Walking in thin air

‘How can you really know the joy of being on the summit of the

mountain unless you have first visited the lowest valley?’

Day 2 of trek. My Casio ABT watch recorded an altitude of around 13000+ feet. Being new to trekking and relatively slow walker, some of us had started early that day. Target was a daunting 2500 feet climb in those rarefied mountains. Rains over past couple of days had made tracks disappear at places. At the foot of the first hill, we lost the mule track and took the more visible under construction road by BRO. The road had met a dead end almost halfway to the top. We were left with no option but to find our way to the top of the hill. The exertion and anxiety in trying to find our way to the top made the feeling of breathlessness worse. Occasionally, I even felt mild giddiness. Looking down I even thought what bug had bitten me to do all this. I was out on trekking, looked forward to clicking some memorable photos, and now I was trying climb up the face of a hill clinging dangerously on to rocks. Welcome to high altitude trekking.

Rain, rain and more rain

15th August, 2011. Rain and a cold morning greeted us at Manali. While the nation was getting ready to celebrate Independence Day, we were getting ready for a grueling trek from Darcha (Lahaul Spiti) to Padum (Ladakh) – nearly 100 km over 8 days across Zanskar. Torrential rains had been playing havoc in Himachal this year. Perilously swelling Beas was an indication of things around Manali. In fact the Manali – Leh could be re-opened on the afternoon of 14th after a couple of day’s blockade. As the road was open to traffic, we knew that the trip was on. The team could move out of Manali only by noon because of delay in obtaining permit. Halfway to Rohtang pass, we faced the first hurdle - a long stretch of mud and slush on an upward Z turn. Our vehicles could not find a grip on the slush to move up. I was in a Tata Winger, which probably is the worst vehicle on such road. Many other vehicles were also struggling. For a moment I felt that this was the end of the trip. After half an hour struggle, the experience of the drivers came handy and we could move beyond that deadly 100 meters of slush, only to get stuck in another jam at another slushy stretch. Most bikers on that day could not go beyond this slush. This is quite in contrast to my last visit to Rohtang pass some 10 years back in good season. The Manali – Rohtang road is now a nightmare and is often remains blocked due to landslides. In July and Augsut this year tourists had a harrowing time on this road getting blocked sometimes for days with no food and water.

Rain did not relent even for a minute that day. It was snowing in higher ups. The road at Rohtang pass resembled a long black snake cuddled up on a white sheet. By now, we had fallen well behind schedule and now faced the daunting task of driving at night in unknown hills in bad weather, where nearest aid may be several hours away. You can’t spot falling stones at night. Darcha was too far away now and we had to reach Keylong. Fortunately we had company– around 6 vehicles and a couple of bikers. A landslide at a stream named Pagal Nullah, forced us to take a diversion. If I look back on the events of that night, it gives me chill. It was very dangerous. We were fortunate to come unscathed that night. Braving landslides, falling stone, we had managed to reach Keylong at around 10 in the night. Being a district headquarters, Keylong had about 5 hotels. But all were full. One of the hotel owners was kind enough to let the group spent the night in the carpeted dining hall. My first night in sleeping bag had more twist to it. Late in the night, I was jolted out of slumber by sound of droplets. After 3 days of incessant rain, the roof the dining hall had started leaking. These are rain shadow areas, which rarely receive rain.

By morning rain had reduced to light drizzle. While we had breakfast, the vehicles went to Tandi, which is just 8 km from Keylong, to get fuel. The petrol pump at Tandi has a signboard saying next petrol pump is 365 km away (which is not correct as you will find at least one next day – probably at Pang). Vehicles by default had to tank up here. As the pump was close when we had crossed it previous night, our vehicles went to Tandi in the morning for fuel. While one vehicle managed to come back safely, two other got stuck in a landslide and could come back only around 3pm. We made a sizeable contribution to the economy of Keylong by shopping that day. However, a clear sky and bright sunshine after noon cheered us up. But we were facing the prospect of losing an entire day.

Get, set, go : almost there

Darcha is about 30 km from Keylong. There we found that the Darcha - Padum trek now actually starts at Palamu. A motorable road now exists till Palamu. One of the dhaba owners at Darcha told us to look for the horseman named Norbu at Chikka village. A young fella at Chikka helped us to locate Norbu. The young fella is studying at Bangalore. He will certainly make his remote village proud one day, not Norbu who later ditched us.

Lessons in camping

Most of us were new to long distance trekking. Spending few days of my life in tents sounded interesting experience to me. I had no idea as to what are types of tents; forget about know-how on how they are to be pitched.

My initiation to camping started at 12000 feet in the darkness of a night at Palamu. Moon was yet to rise. Under a starry sky with flashing torchlight all around, I was introduced to basic of pitching tents. By 7:30 pm, we had finished dinner and got cozy in the comfort our sleeping bags. Songs of labourers at a BRO camp in distance wafted in. It died down after some time. The silence and tranquility drifted us into early slumber.

Only when we poked our heads out of tents next morning we could see the beauty of the campsite at Palamu. It lay by the side of a gentle stream, with tents pitched on both side of it. Snow capped mountains stands majestically all around. A small hotel and couple of BRO camps and road construction equipment dotted the scene.

After spending 7 nights in tents and having seen several types of tents during those days, I now can confidently pitch at least 2 types of tents.

An odyssey through wilderness

After a blissful night at Palamu, everyone was cheered up by beautiful weather and surrounding. A group photo together signaled the flag off. Target was Zanskar Sumdo – gentle 1500 feet climb over 8 km. The temporary shelters set up by BRO labourers at Palamu, turned out to be last human habitation for next few days. The humans we met in next few days were trekkers, and occasional locals and horseman. It was absolute wilderness, unspoilt nature.

“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and

untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and

explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” – G K Chesterton

Day 2 of the trek continues. We had lost the track and were struggling to find our way to the top of a hill. Half an hour struggle eventually took us to the top. We were relived to found the track. A long break helped to recuperate from the high altitude breathlessness and giddiness.

Tracking resumed through absolute wilderness. Breathtaking landscapes kept unfolding before us as we went deeper and higher into Zanskar. The canvas of nature kept changing with sun playing hide and seek. Soon we were above snow line. Because of torrential rains in last couple of days, snow line was quite lower. The landscape now mostly consists of snow capped mountains and valleys, while an icy cold river with turquoise water flows down below. The footpath was narrow but well defined, generally by the edge of hills. Because of rains, track had given in at many stretches and had ominous appearance. Often I took a deep breath, remembered everyone and went ahead, leaving everything to almighty. Occasionally, I looked back at such stretches to fathom how dangerous it was. Every successful crossing boasted my confidence. Having someone’s company at such stretches ups your confidence. But at times, when you are all alone, the thought of ‘if I slip and fall no one would even know’ tends to send chill down the spine. It is always good to track in close groups. But often it happens that good walkers disappear in distance while slower ones falls half hour behind you. Couple of hours down the line, I found to have fallen behind with no one to be seen either ahead or after me.

Silence of the Mountains

I had fallen back by giving company to an ailing teammate whose condition was detoriating with height. When help arrived in form of experienced teammate, I resumed tracking. Soon I found that those ahead of me had already disappeared in the hills ahead while those behind me were also hidden from my sight. I was left all alone in mountains.

I continued walking enjoying the company of the mountains standing majestically. Whenever I sat down for break, the tranquility of the surroundings engulfed me. Living in crowded cities we had forgotten such calmness. Just 4 days of travelling from Delhi had taken me into such wilderness and tranquility which we thought do not exists anymore. It’s a different world out here.

The eerie silence can also make you uneasy. Beneath the calmness of these mountains lie the powers of nature to be destructive. These are quite young mountains. The moraines and abraded debris on their faces often gave you a feel that heavy rains or a shake of earth can bring many of them down. You can easily understand how the Leh cloud burst catastrophe of 2009 took place. An unknown fear crept into my mind. I suddenly felt that it is not safe to be alone in such absolute wilderness. I often listen to my inner voice. A longer break ensured that couple of guys from trailing team had arrived for company.

Lesson learnt. Day 2 of track continued. In high mountains weather often changes after 2pm and hence while going up one should look to finish around that time. We were running slightly behind schedule. The weather had indeed changed around 3pm and a cloud cover brought icy cold winds. It took us almost 8 hours to reach the campsite. The sight was not very pleasant. Almost 15000 feet and there was snow all around. Tents were pitched clearing snows. It was damp, wet ground and pretty cold out there. Once inside the tent, you never felt like coming out. My appetite had disappeared. Couple of guys had developed fever. Most of us did not have dinner that night. My PS camera had stopped working because of low temperature. I tried to save my DSLR from moisture by keeping it warm. The worst possible experience was getting relieved in the morning. Touching water will make your hand numb. But somehow I managed to do it – at 15000 feet - an experienced I will not forget.

A tiring day had come to an end. The sore point of that day’s event was the sending back of a team member. He had fallen victim to High Altitude Sickness (HAS). He had shown symptom of severe headache from Rohtang and was having mild fever by day 2. The exertion he applied to climb the hill face worsened his condition. Team leaders had decided to send him back as he was in no position to track ahead. Tugging him alone would have jeopardized the entire trip. We all felt bad for him. Most of us had carried Diamox in kit, and had planned to use it at Darcha / Palamu before the climb to the pass. Diamox has 2 days gestation period. But after learning about severe side effects of Diamox, none of us used it.

Day 3 of track. It was critical to success of the expedition as we had to cross the Shingo La pass. We appeared to have lost our luck with weather. Bright sunshine of past two days had gone and a gloomy, cloudy and ominous looking weather greeted us that morning. It was not looking good at all.

We were told about possibility of heavy snow at the pass by locals at Keylong because of incessant rains and had kept our fingers crossed. There had been bright sunshine for 2 days and we hoped that one more days sunshine would melt enough snow to make the passage of Shingo La easy for us. At the Zanskar Sumdo campsite, we met a European group, who had tried for two days in a row to cross the pass, but had to come back because of heavy snow. They decided to wait another day at Zanskar Sumdo.

Keeping our fears aside, we started the upward climb. Target was more daunting than day before – a climb from 15000 to 16700 feet and then come down to 14000 feet. We were in point of no return. The weather kept changing as we climbed. It had even drizzled for few minutes on the way. But when we were close to the pass, sunshine was back. The weather god had smiled at us again. The second good news appeared in the form of a group of locals coming from the other side. They had informed that snow is about 1 foot and they could easily cross it. We met at least two trekking teams coming from the other side on our way up. This had cheered us up. Mules would create a visible track on the snow for trekkers to use.

Climbing up was tough. Altitude was higher and air was lighter than day before. It required lot of exertion and our physical endurance was severely tested. Every step at that height required effort. Often looking up to see how much more to climb would scare you. I found a way to handle it - took 15-20 steps at a time without looking up, take a break to catch your breadth and resume. A good climber would make it to the top in 4-5 hours. But it took most of us almost 6 hours to reach the top. The entire area was covered in a white blanket. Snow was about calf deep, but mule tracks were clearly visible. Negotiating slippery snows, we had finally reached the official Shingo la top.

At 16700 feet, for a first timer is quite an achievement. We congratulated each other. The sense of achievement evaporated the fatigue. The pangs and toils endured were worth the result. Standing at the top, I thanked God, remembered my loved ones – my family. I don’t know whether I will take another such arduous trek and will come to that kind of height again. The moments got captured in our mind for ever and in cameras for others to feel it.

Climbing down to camp took another 5 hours. Descend was also tough because of snow. The side from Lakhang appeared much steeper to me. Most European trekkers cross the pass from Lakhang side, then from Chumik Napo side. For some unknown reasons, our team leaders had decided to set up the camp that at lower Lakhang. This made our trek that day killing. Most people setup camp at upper Lakhang. Lower Lakhang is another hour’s trek from upper Lakhang. We had trekked 11 hours that day, in addition to crossing the pass. Lot of curse was showered on the non-existent leadership that day. Dead tired, I went another night without dinner.

Day 4 of track. It was the most pleasant of all, almost like day 1. Though we had tracked for almost 16 km that day, it was generally through valleys and there was hardly any steep climb. As we were walking through valleys and moraines, it involved crossing many river / streams. It was difficult to keep your feet dry. My investment in Quechua shoes was worth every rupee spent. However I had injured my left thigh while trying to jump across a heavy stream that day. That nagging pain kept troubling me in the coming days, despite pain killers. After 8 hours walk, we had reached Kargyak village, the first human habitation after 5 days. The village has a satellite phone. Some of us called up their homes after 5 days to let families know about their safety. News of rain, landslides and cloud burst around Manali had left the families worried. It was soothing to hear voices of your loved ones after 5 days when you were totally cut off from the rest of the world.

Kargyak is a big village by its remoteness. Villagers cultivate jaw, Potato and Peas. Water is not a problem at those places, but land without stone is at premium. We had talked with couple of villagers who said they grow enough food to last the year. They also get subsidized rice and kerosene from administration. The area is devoid of forestation to provide any firewood. Campsite at Kargyak was about 1 km further from village center by a health centre. It was very windy. We felt as if our tens would get blown away.

Day 5 of track. Bodies were tired, but spirits were not. Every morning we wake up with new vigor. Target for day was Purne – 20 km away, but involves continuous climb and descent. We expected another daunting day in the field. Sun was blazing. The umbrellas that we bought for rain had come very handy in saving us from the sun. You could get serious sunburn in 5 minutes flat. Seeping water regularly was the key to prevent dehydration. Occasionally it was windy and dusty. A shopkeeper at Manali gave a useful piece of advice - to get a scarf and apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) to nostrils to protect from the fine invisible dust in Zanskar.

We were walking much below snowline. Snow capped mountains got hidden from view. Landscape devoid of any vegetation had started to become monotonous. En-route we had stopped at a village named Teesta. It also has a satellite phone.

Few minutes in a Ladakhi village

Almost around noon we had reached Teesta village and decided to have a brief break. When we arrived, it sported a deserted look. We found the house with satellite dish. But there was no one to talk. We decided to wait.

A typical village 5-10 houses, made of bricks and mud. Kargyak was a much bigger village with more houses. Roof is used to store cow dung cakes and fodder for animals. Villages are surrounded by farm lands where locals cultivate jaw, potato and peas. In the first half of the day, most humanfolk are out in the fields, either attending farm or gathering fodder for cattle. Thus village generally remains deserted. Yak is their main cattle, besides mules, goat and sheep. Yaks serve them even after its productive life is over. Every parts of yak are used. True Yaks can be seen only in these higher altitudes. (Villagers down below had produced an ugly hybrid of cow and yak. What do you call it – Yaow)

After a brief wait at Teesta, a young guy appeared in the scene. He could communicate in Hindi. We asked him about using the village satellite phone. They normally allow for a small payment. He led us to the house having the phone. The dark room was pretty cool and provided welcome succor from the heat outside. Corruption and greed had not touched these people yet. And hence they won’t fleece you for using the phone which is a luxury in such remoteness. I spoke to my family on a satellite phone by paying just 20 rupees.

Soon more people appeared and interacted with us. They spoke about tough life out in these terrains. All these areas will soon be snowed out and links with rest of the world will get cutoff for 5-6 months. Occasional house had got a solar light. Most of them cultivate enough to feed the entire year. They also get highly subsidized rice and kerosene oil. These areas are devoid of any trees, and hence firewood. Cow dung cakes are main source of fuel.

Indian tourist rarely came this way. The kids would generally make a beeline with folded hands asking for toffees whenever they see trekkers. Looking at them made me wonder about their world. No education, no power, no TV. They live in different world, a world way back in time. Standing among them you would fell as if time had come to a standstill.

Day 5 of trek to Purne resumed. Another couple of hours walk and we were on the outskirt of Purne where we had to make a choice. While the trek continues upward, another trek goes down steeply to a bridge on Kargyak River. There was no road sign and no one to ask. A campsite could be seen on hill opposite the river which would tempt you to take the downward path. But the sight of deep descent and the prospect of climbing that up again if you make the wrong choice had made us wait. A volunteer went down and had figured out that we need to go down and cross the river to reach Purne campsite. It is a steep descent and then climb up again about 100 feet. Purne turned out to be the best camp site on the route. Most trekkers stay for two nights and take the side trip to Phuktal monastery. Purne campsite had shops which even sells beer and cold drinks.

Washing off hands and faces at a stream nearby had a soothing effect on the entire body. It felt like ages since we had touched water for more than a few seconds. That night, we sat under a clear night sky and sipped tea at the tea stall of the campsite. The sky resplendent with stars was magnificent at night. I have seen such a clear night with sky full of stars after a long time. After a long time we went to sleep around 10 pm. For the last few days we had been sleeping latest by 8 pm.

Day 6 of track. We were delighted to know that we need not go up the steep path by which we came down previous evening. We had to continue along a new route by the river. Both the treks eventually met somewhere. This trek turned out to be even harder than the Kargyak – Purne one. Climbs were much steeper so do descends. We wondered as to whether we were really going down. Sun was again at its blazing best. By 3 pm we made it to Pipula, a small campsite with a hotel. We had to take a call whether to go further to Ichar which is another 3 hours away. Most of the team had blisters in their foot, because of the hot and tiring trek of previous day. I got 8 in all despite my breathable Quechua. Blisters had got aggravated by another days of strenuous trek. Thus we had decided to halt at Pipula for the night. Then came another twist. Norbu, the horse contractor had decided to not to go any further. He had picked up some fight – a drunken brawl previous night at Purne. One of his friends had a plastered nose. He apparently had some conciliation to attend that night. We were not convinced with his explanation. However no amount of persuasion made him changed his mind. It is difficult to persuade hill tribes. Fortunately, the campsite owner at Pipula had offered to drop us at Ichar with his horses.

We pitched our tent for the night at Pipula. Though a swift flowing Tsarp river next to the camp ground provided some appeal, this campsite was the worst of all. It is devoid of any grass and full of pebbles. Knowing that this would be our last camp, we had arranged for a campfire. It was another very windy night.

Day 7 of track. It took 3 hours for us to reach Ichar. We bid adieu to the wilderness where we had spent last one week. A well built bridge across Tsarp River landed us on a motorable road. The road construction from Radu had reached almost Ichar. One day (some 10 – 15 years from now) this road will reach Zanskar Sumdo, the point where we lost the track on day 2)

Couple of guys decided to go to Radu, some 8-9 km from Ichar to find a vehicle to take us to Padum. Others waited at Ichar with tents and equipments. We had a mini picnic by having lunch on the road itself with all remaining ration. While waiting on the road a BRO mini truck came from Radu. The driver told that he would return in the afternoon. The truck returned around 3 pm. It was going back to Padum. We all got jumped into its back with tents and equipments. A bumpy ride on its back for 30 km landed us at the town of Padum. The track had reached its logical end. Instead of Darcha – Padum, it is now a Palamu – Ichar trek.

Back to a chaotic world

Thomas Jefferson once said “I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it” . 

I am used to remain cutoff from world for upto 3 days, but this time it had been much longer.On the way to Padum we had discussed about the fate of Anna’s fast. The last we were in touch with the outside world was at Keylong about a week back. Anna was to start his fast that day and we saw visuals of him arrested before we left for Darcha. We kept searching for mobile signals as we approached Padum. BSNL networks works at Padum, and only postpaid phones are allowed in JK.

It took us another two days to reach Leh via Kargil via Rangdum. En-route we had crossed the Penzila pass (14000 feet) and got to see the breathtaking view of Darung Durang glacier and the peaks of Nun and Kun. Details of Padum – Kargil – Leh leg of the trip is provided on my earlier post. An early morning flight from Leh brought a tired but rejuvenated body back to Delhi. The scale showed that I had lost 5 kilos in last 10 days.

Clay lies still, but blood’s a rover;

Breath’s aware that will not keep.

Up, lad: when the journey’s over

then there’ll be time enough to sleep. - A.E. Housman

For next one week or so, whenever I slept, in my dreams the the mountains kept coming back. I often waked up with scenes like I am climbing a hill and I had a still a long way to go. A journey of a lifetime had come to an end. But I know that I will be back in those mountains.

Darcha – Padum Trek : Information update

The Darcha – Padum trek through absolute wilderness of Zanskar provides a rare opportunity to see some breathtaking landscape, especially in the upper regions. It generally takes 9-10 days to complete this trek which involves crossing the Shingo La pass (16700 feet). Technically this is called a moderate trek. Unless you are a seasoned trekker or mountaineer, let me assure that, it is not easy to trek in those rarefied mountains and to complete it you will have to go beyond your limits of physical endurance.

This is a very popular trek with European tourist, who generally takes it from Padum side. We had met 2 to 3 large group of Europeans everyday, few couples (with a guide) including a daredevil cyclist couple of Germany and lone trekker Mike from Poland. On enquiry with agents accompanying the groups, we found that we were the only Indian group this year on the trek. Though it is still known as Darcha – Padum trek, it has effectively reduced to Palamu – Ichar trek, cutting down two days of trekking, one each at both ends. Government of India is trying to build an alternate motorable road on this route which will cut the distance between Manali and Kargil. The road on Darcha side has been constructed to a little beyond Zanskar Sumdo. But small vehicles can go only upto Palamu. Only BRO trucks currently can ply between Palamu and Zanskar Sumdo. One can easily get a lift upto Zanskar Sumdo in a truck, which will cut down another day of trekking.

Darcha is on the Manali – Leh road. It is about 30 km from Keylong town, the HQ of Lahaul – Spiti. A little beyond Darcha, you leave the main road and take the diversion to Chika village and Palamu. There is good amount of BRO activity at Palamu which also is the first campsite. It is a picturesque location by a small stream. At around 11000 feet, it is not very cold either.

The second day camp is setup at Zanskar Sumdo. A small stream meets the Zanskar river at  a little distance form the campsite. Sumdo means confluence.  Real trekking starts from Zanskar Sumdo which is around 12500 feet.  Here you leave the valley and start climbing to the base camp site Chumik Napko or (Chumik Napo). On crossing river near campsite one faces two option -- the BRO road on left which look enticing and the mule trek on right ( to be serched carefully). Don't take the BRO road as meets a dead end after some time.


Reaching Chumik Napko involves 6-7 hours trekking. Apparent distance is about 14km. In hills distance is not measured in kilometers but hours. The climb is tough with mostly ascends. You will get a beautiful valley with snow capped mountains all around. Though the claimed altitude of Chumik Napko is 15000 feet, my Casio ABT watch showed a little beyond 14000. I had a general feeling that heights mentioned in most sites are inflated. This is well above snow lines. We had to set up our camp clearing snows (Aug 18, 2011).

The climb to the Shingo La pass from Chumik Napko would take 4-5 hours. To seasoned climbers, this climb may not seem harsh, but for newbie like us it was tough. It involves only ascends, some of which were steep. Snow makes it slippery and dangerous. The higher you go, the more breathlessness you feel. None of us had taken Diamox as we were warned about the serious side effects of it. The pass was covered in around 1 feet snow, but fortunately the trek was visible, courtesy couple of teams which had crossed it earlier on the day. The official height of the pass is 16700 feet. But if I had to believe my watch, it is around 16000 feet. There is no official signpost proclaiming the height as 16700 feet. Around the pass, you get to see small semi frozen lake and the majestic view of a glacier with two rivers originating from it n either side.

The climb to the pass from Lakhang side appeared much steeper to me. The camp at Lakhang can be set either a couple of kilometer once you climbed down from top to a valley or onto a second valley further down below. The valley below where our camp was set is another hour of walk. The trek from Chumik Napko to lower Lakhang was one of the most tiring experience for us as it took almost 10-11 hours. Altitude of Lakhang is around 14000 feet, but it is well below snow line. 

Lakhang to Kargyak was the best part of the trek as you walk on the valley most of the time. The apparent distance is about 20 km. It will take about 7-8 hours through lot of river beds and dusty trails under a blazing sun. This was the only stretch where it was difficult to avoid getting your feet wet because of large no of streams. Most of us had got blisters that day. Kargyak is the first human habitation you would meet after 4/5 days of trekking. It is a relatively big village and has a satphone. You can call up your home from here. You need to go upto the village to find the phone. The household with phone can easily be identified from the satellite dish and solar panel. The camp is set about a kilometer beyond the village.

Next stop on the trek is Purne. Enroute you pass a couple of villages and small settlement. The trek is along right bank of the river till you reach a village after a couple of hours where you cross a well built bridge. From thereafter you trek along left side of the river finally crossing it again near Purne. About 4 hours from Kargyak, you would reach Teesta village which also have a satphone. I called up my home from here. The trek involves constant ups and downs and hence is tiring. You would also be walking under a blazing sun which can easily drain you out. When you approach Purne, you need to leave the main trek and go down a steep path to cross the river to reach the campsite.

Purne is a nicely managed campsite. You feel good to camp on a village having humans around after 5/6 days. Many tourists stay here for two nights and take the side trip to Phuktal monastery from here. The round trip takes around 6-7 hours. You always need to add couple of hours to the estimate given by locals simply because you can not move at their speed.

We had our next and last camp at Pipula. This is a small dhaba / hotel with a small campsite. The site is not good because it lacks grass and is full of pebbles. Purne to Pipula is also lots of ups and downs and hence not easy, specially when your legs are tired after 5/6 days of trekking. The distance is about 15-16 km, i.e. 6-7 hours trekking. If you are not tired, then you can camp at Ichar which is another 2-3 hours from Pipula. By this time the landscape become too monotonous. The hills are devoid of vegetation will not make you take out your camera out. The landscape in upper region was stunning, but not here.

On our arrival at Pipula, we were delighted to see BRO vehicles on the hill across the Tsarp river. Construction of road from Padum side has reached this far. Construction was started around 2002. In another 10-15 years you may get a motorable road from Darcha to Padum across Shingo La pass. This will also bring development to these desolate locations. It may also change the face of tourism. Instead of trekking, you may get home stays then. May be road will be built on one side of the river, while the existing trek on other side will remain a trekking route.

On our final morning we had trekked to Ichar. It took 2-3 hours. After a couple of hours wait there, we got into a BRO truck that took us to Padum via Radu. The road from Radu to Padum is metalled. Ichar to Radu is about 8-9 km and Radu – Padum is about 20km. By taking lift, we had killed another day of trekking. There is no point trekking on motorable road. Neither the landscape is that great to inspire you to continue on foot.

Padum is a decent size town with hotels and restaurants. It was the old capital of Zanskar. It is serving as business centre to many remote areas around. There also is a JKTDC facility. Taxis and buses to Kargil are available here. Also all postpaid mobile connections works here. Besides the Padum - Darcha trek, another popular trail - the Padum - La Maruyu trek starts here.

Some of the names of places I had mentioned here may differ from other website. The names mentioned by me here is based on actual experience or names as written on those places. Like, many sites had written as Reru, but it is Radu (pronounce as Ra Ru). Further, many website had mentioned Padum – Leh distance as 138 km. This is ridiculous. To reach Leh, you need to go via Kargil. Distance between Padum to Kargil is almost 250 km and requires 10-11 hours drive. The road is bad, non metalled. You cross the Penzila pass (14000 feet) en-route. You also get to the stunning view of Darung Durang glacier on the way. There is only one place to eat on the route – Rangdum. You do not have option to be choosy. Eat whatever you get. If have started late from either end (Padum or Kargil) it will be a better option to spend the night here. There are couple of facilities including a tented campus here. If you are close to Kargil, then one of the cost effective way of spending the night is a Malla Guest house, located at Lankerchey, 35 km from Kargil or 5 km from Sankoo village. This is a family run home which offers bed @200 rupees. This appeared to be a popular stopover for trekkers on this route.

Finally, Kargil – Leh is another 6-7 hours drive. This road provides some breathtaking landscape besides the famous stretch of Magnetic Road. One should ask the websites claiming Padum – Leh as 138 km as to how they have compressed 400+ kilometers journey of two days into just 138 km?

(Trek done from 16th to 24th August, 2011)

Darcha - Padum Trek : A dream coming true

Sometimes it becomes difficult to control your emotions and excitement in the build up to a trip. I have been planning a trip to Ladakh for last couple of years. It could not materialize mainly for one reason – I always wanted to do a road trip on the famous Manali – Leh road, at least one way. But that was not possible with family in tow. Other possibility was that of family travelling both ways by air, while I take only one and travel by road for the other.  Travelling by road for two days alone would be very boring. Thus one need partner for the road trip. Getting two families to undertake this journey in that way became even harder.

This had drastically changed in last 10 days or so. I got an opportunity to be part of ONGC Himalayan Association’s annual trek for 2011. This is a trek where colleagues from locations all across India take a high altitude trek. The trek will be flagged off on14th August, 2011 at Dehradun, which is celebrated as ONGC Day. I felt extremely lucky to have nominated for this years trek. And what a trek it turned out to be – the Darcha – Padum trek in Zanskar. This means I would actually be walking almost half of the Manali – Leh. It is an eight day trek of about 100 km which will finally end at Leh around 25^th August, 2011.

This is nothing but a dream comes true. I will try to make it a photographic journey. I have never been out trekking with camp stay. The longest trip for me till now is the trip to the Valley of Flowers in 2008. From what I have read in the net, the Darcha - Padum trek would start around 12-13K feet and would be going to a maximum height of 16,700 feet. All camps are likely to be around 13K feet. I have been to 14K feet twice. So it would be quite an experience for me – no lights, minimal food, no toilets, and above all trek around 15-20 km everyday. Going through a fitness routine in last few days, I felt that mental toughness is equally important to undertake such a trek. My dream will keep egging me on. 

I would like to thank all who had helped me to come this closer to a dream – my wife and daughter who had agreed to let me go alone and Naved sir for nominating me. I hope to get lot of good photos and memories for all of you. I wish God almighty will help me living through the dream in next 20 days. 

Pangot : Driving through clouds

Hovering clouds and cool breeze greeted us almost halfway on the Kaladhungi – Nainital road. It was a pleasant respite from the shearing Delhi heat. Not much have changed on the Kaladhungi – Nainital road since my last visit about 5 years back except for the entry fee to Nainital has doubled to 100 bucks. This is more than any single toll one pay for the Delhi – Jaipur expressway. Such type of open looting of tourists by government agencies is one reason why I hate Uttarakhand hill stations. Can anyone explain on what authority the Nagar Palika collects money, that too a substantial amount. To me it is penalty for taking pains to visit Uttarakhand. One would be better off visiting Kerala which to me is the most tourist friendly state in India.

My stay for the night was planed for Vinayak. I wanted to avoid Nainital which must be buzzing with tourists in this summer. Therefore, instead of going down to Nainital, we took the left turn immediately after the toll post. This road goes to Kunjakharak via Kilbury, Pangot and Vinayak. I had booked my stay at the Vinayak FRH which is about 22km from Nainital. For most part it was an uphill drive where occasional clouds and rains greeted us. Driving through clouds and desolate hills, we had reached Pangot, a small hamlet located some 16 km from Nainital. My altimeter said that we had reached an altitude of 6350-6400 feet.

With the impending rain in mind, I had enquired at Pangot about the distance to Vinayak. The response was mixed – from 3 to 6 kilometers. I decided to continue as I had at least an hour before dark. Barely a kilometer further my drive was stopped by the sight of a landslide ravaged stretch of about 100 meters. Given the clouds hovering above and the condition of the stretch, it was apparent that a heavy rain would easily block this stretch and we may get stuck next day. Pangot is the last substantial human habitation on the route. As there is not much human habitation or vehicular movement beyond Pangot, a landslide may take some time to be cleared. I had to reach Corbett next day and Corbett was more important to me than Vinayak. So we decided to return to Pangot.

There is a grocery shop at Pangot on the main road which also serves as kind of meeting / waiting point for locals commuting to other places. A road branches out from this point, down to the main village. Pangot is being promoted as a birding paradise. Many private resorts have come up in the area and all of them are located close to the main road. We decided to check the Janardan Resort, located barely 50 meters from the shop. Built out of carving on a hill face, this is a small property with six double room cottages. On climbing up the stairs, the place exuded a mystique charm with a majestic view of greenery and hills around. The manager asked for price of 1500 which was bargained down to 1400. This is quite decent price given the rates of some other resorts on the area which has a net presence. In India, anything available on net is always costlier and hence I almost always travel without prior booking. Besides being cheaper it also gives me the flexibility to check habitability of the place. I had enquired with Jungle Lore Birding Lodge which asked 4500 per night for a couple with all meals. Kafal House asked 3500 for same package. Both asked around 1000 extra for child. Paying 5000 for such remote place sounds ridiculous to me. If you go to Pangot for a day, then you will at most have a dinner and breakfast, not all three meals. Thus it would be advisable to bargain a price without meals.

Pangot turned out to be a very peaceful location. Most of vehicles seen on the main road went down to the Pangot village. Only a handful continued towards Kunjakharak. The resort provided a beautiful view of the hills and jungles of the surrounding hills. Sitting on the verandah of the cottage we watched birds and people that went past in the distance. What kept us engrossed is the tranquility of the place. The greenery all around, which got engulfed in clouds that kept flowing past us from time to time. On occasions the clouds devoured our resort as well making it very cold.

As expected it had rained heavily at night. It got quite cold during the night. We did not carry any warm cloths as we did not expect it to get that cold. Imagine shivering in peak May summer. In the morning we had decided to explore the area around. We went down a British era trek that leads to a village and a temple down. The trek starts right opposite the resort. But because of clouds and accompanying rains / moisture we could not explore much. Contrary to what I read somewhere on net, there were birds. Waking up before sunrise, I saw many varieties. Unfortunately I could hardly recognize any. Most birds disappeared by 7 am.

After a decent breakfast, we decided to head out for Ramnagar en-route to Corbett. The distance between Ramnagar and Pangot is around 70 km. Driving down was a real challenge as visibility was down to barely 50 feet because of dense cloud cover. I was actually scared and stopped at one place for visibility to improve. We had given Nainital town a complete miss despite being very close as we wanted a peaceful outing rather than touristy one. We liked Pangot a lot and we will try to make a comeback to this place for a longer stay.

To end : Janardan Resort turned out to be VFM. Not a luxury property, but it is decent with clean rooms and running hot water and electricity. We were charged only 250 rupees for the dinner and breakfast. You can not expect much of menu option to eat in such remote places, but it was home cooked food served hot by the manager – cum –cook. He also cooked the Maggie we carried with us. I recommend it.

(Journey undertaken on 26th may, 2011)

Go Wild at Kanha and Bandhavgarh

Back from a fantastic trip to the Mowgli’s country. The twin trip to Kanha and Bnadhavgarh was part of a wildlife photography workshop by Nature Wanderers in association with Canon. Named ‘Canon Go Wild’, the workshop was conducted by ace wildlife photographer and naturalist Kahini Ghosh Mehta, Shivang Mehta and Udai Shringi.

In a long time I had undertaken a trip without having to do any planning. Normally I do the planning and research part for my trips, even for friends who had travelled with me. This time, I just paid the money and got tugged along wherever the group went. I was not even aware of the train I would be coming back till last day. All that was in mind for those 5 /6 days was just jungle and photography.

The trip started with an 18 hr train travel from Delhi to Jabbalpur. The 5 hours travel of 190 km to Mukki gate of Kanha was covered in comfortable AC vehicles. We were put up at the luxurious Infinity Resort at both Kanha and Bandhavgarh. Everything was arranged by Nature Wanderers nicely to let the participants concentrate only about photography and enjoying the trip. The tough part was getting up everyday at 4 am to get ready to leave by 5. Specially when every evening people would sit late discussing about photographs or events of the day or editing photographs. To do that continuously for 4 days was tough.

In all we had six safaris – 3 each at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. On two days we had spent almost the full days inside the jungle, only getting out for lunch breaks. Kanha allows you to be inside for longer duration – morning 5:45am to 11am and evening 3:45pm to 6:45pm. The timings for Bandhavgarh were shorter – morning 5:45am to 9:45am and evening 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Morning safaris at both places had been fantastic, but evening one mostly disappointing. Because of the rising mercury, even birds were hardly sighted in the afternoon safaris. In all 12 tigers were sighted by the group. My count is 6 – three each at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. That made my total sight count 8 in 2011. For three years I tried in vain at Corbett to get sight of the king. Now in just two months I met 8 of those majestic animals.

Kanha is difficult to access. Nearest railhead is Jabbalpur (140-190km depending on entry point you choose). Also because of its huge size of nearly 2000sqm, tiger sighting is lower. We saw wild dogs (dhol), Indian Bisons (Gaud) and Barashingas there apart from the normal spotted deer, sambhars and langurs. Bandhavgarh is easier to access. Nearest railheads are Umaria (34km) and Katni (95km). It probably provides the best opportunity to see wild tigers in India. The 9 tigers spotted by our team in 3 safaris is an indication of it. Not everyone was that lucky, but the worst count was 2. It is also excellent for birding as team was able to capture shots of serpent eagle with kill, king vulture in flight, etc.

The final morning saw everyone taking their best shots. The best being a tiger mating shot. Everyone returned happy from the trip. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for most of the participant. I had upgraded my equipment for the trip. I would sum up the 4 days as under –

Day 1 : I shoot monkeys and deer like most people with a camera do, but may be with better composition

Day 2 : I had stopped shooting monkeys and grazing deer

Day 3 : I had started understanding the importance of capturing moments and making photos like we do for normal photography

Day 4 : I had actually captured moments. I was proud of my shots on final day

To end it this is probably the best moment I had captured:

Sariska : face to face with the king

Forewarning : Sariska is actually bigger in total area than Rantahmbore NP or Corebtt NP. But it has only 6 tigers. Getting to see a tiger in the wild is always 99% luck. The jungle in the safari area is generally of dry type with very little cover of bigger trees. A safari often means scouting the jungle under a blazing sun and dust. Thus if you do not get to see a tiger, you may feel terrible. You may even feel whether the park has any wildlife!

Location:

The park is located around 38 km from Alwar on the Alwar- Jaipur SH13. The road condition of last 5-6 km to the park is very bad. Not much traffic, but you will get some big trucks plying on the highway.

Driving direction:

Leave the NH8 at Dharuhera. You need to get off the highway just before you get onto the flyover. This is a point where the local bus stand is and you will see lot of crowd. After a couple of hundred meters, you will take another left turn to get away from the crowd and onto the main road, which is NH71B to Bhiwadi. There are no raod signs though. Another couple of kilometers down on this road you need to turn right for SH25 to Alwar. Road directions are virtually non-existent and hence you need to ask people around. The road to Alwar is a mix bag. Widening of highway is on. Wherever the job has been completed, driving is a pleasure. On reaching outskirt of Alwar, you will get a round about with Ashok Leyland logo. Turn left here and continue on SH25. Do not take the road straight which appears to head into the city. If you search in Goggle map for direction, then they will show this straight road. It is actually closed under the railway line for some construction. Turning left at the Ashok Leyland circle; proceed about 4-4.5km where you will have to turn right to get into the city. Keep moving ahead, cross a flyover and then turn left when you reach Bhagat Singh circle. Statue of Bhagat Singh would be visible to you. Turning left at this point keep moving straight till reach a forked road. Fortunately there is a road sign here. The right road of the fork moves upward into a hillock. This is the road to Sariska. This is road MDR27 (major district road). Somewhere ahead it will meet SH13.

Driving from Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, the total distance clocked on my odo was 219km. From Gurgaon it took about 3 hours.

Accomodation:

The RTDC run Hotel Tiger Den is located close to the park gate and next to the safari booking office campus. The only other hotel Sariska Palace is also located close to the booking office. Sariska Palace is a luxury resort. Tiger Den is ideally located and reasonably priced. It provides best value for money for budget travelers. I saw another resort named Sariska Tiger Camp on way from Alwar. This is located quite far away, around 15-20 from the park.

Safari at Sariska:

The best chance of meeting the king is by a jeep safari. Though one is allowed to enter the park in your own vehicle, you are required to stick only to the carpeted main road. Private vehicles are not allowed to go on the kutcha roads or the core areas. It is not that tiger is not seen by the main road, but the possibility of getting to see the tiger in your private car is near to nill. In fact one of my colleagues had seen it close to the main road.

The cost for a jeep safari is as under (as on 19.03.2010):

         Rs.1050 -- hiring charges for the jeep (compulsory)

         Rs.250 – vehicle entry fee (compulsory)

         Rs.150 -- guide charges (compulsory)

         Rs.60 – entry fee per head. Max 6 person per jeep.

There are enough jeeps for safari. Each safari consists of 3 hours. Morning safaris start at 7am, which is actually quite late. You will be better of taking a late afternoon safari.

Wildlife at Sariska:

The jungle is mainly dry type. There is not much lush green type vegetation or tall trees around. Most common animal seen are Nilgais and Sambher deer. You will also get to see few spotted deer. But the numbers are not very high to excite you. You will also get lots of peacock.



Tiger ST2



The star attraction is the 6 tigers. These tigers have been relocated from Rantahmbore. The current save tiger furor had all started after the revelation that all of 14 odd tigers that once roamed Sariska had been wiped out either by poachers or locals. There are at least 2 villages we saw well inside park. One of them was not very far from where we spotted tigers. People were seen grazing cattle inside. The human – animal conflict is quite apparent here.

Meeting the King:

We took an afternoon safari. The official at counter said that 2 tigers were spotted that morning and hence possibility of seeing them again this evening is quite high. After scouting the jungle for about an hour we had reached the point where Sambhars gather near a waterhole. While enjoying this fairly large of animal, we saw a couple of Gypsies belonging to the forest deptt appearing at high speed from nowhere and disappeared into the jungle other side of the road. The guide and the driver were quick to realize that the forest vehicle had tracking equipment and have got some message of tigers. All gypsies around that area started a cat and mouse chase of the forest deptt cars. It was scene out of a movie. Our driver was finding direction only from the dust left by vehicles. Soon we had reached the spot where forest vehicles have located a tiger. We were almost covered in dust. But happy to locate the foresters with tracking equipment. Other gypsies had started arriving there. As advised by our guide, we waited patiently. He was sure that if there is a tiger, it will come out at around 5pm when the sun goes down behind the hill. Tiger always walks on sides of open roads when they move. He was dead right. Around 5 pm, the first tiger, a female named ST2 appeared in the scene. Everyone was looking in the direction of the forest deptt car which had actually located a tiger. But this one walked into the scene from opposite direction. Even the gypsies in that end did not notice it. Our guide was the first to see and alerted others. Soon there was a commotion. At this the tiger stopped its majestic walk on the road and took a turn around behind the bushes. Meanwhile the other tiger, a male named ST4 also appeared briefly and started moving in the direction from which ST2 had come. It did not come out onto the road, but continued walking behind the bushes close to the road. ST2 made reappearance, this time at our end, providing us unhindered view and a couple of good photographs. Despite the fading light I could a couple of good shots. It was about 100 feet away from our vehicle. Crossing the road, it started to follow the male tiger. The two tigers had been seen in pairs for past couple of days. We had our moments of lifetime. Actually we were lucky to spot the speeding forest vehicle. Couple of minutes on either side, we would have returned empty handed.

Excursion :

There is an old Hanuman temple at Pandupole. This is 21km from the park gate. Most people go their in their private vehicle. You need to pay the vehicle and per head entry fee. The road is intentionally kept bad so that one can not drive above 30. You will get to see few animals on the way as you drive 21 km into the park. There are lots of Langurs in the temple premises. The trip takes about half a day. This is generally not covered in safari. If you come here for an overnight trip, the choice you will have to make is between a morning safari and this trip. You would not miss much if you give it a skip.

Overall experience:

Fantastic if you get to see a tiger. Otherwise read my forewarning. We were lucky to see not one, but two tigers. Sariska is 866 Sq KM as against Corbett 520 Sq KM and Ranthambore 392 Sq KM. We did not see a tiger in two attempts to Corbett (staying once at Dhikala FRH and then at Gairal FRH). Corbett has 160 tigers, yet we did not see any. Sariska has only 6, yet we got to see two. Overall it is a good weekend trip from Delhi (200km) or Jaipur (100km).

Hawa Mahal at night

Hawa mahal -1
Originally uploaded by Rups33

It was an unplanned stopover at Jaipur. On the way back from Ajmer we decided to spend one night at Jaipur as spending two night at Ajmer appeared an unacceptable proposition. This gave me an opportunity to have a fresh shot at the Hawa Mahal, one of the celebrated historical buildings of India. It  was glowing in decent lighting. Actually I had never seen a photo of the Hawa Mahal at night. Most one time tourists to Jaipur get to see it only during daytime. It is worth visiting the market and area around Hawa Mahal at night.

Just back from Ajmer

This is a trip I had been planning for some time. But the 400+ km distance from Delhi was one of the reasons holding me back. The Shatabdi from Delhi leaves at 6 am. Given the fact that we see sunlight these days only around 7 am, one has to get up at unearthly hours in this bitter cold to catch this train. Finally I gathered courage to undertake a driving trip. The trip one way was 410 km. It took us 7 hours to make that distance. I had driven almost 400km many times during my earlier posting. My home town Guwahati and my place of posting Nazira was almost 400km apart. But those were days when I was 10 years younger and did not have the slip disc problem. Anyway, my back hold well for 410 km one way and 860 km round trip drive in 3 days.

Encouraged by this successful endeavor, now I am planning to have another 400 plus km trip. This time to the Rantahmbor national park via Alwar, visiting Sariska on the way, and then may be a return via Bharatpur.