The drive between Parkachik and Rangdoom Gompa goes through a narrow valley. I was sitting on the front seat next to the driver. Anoop and Asaf were in the back. Asaf was carrying his double barrel gun for protection against wild animals. After turning a corner, I suddenly saw a long line of partridges going uphill. We stopped and I woke up Asaf who was dozing. He jumped out and fired a couple of shots without any result. Soon we reached Rangdum Gompa but did not stop here. After crossing the Gompa from a distance we headed straight for the Pensi La pass. We wanted to reach Padum early. Crossing the pass was exciting. We had a panoramic view of the Durung Drung Glacier from the top of the pass. There are also small lakes on the top. The road going down was just rough cut rocks. It was very tricky to find the exact way down. After descending from the pass we had to cross a long dusty plain. Our jeep was raising a huge cloud of dust. If by any chance we had to slow down, the dust would overtake us.

As per the route map prepared by me the first village after the pass should have been Trakkar but we could not find it anywhere. It was getting almost dark when we sighted a village. As we neared it, a man signalled us to stop. He seemed a local Zanskari farmer. He asked us where we were going and on being told Padum, he started laughing. He said it was quite far off and we would not reach it even after midnight. The way was bad and there was no bridge on river at Tungri. He was not a farmer but a soldier of the paramilitary force, BSF. He told me that he had recognised me as the officer-in-charge of winter sports in Gulmarg where he had also served. We readily accepted his hospitality for the night. He had a two storey mud house. He prepared a room for us in the first floor with carpets and we were quite comfortable considering the sudden unplanned halt. We had dinner of rice and some local vegetables. Sleep was not very sound as it was quite cold in spite of our sleeping bags. Next morning we started very early after some tea and local bread. We saw a number of small hamlets on the way. In one of the villages, we met a Kashmiri Pandit teacher. He had been in Zanskar for over a year. One thing we noticed while driving was that not only the animals were scared of the vehicle and would run away but even the human beings were behaving the same way. They had probably seen a jeep may be for the first time! After driving through different villages we reached the river on which the bridge was under construction. We had to cross it without any bridge. The water flow was slow and the quantity was also low due to the approaching winter. We had to scout the river for sometime to locate the tyre marks of vehicles which had crossed earlier. There was no problem in crossing it and we headed straight for Padum. On our way on our left was the famous Sanni Gopma. We spent sometime to see the monastery and then drove ahead towards Padum. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon that we saw in the distance a cluster of houses which was supposed to be Padum, the headquarter of Zanskar. Padum is situated on one side of a wide plateau.

While we were going through the lanes, we saw a small two storey house with a sign board saying, “Padum Tourist Office”. It gave us both immense joy and pride that we had already reached this last place on Earth. Our two employees, a receptionist and an orderly were waiting for us. They had prepared lunch consisting of rice, local vegetables, and curds. After a long drive it was a welcome lunch. In fact, after crossing Pensi La we were feeling very lost in a strange land far away from the civilisation we knew. Soon we met another local person Ghulam Rasool. He owned a big stone house. He was planning to convert it into Tourist Guest House and invited us to spend the night with him. It was much better with mud plastered walls inside which give good insulation against cold. We had a special dinner of chicken and rice. Over dinner we talked a lot about Zanskar and its people. Ghulam Rasool related to us many local stories and legends. An interesting episode which he too had heard from elders was about the 1947 Indo-Pak War. The Pakistan Army had penetrated right up to Padum and was in fact in Zanskar valley for over six months. While the Pakistanis were entrenched in Padam, the Indians were facing them near Karsha. However, after the ceasefire was announced and the ceasefire line was established, the Pakistani troops were given a safe passage back to the area controlled by them near Kargil. While retreating the Pakistani forces took with them few hundred Zanskari Muslim youth as porters. They never returned and settled in Pakistani side. Most of these joined the Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry and married there. At the present moment according to some estimates there are almost 7,000 families in Baltistan and Kargil who are related to each other. The division has played a humanitarian havoc with these families including those of Zanskar!

Next morning, Anoop and I after having breakfast with Ghulam Rasool started for Karsha Gompa cutting across the Padum plateau. We took Zanskari horses and the local official of the Tourist Office accompanied us. Asaf went by jeep with Khan all the way round across the river. We had decided to spend the night with Nawang Lachok, the local Naib Tehsildar who had a house in Karsha. He too wanted to set up a guest house for incoming tourists. After crossing the Padam plateau, we crossed the Zanskar River at a shallow place. Due to the approaching winter with freezing temperatures in night there was very little water in the river. The horses crossed it very easily even though we were very apprehensive in the beginning. After crossing the river, the horses galloped uphill at a fast pace. I had never seen horses galloping uphill and at that altitude. I was told that the Zanskari horses though small in appearance, are actually very strong and sturdy. Most of the polo players in Leh prefer Zanskari horses.

(To be continued ……)