All along the roads in Ladakh, groups of construction workers are slaving away for 300 rupees a day, bundled up, cheering and waving when we passed by. It is heartbreaking to watch these people building roads with their bare hands, working under these conditions for next to nothing. Continue Reading →
Tag Archives | Khardung La
At the Very Top – Khardung La
Khardung La, the highest motorable road in the world, at 5.602 meters, on the way to the Nubra Valley from Leh, Ladakh, India
At the very top of Khardung La, a few makeshift buildings thwart the military glory. You think being at 5.600 meters is a peaceful moment, a unique instant of quietness and contemplation? So very wrong! From a temple uphill, recorded prayers are sent down. Even louder music (and what sounded like political slogans) escapes speakers attached to the world’s highest restaurant. Its unspectacular specialty? Tea and instant Maggi noodle soup! The small souvenir shop displays dusty T-shirts and a few barracks fill the limited space. Continue Reading →
Siachen Glacier – The New Cold War
Siachen Glacier, on the way from Leh to Khardung La, Ladakh, India
After about two hours of meandering uphill through dramatic mountain scenery, Siachen Glacier came into view. This is not just a glacier but a place of national pride and Indian martyrdom. In 1984, Indian and Pakistani troops fought over this area. The heroic courage and dedication of the Indian soldiers defending and conquering this pass is praised on a big plague at the pass. In the text the name Pakistan is reduced to Pak, a way to belittle the unloved neighbor? Continue Reading →
On the Way to the Top of the World
The minute we left Leh the road started climbing, zigzagging endlessly to the highest point we both have ever been: Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world at 5.602 meters / 18.380 feet. At the foot of the mountain we passed Gangla Village, a wide ribbon of grass and fields that spreads over the semi-flat terrain. Not the last bit of green on the way to the top, but the largest one. Even in this high altitude desert, once in a while small patches of grass run down a slope, nourished by tiny streams gushing straight from the bowels of the mountain. Continue Reading →