Journey to Zanskar: India’s remote valley
We saw the “land far far away”, of all the childhood stories and travel tales, when we travelled to the Zanskar valley. The beauty of the Zanskar landscapes changed our definition of beautiful. And in its – in your face – isolation, we learnt a whole lot about ourselves!
How exactly isolated is the Zanskar valley?
These are some quick facts about the location of Zanskar valley. Zanskar is part of the Kargil district in India’s northernmost state Jammu and Kashmir. Kargil is inaccessible by road through winter because of heavy snowing on the treacherous mountain passes that connect Kargil to the rest of India. Padum, the headquarters of Zanskar valley is further 250 km away from Kargil.
Even in an SUV, these 250 km take a good 8 hours to traverse (in the good weather of the summer months). A map of Zanskar valley has specific mentions of “end of the road”. Villages beyond this point can only be trekked to by foot, in the summer. These places are completely isolated in winter.
In the winter, the Zanskar river freezes. Walking over this frozen river is the only way then for the people to access the outside world, which is why this river freezing is essential to their survival in winter. For those who respect this lifeline, the Chadar trek can be an experience of a lifetime.
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If the aim is to reach Padum in good light, the journey from Kargil should begin by 5 AM. Hiring a personal vehicle here is the fastest means of getting to Padum, the headquarter of Zanskar valley. We wanted to visit places en route as well, so opted to take the public buses.
Soon after Kargil, the Suru Valley starts
Suru Valley separates Kargil from the Zanskar valley. The Suru River flowing through this valley keeps it surprisingly green for its altitude of over 3000 meters. We Little did we know, it was the last bit of green we would be seeing for days!
A zig-zag road follows this river. We crossed the river at several places over rickety bridges through villages like Sankoo, Panikhar, Tangole, and Parkachik.
Nun, Kun and Suru
The twin peaks of Nun (7135 m) and Kun (7087 m) are the biggest and the highest attraction in the Suru valley. Every village takes pride in the view it affords of the Nun and the Kun peaks. Nun is perennially covered in snow, while the Kun is barren black. The contrast of their never interchanging identities adds to the mystic of the place.
Our bus reached Parkachik in the evening. We spent a couple of days in the trekker’s cottage of the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department, hiking up to Parkachik la. Two other couples in our cottage were also heading to the Zanskar valley.
How to proceed to Zanskar valley beyond Parkachik, was the real challenge.
The caretaker of the cottage advised us to wait by the road at 8 AM, which is when the vehicles that had left from Kargil would reach Parkachik. We could accommodate ourselves in their empty seats.
Two hours later, our stretched out thumbs hadn’t borne any results. We were still all waiting. The locals told us the time was up and all the vehicles would have passed off by then. Hopes were low, but we didn’t give up (not that we had a choice!). Our optimism was rewarded in the form of two humongous Indian Oil trucks! The six of us managed to fit in the two trucks and finally, we were off to Zanskar valley!
A kilometer later, I saw the Parkachik glacier.
It was the month of July and much of the snow had melted. It still made for an interesting look especially with the mighty Himalayas surrounding it.
Through the Suru valley, we had noticed a receding number of houses in each passing village. After Parkachik, civilisation had vanished. We now had the Suru river and the massive imposing Greater Himalayas for company in the vast nothingness of our surroundings.
We gradually made ourselves comfortable in the truck. Our drivers were from Jammu. They were delivering diesel at a fuel station in Padum (which we later realised was the only fuel station in the entire Zanskar valley!). They were quite stunned we had actually “chosen” to visit the Zanskar valley. What was there to see in the nange parbat (barren mountains), they asked us.
An hour into my truck ride, it was clear I wouldn’t make it to Padum by nightfall.
The smooth paved road till Panikhar was now just a gravel path. The 12,000 liters of diesel that the trucks were carrying was making us move real slow.
Post noon I was at Rangdum, the midway point of the Kargil Padum journey.
It is a tiny hamlet of around ten houses, a couple of food stalls (travelers usually halt here for lunch) and a few guest houses (again, for travelers who want to halt for the night). Rangdum, essentially was a definition of “in the middle of nowhere”.
These telecom towers were a strong paradox to their surroundings. The remote location of Rangdum meant that satellite communication was the only way for the people here of getting in touch with the outside world.
This little hamlet brought with it signs of life. The locals here are mostly shepherds and their flock was enjoying being out in the sun during the summer months.
The kids were playing near the village stupa. We wondered what their lives must be like, living in such isolation. From what we saw, it sure seemed like a lot of fun.
They seemed to have cracked the secret of being happy in the middle of absolutely nowhere!
There was a sharp nip in the air as we moved towards Penzi la, the solitary mountain pass on the way to Zanskar valley. Marmots scurrying around were the only sign of life now. We could sense that we had actually moved beyond the middle of nowhere!
How did we cross through the Penzi la?
Through a cloud of black smoke, that’s how!
The isolation and beauty of Penzi La (and the entire journey) were a perfect setting for some adrenaline rush! No wonder then, we saw cyclists braving these rough roads. They were cyclists from France, heading to the Zanskar valley to volunteer as teachers in a school they had helped build earlier.
Penzi la and the Drang Drung glacier
As our trucks trudged up to 4200 m, a board announced that we were at the highest point of Penzi la. We now kept our eyes out for the Drang Drung glacier.This is the source of the Suru river that was keeping us company all day long.
Suddenly at a turn, it presented itself! As a splash of white against the rugged browns of the Zanskar mountains. It was an enormous glacier, melting in full flow at this peak of summer.
From atop the Penzi La, this was the closest we got to the Drang Drung glacier. Our truck drivers were kind enough to halt the trucks here. This gave us our only photo of the journey from a stationary vehicle.
I was now in the Zanskar valley – one of the most remote valleys in India, connected by a single motorable road with the rest of India!
We were delighted and even did a little jig in the truck to celebrate this. By evening, we started to get news of some communal tensions in Padum, making our chances of getting to our destination even bleaker. The drivers decided they would halt here for the day.
Where exactly I am? Till date, I do not know for sure!
All we know was, we spent the night by the river in the lap of the Greater Himalaya mountains. We could see specs of dim lights all the way over the horizon. Thankfully our drivers were well prepared for such occasions. They would always carry a mini kitchen with them. They lent us a stove and a wok to cook our dinner of noodles and oats.
We hadn’t really anticipated being out in the open for any night and weren’t carrying sleeping bags or tents. The drivers were kind enough to let us have a truck all to ourselves.
“Lock the doors from the inside, you’ll be warm and safe”, they told us.
The next morning, the six of us parted ways with our truck drivers. We couldn’t help wonder if we would ever get a chance to repay them for their hospitality.
Three days after I had begun my journey in the truck, I was finally in Padum. Though still a distant call from life as we knew it, we were excited by the worldly comforts Padum could provide (a bed and a tiled bathroom!).
The journey to Zanskar valley was a humbling experience. I sensed the power of raw untouched beauty of nature. It left us overwhelmed. I knew it was a special privilege to be where am I !
Tips for traveling to Zanskar valley:
- Hiring a cab (sumo or an SUV) from Kargil is the fastest and also the most expensive way to travel to Zanskar valley.
- Public transport to Zanskar valley is sparse. A weekly bus service runs from Leh in Ladakh to Padum in Zanskar. It halts for the night at Kargil. If seats are available (this is an uncertainty), one can travel to Zanskar valley in this bus.
- In the morning, buses leave from Kargil for Sankoo and Panikhar, villages in the Suru valley. Once a day, a bus leaves for Parkachik. These buses are what we used. This way we could also visit the villages in Suru valley.
- There are a couple of Sumos in Parkachik, which can be hired to get to Zanskar valley. If not, be prepared to hitchhike.
- It is also possible to halt at Rangdum. Stay facilities are extremely basic; homestays are the only option (dry compost toilets are used from here onwards further into Zanskar valley).
- Padum, the headquarters of Zanskar valley is equipped with tourist facilities like hotels, guesthouses and restaurants.
