Since we had completed our visits to the locations at Kashmir, we decided to move to Leh. The route to Leh can be covered in two days, the first day – one reaches Kargil via Drass and then from Kargil one can move to Leh the next day after a night stay at Kargil. Drass is often called as the Gateway to Ladakh gets really cold in winter. Temperatures go as low as -45 degree C and is arguably the second coldest town in the World. Russian village Oymyakon has lowest recorded temperature at -71 degree C for any permanently inhabited location.
We took a JKSRTC bus to Kargil from TRC which departed at 8:30 a. m. Fare – Rs. 1100 for 2 people till Kargil. It was a bad decision to travel by bus to Kargil since the bus was not in a good condition and we got stranded twice due to tyre puncture and traffic jam at Zojila. Zojila is a high mountain pass in India, located on the Indian National Highway 1 between Srinagar and Leh. Zojila is 9 km from Sonmarg and provides a vital link between Ladakh and Kashmir. It runs at an elevation of approximately 3,528 metres (11,575 ft), and is the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway. It is often closed during winter, though the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working to extend traffic to most parts of the year. On the way, a military convoy passed us, took few snaps with our Brave Jawans. It took us nearly 14 hours to reach Kargil and we reached late at night (which was quite risky). Fortunately we got a nice AC room at Hotel Dreamland for Rs. 1500.
