Travelling the road from Leh to Srinagar, Kashmir: A photo diary

The journey from Leh to Srinagar takes you from desert to lush valleys, from a Buddhist region to an Islamic one.

The road hugs deep gorges, traverses mountain passes, comes under enemy fire and winds through peaceful rural idylls. It is a visual lesson in religion and politics: a geographical narrative on Jammu & Kashmir’s turbulent past, from remote Ladakh’s relatively untouched history to the Kashmir Valley’s long and troubled story, meddled with by everyone from the Mughals to the British.

1.    A traditional wood-fired Ladakhi bakery in old Leh

Leh's old town is a labyrinthine warren of gompas, mud-brick and wood buildings with low passages to duck under and open sewers to dodge. Craig got up early one morning to take pictures and the smell of baking bread enticed him to this hole-in-the-wall bakery on the edge of the old town. The old town comes to life early in the morning with locals sweeping, tidying and fetching water.

We left Leh at 1 pm, aiming to arrive in Srinagar 30 hours later.

2.    Prayer wheels at Alchi Gompa

The first stop of our road trip was Alchi Gompa, about two hours from Leh and 4km from the Leh-Srinagar road. Alchi is home to some of early Medieval Indian Buddhism’s oldest wall paintings; this collection of temples dates from the 11th century. Once our eyes adjusted to the gloom inside, we saw thousands of four-inch tall painted Buddhas gazing back at us. The most celebrated temple is the Sumstek, which contains a massive statue of Maitreya, the Buddha-to-come, illuminated only by the flickering light of butter lamps. Photography isn’t allowed inside, so this photo shows the prayer wheels lining the path to the monastery.

3.    One of the region’s amusing road signs

Numerous rhyming signs scattered along the Leh-Srinagar route helped to keep our minds off the treacherous roads. Speeding seems to be the biggest road safety issue in Jammu & Kashmir. This is even more worrying when you see the standard of the roads, but signs such as “Be gentle on my curves”, “If you are married, divorce speed” and “Mountains are a pleasure if you drive with leisure” gave us good chuckles between speeding Tata lorries and precipitous bends. The most disconcerting sign, though, is found along the Pak-Indo border just past Kargil: “Caution: you are under enemy observation.” Gulp.

4.    Lamayuru Gompa

Lamayuru is set in the midst of some rather strange scenery. The road through the mountains dips into a gorge that in turn opens up into moonscape badlands, with rounded, yellow pinnacles and meditation caves carved into the mountainside. Lamayuru - the oldest monastery in Ladakh, dating from the 11th century – perches quietly near the top of the mountain, overlooking the badlands. Its whitewashed walls glowed in the evening sun, which cast eerie shadows across the landscape below as we settled into our hotel for the night.

5.    Craig at Fotu La, the highest point of the Leh to Srinagar road Early the next day, about half an hour from Lamayuru, we reached the Fotu La (‘la’ means ‘pass’). At 4,100m it was the highest point of our journey. Compared with the Khardung La near Leh, the world’s highest motorable pass at 5,602m, which comes complete with souvenir shops, cafes and thousands of prayer flags, the Fotu La is pleasantly modest. There is only this sign Craig is standing next to, a few prayer flags and a satellite dish. There weren’t any other cars around either.
 
6.    Typical army convoy in Kashmir

The road between Leh and Srinagar used to be narrow and treacherous. Part of the army’s job is to help maintain it, as well as protect the border against militant insurgents from both Pakistan and Kashmir. Lengthy convoys of around 20 army trucks frequently passed us, in both directions. They invariably kicked up plenty of dust but their presence was vaguely reassuring.

7.    Chamba Gompa and a roadworks crew in Mulbekh

Thirty-three kilometres before Islamic Kargil, Mulbekh is the last outpost of Buddhism in Jammu & Kashmir. A large relief of Buddha is carved into this jut of rock and Buddhists travel many miles to pay their respects here, but there were plenty of men wearing Muslim-style lunghis and kurtas in the village as well.

It was at this point we started to notice pictures of the Ayatollah and the phrase “Ya Allah” adorning the Tata lorries rather than Hindi and Buddhist deities. The scenery also began to take on tinge of green as our journey took us to lower altitudes and rainier climes. The lorry in the picture is full of workers who are currently widening the Leh-Srinagar road.

8.    The road through Kargil

The road from Leh to Srinagar cuts right through Kargil, the most important site of the 1999 Kargil War, which kicked off when Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri freedom fighters crossed the Line of Control. The clash occurred both in Kargil and along the ridges overlooking this strategically important section of the Leh-Srinagar road. It was the first ground conflict between India and Pakistan since they both developed nuclear weapons and so became the focus of media coverage around the world.

Driving along this section of road was nerve-wracking, mostly due to our over-active imaginations. Bunkers filled with rifle-toting Indian soldiers line the road and the atmosphere is further intensified by the oppressive dryness of the air and land which sucks the moisture from your tongue as you breathe.

9.    A friendly soldier guarding the Operation Vijay memorial near Drass

Operation Vijay was a successful Indian attempt to push the infiltrators back across the border during the 1999 Kargil War. This memorial to the Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the operation has recently been opened to the public. It is near Drass, which also holds the unenviable record of being the second-coldest inhabited place on earth, after Oymyakon, Siberia.

The Indian soldiers guarding the gate were very friendly and happy to have their photo taken. Interestingly, the army and Jammu & Kashmir tourism department are now working to promote the area as an adventure tourism destination with plans for a golf course, pony trekking, mountaineering and high-altitude camping. Nearby Kargil is already popular with domestic tourists who come to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in 1999, see damage done by shells dropped, and visit Tiger Hill, site of the fiercest battles.

10.    Crossing into the Kashmir Valley

The drive over the Zoji La (3,500m) into the Sindh Valley (the Kashmir Valley’s largest tributary) took us into a green paradise after the dust and rubble of the previous one and a half days. Our first glimpse of the valley really was jaw-dropping. The U-shaped valley is vast, speckled with trees, lush grass and interspersed with exposed slopes of solid rock. Snow caps the mountain peaks and the scent of pine drifts through the window where before there was only dust. It finally felt like we were in Kashmir proper and the greenery flourished as we drove past paddy fields towards Srinagar.

11.    Taking a shikara across Srinagar’s Dal Lake

Arriving in Srinagar after two days of dusty roads was like crossing the finish line of a marathon. Crinkling out of the jeep, we were guided into a shikara and paddled across Dal Lake to our houseboat. The shikara has got to be the ultimate mode of transport. There is nothing more peaceful in this world than being gently ferried through the lotus flowers with a mountain backdrop and dinner and a comfortable bed waiting!

12.    The Royal Palace houseboat on Dal Lake

The Royal Palace houseboat was our home for the next four days. Not bad eh?! This luxury houseboat is a throwback to colonial times when the British weren’t allowed to own land in Kashmir, although they could stay on the water. In typically British fashion, they went about making themselves as comfortable as possible by building floating palaces in which to live.

Many thanks to Glacier Travels, who organised our journey, and Indus Tours  who arranged the houseboat.