Khardung-La

For Mrityunjay, the scariest driver in the world

Location: Indian Himalayas, Ladakh (In between Leh and the Shyok and Nubra valleys)

Temperature Range: In the summer it goes up to 27C and in the winters it drops down to minus 20C. (That basically denotes you need your mittens and mufflers all through the year)

Altitude Range: 2,750m to 7,673m

Best Time: Mid June to September

Route: Delhi – Leh – Hemis – Nubra – Tirit – Diskit – Hundur – Tirit – Samur – Samstaling – Panamik – Nubra – Leh – Delhi

Technical Difficulty: Fresh snow and avalanches - the roads can be closed (not for too long, maximum delay by 2 hours), skidding curved roads, atmosphere is rarified at that altitude can turn out to be a tough exercise, cold winds blow at a tremendous velocity. (Trust me nothing to worry about)

And there I was spotted with shadows and clarity in a land reckoned my own, and it still seemed so unreal. Seemed ephemeral, and so it was.

Khardung-La is the world’s highest motor able road and for a classic memory.

Reasons to not go there:

1. No sense of adventure.

2. Afraid of High places (this is a serious consideration the altitude there is 5,578m which is approx. 3000 feet short of Mt. Everest!)

Other than these we see no reason why you may not want to check this place out.

The sunrays with blissful warmth (on the good days), moist roads, narrow roads and a view to die for. It not simply kissing the clouds or the snow, it’s the moment where you are so far away from civilization on dizzying heights realizing the epitome of existence. Don’t worry about what vehicle it must be that can take you there. We traveled in a Maruti- Zen, everyone warned us against it---EVERYONE! We made it to and fro better than anyone ever. A good basis for considering us.

At Khardung-la, clouds mean nothing its just another view, white sun, white ground and grayish skies. Khardung-La literally means “land of black gravel”, which possibly goes on to explain the terrain and soil in the area. I would recommend looking below and gloating.Screaming “top of the world” sounds like a joke now. The purity cannot penetrate your opaque bodies but mind me it would penetrate your soul, and the word on that is guaranteed by us.

Until the Karakoram Highway was built by China, Khardung- La was prominent as the highest motor able point in the world. With all the snow and slippery roads it still remains a featful task, and unmentionably a prominent one. We wouldn’t trade our experience for a million dollars (seriously a million). Probably I haven’t seen too much of the world but of what I have this definitely was the best!

References

http://library.thinkquest.org/10131/gather/cgi-bin/mboard/ladakh/list.cgi

http://manisht.tripod.com/ladakh3.html