speak is Balti. The Balti people used to play Polo as their State sport and the museum in Turtuk still have the costumes and jerseys preserved with them to for showcase to people like us.

How to reach Turtuk ?

To reach Turtuk first you have to take Inner Line permit from Leh District Administration. The permit is applicable for only 5 days. You can either get it directly from the administration office or ask any travel company ion Leh, they will make it for you. Remember one thing, the administration office closes by 5 PM so get the permit done accordingly.

There are three options to reach Turtuk from Leh :

Take a bus to Nubra Valley and then a cab / bus to Turtuk. You can book a bus from Leh bus stand, the bus starts at 6 in the morning, you will cross Khardungla pass and reach Diskit by 2 PM. From there you can either take a bus or a cab to Turtuk. One thing to remember in this, the bus from Diskit to Hunder does not operate on Sundays, the cabs operate everyday. They will charge around 350 bucks per person. The drive is 2 hours and the distance from Leh to Diskit is around 100k and from Diskit to Turtuk is around 80k.

Drive / Ride to Turtuk. You can either hire a car or a bike and drive down to Turtuk. This is a good option, but it is expensive. Car is good when you are in a group so that you guys can dutch.

Hitchhike to Turtuk. This is my favourite option. Head the road early in the morning and start pointing your thumb out to each and every passing vehicle. People generally give lift in that region, you will reach Turtuk in slightly more time then the above two options but this one helps you make friends all along the way and learn more about people.

Where to stay in Turtuk ?

There are plenty of guest houses in Turtuk and you will find the place filled with Israelis, there are even Israeli guest houses which give you accommodation as cheap as 800 – 1000 Rs a night with breakfast. I would suggest go little more inside and opt for a home stay. These are beautiful old houses with hosts who give you warm welcome and prepare delicious food for you. Its good to stay in a home stay as you can learn more about the Balti culture with the locals. We stayed for Rs. 350 per person which included two meals.

What to expect in Turtuk ?

A beautiful river flowing among the Trans Himalayas, the best apricot trees in the world, wonderful kids and great farms. You reach Turtuk and walk to the village among the old Balti houses and plenty of cafes to serve you great food, a small pool in the middle of the village to cool you down in the heat and a small monastery which gives you bird’s eye view of the place. In the night lie down at the view point and gaze the stars. I am not joking when i say i was able to see around 10 shooting stars in a span of just an hour. You can see the milky way galaxy from there. If you love place with less people and more nature, this is the place for you.

I was going back to my stay from the view point in the evening and there was a bunch of kids playing there, they started asking me N number of questions about the city life and they were so enthusiastic to learn about the city people a lot. We ended up talking for almost 2 hours about cars, stars, the galaxy and how the city people lived. The kids were so welcoming that they were not letting me go. They wanted to talk more and more.

If you ever plan to visit Ladakh, put Turtuk in your list and stay there for at least 2 nights and thank me later.

You can get in touch with me at prashant@hillsandbeyond.com if you want to learn about Turtuk more.

Have a great day ahead !