Finishing in Leh we headed out on a wonderful road trip through amazing scenery.  It was so amazing that the majority of this post is going to be photos in an effort to convey how beautiful this part of the world is.  We visited several more monasteries along the route, two that dated back to the 10th century and two relatively more modern- only a few hundred years old, but as I have already discussed many of our monastery visits, I want to focus on the scenery.  But first, a little explanation of our route.

Confluence of the Indus with the Zenskar River. The Zenskar is silty as it comes off of a glacier and snow melt.

Along the Zenskar River gorge shortly out of Leh on Day 1.

We headed out of Leh with our goal for the day Lamayuru.  The road wound along the Indus River valley for most of the trip, before turning off and heading into the hills to follow one of its major tributaries, the Zanskar River.  The following day we were in the Zenskar River Valley on our way to Padum.  The Zenskar River Valley is one of the most remote areas in India with villages that, still today, remain fairly isolated.  The trip through this valley was spectacular and led us through two gaps.  While neither was as high as the one to the Nubra Valley, both provided wonderful views of the surrounding ranges.

At the first pass, looking back to where we came from.

At the first pass. We were close to the snow line.

The second gap, Singhe La Pass, was exceptionally memorable as I have formally labeled the descent “scary road #2”.  The switchbacks were frequent and carved into what felt like a 90 degree slope.  Like other roads in this area we were alternatively on paved two lane, single lane asphalt, or dirt.  Potholes, remnants of washouts and huge divots were scattered throughout the journey.  Everywhere we went there were road crews working on repairs or on pouring new surfaces or building foundations.  Tents dotted the landscape, their living quarters during the summer.  The road was bereft of traffic; we barely saw anyone all day and it was wonderful to have the mountains to ourselves.  The most memorable folks we saw was a party of four intrepid bicyclists cycling up the steep “scary road 2” with bikes full of gear— I have no idea how they were doing that!

Road down through the first pass. Not as bad as “scary road 2” at the second pass.

View looking down into the river valley.

Reaching Padum, our stop for the night, we spent an extra day there to visit several local monasteries.  The high road we had taken from Leh to Padum was spectacular but about to become obsolete— a new road will shortly to open allowing people more direct access through the valley floor, negating the need to wind up and down and around on the mountainside.  I feel especially lucky that I came on this trip before the new road opened!

After our extra day in Padum, we headed to our next stop- Kargil following the Suru River Valley.  Again the route took us along winding mountain roads in various states of condition like the day before. Along this stretch of road, however, we encountered several glaciers and Suryia, who has been taking pictures of them for ten years, showed us how much they have retreated over the last decade.  We arrived in Kargil late afternoon and had a walk around town before dinner.

“Scary Road 2”. Look closely and you can see a car on the road which will hopefully give you a sense of scale. It was unreal steep!!!

At the bottom of “scary road 2” we found ourselves back in the river gorge, driving along the river.

The three-day journey was an amazing road trip through some of the most magnificent scenery on the planet.  Hopefully some of the pictures I am posting can convey the same sense of awe I felt traveling through the area.

I feel that i have to provide some comments on driving and traffic.  From what I can tell the same rule applies here as I determined from my time in Russia (see post:   )- the main traffic rule is “there is nothing behind you”.  Drivers simply forge ahead at whatever speed and inclination they feel like (ie..driving in the middle of the road or the side of the road or in the wrong lane) and anyone behind them has to adjust.  For those overtaking slower traffic, and this happens a lot, a short beep on the horn as a warning, precedes a swing right into the other lane to pass.  This process gets extremely exciting on the twisting, hairpin curves on the mountain roads as a car suddenly appearing from the opposite direction is possible at any moment.  When that happens, the situation resolves like magic, either the overtaking car falling back to allow the oncoming car to pass, or the overtaking car manages to squeeze between the passing car and the oncoming car because both have moved over to make room.  In short, the traffic flow is “fluid” and seems to work although it is not for the faint of heart!  It certainly makes driving in the mountains highly entertaining!!!!

One of the glaciers we saw between Padum and Kargil.

Part of the road between Padum and Kargil had been washed out recently and closed for two days while the road crew worked to open it. This is what it looks like open (at the present).

The rocks near Lamayuru had a distinct color and it was called “Moonland”.

Some of the great scenery along the way.

And some more great scenery….

And some more….

And some more…. Really, i could post another 100 pictures and still not do it justice!