A Rock & Rolling Dream Road Trip To The Magical Heaven: Ladakh !!
- Thread Starter pahujaamit
- Start date
Thread Starter
#48
Amit, Superb TL with some great photos. ![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
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How much kms did you clock for the entire trip and how did your Scorpio responded throughout the trip?
.How much kms did you clock for the entire trip and how did your Scorpio responded throughout the trip?
In terms of performance only at few places it was not pulling so I had to press the clutch and accelerate hard but the amount of climb it was I'm sure any vehicle would give up and it is to do with how you drive as well. I was more into photographing at some places while driving (I know not good) but so I lost the rhythm and then had to pull from scratch. Otherwise I had no issues with it. Superb performance by Scorpio .. In fact I have sent an appreciation note to Mahindra :)
You can see details and videos of the trip here or on my blog as I post them.
Thread Starter
#49
Amit,
Jaw dropping images of the ride from Nagin lake to Dal lake. Amazing!!!
The Nagin lake looks much much cleaner than the ill maintained Dal lake.![[anger]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Anger.gif "Anger [anger]")
Jaw dropping images of the ride from Nagin lake to Dal lake. Amazing!!!
The Nagin lake looks much much cleaner than the ill maintained Dal lake.
Thanks and glad you liked the pictures.
Yes Faisal. I agree that Nagin lake was much better in reality than the Dal lake. I personally don't like touristy places and that's why we just zoomed through Dal lake and came back .. To spend time in and around Nagin lake and backwaters.
Amit,
I assume you had made few, if not all hotel bookings through the CHD??
Please share your experience of the same. Please also elaborate on how the CHD works.
Thanks in advance, BTW waiting for the next leg of your journey![[;)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Wink.gif "Wink [;)]")
I assume you had made few, if not all hotel bookings through the CHD??
Please share your experience of the same. Please also elaborate on how the CHD works.
Thanks in advance, BTW waiting for the next leg of your journey
wow! amit super shots. thanks for sahring them.
Thread Starter
#53
Amit,
I assume you had made few, if not all hotel bookings through the CHD??
Please share your experience of the same. Please also elaborate on how the CHD works.
Thanks in advance, BTW waiting for the next leg of your journey
I assume you had made few, if not all hotel bookings through the CHD??
Please share your experience of the same. Please also elaborate on how the CHD works.
Thanks in advance, BTW waiting for the next leg of your journey
How they work, get in touch with them through FB, they do an itinerary for you and based on your actual location and the itinerary they plan the hotel booking for you. You need to stay connected on WhatsApp or by phone. No pre-booking charges to be paid to them. You directly need to pay the hotel upon arrival or checkout.
You need to tell them the price range so there are no surprises. Most of the hotels are good booked by them. It always helps to tell them your taste as we did and had less surprises.
Overall they took all my worries on them for hotel bookings which was a big relief.
Thread Starter
#54
Moving forward...
Part 5 - Srinagar Kargil
So today we wanted to reach Kargil from Srinagar (Kashmir) and started our journey around 9:50AM from the New Jersey houseboat at Nagin lake.
The journey to Kargil was AMAZING and it was our first trip to the Valleys of Kashmir region so we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. The roads leading to Kargil were good except few passes and some small stretches.
Part 5 - Srinagar Kargil
So today we wanted to reach Kargil from Srinagar (Kashmir) and started our journey around 9:50AM from the New Jersey houseboat at Nagin lake.
The journey to Kargil was AMAZING and it was our first trip to the Valleys of Kashmir region so we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. The roads leading to Kargil were good except few passes and some small stretches.
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Army on the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
Bridge on Srinagar Kargil route
Towards Sonmarg
We were driving in the most beautiful surroundings probably we have ever seen and experienced. It was very difficult for us to decide where to stop and where not for taking pictures so continued taking pictures in moving vehicle but wherever we could stop, we did.
Srinagar Kargil route
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
On the way to Sonmarg
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Head to Head with Horses on the beautiful Srinagar Kargil route
Excellent roads leading to Sonmarg
More Wildlife.. but I wouldn't call them wild horses
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Sheep, Horses on the road replaced Cows what we generally see on Indian roads
Crystal clear water flowing just next to you, beautiful and mesmerizing ..
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Beautiful valleys..
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
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Thread Starter
#55
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
On the way to Sonmarg
The moment you approach Sonmarg, you'll be surrounded by a lot of guides, horse owners to check if you would be interested in going up to the glacier. We didn't want to waste any time and thought maybe we can do this later somewhere else ... so we skipped this and moved on...
Tourists at Sonmarg
Sonmarg Valley
Beautiful valleys on the Srinagar Kargil route
Beautiful winding roads on the Srinagar Kargil route
Isn't that beautiful ? It was a great sight ...
Climbing up to the beautiful mountains
Sheep grazing on a mountain, believe me it was a heavenly feeling out there. I wanted to take some shots and even tried but couldn't get any good angles.. so took this shot and moved on..
Beautiful valleys on the Kargil route. Look at the mountains and we knew it was surely bad weather out there..
Another horse shot !
Beautiful valleys of Srinagar Kargil stretch
to be continued...
Thread Starter
#56
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
Shots taken at Zozila
As we moved up we noticed that the mountains were getting more and more brown, the skies were getting clearer and deep blue in color and the roads were fading away. .so we knew that probably its the start of the journey :) yes towards Zozila.. a famous mountain pass ...
Climbing Zozila Pass
Climbing Zozila Pass .. we saw this guy doing something.. I'm sure he wasn't attempting to break that mountain into pieces or cause a landslide for sure :)
Climbing Zozila Pass .. no tarmac .. stones and stones all the way and the climb was getting very dangerous..
Climbing Zozila Pass
Climbing Zozila Pass
Climbing Zozila Pass
Climbing Zozila Pass
Look at the picture above and observe the winding roads of Zozila Pass. The roads below were only used by Army as there was a Army camp below.
It was a great sight but as the roads were getting narrower and torturous, I concentrated on the road rather than the beautiful rugged mountain.
Here we go, we knew there will be few water crossings on the way to Zozila Pass but this one was only a splash if water ...
Video of Zozila climb
Thread Starter
#57
Seems like some problem with the Video embedding in this forum so posting YouTube link
Drive to Zozila - YouTube
Drive to Zozila - YouTube
Thread Starter
#58
Zozila Pass
Beautiful skies
Waiting for the Landslide to clear
When we reached here we had to wait for about 45~60 mins because of a landslide that happened few mins back and the BRO was buzy clearing it. The weather at the Zozila was not too cold but then it started drizzling and quickly it got colder. We patiently sat in our SUV waiting for the work to be completed and so we can move on. The Army who was manning the area kept everyone informed on the development.
Soon after about an hour the Landslide got cleared and we moved on. The drive was excellent and beyond what I was expecting from it. It was dangerous because of the narrow roads and a little bit slush adding to the challenge of driving there..
Landslide being cleared at Zozila Pass
Rocky and narrow roads at Zozila Pass
Rocky and narrow roads at Zozila Pass
Rocky and narrow roads at Zozila Pass
Rocky and narrow roads at Zozila Pass
I never looked at the valley here when driving as I was laser focused on the drive and did not feel the danger that was involved or the risk of driving there.. when I checked the photos later I was stunned and realised what the hell was it.. Zozila suddenly became a scary word for us.. and believe me by the end of the trip we made a Scary Jingle out of these...
Muddy Rocky roads at Zozila Pass
So we kept on chanting Zozila bhagwaan ki jai, Zozola bhagwaan ki jai and moved on .. :)
Zozila descend .. drive carefully and slowly
Rocky track descending from Zozila
Pot holed track descending from Zozila
Pot holed dirt track descending from Zozila
Rocky and narrow roads at Zozila Pass
The only sad part of this drive was that we couldn't stop for taking pictures which i was really upset about.
to be continued..
fantastic snaps. its a highway to heaven than a highway to hell..........![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")