Road Trip to Kardungala, Diskit , Hunder Sand dunes , Sumur and Panamik | Nubra Valley, Ladakh region

After the exhaustive exploration of the highest passes such as Taglang La, Rohtang La, Barlacha La, Nakee La and  Lachulung La in Manali- LehHigh way road, we reached Leh on the 17th of July,2016 evening. Our deteriorating health did not cope with us to explore the city on that night. So, a complete rest on that night helped us to regain our energy for another adventurous road trip to Nubra Valley. Packed and loaded we looked forward to another day with great zeal and enthusiasm.

It took us almost three hours to reach Kardunga la, the highest Motor-able pass, although the distance was less than 30 km from Leh town. Since it is located above 18,000 feet from sea level, lower air pressure makes it difficult for oxygen to enter our vascular systems. We were unable to breathe for a while leading to suffocation but we could not take our eyes off the mesmerizing view from Kardungala. Added to it was the National flag of India which was mounted on the cliff of a rocky mountain, we will be remembered for years. I recalled that I used to read about the places in the blog but it was the exhilarating moment when we achieved our dream. We were asked to leave to avoid any health issue and so we started to head Nubra valley from there. It was steady descent on the way, and the roads were bumpy. We reached Dikshit Monastery after a 4-hour journey. No wonder that it was a sunny evening and we couldn’t find many interesting subjects apart from a plethora of landscape. After a few miles, a pack of camels and mounting sand dunes welcomed us and we had to walk down a bit in such a vast land surrounded by rocky mountains.We were stunned to notice such a beautiful sight. We were lazing around there and around 7:30 PM a cold breeze started to blow hard but it was hardly noticeable compared to the golden light filling in from the horizon. We were awestruck to experience the true essence of dusk hours in sand dunes. Though it lasted only for a few minutes, it would forever be etched in our memories. We reached Great Himalayas guest house near Hunder village where they served supper and our day ended with a review discussion.

On 20th Early morning, we started our drive to Panamik Village, the extreme north Ladakh region where the road ends. It’s a small village, that is nestled very close to the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world. This place is famous for their Sulphur hot springs and hot bath complex. It has been made up really well with a large pool for men and women, complete with a cubicle containing all the necessities. While returning, we visited Sumur, a peaceful and less known village in the Nubra Valley of the Ladakh Region in the Trans- Himalayan Mountain range. We gave a visit to Samstem Ling Gompa but the light was too harsh to make images. So, we decided to return Leh city after a second brief halt via Kardungala again.

Below images were taken in and around Hunder villlage , Nubra valley.

The stunning stand dunes were spotted near Diskit village, Nubra Valley

Below images are taken in Diskit Monastery , 150 Km from Leh town. It depicts the plethora of landscape, Nature

Kardungala, the highest motorable pass in the world fascinate us with amazing landscape and harsh climate. Its awestruck to see our Indian flag, mounted on the cliff of a rocky mountain. please check the below images.

Samtanling Monastery is considered as one of the oldest monasteries in the world and its located in Sumur, a peaceful and remote village in extreme north Ladakh region. Please check the images below

The prayer flags depict the plethora of faith for mountaineers and you can find them in below image

All the pictures in this post are copyrighted. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval. 

An article by Srivatsan Sankaran and edited by Pavithraa Swaminathan.