Balit Fort Hunza

Ladakh, which according to a BBC documentary was once considered to be the “Last Place on Earth” is being fast associated with a small high altitude metropolis called Leh. According to a survey, Leh is the most developed town of its size in entire India. Satellite phone, internet, cable TV, and a host of other modern amenities are available here. One cannot imagine all these things in a place which inspired James Hilton to write his famous novel, “The Lost Horizon of Shangri-La”. In 1974 when it was thrown open for tourism after a long period of total isolation, it was really an enchanting place, way beyond Himalaya. However, with the massive influx of tourism, the mystery and the discovery are no longer saleable. The number of tourists has reached almost fifty thousand with the bulk coming from various foreign countries. It may seem that the place is getting over saturated but that is not true. Ladakh has a much larger capacity. The area of the land is almost a hundred thousand square kilometres with the lowest population density in this part of the world. The problem is concentration of tourists in few select places leaving the major part unexploited. Initially we sold the mystique of the land with the ancient Buddhist Monasteries. Lamas living in a lunar landscape. The topography and the natural landscape itself were the major attractions. Most of the groups would coincide their visit with the Festivals of different monasteries the biggest of which was Hemis Festival.

Mount Kailash

This event would occur usually in July or August depending upon the Buddhist Lunar Calendar. This concentrated the tourist season also around these two months. However, slowly the season has stretched from mid June till mid September. Winter is mostly closed except for some tough adventurers venturing on the frozen Zanskar River called the Chaddar Road. In an ecologically fragile environment it is essential to go for Sustainable Tourism. One has to find a balance between the number of tourists and the sustainable capacity of the concerned area. Uncontrolled and unplanned over-development can kill the destination. Ladakh can easily absorb over a hundred thousand tourists provided the season is stretched beyond the two month peak slot and the traffic is dispersed to new areas. The most fascinating and dramatic areas are yet to be traversed by the tourists. Let us start with the Pangong Lake. At present tourists can go only to see just the beginning of the Lake near Lukung. It is possible to travel all along the shore of the Lake and thence go to Chushul. After crossing Saga La one descends into Indus Valley. There is a choice to go to Hanle and then travel downstream to beyond Nyoma. Hanle has a monastery commemorating the demise of the famous king Sengge Namgyal. There is also the highest Astronomical Observatory here. If one proceeds straight down stream, one can go to see Tsomoriri Lake after crossing Mahe Bridge. There is a choice to either come back to Mahe Bridge and follow Indus to Leh or go to Tsokhar and join Manali-Leh road. At present one has to take independent excursions to two lakes, Pangong and Tsomoriri. It is not possible to have a continuous circuit. This is because of the area being restricted due to its proximity to Chinese border. There has not been any problem on the border for decades. In fact, there is some sort of tacit agreement on this side of Sino-Indian border. With the peace prevailing in the region, it should be possible to open this entire circuit for tourists. If the entire shore of the Lake, which in fact is a small high altitude sea, is developed for tourism by providing wayside facilities, it can easily absorb thousands of tourists on a continuous movement basis. There are other side valleys which too can be developed as new tourist destinations. Next is the closed area of Nubra Valley including the world famous Siachen Glacier. At present tourists can only go up to Panamik on one side and Hundar on the other side. Siachen Glacier area is the most dramatic mountain scenery in the world. This is the longest glacier outside of Poles. There are dozens of high mountain peaks, some of which are still unclimbed. Only joint expeditions have been allowed to some of these peaks. The area is so vast and challenging that it can easily absorb over a dozen expeditions at one and the same time. The famous peaks of Saser Kangri, Teram Kangri, Mamostang Kangri, and so on are situated here. One can also trek up to Karakoram Pass. This was on the famous Silk Route and caravans used to traverse this route between Leh and Yarqand till 1947. In fact this route was used by Chinese Hajj Pilgrims till 1949. Apart from the possibility of retracing the steps of historical travellers, both Nubra as well as Shyok rivers are suitable for white water sports. Nubra is the only place in the entire sub-continent which has double humped Bactrian camels left over from the days of Silk Route. There is tremendous possibility of restarting the caravans in the traditional style if only there is some sort of Sino-Indian agreement. Pakistan has already revived the Silk Route by starting a luxury bus service from Gilgit to Kashgar on the Karakoram Highway across the Khunjarab Pass. However, travel by luxury Volvo buses does not give the thrill of ancient caravan travel which is still possible on our side because of the non-availability of any motorable roads across the Karakoram pass. Unfortunately, this wonderful tourist area is at present forbidden because of the glacier being the highest battleground between India and Pakistan. There have been many attempts for ending the bloody war being fought here for rocks, ice, and snow but success has eluded us till date. Hopefully an agreement may soon be reached for declaring this area as a “Peace Park” or a “Mountain of Peace”. Should that happen, the place would be flooded with adventure lovers. To sustain the tourism in Ladakh and disperse it to different potential areas, it is essential to get this area fully opened up as a new tourist destination. The beauty of travel in Ladakh is that one can go on travelling non-stop on a continuous circuit. There is total road connectivity between all important tourist areas. One can travel from Leh to Leh via Tsokhar, Tsomoriri, Hanle, Chushul, Lukung (Pangong Lake), across Chang La to Nubra Valley via Tokh Tokh Monastery and then back to Leh by crossing the Khardong La after visiting Nubra and Shyok Valleys. One can undertake the trip in reverse also. Another interesting circuit is from Khalsi to Drokhpa area and thence to Kargil via Batalik. At present the tourists can go up to Dah and Hannu from Khalsi but have to come back by the same route. In addition to opening up of some internal circuits for unhindered travel, it is possible to have international safari circuits.

Patola Palace

If both Chinese and Indian authorities reach an agreement, it will be possible to visit Kailash-Mansarovar by a four wheel drive land cruiser from Leh in a week’s time. Similarly, one can travel to Kashgar from Leh via Kargil, Skardu, and Gilgit in almost the same time by motorable transport. There are no two opinions that Tourism has given a tremendous boost to the economies of the two parts of Ladakh on the either side of the Line of Control. This growth of tourism can be sustained and appreciably increased if the efforts of the both sides are joined together. Ladakh could become the most important hub on this high altitude safari. The traffic will multiply so much that the people of the entire region will totally switch to tourism related business. Thus to sustain ecologically friendly tourism, we have to open new areas as well as open international routes. This will not only increase the arrivals but also allow growth of sustainable tourism by dispersing it over a larger area for a longer period of time and across international borders.