Ladakh Journey | Entrance to Heaven, Nubra Valley

The Journey so far-

Day 5 | 4th, August 2010 | Khardung La – Diskit, Nubra Valley

Remembering the line “Where there is a will, there is a way” and amused by the courage of the one legged men on Khardung La, we marched downhill towards the Khardung village for lunch. As we descend towards North Pullu, the army check post where one has to submit the copy of permits, we could see rocks just hanging on the hills. These rocks can fell any time as the snow is melting beneath them. So, the drive till the spot where a small temple exist, was a bit scary seeing those huge boulders hanging on your head. Our driver Tsewang was an expert of this terrain as he is also used to drive in thick snow of winters for army personnel who keep plying between Nubra Valley and Leh. He knew in-out of these roads and we were confident on him. But, the weather was not so good, the dark clouds kept us following like detectives ;)…

Rainbow of Heaven…:shock:…Magical or Breathtaking…I am confused… Are you??

Then came the North Pullu where we handed over our permits and went on. The Khardung Village was visible after sometime that meant some respite to our friend Deepak :)… He is awake and started enjoying as we kept descending from 18380 feet high Khardung La pass to 14000 odd feet high Khardung Village, which looked like a primitive village for the first views it offered.

Tsewang stopped by a dhabha in the Khardung village, which was near a small gompa (Buddhist temple) of the village. We ordered Thupka, Maggie and mutton soup for my friend Deepak. Nothing tasted great but we had to eat that to satisfy our hunger even though none of us liked it. Finally with the help of a glass of tea we all managed to settle the whole food down into our tummies.

Before the actual account pictures of this part starts, here are some consolation pictures from the previous part…

Dheeraj Sharma

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Distant View of Leh City…

Distant view of Shanti Stupa…

Distant View of Gompa at Top…

Ooopsss me again :shock:…

Yet another road of heaven…

Enjoying Snow at Khardung La…

The North Side of Khardung La…

Yet another road of heaven…

Shadows from heaven…

Khardung Village is nearing…

Child of heaven…In thought process…

Thupka…I think it is called in Ladakh…

Khardung Village in Leh – Ladakh…

Khardung Village in Leh – Ladakh…Black and White Style…

We had to reach Diskit today evening for the night stay and as we were on the way, we witnessed some spectacular views running along the Shyok river. The enchanting beauty en-route Nubra Valley was so mesmerizing that my heart and soul still feel they are lost at that place only. The beauty forced us to change the plans. We decided to spend next half day in Nubra Valley only and instead of going to Pangong Tso lake, we will be staying at Leh. On the third day we will have a day trip to Pangong Lake. This was final now and we just wanted to enjoy breathtaking views of Nubra Valley. Adding to the unmatched beauty were the magnificent colors of Rainbow… None of us saw such scenes before, they were just worth dying for. You can judge it your self from the pictures below…

Shadows from heaven…yet again…

Snow was also present but far away :(…

Magical Colors of a Rainbow so High…

Yet another road of heaven…Do Honk Here ;)…

Yet again… Gang of four…:)

Are these clouds falling from heaven…:roll:

I still remember the left turn towards Diskit as I never saw a road as straight as that one. The right turn leads to Sumur and Panamik which were out of our options and this left straight as an arrow road leads to Diskit, Hunder, Thoise and Turtuk. We didn’t have anything to do or talk about but just to witness the raw nature at its best. None of us wanted to get distracted or disturbed in this live movie offering spectacular views which I tried to capture in my camera…

We are on right path… Hat’s Off to Project Himank…

Are these clouds falling from heaven…:roll:

Got closer…Can you tell me now…:confused:

Soon the green belt of cultivation welcomed us as the Diskit vicinity started but I must admit the final 30 minutes drive alongside the Shyok river was worth spending money for Ladakh trip. I wish I could relive that drive one day with aqua green water flowing in Shyok river, creating music of its own to capture my heart and soul.

Caught from the distance… A falling water stream… or can we call it Waterfall 🙂

Dheeraj Sharma

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Rainbow of Heaven…:shock:…Magical or Breathtaking…I am confused… Are you??

Rainbow of Heaven…Getting Closer… Can you tell now??

Let’s spoil the beauty… Rainbow of Heaven and my friend Neeraj…

Let’s spoil the beauty… Rainbow of Heaven and Me…:D

We entered the Diskit town passing the Diskit Monastery which was closed for the day by the time. There is Diskit local bus stand too just as you take turn towards the village. Tsewang asked us if we wish to go to a Hotel with bar or just any other. He told us that it is the only Hotel with bar and my cousin Saurabh and friend Deepak were quick to catch onto it by nodding him yes. But, I was skeptical on that decision so asked Tsewang to take us to some other hotel. Luckily to my cousin and Deepak there was no easy accommodation available anywhere. We all then agreed to see that Hotel with bar :D…and finally we reached “Hotel Sten Del”, it was the name.

Surprisingly, Hotel Sten Del was a very nice property and we all were surprised 🙄 to find such an accommodation at this remote place called Diskit, Nubra Valley. Hotel was almost vacant and few foreigners were enjoying booze in the bar which was located in the garden… So it seemed to be a popular bar in Diskit :). Well we checked the rooms which were again surprisingly very nice, clean, comfortable and looked cozy too. 🙂 … We bargained and the guy agreed to give us single big room accommodating 4 people for Rs.1400 and was offering single double bed room for Rs 800 as the last price. But, we thought to save Rs 200 😉 and took the big room with 2 double beds. Overall, the hotel had a very nice feel to it with wide garden, an open air bar, a decent size dinning hall topped with pretty views from the terrace.

After some rest it was time for bottles to open up in the garden and let the booze time begin. It started with some Vodka topped with beer some snacks and ended with wifey’s phone call on hotel’s number 😉 … Then, we roam around for sometime and ordered dinner as Dal, Egg Curry and some other non-veg stuff for my cousin and friends 🙁 … Well the dining hall was nice and quality of food was also great. They also let us call our home from the landline BSNL phone which I feel was one of the best facility on hotel in such desolate area can have. At the end after watching TV which had TataSky installed we went to a good night sleep. I would rate the Hotel Sten Del as a must stay when you visit Diskit, Nubra Valley, considering all factors.