Getting to Kishtwar

Sunday, July 03, 2011 and I have finally made it to Kishtwar. It always seems amazing how things sort themselves out. Before leaving Australia I was very fortunate in being introduced to Dr. Musood Shah from Kashmir by my brother Robert. We talked to each other via Skype calls. When he knew of my intention of trekking in Kashmir and particularly my idea of going from Kishtwar to Pahalgam he suggested I contact his sister-in-law Dr. Shabnum.

In due course this is what I did do but alas she was visiting her immediate family in Srinagar. This I had anticipated when I first talked to her in Jammu whilst I was staying with Farooq. But I thought there may be still a chance if I got here before the 4^th. But no she had left but suggested that I contact her father in law Dr. Bashir Ahmed Minto , address Malipath. .

A lot of detail there but it sort of explains the hospitality I have been receiving for many days. Bashir‘s home has a wonderful homey feel and is not far from the central bus terminus in Kishtwar. My instructions were to just to continue walking along the same road when you get off the bus and ask where he lives. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of people in Kishtwar but everyone seem to know where the doctor lived.

Now that I have your attention I will go back a few days to when I arrived in Udaipur after the trek over KuptiPass.

When I got back to the main road after coming down a couple of thousand metres I was pretty well knackered. The porter and guide were much the same and announced that they were not walking back but would catch the bus back to Keylong and thence to Manali and finally to Chamba. But they did carry my bags more or less to the roadside and I had expected earlier on that being a task that I would have to undertake. The last village was Rupi and that’s where I expected to be on my own but something was lost in the translation and we finished up at a roadside dhaba after crossing the bridge.

After we split I caught the bus to Udaipur. When I arrived I can safely use the expression that I was legless and not feeling well in the chest. When you are trekking and these things happen you imagine all sorts of things such as impending heart attack, appendicitis, kidney problems and more. The reality is that the diet of chapppati and sweet tea coupled with extreme endurance and lack of sleep had left me vulnerable.

Ann and I had visited Udaipur two or three years ago and were not impressed with our hotel. I can remember the sheets had not been changed and the toilet/bathroom facilities told the history of past incumbents. I therefore decided not too even look at this hotel but walked further down the road to the last hotel. Anil Kumash greeted me like a long lost brother. The family (wife and two boys) could see clearly that I was plumb tuckered out. My immediate requirements being hot water for washing myself, hot tea without sugar, and a bigger light bulb were quickly sorted out. The hot water element with naked live wires frightened me a bit and hence I didn’t ask to use this again. But hot water was really welcomed as an immediate starting point to repairing myself.

I later went up down and bought a heap of vegetables which I had one of the dhabas cook up for me. I always find it surprising that the dhabas persist in producing the same food say chapattis, dal and rice when surrounded by such good vegetables. Maybe it is a language problem but I did look carefully to see if one shop or other is showing a different creativity. Anyhow they don’t seem to mind me bringing my veggies to them and asking them to cook them in such and such a way. Typically that costs 20 to 30 rupees i.e. less than a dollar.

Next day I visited the hospital and then did little else except sleeping. Hospital staff quickly saw me and did a few simple tests such as pulse rate and blood pressure and then gave me a few pills. All free but it would be worrying if you needed  specialist treatment. Actually from what I can gather the same problem exists in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh as in Australia. Doctors just don’t really want to be so isolated not only for themselves but for there families.

On my last day I asked Anil if he would like to go up the MiyarValleyto his wife’s family home. They live in Shakol I think. Anil borrowed a  friends jeep and off we went. The MiyarValley leads to the Miyar Glacier and thence to Padam. It’s supposed to be a very hard walk with a couple of nights sleeping on the glacier. Anil said he would like to do it if I came back. How long can one live?

On my last night my hosts who had gradually taken over my wellbeing cooked a great meal for us all. We talked late into the evening on many topics. The son about his ambitions , movies etc.

As with all good stays I have to will myself to go. But I know it is going to take a while to get to Kishtwar and not sure want to expect on trail between Killar and Kishtwar.

The next day I leave by bus for Killar. A uneventful trip except that bus is really full and have to sit on rucksack for quite a bit of the way. Stopped at same dhabaas the one we ate at several years ago. Reminds me of an underground cave. Must remember to keep your mind closed to possible hygiene lapses. 

 

We talked a lot and later joined up with the family and talked late into the night. I had wished that I could have let them know that I was coming in advance but as that was not possible it still worked out well.

My main contact was Binaya (second row 2 removed from me) Binaya has been studying the local languages and  now as a small newspaper which he circulates locally. I am hoping that I can  contact Binaya who has an email address.

 

I only stayed one night and then pushed on for Kishwar. The road between is not busable all the way. When I left Killar there was no transport available. So I set off walking. The only guys I met were some public officers who asked to see my permit. These sort of officias guys who have nothing better to do really piss me off. (and I guess I let them know how I felt.)

 From Killar the track splits, the better road in most recent times is the one that goes over SachsPass and thence to Chamba and the other goes to Kishtwar. I am told the locals all use SachsPass to go to Jammu in the summer and via Kishtwar otherwise,  which apparently is open all year round. I say apparently because it is a very scary and narrow way which is optimistically described as a road. I will just show you a few photos to  give you an idea of this part of the world.

   It is about 108km as the crow flies from Killar to Kishtwar. However It took me a long day to reach Aoli which is the older village near Gulabgarh and not evfen halfway to Kishtwar.  Gulabgarh I think is the regional centre for this district and is where trucks and buses seem  to stop. As you approach Gulabgarh the valley opens out and two valleys meet at a sharp bend in the river. The track however from Killar is quite narrow once it gets a few miles past Killar. Taxis and shared vehicles of one description or another are the way to get through this area. My driver after picking me up also picked up another chap possibly a shepherd.

We didn’t actually make it to Gulabgarh as roadworks  had completely blocked the road with large rocks as you can see in the picture above. No one seem to worry about this dilemma. My driver must have had it happened before as we just left the car there and climbed over all this debris until we reached the other side. The rocks looked to be particularly dangerous and I was relieved when I got through unscarthed. Remarkably there was a nice bus waiting for us on the other side which then took us to the town of Gulabgarh. My maps didn’t actually overlap so gulabgarh wasn’t on either map. So naturally I was a little confused.

My initial impression of Gulabgarh was not favourable but I could see the village on Aoli across the bridge  perched on a lovely ridge with the main road running around it. From the view I had from the bus as I descended into Gulabgarh this looked like a nicer place to stay.

No one seemed to be going my way. Evening was on its way too. So I set off on foot and took the path up the ridge once I had crossed the bridge. It didn’t take that long before I reached the village and a few shops along a cobble street. They didn’t have a lot to offer in the way of food and I was starving as I hadn’t had much since breakfast. But first I had to find a place to stay. Again the villagers tried to help and suggest the Forest Rest House. I actually had trouble finding it and when I did only the caretaker was there and he didn’t have a key. He told me to wait a while and then the Ranger would be back. Well I wander around town on a familisation course; looking for food as well and met a nice teacher who I had tea with. All a bit muddled as the teacher was busy with renovations and the so-called Hotels which inreality were tin shacks along the road had barely anything to offer. All in all I was becoming a little disallusioned and I guess feeling a bit down on my luck.