Bike Ride to Nubra Valley: Diskit-Hunder-Turtuk

Part One - Bike Ride to Nubra Valley: Leh to Diskit

On day one of our bike ride to Nubra Valley, we had reached Diskit in pitch dark after covering the Leh, Ladakh to Nubra Valley distance, and we had no idea what the village looked like. So while warming up over that last cup of chai before we called it a night, the four of us decided to catch the sunrise from one of Diskit’s most famed tourist attractions. That’s the thing with booking return tickets, you see. You know you only have so much time on your hands, and the world to experience so you try to cram it up all at once without giving yourself a break – even when you had spent 7 hours on a motorcycle, getting lost mid-way and having an almost-accident involving a giant truck – only to make it to your destination just in time for dinner. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read part one). But, perhaps, that rush of ticking things off your list also gives way for the most epic of misadventures worth recounting time and again. So here we are!

Bike Ride to Nubra Valley: A Massive Statue, Some Fuzzy Camels

On day two of our bike ride to Nubra Valley, we woke up for the sunrise, alright. I layered up nice and thick to battle the gusty winds of dawn but the short walk uphill from our guesthouse to the giant statue of Maitreya Buddha below the Diskit Gompa took my breath away (quite literally). Turns out, not being well-rested and climbing uphill at 3200 meters above sea level do not mix well. Altitude mountain sickness is definitely worth considering if you’re planning for a bike ride to Nubra Valley yourself.

The wheezing and gasping seemed to be all worth it, though when the first warmth of the sun touched me from behind the mountains in front of me. Over a matter of the next half hour or so, the entire valley turned from a cold blue to a warm yellow. The Shyok River continued flowing silently as ever, the winds decreased with each passing second and soon enough the sun was glistening off of Maitreya Buddha’s golden crown. So far, the backbreaking bike ride to Nubra Valley and the waking up early was proving to be worth it!

After stuffing our faces with omelettes and parathas for breakfast at our guest house, we geared up for the long adventure that lay ahead of us that day. Our next stop on this bike ride to Nubra Valley was just some 12 kilometres away along the highway. Before we knew it, the tarmac of the highway gave in to lose sand and the giant Maitreya Buddha statue was lost somewhere behind. We had now entered Hunder and its widely famous sand dunes against the backdrop of purple, blue, orange and yellow Ladakhi mountains were right in front of us. And sitting amidst the dunes in the sand were camels – hundreds and hundreds of Double Humped Bactrian Camels that traders from the Silk Route era left behind and surprisingly, they thrived!

It’s hard to explain how much of a thanks I feel I owe those Silk Route traders because it was after a very long time that I squealed and jumped in excitement at the sight of those camels. There were camels of all sizes – some visibly too old to give a flying duck about who came to visit them and who did not, and some incredibly tiny baby camels who were so curious at the sight of non-camel species. Some were friendly, some took a little convincing and others were just not having it with our presence. I took my chances and tried to befriend as many, burying my hands in the thick furry coat of every camel that let me.

These double-humped Bactrian camels are now used to give joy rides to tourists for a fee. As ethical travellers, we decided to not partake in activities that would reduce them to money making machines for a few minutes of "fun". I request you to do the same!

But the day was passing and lunch was still 80 kilometres away. As much as I would’ve loved to stay just a little bit longer, eating is an important part of survival, so off we went ahead on our Nubra Valley bike ride adventure!

Nubra Valley Bike Ride: Nails on the Road, Another Village Past Dark

As we left Hunder, strong winds started blowing which sent the sand from the village flying around, turning it into a dust storm. Thankful to have left right on time, carried on to our final destination of the day: an ancient village that is also the northernmost village in India, on the Indo-Pakistan border.

After getting our permits checked at a checkpoint for the first time since we began this journey from Leh, we left the Trans-Himalayan ranges behind and into a whole other world of the Karakoram Range. While were just about 15 kilometres short of our destination while covering the Nubra Valley to Turtuk distance, we realized our buddies on the Classic 350 weren’t to be seen around. We waited for them for some time, thinking that they might have slowed off but when they failed to appear for a solid 20 minutes, we decided it was time to turn back and check upon them. Turns out, they ran over a paltry little nail lying on the road which punctured their tyre and we failed to notice this on time since we were running ahead. And with no network connection in this remote part of the country, they were unable to contact us.

So we (team Himalayan) left our friends from team Classic 350 behind and decided to go up to Turtuk to try to find some help. As we neared Turtuk, we saw the recognizable difference that sets this small village apart from the rest of India. Apart from the changed geographical terrain, the people looked different as well. Men wearing the beret-like Nating cap and women wearing a head covering became more and more common. Geographically, Turtuk falls under the region of Gilgit and Baltistan – most of which falls under Pakistan but four of the region’s villages come under India. The population of these Indian villages is made up mostly of Balti people who practice Islamism – as opposed to Buddhism in most of Ladakh.

Upon reaching Turtuk, we were told that the village’s only mechanic is out, but should be back soon. So the two of us strolled around the village passing time and making small talk with the locals. Soon enough, the mechanic arrived and as we told him our situation, he got his pick up truck ready and we went back the 15 kilometres to rescue our friends. Once the bike (and our friends) were loaded onto the truck, we made our way back to Turtuk to have the puncture fixed.

By now, the sun had set long ago and we reached the village famished and exhausted and having missed our chance to explore the village. As the bike was being fixed, we found one of the very few places still open this late in the season and had a hearty meal of noodles, momos and thukpa. Upon some deliberation, Team Classic 350 decided to stay back in Turtuk for the night since they were too exhausted to make the drive back to Diskit. However, we decided to carry on to Diskit otherwise the drive from Turtuk all the way to Leh would be way too long and tiring. Saying our goodbyes, we ventured back to Diskit late in the night and hit the hay the moment we reached our guest house on our last night of this Leh to Nubra Valley bike ride adventure.

Coming up: “Bike Ride to Nubra Valley: Khardung La to Leh”

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