The Nubra valley lies to the north of Leh between the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges of the Himalayas. In contrast to the rest of Ladakh ; it is more green with lots of wild flowers and shrubs .The word Nubra is derived from the Ladakhi word Ldumra meaning an orchard or garden.
The villages that make up Nubra lie on the banks of the Shyok river that originates in the Karakoram ranges and merges into the Indus. The other important river is the Nubra river (Siachen). These rivers make the valley a fertile region where wheat, barley, peas, mustard, apples, walnuts and apricots are grown. This makes the general ecosystem of Nubra more green unlike the rest of Ladakh which is primarily a cold desert
The Shyok river
Apart from the natural beauty of the lush green valley against the backdrop of the snow clad Himalayas, Nubra has a lot to offer the tourists.
While driving from Leh to Nubra, one crosses the Khardungla Pass at a height of 5359 mts and is the second highest motorable road in the world. Khardungla has already been covered in detail earlier in an episode on the Himalayan passes.
The road to Khardungla Pass
Khardungla Pass
The Diskit Monastery (often called Diksit)
Diskit village is the most important village of the valley and it hosts the Diskit monastery that sits on top of a hill providing magnificent views of the valley and the Shyok river.
A giant Maitreya Buddha ( Buddha of compassion) statue standing 32 mts high looking towards Turtuk, the last village on the Indian side close to Baltistan in Pakistan. This statue was consecrated by the Dalai Lama and it is believed to bring lasting peace to the region which has seen turbulent times.
Diskit Monastery
The giant Maitreya Buddha
The Hunder sand dunes
The sand dunes located at Hunder village stretching over a few kilometers were formed after a historical flood in 1927. They provide a desert landscape with the snow capped mountains in the backdrop and highlights the diverse ecology of Ladakh.
The sand dunes
A small stream was flowing along and we relaxed by soaking our legs in the icy waters…
Relaxing in the icy stream
Double humped Camels( Bactrian Camels)
These camels are a tell tale sign of the trade that took place hundreds of years ago on the Silk Route. The caravans travelling between central Asia and Kashmir used to stay in the villages at Nubra . After the closure of the silk route, these hapless animals found themselves left behind here. Their descendants entertain tourists in the Nubra valley with camel rides which sustain them.
The double humped camels
Camel rides at Nubra
Nubra valley also has ATV rides and zip lining as entertainment activities for tourists.
ATV Rides
Enroute, we had lunch at a local restaurant where we were served the local Seabuckthorn juice. The unique Seabuckthorn berry also called the Leh berry is widely found here all along the way among the shrubs.
Seabuckthorn berries and the juice.
After a long day on the road we reached our resort at Nubra where we were put up in Swiss tents. Some pictures from the resort.
Our resort at Nubra and a typical Swiss tent
That night we had a bonfire and cultural show with local ladies entertaining us with graceful dances. Some pictures and videos..
Bonfire
The dancers in vibrant costumes
Click on the video to enjoy the dance
And finally we posed with the dancers…
The night of rejoicing came to an end after sometime as temperatures dropped and we hastily retreated to our tents to catch some sleep.
Next morning we bid goodbye to Nubra and started our journey towards Pangong .
Hope you enjoyed this journey through the Nubra valley. See you next week with more from Ladakh.
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