Is it possible to cover the entire span of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh as one unbroken journey by road? Yes, it is. And I am setting out to show how it can be done, starting January 29, 2010. And I will drive for approximately 120 days.

Billed to be a trip never done before (certainly not in recorded memory), the journey will stretch from the western border of the Indian Himalayas in Kashmir to the eastern end in Arunachal Pradesh. It will also go through Ladakh, Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, West Bengal, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

The journey has been made possible with sponsorships from TripAdvisor.in and Yatra.com.

It is the ultimate driving challenge, one full of adventure, excitement and fun. Why am I doing this trip? To show it can be done. To record all the wonderful sights and sounds along the way. To meet the various peoples and develop a greater understanding of their lives, their society and their cultures. As in my earlier travels, I also hope to get closer to our natural world so I can respect its beauty and fragility more. By sharing my experiences and stories with the rest of the world, I hope they too learn from the ways of those in the mountain. And start caring for the environment as it may not be same forever.

To a great extent, it will be an expedition into the unknown. I am not going with any fixed itinerary, only a tentative one. The idea is keep taking and following tips from locals and those in the know about these regions. This is the surest way of unearthing gems for a travel writer. Following guide books may give a greater sense of security, but not knowing where the following night will be spent is another thing.

The journey will take place in two phases. The first leg, starting January 29, will go from Nepal to Arunachal Pradesh and last 8-10 weeks. The second leg will go from Kashmir to Uttarakhand, ending where the first started. This will start in May for 6-8 weeks. It is being done this way keeping weather conditions in mind. The higher passes of Ladakh and Lahaul Spiti are open only from May – September approximately. This is also a time when the eastern Himalayas get too wet. In theory, one can do the whole stretch in the summers at one go. But then one would also miss out the spring flowers of Sikkim and Bhutan. Hence such an itinerary.

I will be posting updates with photographs en-route whenever connectivity allows on TripAdvisor.in, Yatra.com’s Fan Page on Facebook, on Kunzum.com and Twitter (@ajayjain and @kunzum). At the end of the trip, I will also be bringing out a pictorial travelogue.

The Tentative Route

Phase I:

NEPAL: Mahendranagar (Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve), Khaptad National Park, Bardiya National Park, Lumbini, Pokhara, Jomsom, Chitwan National Park, Kathmandu, Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
INDIA: Darjeeling, Guwahati, Itanagar, Ziro, Daiporjo, Alang, Namdapha Wildlife Sanctuary, Dibrugarh, Mon, Jorhat, Mokokchung, Kohima, Kaziranga, Shillong, Gangtok, Nathu La, Yumthang
BHUTAN: Thimpu, Paro

Phase II

INDIA: Rudrapur, Bhimtal, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag, Rishikesh, Barkot, Mori, Sarahan, Sangla, Kalpa, Lahaul Spiti, Jispa, Leh, Tso Moriri, Pangong Tso, Siachen, Nubra, Alchi, Kargil, Zanskar, Srinagar, Uri, Jammu

Watch this space for live updates!

The Takthok (Thagtok) Monastery in Ladakh

Why did so many gompas start out as caves? Tak-Thok (also Thag-Thok, literally “rock roof”) gompa has come up around a cave where Padmasambhava, or the Guru Rinpoche, is said to have meditated during his travels to Ladakh in the 8th century.

The cave, called Duphug (or Tu-Phuk) Lhakhang, is a popular pilgrimage. Buddhists visit to be blessed by dubchu, the sacred water that oozes from its ceiling. A constant drip. Even in winter, when the world freezes over. The ceiling is a greasy black with emissions from the butter lamps that burn nonstop. Devotees have stuck offerings of banknotes and coins all over. Gold-plated statues of Padmasambhava’s eight manifestations occupy pride of place.

Tak-Thok comes under the Nyingma lineage founded by Padmasambhava, also called the red hat sect going by the colour of the headgear its followers sport. Tak-Thok’s lamas are sought after as they have developed texts to ward off evil spirits, epidemics and curses. They perform birth and death rites, recite prayers for longevity and wealth, even make astrological predictions.

All this expertise has been developed over time to supplement the monastery’s income. Sacred water doesn’t pay bills!

Read more such anecdotes and experiences from Ladakh in Ajay Jain’s new book, Postcards from Ladakh.

This street vendor is one of many – selling vegetables during season in the main market in Leh, Ladakh. One has to wonder – how many Ladakhi winters has this woman weathered?

Hemis Monastery, Ladakh: If you walk up this track, will you spot flying lamas?

If you walk up the mountains from Hemis monastery, you’ll reach Gotsang cave, about 2 km away. Buddhist monk Gyalwa Gotsangpa meditated there in the 13th century.

Monks do so even today. Anyone will tell you this. But Tashi, a local cabbie, has more to tell. These lamas, called Tubas according to him, meditate for years on end, wearing nothing even in the icy winter. This intense discipline gives the lamas the shakti (‘power’) to fly, flit about from peak to peak. Has Tashi seen these aerial acrobatics? No, but he knows people who have.

An old lama at Chemde endorsed Tashi. He pointed to a peak where he’d spent three meditating in a cave. He described it. Tashi was exaggerating, of course. Monks pray nonstop for 15 days but then retreat to the cave’s warmth. And they can partially cover their bodies with cotton sheets. He knows some lamas have the power to fly. He hasn’t seen them airborne though. Nor has his own penance empowered him thus.

Seems everyone in Ladakh knows someone who’s seen a flying lama. But no one can give a firsthand account. Nor do you meet any lama who’s actually logged some miles in the air.

Read more such anecdotes and experiences from Ladakh in Ajay Jain’s new book, Postcards from Ladakh.

Chemrey Monastery, Ladakh

Many monasteries in Ladakh were plundered by invaders over the centuries. The one at Chemde, or Chemrey stayed safe. How? A tale worth telling.

Seems the Mongols laid siege on Chemde in the late 17th century. He was outnumbered but that didn’t stop the head lama from outsmarting the outsiders. From afar, he shot the Mongol king’s tea cup with a rifle. Stunned, the king thought Goddess Kali ruled over the gompa and he made peace with the monks. A temple to Kali stands at the base of the hill on which Chemde nestles.

[Click on the image for a larger view]

Stagsang Respa founded this impressive gompa, Hemis’ most important branch. King Sengye Namgyal asked him to make gompas at Leh, Basgo and Chemde after Hemis but he refused to make one at Basgo (already had one) or Leh (too crowded, too noisy). Gompas are places of solitude, of meditational retreats, and Chemde was suitable.

While at the gompa, don’t miss its museum. On display are dresses worn by Mongol and Ladakhi rulers, weapons their armies used, cooking utensils, holy symbols, seals, money, storage bags and texts belonging to royalty and monks. It is one of the rare monastery museums where you can take photographs. This might change soon though.

Read more such anecdotes and experiences from Ladakh in Ajay Jain’s new book, Postcards from Ladakh.

Amused Buddhist Nuns at Hemis Monastery, Ladakh

This shot of Buddhist nuns was captured during the annual festival of the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. Click on the image for a larger view. You can view and order more such images at the Kunzum Gallery.

Dancer in Yellow Mask with Flag at Hemis Monastery Festival, Ladakh

This photograph of the masked dancer was taken at the annual festival of the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. It has also been selected for a permanent display at the Museum of Cannes, France.

Click on the image for a larger view. You can view and order more such images at the Kunzum Gallery.

Girls Gossiping in School in Ladakh

This image was taken at the Druk White Lotus School in Shey near Ladakh in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Click on the image for a larger view. You can view and order more such images at the Kunzum Gallery.

Tibetan Argalis on way to Tso Moriri in Ladakh

As you drive towards Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri, you enter Changthang Eco Zone. It is an extension of Changthang, the Northern Tibetan Plateau, and covers about 15,000 square km. The elevation varies from 13,000 – 23,000 feet and the region is dotted by wide valleys amidst rolling hills and the occasional mountain lake. It’s a cold desert that gets very little rainfall and very high solar radiation. Summer temperatures range from 0 °C to 30 °C but the winter is hostile, with the land freezing over at -20 °C to -40 °C.

The region is strikingly beautiful but very desolate too. You wouldn’t want to be stranded here. There are few permanent human settlements. What motivates people to lead such meagre lives in these harsh conditions, virtually cut off from the world? And still be happy? The only other people you see are the nomadic Changpas who pitch tents wherever their livestock find pastures.

Tibetan Wild Ass at Tso Kar in Ladakh

In Changthang’s wetlands live many vulnerable and endangered animals such as the kiang (Tibetan wild ass), Tibetan argali, blue sheep, snow leopard, Tibetan wolf and lynx. They are the only breeding site for the bar-headed geese in India, and the only region outside China where the highly endangered black-necked cranes breed.

Of course, you’ll need a lot of perseverance to spot these creatures.

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Tso Moriri in Ladakh

Ladakh’s lakes should figure among the world’s must-see natural wonders. They stun you out of your senses. Tso Moriri is an unending expanse of sheer azure. You can sit and stare at its blue waters and the peaks all around for hours on end.

Sitting pretty at 15,100 feet, it is 25 km long, 5-7 km wide and 40 m at its deepest. Originally a glacial lake, it had outlets to Sutlej river. Now it’s a huge enclosed basin fed by three streams. In the desert-like climate, due to surface evaporation, what was a freshwater lake first turned brackish and finally saline.

If you have the patience, you can spot rare animal/bird species here. In fact, over 150 bird species are found in the region. It’s an important breeding ground for the endangered bar-headed goose and black-necked crane.

I camped by the lake at Korzok, the only village here inhabited by Changpas. Korzok has a 400-year-old monastery, built on a gentle slope unlike most gompas that are perched atop high hills. Local Buddhists revere this wetland as sacred and don’t use or pollute its water. At the WWF Annual Conference in 2000 in Nepal, Tso Moriri was declared a ‘sacred gift for a living planet’ by the local community.

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Key facts about Pangong Tso

• ~ 14,000 Feet above sea level
• 134 km long
• Around 5km at the widest point
• Roughly 6o% of it is in China and the rest in India
• An Endorheic Lake – meaning it is a closed drainage basin that retains water without any outflows to rivers or oceans
• The lake freezes completely in the winter in spite of being salt water!

A Dramatic Drive

The Journey

The 150km distance takes around 5-1/2 hours. Getting out of Leh (11,500 feet), the scenery unfolds. Within a short drive, one passes through the summer residence of the Dalai Lama, thebeautiful Sindhu Ghat next to the Indus River, the centuries old monasteries of Shey Palace and the  Thiksey Gompa. These monasteries are perched on hilltops offering a place for monks to embark on a life of learning in the most serene environments. Then comes the climb into Zingral, ChangLa; the descent into Dubruk, TangTse, Lukung & finally Pangong Tso.

Permits & Checkpoints

As travelers begin the climb up the mountains, the first of the few checkposts await the traveler (both ways) to ensure the BRO know who travel in this remote terrain in the event of breakdowns or other unforeseen events. The permits are issued by the Leh Tourism department for a nominal fee.

The Terrain gets interesting

Climbing further towards the Chang La pass, the terrain starts unravelling itself. Before one realizes, travelers quickly gain altitude. The views offered parallel those looking out of a plane window. Mountainous terrain – rough, smooth, carved – all worn with time, offer innumerable visual combinations along with ever changing skies. Extremely beautiful moments, too fleeting in time to remember all.

Remoteness Personified

Chang La - 3rd highest motorable road in the planet! An army outpost, requiring one to climb 17,500 feet before  descending to 14,000 feet to reach Pangong. (According to a prior Kunzum post, Chang La is technically the 2nd highest motorable road.)

Valleys - Winding down below Chang La, travelers drive through valleys – surrounded by mountains everywhere. The scenery changes every kilometer of the journey!

Streams - 108 kms from Leh, one reaches the town of TangTse. A checkpost awaits along a stream and army barracks. Noodles and tea warm travelers – the  last stop before eternity.

Vastness - In this vastness and beyond, one feels like the speck that they are in this Universe. Sceneries to behold forever.

Almost There

Poetic License to the BRO – Saftey signs line up the entire route into Pangong Tso. Some are downright cheeky (Darling I love you, but not so fast), others have bad grammar, even spelling mistakes. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) must be commended not only for maintaining motorable roads, but, for also sharing their wisdom through safety signs with a quirky sense of humor. On descending Chang La, the latter part comprises incredible valley drives with Yaks, wild Horses, Marmots, Birdlife, Pashmina Sheep dotting the scenery. One almost wishes that this would never end. As these thoughts emerge, the below signboard heightens the anticipation for travelers.

Pangong Tso – Surreal!

The pictures speak for themselves. This is what one will see on arriving..

Eternal Memories

Epilogue: Can this be for Real?

I cannot get over the lingering memories of Pangong Tso – even though it has been 2 months since we returned from Ladakh. The lucky ones who have made the long and arduous trek to this “Heaven on Earth” will truly understand what I mean. One had to have been there to relate to what I am saying, as a life changing moment transcends one into another world. Words simply cannot do justice to this incredible creation that we were privileged enough to have seen. And thankful to have the good fortune to tell everyone about the splendidness that is Pangong Tso. An expanse of water spanning 134 km long and 5 km wide at it’s widest point, surrounded by the most rugged terrain. Imagine this – a visual extravagance as far as the eye can see, pin drop silence, the clouds sifting continuously – one can see the same view differently based on the skies and cloud formations every few minutes! A sense of calm seeps in all the way to the soul. For someone not believing in religion as it is preached in it’s current form, but having the modesty to realize that there is some force behind all this, I ask of this creator – if there was one, “What were you thinking when you made this?” Am I glad of the outcome!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DioZCY7FjG8[/youtube]

On way to Pangong Tso in Ladakh

As you descend the 17,586 ft high Chang La to get to Pangong Tso (‘lake’), you see a sign at Durbuk: ‘Welcome to the land of beautiful mountains and blue water lake.’

It’s a sweet spot. Maintained in an eco-friendly manner. There’s a bright green litter bin yet some visitors throw food wrappers along the lake. People!

On a rocky patch, there’s another sign, ‘Ice hockey, the sport of Eastern Ladakh, promoted by Army’. The area is also the world’s highest army habitat it seems; only the sign read ‘Arty Habitat’. Creative, eh?

I met Kunchuk, 9, starting his 5 km walk to school, being seen off by his mother, grandfather and baby brother Phunsuk. The family subsists on a meagre agricultural income but they are always smiling, and Kunchuk just loves going to school.

On a rough strip of road, my car tyre ripped. And I still had the infamous Pagal Nala (‘mad stream’) to negotiate. It’s slippery and treacherous; you have to drive across it on tenterhooks. One wrong move and you’ll need a crane to pull you out. In the middle of nowhere. Cross it before noon because the sun melts the ice later and the slush is hell to drive on. A passenger bus had broken down there, so I had to go around on an even more perilous path.

But I made it. And the first view of the gorgeous glacial lake is more than worth it.

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Karma with his wife and child at Spangmik Village near Pangong Tso in Ladakh

Karma’s life will never be easy. He lives in Spangmik village, beside Pangong Tso. At over 14,000 ft, summer is too short and barely warm while winter is endless and pitiless. He works as a cleaner in a government school in Durbuk, a couple of hours away by bus. If he can, he comes home on Sundays.

Home is his old father, teenaged sister (who doesn’t attend school), wife and a toddler son. They grow vegetables in the summer for themselves and sit idle in the winter, waiting for time to pass. Why don’t they move to a lower altitude, where life is more comfortable and where there are jobs for other family members?

Click on the image for a larger view

What will happen to my goat and cow? That’s Karma’s first reaction. And my land is here too, he adds. Spangmik’s 200-odd population is dwindling as people leave for greener pastures but Karma is staying put. In true entrepreneurial style, he has built some rooms for tourists to use as homestays and is adding a toilet too. He plans to charge between Rs 100 and 250 per person.

Karma’s attitude reminds me of what His Holiness, the XIIth Gyalwang Drukpa said. Most villagers in Ladakh are contended and happy. They ask for nothing. They are at peace with their life. Despite the flux in the social, cultural and economic patterns around them.

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNmSMFyoPN0[/youtube]

Photographs by Kahini Ghosh Mehta & Shivang Mehta – wildlife photographers who run a camp in Corbett National Park and Rishikesh. Contact them at www.naturewanderers.com

Click on any images for a larger view

Imagine a school where you’re taught how to succeed in the modern world but never at the expense of your culture, your traditions, your rooting. Where you learn to cherish your environment. Where your buildings soak in solar energy instead of expending electricity, you recycle waste, you plant thousands of trees…

Just such a model school is Druk White Lotus School in Shey’s Naropa Palace complex. It was established by the Drukpa lineage in 2001. Students’ fees meet running costs and are also channelled into scholarships for the needy. Of the 506 students, 158 stay on campus. The school expands by one grade every year, and will have all 12 grades by 2014.

I attended a cultural programme at the school. Students recited English rhymes, performed Ladakhi dances and enacted an environmental play. The audience was mesmerised. The classrooms are neat and clean; all shoes stay outside. The artworks are evocative. The children respect each other and their elders. Discipline is still in fashion here, as are proper uniforms. Teachers believe in being true to their calling.

The students keep smiling, and their laughter is infectious. You never tire of their company. Why didn’t they make such schools when we were kids?

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Click on any images for a larger view

It’s rare to see nuns conduct prayers at a Buddhist set-up. At Shey’s Naropa Palace, you’ll find this rarity.

About 50 nuns live in and manage the palace built just before the Ornaments of Naropa ceremony in 2004. This event, held every 12 years, was till then celebrated at Hemis but the need for a larger venue prompted the shift.

Lord Naropa, great scholar and chancellor of Nalanda University, gave six ornaments to his disciple Marpa Choekyi Dorje, who bequeathed them to his disciple Ngok Toen Choeku Dorje (1036–1102 AD) and prophesied that they would stay in the Ngok lineage for seven generations. Indeed, the seventh Ngok transferred them, with Ngok teachings, to the second Gyalwang Drukpa. Since then, the Drukpa spiritual heads have guarded them, and they make rare public appearances wearing them.

The nuns pray at 6 am and 6 pm daily. Listening to them recite prayers in perfect synchronisation to the damru’s beat is an uplifting experience. There were only seven nuns when I went; the rest were visiting Kargil.

Unlike with monks, it’s not easy chatting up the nuns. They are either shy or giggly. But do make an effort to talk to them. You won’t get too many opportunities.

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Click on image for a larger view

For 800 years, the Drukpa lineage has been the most popular Buddhist sect. But now, it’s transcending its traditional role. It’s engaging with society. It’s telling people to “Live to Love”. Its spiritual leader, His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, says:

“Tibetan Buddhist masters have been perceived as a closed community, removed from communal happenings. However, we don’t live in this world on our own. Our religious practices require us to interact with others, regardless of faiths, nationalities and cultural backgrounds. We live to love, not to hate. It’s time to extend this energy of love to everyone. Live to love isn’t a new idea. Many Mahayana masters practise it. The Catholics are noted for it. With our existing resources, we can start work on the following:

1. Education: Founding schools like Druk White Lotus School, providing scholarships
2. Health: Establishing clinics in the Himalayas to offer basic medical facilities for the needy
3. Welfare: Providing relief aid to those affected by man-made or natural disasters
4. Heritage: Supporting the preservation of the spiritual and cultural heritage of our 800-year-old legacy
5. Environment: Sensitising communities to preserve the environment and manage waste”

Can they do all this? Will faith and love prove to be a powerful combination?

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

Click on any images for a larger view

Faith moves mountains, they say. And if you’re a follower of His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, you’ll probably scale mountains, following him on an overwhelmingly arduous 400-km, six-week trek.

This year, the pad yatra (walk by foot) on the world’s rooftop started at Manali in end-May to culminate in Hemis for the festival. The goal was to promote the values of the lineage and the causes of the environment, education, health and culture.

It was pretty formidable, going by accounts of the 600 participants. They walked over passes like Shikun La, Hanamur La, Singge La, Kongskil La and Flying Fox, at altitudes touching 17,000 feet. They would walk up to 12 hours every day in cold, oxygen-deprived conditions. They had to set off early, before the sun thawed the snow and made it impossible for their 300 horses (carrying supplies) to trot on. After the exhausting trudge, they had to pitch their own tents. Once, when the horses got left behind, the walkers had to share tents and sleeping bags or sleep in the open in sub-zero temperatures for four days. Food was, at best, basic.

What made them go on? A western follower said, “I’ve never, ever trekked. Only faith made me go through with it.”

Read many more such features in Ajay Jain’s pictorial travelogue, Postcards from Ladakh.

It never rains at Hemis Tsechu (festival). Why should it? The annual festival, uninterrupted since its inception in the 1730s, falls on the 10th and 11th days of the fifth Tibetan month. These are usually the summer months of June/July, with negligible precipitation in this rain shadow area.

Seems the lamas didn’t consult their Oracles this year though, and thousands like me stood wet and freezing on festival day. The lamas, though, interpreted the rain and occasional snowflakes as heaven’s blessings! A few hours delay was inconsequential on this special day to commemorate Guru Padmasambhava’s birth.

Rain or no rain, it’s always smart to reach Hemis early. Thousands of locals and tourists throng to Hemis on this day, and the limited space means they perch wherever they can, like on rooftops and parapets. So grab your spot and pray you don’t need to move for a loo break! Only the presence of holy spirits seems to prevent stampedes there.

While at the fest, shop for curios and handicrafts. Relish local delicacies at stalls set up to raise funds for the monastery. At some surprise stalls, you can even play games of skill and chance, with money at stake!

His muse was a vulture’s nest. In the 13th century, Buddhist sage Gyalwa Gotsangpa (his name means ‘vulture’ [Got] ‘nest’ [Tsang]!) zeroed in on a lofty, secluded, secure location for Hemis Gompa, now Ladakh’s most revered monastery. Nestled amid towering mountains, it assured its monks of uninterrupted solitude.

Hemis, as seen today, was founded in the 1630s by Kushok Shambhu Nath (the first Stagsang Respa) under King Sengye Namgyal’s patronage. After 1730, Stagsang’s third incarnation, Gyalsey Rinpoche added shrines, stupas, scriptures and murals. He also founded the popular Hemis Festival.

Hemis may not look as imposing as the multi-storeyed Thiksey and Chemde gompas but the surrounding mountains give it an air of dignity. It is the headquarters of Buddhism’s Drukpa lineage, which most Ladakhis follow.

Ladakh’s largest monastery, Hemis has over 500 resident lamas, aged five to 80 years. With land endowments going back centuries, Hemis could well be the region’s richest landlord after the government. The royal family’s head is still its chief patron, though he longer contributes much. Hemis is quite influential in the region in many ways; non-Ladakhis cannot buy property in Ladakh without approval from Hemis.

Even religion needs resources and power to flourish.