Having some long discussions with my wife and son it was decided to move to Leh via Kashmir for our summer celebrations in our four year old Santro car. A hard homework for the trip over a month made us well equipped to face the challenges of our on coming journey. So, at last we (i.e. I, my wife, our thirteen years old son and the driver) set out in the early morning of 11th June 2007 for Jammu as the first halt of this journey. We took a driver just to add one young man who could be helpful in unfavorable circumstances rather than driving the car.
We drove to Jammu directly from Aligarh (U.P.) and reached there in night by 9 o’clock covering a distance of 715 kilometers over a span of 16 hours. Spending an hour in search for some reasonably good hotel, I got one. Reaching the room I just dumped myself on the bed being intolerably exhausted and fatigued. My son as usual fetched the T. V. remote and started searching Cartoon Network; once he got it he was glued to it. That day it was extremely hot and we spent the night very uncomfortably, though according to the hotel the room was super deluxe air-conditioned. Certainly, there was a window A.C. attached to the room but its presence could be realized only within few feet from it.
Having breakfast in the Hotel around 8 o’clock we set out for Srinagar. Almost half an hour later we started finding army men, frequently, with their automatic weapons, on both sides of the road. Certainly, their presence in such a large number indicates that all is not well here. However, we were mentally ready for such scenes. You cannot find any place on the Jammu-Srinagar highway where if you stop the car, within a minute few army men would not surprise you. Once we stopped to take few snaps of the surroundings, an army man rushed towards us and got his hand cut with the barbed wire. Looking at his bleeding hand I offered the first aid, which, initially he refused, but on my insistence he accepted a bandage from me. Most of these army men are very young and full of energy and enthusiasm. It is because of their presence one can dare to go there. One must salute them.
From Jammu to Jawahar tunnel the surroundings are quite dull and subdued. On crossing the Jawahar tunnel the nature presents itself in an entirely different mood. All of a sudden one finds himself in the lavish green surroundings. Oh, it is astonishingly absorbing and deeply soothing. And the gentle breeze further adds to the beauty.
As we moved on, the surroundings kept us compelling to stop the car and enjoy the beauty but the fear of the sudden appearance of some army men from nowhere cast a counter effect. In this conflict the nature won and despite of all hurdles we stopped on many occasions and took a lot of snaps that still give us cherishing memories. All these army men whom we met were extremely respectful towards us and quite well behaved. Perhaps it was so as I was with my wife and son or this may be one of the differences between the local police and the army personnel.Our mobiles (with prepaid BSNL and AIRTEL connections) stopped functioning on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. Later, we came to know that only the post-paid connections work here. Enjoying the stunning beauty of the surroundings we ultimately reached Srinagar by 4.30 p.m. Both, my wife and son, were not willing to stay in any houseboat so I had to search out a hotel which fits in our budget. Soon, I got a room in hotel Zamrud. All the windows of our room opened to the Dal Lake presenting its beautiful view, that’s why it was a bit costly. After such a long drive I was very much fatigued and tired. My wife and my son both went out to stroll along the Dal Lake but I preferred to enjoy the beauty of the Lake from the room. It presents extremely beautiful view with lot of Shikaras (a kind of boat) moving in all directions.
The food in the hotel was very costly so mostly we took our food outside. There are a large number of Punjabi Dhabas that offer good quality food with reasonable price.
Taking dinner in a Punjabi Dhaba close to our hotel we again started roaming along the Dal Lake and soaked its beauty in a somewhat more peaceful environment. Coming back to our room, around 11 pm, we planned to visit Gulmarg next day. It is nearly 100 km from Srinagar.
In general, the people of Kashmir are very polite. Perhaps, they are so as tourism seems to be the main source of their income.
In the morning of the 3rd day of our tour, around 8 o’clock, we set out for Gulmarg. All along the way we enjoyed the soothing effects of the Kashmir valley.
These effects were getting enhanced as we were nearing the Gulmag.
From a certain point we started ascending with out having it's realization and kept doing so for almost 15 km till reaching to Gulmarg. Here, the Ghora-walas (owner of horses) started chasing us as we approached the parking stand. Almost every Ghora-wala who ever was free insisted to hire his horse for a ride. I had to refuse to every one since my wife had had a very horrifying experience of horse riding earlier in Shimla. Being hungry first of all I enquired about some restaurant and soon we rushed to the one and had our meal there. Now, with filled belly we were in a condition to appreciate the ultimate beauty of the nature. Ever before, I had not imagined any place so beautiful on the earth. No one can express its beauty in words. It can only be experienced being there. The fast breeze was not only causing a chill effect but was also enhancing the over all beauty of the place. My son was thoroughly enjoying the conditions along with his mother. But again, being tired, I was lying on the lush green grass on the top of a small hill and with closed eyes was thanking the God for giving me an opportunity to visit a place like hea
ven. 
Ultimately, everything comes to its end. So, we too had to end up our most pleasurable day and came back from there with a deep sigh but very much content and satisfied. We reached our room by dusk. After having dinner we planned to visit the Pahalgam next day. It is nearly 125 Kilo meters from Srinagar.On the 4th day of our tour, in the early morning around 8 o’clock we started moving for Pahalgam. Reaching Pahalgam, incidentally, we did not take a turn leading to the tourist place rather we went straight. Moving that way for some time we found ourselves deserted. Enquiring about the place we came to know that we had come to the road to Chandanwari. On the advice of one passerby we decided to visit Chandanwari first and hence kept moving on the same road. As usual, I was driving the car. The road was quite narrow with steep slopes and lot of hair-pin bends. Many times we came across the down coming trucks which could not be turned in a single go on these sharp bends. Rather they negotiated these bends in two or three attempts. Reaching Chandanwari I took out my movie camera and started capturing the beauty of the surroundings. Then, all of a sudden, the panicky shrieks of some girls ruined the peace of the surrounding and then every body started rushing towards them. Reaching close to them I found a y
oung fellow had fallen in the vigorously flowing stream and his other partner was desperately trying to save him. Anyhow he was saved with the help of his brother-in-law and their driver. This fellow was a young chap of the age of around 25 years. He wanted to give a pose for a snap standing on a log that was put across the stream. He slipped from this log and fell straight into the stream. The flow of the stream was so furious that every body was numb with disbelief and could not even think to help him. The most surprising thing was that the army men who are supposed to be trained for such situations were also simply the mute spectators.This place is worth visiting because of its beautiful location. Mighty mountains surround it from all sides. Water is coming down with musical sound from several places. However, there is a very dirty glacier on one side.
After taking pictures and making movie we came back.
While coming back I found a truck standing on the road. As I tried to drive my car through the remaining space the side-view mirror struck the truck body and was broken. It costs Rs. 1600. The happening spoiled our mood, sadly and carefully we came down to the Pahalgam’s tourist point. There we came to a fast flowing river that was surrounded with green mountains. Trees on those mountains enhanced their beauty manifold. The sunset made the over all scene awfully beautiful. Enjoying the beauty thoroughly we came back to our Hotel by the evening.
In Kashmir valley wherever you go the army trucks fitted with long-range machine guns and the armoured vehicles would be the common scene. This definitely is very scary and makes a person to think twice before coming here again.
On our 5th day we decided to visit the gardens but soon we came to know that Friday is the closing day for all government monuments. So after getting some repair done in the car we went to Mughal Darbar restaurant just to taste the famous Kashmiri dish Goshtaba. Honestly speaking we did not like it at all. Then, we planned to visit Hazaratbal. Heading towards it, a CRPF inspector made us to stop and enquired whether we were from U.P., I replied yes. He then introduced himself. He was from Allahabad. Knowing that we were moving towards Hazaratbal he advised us to be very careful as it was Friday and nearly on each Friday bomb explosions took place. On his advice note we moved ahead with lot of alertness. Suddenly, I realized that something strange had happened. Everyone on the road was gazing in a particular direction. Then we saw a procession was going ahead of us and people were shouting slogans angrily and excitedly. Realizing the danger, we immediately took a turn and came back to our hotel. The rest of the day we devoted for shopping. The same day in the evening news it was announced that the extremists had opened fire on an army convoy killing two army men and at another place they threw a hand grenade taking life of four people, two of them were civilians. These are the happenings that must be taken into account before coming here.
Next day was the 6th day of our journey. Now we decided to visit all the Mughal gardens. But it started raining as we came out of our hotel. So, we parked our car in a nearby compound and hired a Shikara to enjoy its ride in Dal Lake. It was drizzling; the clouds were hovering from all sides. There were two mighty mountains, on one side, partially covered with clouds. The beautiful water lilies floating in Dal Lake were welcoming us.
Suddenly I found two men sitting in a boat approached us, they were selling hot roasted corns (Bhutta). I could not resist the scene and bought two from them.
A little later, we came across a large boat that was a restaurant. There, we took a cup of coffee. Sipping coffee in the lake gave a very strange pleasure and unique experience. The Shikara boy took us to the market in the lake. 
We visited botanical garden, Nishat garden and Shalimar garden. Each garden deserves one full day if really someone wants to absorb the beauty of the place.
Inspite of trying three times to visit Pari garden/chashma shahi we failed. There was a very long queue of visitors for some unknown reason and hence each time we came back.On 7th day we left our hotel in the early morning and started our journey for Leh. Leaving behind the beautiful scenes of Dal Lake and its surroundings I murmured to myself to come here again at least once more. Moving quite fast through the sleeping villages and localities we reached Sonamarg almost in four hours. Oh, it is again a strikingly beautiful place surrounded by the mountains covered with trees and capped with snow. There is a Sindh river that flows down through the big boulders with enchanting noise. All this combined together creates a heavenly look. Being here one impulsively speaks out ”Wow”.
After some time the Ladakh MLA Mr. Pinto Nargoo also reached there. He too was stopped. But, realizing the higher status of Mr. Pinto, the cop soon started talking to his superiors. In the mean time Mr. Pinto, knowing that I teach physics, started pouring out his queries regarding Quantum Mechanics, Black Hole etc., and I kept explaining all these to him in a lucid manner. This way two hours just flied off unnoticed and then we were through from the check post again. Mr. Pinto asking me to see him in Kargil, sat in his car and vanished from the scene in no time.
Driving the car cautiously we came on a very narrow curly road climbing up the mountain. It became more and more dangerous as we moved on it. On one side there was a deep gorge and on the other was a huge mountain. At the top of the mountains the snow was getting melted in a large quantity and the water was falling down straight on the road with a splash from a great height and flowing across the road into the deep gorge. On many occasions the flow of water was so fast that it had already washed away everything in its path leaving behind only the big stones. Such scenes are very frequent on this road.
Being nervous and fear-stricken none of us could realize, otherwise, how beautiful this place wa
s.
Even today when I recall the happenings I feel frightened. Going there with family, by no mean, was a wise decision. The Zojila might have shaken us so much probably because it was our first encounter of its kind.Surmounting the Zojila we came down to the plain, only then two foreigners crossed us on their motorbikes and again they met us on the next check-post. There, I came to know one of them was a teacher and the other was a priest. One was from Israel and the other was from Netherlands. Fulfilling the required formalities at this check-post we moved ahead.
The Zojila impact was quite obvious as there was a complete silence in the car. Passing through the same repeated steep turns in mountainous background I dozed off at the wheel and suddenly found myself on a sharp turn. Somehow, I managed to negotiate it but after that I asked the driver to drive the car as I was becoming really sleepy.
Anyhow, with all good and bad memories we reached Kargil by twilight. In the Kargil’s main market two men asked us to go to the Circuit house where Mr. Pinto had already booked a room for us. Mr. Pinto had really given us a pleasant surprise. Reaching there I heaved a sigh of
relief and ordered for the dinner. It was quite cold and hence finishing dinner my wife and son went to the bed and soon both were asleep. I could not sleep as the Zojila memories were still haunting me. Suddenly, rain started and with its sweet pitter-patter I too fell asleep.
At around 2.30 a.m., all of a sudden I woke up with the loud shouting of a man, "come out of your rooms there is a fire. It is an emergency". Being frightened I, quickly, switched-off the light of the room and then came close to the door. He then banged hard on our door. But I kept it closed from inside wondering whether he was some insane or a drunken man. After a while I heard Mr. Pinto was talking to him. Then I too came out from my room and enquired the matter. Later, Mr. Pinto told me that there was a fire in Kargil’s telephone exchange due to short-circuiting. The man wanted some vehicle to seek help from army.
Next day was the 8th day of our tour. Having our breakfast we all came out from the circuit house and headed towards Leh. In between we kept taking petrol wherever any petrol pump was sighted. Soon, we again found ourselves on the same curly mountainous roads with lot of sharp bends. Many times we came across breath taking views of different landscapes. Taking snaps, making movies we kept moving ahead. The road conditions were much better than Zojila. The surrounding mountains were appearing in different colors, golden, dark green, blackish brown etc. Each type was mesmerizing and casting its own majestic effect.
Most of the mountains were of loose stones and mud. Traveling on these roads in rainy season would definitely be very risky.
Suddenly, I spotted the Israeli tourist. He was alone. His friend with one wheel of his motorbike was not there. He smilingly waved to me and I passed by him responding in the same manner. Soon, we had to stop as the road was being repaired.
We all came out from the car just to relax and stretch ourselves. There, I found a dirty looking young foreigner. I went to him and asked how he was there. He told me that his name was Chemy and he was from France. There, he was doing graduation in cinematography. He was visiting India with just one camera hanging around his neck and taking lift from different people. Chemy further added generally truck drivers show their mercy for him and give him lift and some eatables. This
time he was going to Leh in a mini truck standing ahead of us. Soon the road was cleared and we all started moving again towards our respective destinations.Encountering the amazingly beautiful and charming scene we kept rolling on the twisted mountainous road. Once as I took a sharp turn I found the same mini truck was standing there. All the four boys, whom we had met on our earlier halt, were standing on the road. I stopped and asked them what had happened. They showed us a diesel tanker in a deep gorge. It had fallen there a day before. The diesel smell was spread all around.
I found the car was climbing up again all along the twisted road. Traveling this way, after some time, we reached at an altitude of 13,479 feet. This top is the highest on the Kargil-Leh road and is called Fotula. The moment we reached here the wind was blowing with its full fury. It was really hard to resist its pressure. Soon we came down from there.
Our car kept speeding up through the barren terrains and ultimately by the evening we reached Leh.
I was feeling completely drained of my energy by the time we reached here. So, without wasting too much time in selecting some good hotel we entered into the one that came first on our way near the main market. Next day (i.e. the 9th day of our tour) in the morning I came out from my Hotel to buy some maps of Ladakh. But soon I found myself lost simply because I forgot the name and the location of the Hotel. Our mobiles were still dead. I was so strongly traumatized with the Zojila happenings that inadvertently I started naming my Hotel as the Zojila Hotel. Every body was saying maybe it is some newly constructed Hotel and hence none could guide me to anywhere. Wandering here and there for hours, ultimately I reached to my Hotel with the help of one local. There I came to know the name of my Hotel. It was the Khangri Hotel not the Zojila Hotel at all. After this incident the owner of the Hotel gave a BSNL SIM card to me for some time, so as my mobile could become functional again and I may contact him in case of any emergency. That day we rested and did our preparation for the on coming excursions.
Next day, that was the 10th day of our tour, in the early morning, we left our hotel for the Pangong Tso Lake. It was nearly 125 km from Leh. Moving in the early morning we found frozen water on many occasions down the road in the ditches. In a completely lonely surrounding we were moving quite fast and hence crossed a check-post unnoticed. The car windows were closed and we were listening music so we did not realize whether some one was whistling to stop us.
Soon, we found ourselves approaching the completely snow covered cliffs. We were passing through the beautiful scenic landscapes with snow scattered everywhere. But on the road the snow had become ice and the car was skidding. Taking all cares we reached at the world third highest top CHANG LA at an altitude of 17,800 feet. The army men posted there told it was second highest not the third as was written. Here, we encountered the bone biting cold. We were wearing thick woolens to beat the cold but still we were shivering. First time here, my wife suffered from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) she was having breathlessness and nausea. Hurriedly, taking photographs and making movie soon we came down knowing it is the best cure of AMS.
We kept moving except for some occasional halts and reached PANGONG TSO Lake by 11 o’ clock i.e
. in almost five and a half hours. We all were thrilled and spell-bound as the dark blue watered Pangong Tso Lake appeared to us. The surrounding golden mountains made it amazingly beautiful.
After soaking in its beauty for hours we started feeling hungry. So, I enquired from a passerby whether we could find there any place to eat some thing. On his guidance we moved on as he had told that the place was a few kilometers away. After some time we realized that the road was becoming more and more worst as we were moving ahead. It was a clear indication that the road was not in much use. Soon it became extremely bad with all sorts of stones scattered on it. We were not having any choice but to move forward as the road was very narrow. On one side there was a mountain and on the other was the lake. The situation was getting worst. Suddenly I recalled that one-fourth of this lake is in India and the three-fourth is in China. This simply meant that we were moving on the road leading to China border. Then immediately I decided to take a turn. Unbelievingly I turned the car on such a narrow road and with a sigh of relief we started moving back. Then suddenly a tent which we had missed earlier was sighted with tables and chairs placed outside. That was the place we were searching for. There, we took our memorable tasteless lunch. Still I felt thankful to them for serving at least some thing to eat in such a lonely and deserted place
On our return journey while ascending towards Chang La I found that on many occasions the slopes were very steep and first time in my life I experienced that the car even in its first gear was groaning to creep up the mountain. Then I recalled how correctly the people suggested me to come here with a four wheel drive vehicle rather then the car like Santro. Passing through Changla we found snow was falling. First time in our lives we enjoyed the snowfall. However, the falling snow was so thin that we could not capture it in our photographs.
Coming down from Changla we were speeding back to Leh then suddenly a policeman stopped us on the check post which we had missed unnoticed in the morning. He took me to his officer. Knowing that we were coming from Pangong Tso the officer demanded a permit from me. I was taken aback and said what permit? He told visiting Pangong Tso without permit was not allowed that’s why they tried to stop us in the morning. Detaining for a while he allowed us to go and by the evening we came back to our Hotel. Lying on the bed, I was contemplating that had we stopped on the check-post in the morning, the officer would definitely have sent us back since we were not having the required permit and we would have missed the most thrilling experience of visiting Pangong Tso Lake.
Next day (i.e. the 11th day of our tour) we set out for Khardungla but this time with required permit. We were stopped again on a check post while we were moving up the mountain. This time they told us that they allow the visitors to go up till 11 a.m. only. It was 10 minutes to 12 noon. We were almost one hour late. I told them that it was a life time visit, very rarely some one, at least from U.P, will come back here again. Listening to me he gave a second thought and allowed us to go ahead. Encountering the same conditions of what we already had been used to; we reached the highest motorable road in the world at an altitude of 18,380 feet. There first time I suffered from AMS and was having difficulty in breathing. But the surrounding was so much beautiful that I forgot every thing. The Himalayan range visible from here was of eternal beauty. 
Enjoying the visit thoroughly we came back to our hotel by evening. While driving the car I was thinking that all these places undoubtedly are most beautiful but the roads coiled around the mountains leading to these places are of great danger. Further, if nothing wrong had happened to us till then, did not imply the same for the future. So, discussing with my wife and son, we all decided to start our back journey next day.
Most of the local people had asked us not to go via Leh-Manali road as it was in much worst condition compared to the Leh-Srinagar road. But, I could not gather the courage to face the Zojila again and hence decided to return back via Leh-Manali road.
Next day (i.e. the 12th day of our tour) at sharp 5 a.m. we left the hotel for our back journey with ten liter petrol in a plastic can in addition to the car tank completely filled. We were moving quite fast on the road and soon we started encountering huge ice on the sides of the road. 
The natural scenery all around us was stunningly beautiful but by now we had already been habituated to all this hence mostly we kept going. Moving this way for almost three hours we reached at the top of the Tanglangla at an altitude of 17,582 feet. It is the world’s second highest pass. The surrounding mountain cliffs were covered with snow. Without wasting too much time we headed forward. 
Coming down we found ourselves moving on a long straight road. The condition of the road was somewhat better and hence I was driving the car quite fast. Suddenly, I spotted two foreigners coming on their cycles. At once, one of them came in the middle of the road signaling me to drive slowly. Following the natural impulse I saved him by pulling the car down the road. It could certainly have over turned but God saved us. Stopping the car I came out angrily and shouted loudly at the foreigner. He kept moving away sneering at me.
Onward, we started moving slow. Soon, we realized that the road had become very treacherous. On many occasions it completely ceased existing any more and one suddenly plunged into fine powered dust. The car was deep in it up to its bonnet. Some how we succeed in surmounting this peculiar type of problem and then crossing Lachulungla at an altitude of 16,616 feet we came across a rough patch on the road with water flowing over it. Crossing this patch when I came out of the car it was complet
ely covered 
with dust. Washing the car we moved forward and reached Nakeela. It was situ
ated at an altitude of 15,547 feet.
Rolling on and on, ultimately we reached Sarchu by 4 pm (i.e. it was a drive of eleven hours from Leh) and landed in a deluxe tent for a day. These tents were good enough ha
ving all type of facilities. 
Here the chill effect was prominent because of very fast breeze. One feels comfortable being inside tent only. Because of severe cold we went to bed quite early and soon fell asleep. At around 12:30 a.m. my son woke up all of a sudden and shouted, “Abbu, I am feeling suffocated”. I asked him to do deep breathing. This way he slept laying his head on me. Two hours later he did the same thing. My wife and I both were extremely perturbed. I opened the tent window which was just over his head when third time at 3:20 a.m. he got up having difficulty in breathing. I was realizing that it was because of AMS but was helpless to do anything. Then suddenly an idea flashed to my mind and I peeped outside from the same window to seek help from someone. But, alas, outside it was horrifying dark and nothing was visible at all. Disappointedly, I moved my head up to the heaven and there I found the sky was filled with so many stars that I could have not imagined in my wildest fantasies. Even the faintest was twinkling giving me the courage to be patient with the situation.
Fourth time when he woke up at around 4 a.m. in the same manner, we opened both the windows of the tent. Then the cold breeze started crossing the tent. It became freezing cold inside but the problem did not occur any more. In the morning he woke up quite fresh totally unaware of the last night’s happenings. But, when I narrated the whole story to the care-taker staff, they asked me why did I not raise the alarm? They told that they had all the emergency equipments and medicines. Had I shouted for help they would have come to attend us.
The food served here was much better compared to what we had on other places. They charged Rs. 1000/- for one night stay with one time meal and breakfast inclusive. Other than this what ever we ordered they charged heavily.
At the breakfast we were told that the remaining stretch to the Manali is much worst than what we had covered. Around 8 o’clock, on the 13th day of our tour we left Sarchu and moved ahead. After a long descend from Sarchu we could realize it was situated at quite high altitude and that was the reason last night my son suffered from AMS. Onward, on many occasion we encountered the bad patches on the road with heavy water flowing across them. The big stones hidden in the deep water make the situation worst for low ground clearance cars as was ours. One realizes the danger only when he drives through such patches and the big stones strike the underbelly of the car quite hard.
Once I took the car through such a horrible patch but it became very difficult for my wife, son and the driver to come on the other side on foot. 
I honestly feel that the Srinagar-Leh road is more threatening since all the bad patches on the road to Zojila are at high altitude whereas; such patches are at low altitude on the Manali-Leh road although they are much worst in their conditions and greater in number.
On the way to Baralachala we found ourselves passing through the snow scattered everywhere giving fantastic look.
Enjoying our journey we reached Rohtang pass at an altitude of 13,050 feet. Here, a beautiful waterfall welcomed us while we were moving up the hill. 
Though it is not at very high altitude but still a lot of snow was there and it was completely covered with the clouds. The tourists over there were unexpectedly large in number. I was surprised finding them dancing on such a narrow road at such a high altitude and hence blocking the traffic movement.
Some how I managed to come down to Manali. Spending a night in a hotel next day (i.e. the 14th day of our tour) by 10 p.m. we reached Delhi. There we spent a night. And on the 15th day of our tour i.e. on 25th June, 2007, we finally came back to our sweet home.
Your comments please, good and bad, never mind.
