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Nubra Valley Circuit
Leh
- Khardung-la Khalsar-Tirit-Tegar-Sumur-Panamik and return
Leh-Khardung-la
- Khalsar- Deskit - Hundar and return.
The upper Shayok and
Nubra rivers drain the east and west sides of the Saser Spur, the eastern
most outcrop of the Karakoram. The name Nubra is applied to the district
comprising the valley of the Nubra river, and that of the Shayok both above
and below their confluence, where they meander in many shifting channels
over a broad sandy plain before flowing off to the northwest to join the
Indus in Baltistan.
The route from Leh takes the traveler over the
Khardung-la, the highest motorable road in the world. The line of the road
is different from that of the old pony-trail - longer and actually higher
(18,300 feet / 5,578 m). The view from the top of the pass is amazing. One
can see all the way south over the Indus valley to the seemingly endless
peaks and ridges of the Zanskar range, and north to the giants of the Saser
massif. For several kilometers, on each side of the pass, the road covered
by deep snow in winter, is rough; for the rest of the way the surface is
good.
At the confluence of the two rivers there is no dearth of
water, but the sandy soil is not suitable for agriculture, which is confined
to the alluvial fans where side streams debouch into the main valley. The
valley floor itself is covered with dense thickets of seabuckthorn - a
thorny shrub- which the villagers use for fuel and for fencing their fields
; though indeed, there is now less need for this than there was in the days
of the caravan trade with Central Asia when up to 10,000 horses a year are
said to have traversed the district. The villages are large and seem
prosperous, and have thick plantations of willow and popular. The altitude
is little less than that of Leh, varying between 10,000 feet (3,048 m) at
Hundar, and 10,600 feet (3,231 m) at Panamik. Summer temperatures vary
between 15 degree celcius and 28 degree celcius.
The main village
is Deskit, which has a regular bazaar consisting of a single line of shops,
and a gompa. This is situated on a rocky spur above the village with
commanding views up and down the valley. From Deskit, the tour circuit
proceeds down the Shayok to Hundar, past an area of rolling sand dunes,
their contours apparently solid, yet liable to shift with every gale. Here
there is a small population of Bactrian camels, shaggy double-humped
animals, which in the old days, were used as pack animals on the Central
Asian trade routes. During the past 50 years, they have been bred for
transport purposes in Nubra; today visitors can take a camel safari out into
the dunes from Hundar.
The other circuit proceeds up the Nubra
river, taking in the pretty villages of Tirit, Lukung, Tegar and Sumur.
Nubra's other kanor monastery, Samstaling is situated on the mountainside
just above Sumur. This was the route taken by the trade caravans, and
Panamik, the last village on this circuit, was at that time a busy centre,
the last major settlement before the caravans plunged into the mountains of
the Karakoram and the Kun-Lu. Here they invariable halted for a few days to
make final preparations for getting over the mountains, or to recuperate
afterwards. There would be no supplies, not even grazing for the animals,
for about 12 days after Panamik, so they had to carry all their provisions
for that time. The Government maintained a granary to sell foodgrains for
the men, and even for the horses.
But this arrangement was
insufficient for the amount of the traffic, and the local villagers made a
killing, selling grain and fodder, and letting out their fodder-fields for
the horses to graze in. Today, Panamik is a sleepy village, its people
quietly going about their work in the fields. Though the granary is still
there, converted into a store for miscellaneous supplies, it is difficult to
imagine the village's narrow lanes congested with the bustle of the caravan
traffic. On the mountainside above, the village hot water bubbles out of the
earth in thermal springs, locally reputed to have therapeutic qualities. And
across the river, clinging precariously to the mountain there is a sliver of
green - a few trees rooted in meagre accumulations of soil among the bare
rocks surrounding the tiny Ensa Gompa.
