Jojila – Explore The Unexplored

22nd September:

The previous night, when I was almost ready with all packing done, my kid suddenly started showing uneasiness and we found she had fever, a trip which was not expected to start in that way. We were little nervous but thought of moving ahead with the medicines we had. It was a 9.05 KF flight from Kol-Del and subsequently a 12.45 Del-Srinagar flight that took us to Srinagar by 2.15pm. We decided not to waste any time in a height of 5000+ ft at Srinagar and straight away proceeded to Sonamarg which was around 8700ft height. The checkout /baggage claims took hardly half an hour and were greeted by Kazim with his nice Xylo outside the airport. We did some last minute shopping of mineral waters, dry foods etc. from Srinagar, got some quick photo session near Dal lake and were on our way towards Sonmarg by 4.00pm. The NH1D to Sonmarg via Gandarbal, Kangan, Gund is around 3 hrs journey across amazing Kashmir Valley, road was superb. We were greeted by an awesome rainbow enroute may bring all lucks for our coming days. There are few options in Sonmarg regarding accommodations, Glacier view is nice private one but quite pricey with 2000+ room rent even in off season. We chose JKTDC with close proximity to market, nice ambience with running hot waters at 1000 for 2 adults and a kid. It was a bargain as 1300 is the official off season price if you try to book it through JKTDC web interface. The dinner was awesome there and fortunately the kid started showing improvement in her health but we felt the chilling nights even with all the blankets on.

Dal Lake Srinagar:

On the way to Sonmarg:

23rd September:

We knew about the restrictions of crossing Sonmarg towards Jojila between 6.00pm in evening and 11.00am in morning but we were told it could be managed if we start before 6.00am as no one would be there in the check post to stop us. Unfortunately that’s not the case and we were stopped even before 6.00am just outside the JKTDC GH at Sonamarg near the check post. No amount of pleading was sufficient to make them understand we had to start early as our today’s stop was even further to Kargil at Purtikchey. They just asked us to come after 11.00am which means loosing a day on the very start of the trip. Kazim came handy here, his brother was the driver of DIG, Kashmir and few phone calls there after, the same security guard came out and himself found out our car and made our roads with a smile and murmuring softly why we didn’t tell him that we were the guests of DIG. Unexpected but we were through by 6.15am. In India, connection is the key The best thing is we were the only car going in opposite direction and we had ample time to take snaps with no cars behind. The road to Jojila was one way and full of dusts and definitely in a bad shape specially the ascent from Sonmarg. The road towards Baltal to Amarnath diverts from in between and after some delay with lots of truck traffic we were on Jojila top by two and half hours. Jojila to Drass was nice with mix of good and bad roads. Just before Drass you would find the diversion to Mushko Valley which was in headlines during 1999 Kargil War. The same road now is through to Tulail and Gurez and one can go to Srinagar via Bandipore by making a loop. The road was recently inaugurated by BRO in 2010 and yet to be opened for civilians. Drass, the second coldest inhabited place in earth as the JK Tourism board displays was a small and nice town with heavy army presence. We tasted first Namkeen Chay (Salt/Butter Tea) of our trip here and we got addicted to it, it was really nice. Drass could be a good pit stop for lunch before Kargil and road from here onwards crosses War Memorial, a must see enroute and colourful mountains and valley and the valley starts narrowing down after this and you would find you are following almost the LOC and Kazim was showing us the signs of shelling from other side of LOC on the road side poles, trees, mountains all through this section during 1999 Kargil War. Tiger Hill, Tololing and other commonly uttered names during Kargil Wars can be seen across the mountain ridge and the sacrifice of our army would surely touch your deepest. Just before Kargil, you would find Drass and Suru river meets and though non descriptive, you would find Kargil as largest town between Srinagar and Leh in this route. Road towards Zanskar via Suru Valley and towards Leh bifurcates here. Our destination was Zanskar and we first met Mr. Golam Rosul, Tourist Officer, JKTDC Kargil who was in charge of reservation for all the alpine bungalows across Suru and Zanskar Valley. Surprisingly he greeted us in Bengali and later we knew he was posted first 2 years of his service at JKTDC, Kolkata and quite familiar with Kolkata. A very nice gentleman with good sense of humour he advised us to choose between Sankhoo, Purtikchey and Panikhar situated in 8500, 9500 and 10000 ft height respectively. Height of night stay was important as we were trying our best to acclimatize as quickly as possible. Sankhoo and Panikhar were closer to shops and had a better chance to get foods arranged in off season while Purtichey is more scenic with perfect frames of Nun Kun you could see from Bungalow. We chose Purtikchey but Mr. Rosul gave us papers for staying either in Purtikchey or in Panikhar in case Purtikchey was closed. The tar road ends near Sankhoo around 40km from Kargil but the road is very scenic and you could see fall colors all the way in this road. After Sankhoo, the unpaved road starts for rest of the 234 km towards Padum but locals expect next year paved roads would reach till Panikkhar. 13km from Sankhoo on unpaved road we reached Purtikchey and luckily found the caretaker of the GH nearby. No guest stayed there in whole month of September and he was surprised with this sudden arrival of tourist but somehow agreed to Rice/Dal/Sabji kind of dinner from the winter stock he had. We caught the last rays of evening sun on Nun-Kun and after dinner quickly move to bed but it was one of the coldest nights in our trip. There are only 2 rooms in the nicely located GH but most likely you would get them unless you hit the region in July/August peak season.

Sonmarg in the morning:

See the trail below towards Amarnath Shrine via Baltal:

Sonmarg JKTDC, an excellent value for money option to stay:

Jojila Top

Towards Drass:

Drass War Memorial:

Just before Kargil, Drass and Suru river Meets, we will catch Suru from here and it would be with us till Pensila:

Entering Suru Valley:

JK Tourism’s Alpine Bungalow at Purtikchey:

Previous: Ladakh – Exploring Zanskar, Ladakh and Remote Changthang – Introduction

Next: Ladakh – Crossing Pensi La to Zanskar Valley

Managing Zanskar and Ladakh in one go for 18 days with kid, possible? The question was looming large but then planning to Demchok and Chumur adds more uncertainty and seems to be an insane idea. Now while going to Demchok from Hanle, crossing Photila and trying Tsomoriri directly from Hanle, won’t it be crazy? Yes we started a well planned trip with lots of input from this forum but honestly it gone beyond sanity to try with just wife and kid. We enjoyed thoroughly and in God’s grace got excellent weather. This is the time to share our experience.

I have been to Ladakh earlier and knew the challenges, challenge of acclimatizing your body with that height of 11K+ almost through out the trip, desolate and remoteness of the Zanskar Valley and Changthang Plateau, choosing the right window for travel considering the early and late seasons are full of uncertainties and actual small 2 month’s window of July and August are terribly crowded. For me it was more challenging as I was going to take this trip with just my wife and kid of 6.5 yrs. Getting a car with reasonable price and knowledgeable drivers who have some ideas beyond Nubra/Pangong/Tsomoriri were a must to make this trip a success. Number of Taxi Unions and their self proclaimed rules in their own areas were another mess you need to handle if you want to take up this trip. Kargil Cars can take you to Zanskar but can’t take you back without paying a premium to Zanskar Union, for Zanskar sight seeing you have to take Zanskar Cabs, Kargil Cabs can take you to Leh but can’t do sightseeing in Lamayuru etc. enroute. I was again lucky to get introduced to ex.Taxi Union President of Kargil Mr. Rehman, a nice gentleman who helped me to get Kazim, a middle aged person with a Scorpio and Xylo and it’s because of him I was able to complete my Zanskar trip. Ladakh part was never be possible without Regzin, who was simply outstanding and being an ex. army of Ladakh Scouts and posted in all corners of Ladakh including Siachen, DBO, Chumur, Demchok for 18 years, he knew how to follow the tyre track and common sense for hundreds of km before coming across the first vehicle for opposite side without any direction or maps.

Another funny part was the plans and backups I kept, I had to cancel 5 sets of tickets for different sectors those were planned as my backup in different stages. My idea was to visit through Srinagar but had to keep Del-Leh flight open in case situation in Srinagar Valley turns volatile, similarly I kept my return plan open so that I can travel to Leh – Manali or can fly out from Leh directly which I did eventually. I even had to cancel a Del-Kolkata Rajdhani ticket while my Del-Kol flight was taxied to runway which I kept in case Leh-Del flight gets cancelled and subsequently my Kolkata connection would have missed.

Weather in this region was a big ask, you never know when that could change dramatically but with God’s grace and good wishes of many other friends, I got probably the best weather possible, first time I saw cloud in the sky on my last day of the trip, it was absolutely cloudless and blue sky with fall colors all around.

The Trip Schedule is like this:

Day 1 – Fly from Kolkata to Srinagar via Delhi and on same day proceed to Sonmarg and stay

Day 2 – Sonmarg – Jojila – Drass – Kargil – Purtikchey

Day 3 – Purtikchey – Panikhar – Parkachik – Rangdum – Pensi La – Padum

Day 4 – Padum Stay and visit Strongde Monastery, Zangla Palace, Bardan Monastery and Karsha Monastery

Day 5 – Padum – Sankhoo

Day 6 – Sankhoo – Kharse Khar Village for Maiterya Buddha – Kargil – Leh

Day 7- Leh Permits and Local Sight Seeing

Day 8 – Leh – Khardung La – Nubra Valley – Hunder

Day 9 – Hunder – Turtuk – Deskit

Day 10 – Deskit – Wari La – Chang La – Tangtse

Day 1 1 – Tangtse – Spangmik

Day 12 – Spangmik – Man – Merak – Chusul – Tsga La – Loma – Hanle

Day 13 – Hanle – Photi La – Photile – Koyul – Demchok Back to Hanle

Day 14 – Hanle – Kyun Tso – Salsal La – Chumur – Charchagan La – Tsomoriri

Day 15 – Tsomoriri – Tso Kar – Tanglang La – Leh

Day 16 – Spare Day at Leh

Day 17 – Spare Day at Leh

Day 18 – Flying from Leh to Kolkata via Delhi

The map Harsh and Aarti had prepared is simply invaluable and to my knowledge the best map that is available for anyone wants to visit this area. Please refer to the map below to understand the route plan properly. Thanks Harsh and Aarti again for this wonderful effort and you were the inspiration of our trip.