Sham Valley Trip – Indus, Likir and Saspotse

21. + 22. February 2023

 

We wanted to go to the Nubra Valley on 20 February. That was not possible. We wanted to go to the Nubra Valley on 21 February. That was not possible either. Avalanche danger. The pass was closed. As the time in Leh was getting too long and the Ladakh period was coming to an end, we still wanted to get out of Leh and thought about what trip we could take. Seeing familiar things again and discovering new ones. We thought back and forth and forth and back and then booked a driver for 4 days in the direction of Sham Valley, each day with being flexible and unknown daily destination arrangements.

 

We were very lucky.
1. Luck = blue sky!
2. Luck = driver Rigzin
3. Luck = accommodation with lovely people
4. Luck = guessing game at 2:30 am with Söder and Sandman
5. Luck = dancing fun
6. Luck = the most beautiful landscapes
7. Luck = snow leopard without looking for it

 

 

But now from the beginning. The blue sky had been laughing over Ladakh since the morning and we set off after midday. Since there was so much overcast before, I really wanted to take other pictures with other pretty colours and so we had to stop sometimes, e.g. at the first Indus View.

 

 

The road was pretty empty and we whizzed in the soft car to the Indus-Zanskar confluence.

 

 

The road is up, down is the end point of river rafting from 2 directions. I have never been there so directly – and so we drove there and enjoyed the water almost to ourselves. Only a few workers came to skim off the water.

 

 

 

Next Photostopp was the view to the Basgo-monastery.

 

 

The destination for the day was Likir – and as a novelty, accommodation above the monastery. So far, the monastery was the highest point I had reached in Likir, this time I went further.

 

 

The place still stretches quite high up. We found accommodation with a nice family, which I unfortunately did not photograph. I played with twine with the little daughter, the dog defended the front door after I went to the toilet outside the house and I had to be rescued, but before that we went for a walk.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, the sun was shining again and we set off, first with Saspotse as a partial destination. There is a special temple with special wooden Buddha statues that neither Rigzin nor Eva knew about, but wanted to see. We parked the car at the entrance to the village, asked the people how it was with the key (“open! open”), missed the easy climb, climbed higher than the building through the snow – and still found it locked. No wooden Buddhas. But a beautiful view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we got back into the car and drove to the next destination of the day. On the way, we met a hitchhiking woman whom we gave a lift. That was a good coincidence. She was a relative of Rigzin. And a homestay owner.