I learnt today that Leh is not in Kashmir but in the region of Ladakh. I thought that Kashmir encompasses the whole area, but Ladakh is in itself a separate region to Kashmir. All the post where I’ve mentioned Leh being in Kashmir, I lied, it’s not!
Today we left for the Snow Leopard Lodge, a car journey of around two and a half hours. The roads up the valley are well maintained as the military have a massive presence here, because of the Chinese and Pakistani borders. After an hour or so we stopped to photograph the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar Rivers. Both rivers were frozen solid and like little children we edged our way out onto the ice. I still feel a sense of childish excitement, even at 57 years old, when playing around in snow and on ice, especially where there’s a hint of danger.
Fun over, then a short drive for a tea break. The second half of the journey was somewhat different. The road became a track and it hair-pinned its way up the steep valley, edging its way slowly up above the snow line….suddenly in front was the Snow Leopard Lodge a modern building perched on the edge of an old village. Is it in keeping with the countryside around, I’m still undecided.
I temporarily have a room to myself as the couple who’s room it is aren’t arriving until tomorrow, then I’m sharing a room with Tim, a veteran of many climbs and Himalayan treks. The Lodge is extremely luxurious for this area. Only recently built to replace what was once the domain of the hardy trekker and camper. Now, I’m led to believe that the Lodge is fully booked for the next two years. The question I ask myself is ‘would I be here if I had had to trek in and camp’. Not sure I can answer that. I don’t mind camping and all that it entails, but coming back to a proper bed, warm room and hot meal is hard to beat after a day out in temperatures of -10 to -15!…the jury is out!
The rest of the afternoon was spent on a natural viewing platform just above the lodge. We saw Ibex and a Golden Eagle on a kill, but no Snow Leopards, patience, Charles, patience.
The lodges bedrooms are very adequate, beds with two very thick duvets and in my case an electric wall heater, the problem, I was told, with the electric is that there are power cuts every night from about 11pm to 6am and therefore the rooms can get very cold. The power went off as predicted, but it was far from cold, in fact I had to take off one of the duvets. I find as I get older that I’d rather not share a bathroom, it’s nearly as bad as sharing a tent. But here I have no choice and the facilities at first acquaintance appear very good, a western style toilet, a wash basin and a shower head attached, what appears to be randomly on the wall. There are three buckets of water in the bathroom, two hot, one cold…curious. On further inspection it all becomes clear. The sink has no plug and there’s no bowl, just a jug. You turn the taps on and no water comes out, you flush the toilet and nothing happens and surprise, surprise no water comes out of the shower. Suddenly I realise why there are three buckets of water along with the jugs. No running water. To be honest I wasn’t surprised when the temperature doesn’t reach above -5 degrees and can be as low as -25. at those temperatures water is difficult to keep as a liquid. Having said all of that, it’s a fantastic place that far exceeds my expectations. I will add that all the taps and toilets do work properly in summer, when the temperatures are a little warmer.
