Ladakh Trip - Chapter 6 | Turtuk | The last tourism allowed village near India-Pakistan border
Hello and welcome to the sixth chapter of Ladakh series If you haven't watched the previous chapters please watch for continuation I will give the link above As I said in the last chapter, We are going to Turtuk today Turtuk is the tourist permitted village close to LOC and Indo Pak border We will discuss about Turtuk on the way but the route we are taking is via the Siachen glacier Turtuk is a village sandwiched between Karakoram range and Himalayas During Indo Pak wars, we hear lots of news and discussions about Siachen We've read news about how even at -40 degree Celsius our Siachen warriors guard the borders The lowest temperature I have faced is -20 below -40 is unimaginable It is months past winter but look at the colour of this water from the glaciers So Turtuk village Turtuk was a part of Baltistan occupied by Pakistan and is one amongst the 5 villages taken by Indian Army Baltese speaking people in India are found only here Since the village is very close to Line of Control this area is super sensitive and has many military activities The village is always under military surveillance Relatives of the villagers are in Pakistan Turtuk is a part of Nubra in Leh district Majorly this is a farming village and fruits are the main products Apricot being the most famous Life and lifestyle of these villagers is unique Their life is in between the tug-of-war between two countries for land An International conflict affects them the most As I mentioned many times before BRO is continuously repairing broken roads This particular region needs special attention The bridge we see now and most of the upcoming ones are Bailey bridges which the army has setup in many places for Kerala the temporary bridges This route shows us how dangerous the path is They have carved a road out of the base of a mountain There is roof-like rock formation above us They seem to be in small layers that, on an impact, will fall right on the rider's head but visually this is an experience As we move ahead, the water is turning muddy not sure if this due to the floods or terrain If you are visiting Ladakh, please note this Start as early as possible If you start at first light you will get enough time to cover all regions travelling at night is very challenging here one issue we faced is that since our starting time was always late we had to skip few places Siachen Base camp is one of those places I wanted to visit the base camp and war memorial which I have seen only in news channels but unfortunately we had to skip those places We are riding on a temporary bridge now and the floor is made of wood making heavy sound and impact even when a bike passes makes me think about how a heavy vehicle like Sakthiman military truck can pass through A temp bridge has the capacity to hold such weight Hats off to military technical team The roads here are very narrow A small mistake can land us in the river Enroute Turtuk, we pass few towns or maybe we can say few villages we will see small kids on the sides here Experience travellers with us warned about these kids trying to shake hands with us and the danger that lies behind this reason being the accidents that happened when these kids deliberately pulled down riders from the bike for fun So keep this in mind if you are here We are riding in the valley of Karakoram ranges now we can see military bunkers on the mountain we are passing through regions that have seen heavy warfare this area seems to be totally deserted and the bunkers seems empty Mehru Bhai is showing us a bunker on the hill An area without MVD, Police or even another human made our North Indian friends come out of the car to take in the panoramic view and chilly winds and enjoy the beauty of this place Like I said before it is hard to be enjoy this place in a car Kids watching this video, please do not try this this is very dangerous Even though we are not seeing them all these areas at all times is under military surveillance and for tourists, there are permits needed and at any point military can ask for them and ask us to go back for not having the papers so make sure you have the proper documents We have almost reached Turtuk exhausted because of the long ride and dust so we will continue after chilling in this ice-cold water So we have to park our vehicle here and cross this bridge to reach the village There is a boost in tourism here and the number of tourists have increased recently The team plays a vital role in making the journey memorable Everything about a new place surprises us Construction methods here is totally different The way they use stones roofs are made using logs of wood unlike the concrete buildings we have Most streets are small gallis (narrow streets) here there are no vehicles here so the main transportation mode here is walking which maybe the secret of their health Here apple is like jackfruit in Kerala They grow the needed vegetables and fruits We can see small farms all around producing cabbage, apple apricot etc. Villagers are used to it but seeing these fruits on trees will wow us The mountains we see will completely be covered in snow during winter Beautiful view but always under military surveillance This is a part of Karakoram ranges There are some unique Turtuk things There is a centuries old Polo ground Natural cold storage, which is found nowhere else We have to visit Turtuk to experience all these We are in a village which is around 10000 feet above sea level This is our homestay, The Stone Palace, Turtuk and the location is fabulous The owner, Mr. Hossain has hobby, currency collection and look at his collection At first I thought of these as scrap then I though this must be some antique collection but these turned out be the pieces of Pakistani bomb shells that landed here While roaming around in Turtuk we will come across some still lying on ground Just look at the view from our room We are crazy about high-altitude cricket now If we have 30 minutes to spare, the game is on Most houses in these regions will have an Indian flag It is mostly to show patriotism which is kind of essential in disputed areas The symbol of patriotism which we show only during special occasions can be found through out the year here We are going to explore Turtuk village on foot today Our homestay owner will be accompanying us since he is a local, he knows the history and can guide us through the village These are marks of firing and shelling during war Pause and read this information This phenomenon is found only in Turtuk Scientifically debatable but The Natural Cold Storage is interesting Another thing that attracted me most is the gallis Cattle are kept in the bottom floor of the house The reason for this is interesting During winter the floor with cattle will be hotter So during winter the whole household will move to the bottom floor which will be cosier due to higher temperature This is why cattle occupy the bottom floor 150 years old tunnel Mind your head there is a swimming pool up ahead The restaurants here have local specialities like salt tea, apricot products dry fruits etc. Shops have also opened after tourists were allowed I thoroughly enjoyed Turtuk this was a different experience This is the royal palace of Yabgo Dynasty Can't compare with palaces in Kerala This one was built in 15th century AD King and Royal family is still here but the palace is not well maintained It is open for tourists This is the present Yabgo King I hope you liked this chapter If you did please Like, Share and Subscribe the channel If you have any comments or questions please leave a comment in comment section So see you soon with the next chapter until then JULLEY
2024-11-08 11:15
