Chasing Glaciers - Suru valley

It’s simply water in its solid form. We add it to our scotch, we devise sports around it but we take it for granted! Ice, in its natural form creates some the world’s most amazing landscapes – white crowns for towering mountains, complete biospheres near the poles and glaciers that sculpt out valleys or perhaps fjords. Here in Kashmir and Ladakh it creates nothing short of the same. It’s easy to sight white mountain crests in the Himalayan North, but not really glaciers. The slow icy rivers are easily the most reticent of landforms – they stay aloof, slowly navigating the higher, inhospitable regions of Himalayas. It’s a privilege to see one, an adventure to get to one and I am on my way to the Darang-Durung glacier in the heart of western Ladakh.

A Kashmiri autumn

Srinagar brings to mind gory and horrific images of bomb blasts and terrorism. But, the Srinagar we arrive to is peaceful - hazy and overcast, but calm. +Salil Malik  (my batch mate and friend) and my spirits are raised when we get a vehicle to Kargil within the hour. Our driver, Muhammad Ali, is soft spoken and courteous unlike his namesake. His name might suggest a more Muslim, perhaps Kashmiri lineage, but the features are definitely Tibetan-mongoloid. He is quite at home conversing in Urdu, but the accent again is more eastern. We take a short detour at Ganderbal since the road is blocked by a hartaal and make our first stop at Kangan - my first opportunity to bite into local cuisine. It’s simple – a sort of pattice without any filling which is a Kashmiri Kulcha (Thanks +Tiksha Kaul  for this clarification) and some noon chai  (salt tea) – a pink coloured tea that is prepared with pistas and cardamom.

Breakfast at Kangan - Kashmiri Kulcha with Noon chai (right).
Regular tea on the left

The drive to towards Kargil continues. It’s now October and autumn has arrived in the Kashmir valley. The greens of the valley are gradually being replaced by the yellows and oranges of the season and the air has a whiff of winter. At Sonamarg, we pass the opportunity to see the Thajiwas glacier. It is a few kms from Sonamarg, and we want to get to Kargil before sunset. Besides, it’s very accessible and a little too touristy for our liking. A few frames of horses grazing in the meadows will do for now.

Horses in the meadows of Sonamarg

Before we get to Drass and Kargil, we must cross the Zoji La (3,528m). The skies have been overcast since Srinagar and we are expecting a rough time. Half way up to the pass and we are hit by sheets of snow. The experience is enthralling and intimidating at the same time – our vision is reduced to a few meters – we can just see the truck ahead. A quick glance down and I can barely see the edge of the road; leave aside the bottom of the valley. But MA is seasoned and navigates the Scorpio well through the frost and snow and past Zojila. The autumn colours continue on the other side of the pass, but are sparse – Ladakh beckons!

Crossing the Zojila

The War memorial – Drass & Kargil

The Kargil war fought between India and Pakistan in the summer of 1999. In the preceding winter, Pakistani troops and mercenaries took positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control as the Indian army abandoned the positions due to the harsh winter (a normal practice at this time). The incursions set off a military confrontation between the Pakistani backed forces and the Indian Army. Fighting ceased on the 26^th of July – India managed to push back the insurgents. (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kargil_War)

Some would describe the state of Jammu & Kashmir as a ‘paradise’, but it is also a region torn apart by conflict with some western parts controlled by Pakistan and some eastern ones by China. It’s a region where ‘glacier’ is almost synonymous with the one of the highest battlegrounds in the world – Siachen.

Tin domed mosque at Drass

Drass has seen its fair share of war, but I don’t see the scars – no poverty, mistrust of foreigners etc. Life it seems is back to normal in the coldest place in India. But, I do see plenty of memorials in and around the town dedicated to the Indian soldiers who gave their lives for their country. We reach Drass in time for lunch. The locals are said to be of Dard ethnicity and Sunni Muslim ⁽¹⁾, but I am not good enough to validate the first. The bazaar still looks a lot like the ones we crossed on the way – a line of restaurants with long bearded men hanging around – they either wear sweaters, coats or a local ‘pheran’. All the restaurants claim to serve wazwan, but once you get in, it’s just the good ol’ chicken biryani that is available – perhaps it’s because this is the off-season. But there are three things that did catch my eye – the amazing view of Tiger Hill from the bazaar, the tin domed mosque - Tin or asbestos is often used for the top of the mosque in these parts but it’s the first I have come across – and that the houses have started to flatten down into single storey cubical structures with flat roofs.

Local in Drass in a 'pheran'

The wide fields of Drass start to compress once again into the mountainous rocky road at Bimbat. At Channigund, near an Army post, a board reminds us of our proximity to the Line of control – it reads “Caution. You are being watched.” The LOC is across the river and we are truly being observed. Regardless of the signs, the memorials and bunkers on the way to Kargil are enough to let you know how close you are to the enemy. I come from a city that has seen plenty of terrorist activity, but I have never been this close to the devil himself!

Autumn in the valley (our Scorpio on the right)

Kargil is a pleasant surprise - it’s not just a big town, but a thriving one. On the banks of the Suru river and amidst an arid landscape, it boasts of most of the amenities of a modern town – ATMs, good hotels, transport options, decent internet connectivity, an active market etc. After checking into Hotel Siachen, we stroll about in the main market. Again, my tongue needs a taste of the local food – I spot a few street vendors selling a small sausage like preparation. The locals tell me that they are goat intestines. They are fried and served with a spicy red sauce and chopped onions and for Rs. 2 apiece, they are a MUST try. However, they are rather heavy and spongy (as compared to a chicken sausage), and I am struggling to get past half a dozen.

Suru Valley – the metamorphosis

More autumn frames....

It’s an early start the next morning from Kargil. Many travelers start even earlier to capture the sunrise over the Nun & Kun peaks, but we prefer to watch the valley unfold before us in the day – and we are well rewarded. Kargil was a melting pot of ethnicities, religions and cultures – sure, it was a big town. But here in the valley, it’s a slow change, of terrain, of vegetation and of religion. Speeding out of Kargil, we pass her suburbs and get to Trespone to see the grand Imambara. It is still early morning and the Imambara is closed, but a place beyond her walls is good enough for admiration. It’s then on to Sankoo for breakfast, followed by Panikhar.  Autumn continues to sprinkle her colours by the way, albeit in smaller portions, but the land is distinctly Muslim. The tin domed Mosques are now in greater numbers.

Parkachik Glacier

Bearded men with Taqiyahs and women with scarves loiter around by the fields that turn a lush green in the summers – watered of course by the Suru River. Flat mud houses lay squat in clusters surrounded by fields and short trees with black billed magpies darting and tweeting all around. Now and then, you will get glimpses of Nun peak, the highest in the state, that’s ofcourse if you know which peak is Mt. Nun. Unfortunately, even the locals seemed baffled when you ask them about it and keep pointing in different directions.

Parkachik marks a change of terrain, vegetation and people. It is the transition point of Suru valley. Chortens indicate a switchover to Buddhist settlements around. The mud houses continue in spurts but the valley empties out – a vast expanse of lifeless land, with just the river for company. Parkachik is also where we see our first glacier –the Parkachik Glacier– a rather small mass of frost clinging to the mountain side. It is close enough for you to cross over and get up close. A little further ahead, we catch our first glimpse of the Rangdum monastery – a red structure atop a small hill with mountains standing guard.

Kids in the family that hosted us

The expanse beyond Parkachik - Rangdum monastery in the distance

We halt at Rangdum and take a room with a family. MA talks to the family in another language now, one that sounds similar to Tibetan – the language has also changed apparently. But there is bad news on the horizon. Beyond the monastery, we see clouds sweeping into the valley. The bad weather seems to like playing hide and seek with us. Within minutes, Rangdum is covered in snow. The family tells us that it’s the first of the season – we seem to be lucky yet unlucky! The snowfall continues for the next 3-4 hours. After an initial frolic in the snow, we get back to our room to contemplate our fortunes. If the snow continues, Pensi la and Darang Durung glacier will be inaccessible! Sleep it seems can counter our disappointment and we hit the sack earlier than normal.

Making Noon chai at the homestay

Yaks return to the village after the first snowfall

Our homestay 

Rangdum monastery

Winter wonderland

The senior monk

Prayer hall in Rangdum monastery

The next morning brings blue skies and the hope that we can get to Pensi la. First up, we make a pit stop at the Rangdum monastery. The monastery, a good 5 kms from the town, is perched on a hill with the river weaving past its sides.  It’s the beauty of isolation – Shangri-La you say? Well, a strong contender I’m sure. The monastery looks deserted, but a monk soon comes out to show us around. He even invites us in for tea and snacks with the other monks. One of them is noticeably senior – partly because, well, he looks old and perhaps partly because his head gear resembles that of a Catholic Cardinal! It's a traditional hat in Ladakh and you can find many monks wearing it. He asks us why we would venture out here to Rangdum at this time of the year. “It’s so cold!” he says. We tell him that we are on our way to see the Glacier. “It will be still colder there!”, he retorts. The climb to Pensi La continues. It’s October, but it feels like spring – the Sun is out and the frost on the ground is thawing. We ascend past the 4,000m mark to discover a series of glaciers – each defrosting into a tributary of the Suru. The Scorpio slips and slides on the ice as MA negotiates the bends and the frost and then finally we are there – a little after Pensi La, the demarcation of the Suru and Zanskar valleys, laid the Darang-Durung glacier. It’s white all around – the terrain around us, the mountains opposite us and of course the glacier. You need to see the crevasses on the surface to outline the glacier and once you have that figured out; it really is a sight to behold. It is as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton would describe it – ‘a winter wonderland’ and I have got my Christmas gift 2 months early!

Rangdum Village (taken on the way back from PensiLa) with Mt. Kun in the background

Darang Durung Glacier

It’s funny this little journey of ours, we set out to discover glaciers and at each juncture were pushed back by snow and ice itself. Come to think of it, they weren’t impediments; they just completed the chase for Ice!

POINTERS

• Kargil has a strong taxi union, if you hire a taxi from Srinagar/Leh, you might have trouble taking it into Suru. (We had to rehire MA at Kargil!)
• Rangdum is an excellent site for star trails – make sure you have enough batteries
• Home stays are common in Ladakh and are extremely comfortable

References

1. ‘Ladakh’- Partha S banerjee