We started our day early morning. We left for Kargil, a destination we all were so much eager to see!
One piece of advice I would like to give to our fans is that – If you are going to stay in Houseboats, please make sure you know what you are going to be charged in terms of food & accommodation. We were charged heavily for just one night stay & morning breakfast.
(This is just an advice as it happened to us. It’s not necessary that it will happen to you also but it’s always better to know!)
We left for Kargil via the following route:
Srinagar – Sonamarg – Zozila Pass – Drass Valley – Vijay Smarak (Tololing) – Kargil
Sonamarg: Sonamarg is perched besides the river Sindh and surrounded by forests of pine, fir, beech & symore with towering peaks all around. It’s a scenic place to break the journey to kargil.
Further attraction is that the thajiwas glacier is only 4 km’s away.
Zozila Pass: On the way to Kargil after going further down Sonamarg, for safety & security reasons & for military & traffic control, only one way traffic is acceptable at Zozila. The Indian Military & Road Security is simply impeccable & they have done a great job in managing traffic at Zozila & hence even when there is a one way traffic, you don’t need to wait for very long.
The brief halt at Zozila Pass is actually a photographers blessing in disguise as the place is very much centrally located. The view from the top of the valley is simply ethereal!
Further down, we come across the zozila war memorial.
Drass Valley: It has been said that Drass Valley is one of the coldest places. To say that it’s beautiful would be an understatement. Its a long stretch of mountainous terrain characterised by sandy slopes, huge rock like structures & numerous dried river streams.
After passing the Drass Valley, you come across – The Kargil War Memorial. It’s a sacred place where the contribution & dedication of The Brave Indian Militia has been rightfully recognised at the Kargil War.
Tololing Range: A must visit place on the Tololing Belt is the Drass War Memorial. This place truly & beautifully recognises & acknowledges the contribution of the Indian Military. It’s filled with pictures of great Indian Soldiers & Army Men, their achievements & contributions, their mastermind strategies and they have even preserved the remains during the war.
No bags or luggage is permitted inside but photography is! I kept my bag filled with all the valuables on a chair outside the war memorial near the entrance. Well, if our men can take care of our nation, they certainly can take care of our bags!!!
After visiting the memorial, we could feel a completely new sense of Indianness. We then came back and took a few snaps with the Indian Army Man who was guarding the memorial. He was such a kind soul. I shook hands with him, took few pictures and thanked him for taking care of us so that we don’t have to!
Finally we headed for the place we were so much yearning for – Kargil! After checking into – Hotel Siachen…tired and exhausted by the long journey, we had our favourite Kahwah (which was not so good this time around).
Kargil the town, feels more Pakistani than Indian & faces nearly most male and food is derived majorly from Kashmir & Central Asia. The place seems hostile and you get the feeling that there is always a risk element here in Kargil. There is also a conspicuous absence of women in the market area.
However having said that, Kargil as a place is pretty much safe courtesy commendable contribution from our Indian National Army. They have strived really hard for the safety of the people including women welfare in Kargil.
Most population in Kargil is Islamic. Hotel Siachen was predominantly characterised by Islamic Interiors & Architecture.
We had a town walk in the evening, saw the market area and after a good dinner planned to hit the bed as we all were so tired.
As much as I tried sleeping, I couldn’t. We were told that Pakistan was just a mountain away from our Hotel. Also there were a lot of Islamic Speeches going on till late night. Being alone in my room, I was a bit scared and hence also alert the whole night.
The next morning when I asked the hotel staff, I came to know that the night we stayed in Kargil was a big night (Badi Raat) of Ramzan as per the Muslim Calendar & hence the prayers & the speeches went till early morning 2.00am and since the Mosque’s were pretty close from our hotel, I could hear the speeches & prayers.
I looked at myself & smiled. It wasn’t even remotely as scary as what I had imagined it to be…
Here is a Slideshow version of the above pics.
Captures from Art Pixel Photography (Amit Desai)
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