BHPian ABHI_1512 recently shared this with other enthusiasts: Ladakh- the name which can lit up the eyes of any traveler and which remained an elusive chapter for me till date, finally happened. But for that to happen, circumstances took a nosedive and then subsequently rose from the ashes to make it an unforgettable one. It was easily the most satisfying trip for me despite the circumstances. Now what circumstances one may ask- read on !! Road trip to Ladakh has always been the in the bucket list. The urge never took shape though partly because of my upbringing in the hills and partly because I was too lazy to plan for a trip like the place demanded. But then, turned out how wrong I was ! The Eastern Himalayas have their own charm but Ladakh is another story altogether. Ladakh compels you to look at life from another angle and from someone else’s eyes. The meaning of life gets a new twist and for a change, the twist was not so bad after all. So, this account of my travel to Ladakh might turn out to be boring and cumbersome, so please bear with me. The actual planning for Ladakh trip started during the month of August when I finalised the dates of the travel. A road trip to Ladakh from Calcutta demands at least fifteen days. And this year, the Durga Pujo celebrations presented the opportunity to have that window. Once dates were decided, it was just a matter of finalising the itinerary and the stay options. So, by the end of August, the final plan was in place and everything booked for. And then came the news of cloudburst in Jammu & Kashmir which killed many people and damaged the roads and highways, primarily the main highway to Srinagar was severely damaged and it was closed to traffic. And subsequently, just after few days, heavy rains resulted in washing away parts of Manali-Leh highway and which resulted in the closure of that road as well. So, by the end of mid September, roads leading up to Leh were blocked from both sides. Authorities tried their best but the intermittent rainfall didn’t help at all. Finally, by the twentieth of September, partial opening of both the roads happened but with restrictions all along. But anyways, it was a relief for me to know that traffic has resumed on the Jammu-Srinagar highway- the stretch worst effected by the cloudburst. My plan was to enter through Srinagar and exit through Manali. So, in a quite way, I was happy. But another issue was lurking in the corner. It came to the fore when the news of unrest in Leh was splashed all over the news. This happened just few days before I was to start my journey. As if the problem with the roads was not enough, this news of unrest almost derailed everything. I contacted the owner of the property at Leh which I had booked, Mr. Tashi Motup and started having regular conversation with him. All this was just some days before my departure. And if all these were not enough, Calcutta received the heaviest rainfall of forty years on September twenty third- just two days before my departure date !! The heavy deluge through the night resulted in submerged cars and it completely paralyzed the city. The heavy rains did not spare Baahon as well and water entered the car but it was restricted to the carpet level only. But it was enough to damage the airbag control module Since it was early morning, tried removing the water inside the cabin by whatever I could. While I was able to remove the water which was visible, the thick sponge under the carpet was soaking wet. Contacted BHPian AJ-GOT-BHP and he assured me that he will get the water removed by using a wet vacuum at his premises. Meanwhile, contacted Ford ASC and scheduled an appointment to get the airbag module changed. The Ford ASC was extremely helpful in getting the module at such short notice and got it fixed the next day. Baahon was serviced as well and all the mandatory checks were done. All this happened just a day before my scheduled departure date. By the morning of twenty sixth September, Baahon was ready to go. After the water scare, now the focus was back to what was happening in Leh. Many people in Calcutta dissuaded me from going to Ladakh but my talk with Mr Tashi Motup was my assurance. He was the one who was providing me with the local inputs as well the government directives. I preferred to believe his inputs more than the news reports that others were following and were guessing everything up. We all anyways know the state of journalism these days. Let some pictures from the trip do the talking for a start here: So, after all the hiccups, the plan of visiting Ladakh was finally underway. Meanwhile, I subscribed to the J&K Traffic Police page on Twitter where they were providing daily updates about the road conditions from Jammu to Srinagar as well as the directives about the traffic restrictions. J&K police had chalked out a plan for small cars where all the small cars were to take the highway from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa on every alternate day. So, I had to keep that in mind as well. And finally, it was the night of twenty sixth September when we embarked on our journey. After the happenings of the past fortnight or so, it was cathartic to find ourselves on the highways finally. Our first stop was to be Agra. Since I was driving a decade old car, I had to skip entering NCR and to bypass it, I had to take the Western Peripheral expressway to get connected to the Katra Expressway to Ambala and onwards. Started late at night, progress was brisk since roads were almost empty because of traffic restrictions until we crossed Topchanchi. The diversions and rains then slowed us down. Too many diversions due to road widening continued to slow down the journey till almost Sasaram. After Sasaram, roads improved and continued to be good till Agra. We reached Agra around nine in the night and straightaway checked into Radisson Agra. The place is conveniently located and is just a touch away from the inner ring road of Agra. A good night’s sleep is what rejuvenated us and after a hearty breakfast, we started off for Jammu. Taking the inner ring road and towards Yamuna Expressway, we were to get off at Palwal exit and take the Western Peripheral expressway to connect to the Katra Expressway. The transitions were smooth with just some stretch of two laned road before it was a smooth six lane expressway until I connected Ambala. NH1 is having road works at many places and diversions are the order of the day. One really can’t maintain decent speeds uniformly because of the diversions. Nevertheless, the diversions cease to exist after the turn off towards Jammu and Pathankot. Road surface improves and one can maintain decent speeds throughout. Decided to stay the night at Pathankot on the go. It was also prompted by the fact that the next day, the traffic for small cars would move from Jammu towards Srinagar which perfectly aligned with our journey plan as well. Searched the web and found a new Sarovar Portico property at Pathankot. Rooms were nice and the basement parking was still getting completed. Check in was smooth and the staff were courteous. Next day, the breakfast spread was great too, being a new property helped perhaps. The real surprise was when we came across a staff who was from Arunachal Pradesh. We wished her well and started for Srinagar after a hearty breakfast. Jammu- Srinagar highway was going to be the litmus test but surprisingly, the travel went off well with occasional hiccups. The first road block came just after leaving Pathankot though. Due to a broken bridge (flank towards Pathankot) near Lakhanpur, vehicles from both ways were made to use the flank towards Jammu, resulting in a pile up at the start of the bridge. This bridge took time to cross but thereafter it was smooth sailing till Jammu. One could see kilometres of trucks being stranded before major towns like Samba and Jammu. The Jammu- Srinagar highway was still not cleared of landslides fully and authorities were releasing the commercial traffic in batches. En route, we could see the amount of devastation that the landslides triggered. Meanwhile, just before Jammu, the bypass was broken after the turn off to Airport. I ignored a small board indicating that road is closed and ended up taking a small detour through some landside zone which was part of a desolate forest gate before connecting back to the highway near Jammu IIM. From then on, our journey through some tunnels and construction zones, was fun. Soon, the topography started to change once we were nearer to Srinagar. Passed through some saffron zones and what used to be my childhood companion- a Kashmir Willow cricket bat zone. Reached Srinagar in the evening and moved into the hotel straightaway before embarking on an evening round of the city. Since, Srinagar was just a night stop this time, restricted ourselves to the vicinity of the Dal lake and the surrounds. Took the Gupkar road and spent some time beside the mighty Dal lake. The beauty of the lake is ethereal and the sunset presented some amazing hues. We went to the Residency road thereafter and had our dinner at one and only ‘AAHDOOS’ restaurant. The place was buzzing and we had an amazing time digging into the delicacies that the place offered. The food was delicious enough to make me forget about clicking any picture at all although I did manage to click a picture of the dessert. They have a bakery now as well and boy, what delicious products !! Anybody going there in Srinagar must visit the bakery at least and try the Vanilla Bun- the single most delicious thing I have eaten in a really long time. Spent some time on the Zero wooden bridge on our return to the hotel. Oh, stayed at Clark’s Inn, little away from the bustle of the city but close enough for our convenience of getting out in the morning for Leh. Continue reading BHPian ABHI_1512’s Ladakh adventure for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
