Today was a mixed day. We started by having a coffee in our room and discussing our itinerary with Mukesh. He had obtained a quote of £455 for a jeep ride to Pangong Lake which we thought was exhorbitant considering that a taxi fare was £25 to £30. That was one way per person, and involved starting from Leh at 6 AM, spending 5.5 hours in the taxi, having 2 hours to look at the lake, and 5.5 hours back to Leh for 7 PM. A lot of money for a tiring day. The £455 consisted of a jeep ride to Pangong and a night in a hotel at the lake, followed by a ride deep into the Himalayas to Nubra Valley (Valley of Flowers in Tibetan) where not many tourists go, a hotel at the valley and a ride back to Leh. Which seems good value for the money. So that’s what we decided to do. A lot of money but we won’t come this way again. We have seen Lake Pangong briefly from the Tibetan side after we passed through Rutog where a Portuguese Jesuit priest built a tiny monastery in the 16th century, and it is truly spectacular; an ultramarine lake surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains.
We then decided to visit Kargil’s only tourist attraction, the deserted village of Hunderman about 6 miles to the north of the town along a winding single-track road. Mukesh succeeded in getting lost and we travelled some way on the road back to Srinagar before stopping at the Donsa cafe to ask directions. It is in an apricot growing district with the trees at the side of a rushing river, growing up the steep slopes of the mountain. We bought some dried apricots, apricot jam and bottled apricot juice as well as some vitamin extract stuff based on (you’ve guessed it) apricots. We then decided to have lunch at the cafe with some of the best meals on the entire trip. The shop and cafe had been set up by an utterly charming (as well as energetic and ambitious) young man and they had just opened. We were some of his first customers, and the visit was a lovely experience. He also told us that a tunnel under the Zoja La is due to open next year, so we crossed it just in time.
The trip to Hunderman was a disaster. It was deserted during the 1973 India-Pakistan war and as the Pakistan border can be seen from the village, the inhabitants fled and have not returned. The bullet holes in the buildings can still be seen. We almost arrived at the village when a seedy little jobsworth appeared to enjoy great satisfaction in stopping us and telling us that we cannot go to the village in Mukesh’s car, but would have to travel for 2 miles in his taxi for 3,000 rupees. Mukesh spoke on his phone to the Senior Jobsworth who told him that the Taxi Drivers Union do not allow people to travel on the road. So we returned home. I then went to a barber shop and got a haircut and shave, went for dinner and then to bed.
Jennifer and Mukesh at apricot shop
Apricot tree
Apricot forest