Preface
We had departed from Leh on NH-1 to Sri Nagar to visit all the places on the way and stay at Drass after Kargil, then return back as there was no alternate route. The journey was fabulous and very tiring as well. Read it here. We usually never comeback on the same way, but we had to do this as we didn’t have any option. The outside bikes are not allowed for sightseeing in Leh, so we have to rent bikes from Leh itself and hence should go with the return journey.
Plan for the day
We were taking the same route again to reach Leh. The journey was long but the route was good, so we didn’t need much time. The weather was good too. We planned to reach Leh before sunset so that we can explore the market and have some good food. Also we planned to visit Kargil War Memorial right in the beginning so that we can depart soon.
Drass -> Kargil -> Leh
Visiting Kargil War Memorial
As we had stayed right in front of Kargil War Memorial, visiting that was our first plan and we woke up early too. We got ready and waited for the memorial to open and had a nice cup of tea. It was cold there but not extreme. Once it was open, we had to show our ID cards and we entered inside. The place is very very well maintained. We could see the aircraft models, some brave moments and other statues in the main entrance area.
We went towards the left to see the memorials of all the brave soldiers who laid their life protecting our Nation and that place was a very emotional one. The names of all soldiers along with their ranks and battalions were mentioned. Later we entered inside the information centre which gave the entire picture of Kargil war in detail.
From models to news articles to real items used, this was a great depiction of war and also had the entire details of all the major incidents happened. It was such an amazing feeling to witness such amazing act of courage and bravery by our own soldiers in such harsh conditions. Also capturing the peak points when we were situated on top was such a difficult task and our soldiers made is so well. Salute to our Armed Forces.
Exploring Second Coldest Inhabited Village – Drass
The famous village lies 5 kms from Kargil war memorial and we just went for a ride to explore this small place. The landscape had changed again and it was looking much different now. It was actually very pretty to see this small place. It wasn’t much cold when we visited, but in winters the temperature even goes upto -30C. In 1995, the lowest temperature was recorded which was -60C, which makes it the second coldest inhabited village.
Journey back to Leh
Once done we had a long stretch of 279 kms to be covered. The road was the same, so we started without wasting much time. The traffic was moderate so we cruised at good speeds every now and then. We took breaks only when needed as we had covered all interesting places yesterday. The classic non-stop ride in Ladakh was going on and riding in such amazing roads with amazing views was such a bliss. We took lunch break directly at Lamayaru.
Conclusion
We reached near Leh at around 4 and had a great coffee. At around 5 we reached Leh and the city was looking fabulous during the evening time. The lovely sight of the airport was stunning as well. Wish we could see some beautiful planes in the lovely evening. We took some good pictures and headed to the hotel, by which we ended our amazing bike tour. We took some rest and headed towards the market before we departed back on the next day.
