Srinagar to Kargil
Green valleys, sun kissed mountains, bountiful orchards and gorgeous gardens make up the land called Kashmir. On the other hand, wide stretches of barren mountains, high-altitude deserts and placid blue waters form the extraordinary landscape that is Ladakh. The juxtaposition of these two completely contrary environments is one of those unexplained extreme miracles of the nature. A part on the planet that hasn’t been contaminated by humans, where nature’s lush greenery has been preserved rather than man made concrete jungles. With Fascination Mercedes, we got the privilege to drive around these fascinating terrains. Yes, we did drive from the valley of Srinagar – the capital of Kashmir – to Leh, the largest city in the kingdom of Ladakh through the Drass sector, infamous as one of the world’s highest battlefields.
Our vehicles for the journey were the Mercedes-Benz GL 350 CDI and the showstopper G55 AMG while the ML 350 CDI and the R-Class were to be support cars. It was a to be a three-day trip, and we were allocated different cars for different legs, with everyone getting an equal opportunity to drive the G55 as there was only one of those. The first day was a 200km drive from Srinagar to Kargil, the second was a 260km from Kargil to Leh and the third was from Leh to Pangong Tso and back to Leh; adding up to a total distance of 700km.
Luck favoured me as I was the first one to get behind the steering wheel of the AMG. The G55, being the jewel amongst the stars, headed the convoy till the outside of the Kashmiri capital. We drove along the road adjacent to Dal Lake on a mild misty morning as the monstrous V8 engine burbled through its twin exhausts. With no traffic early in the morning, we were soon out of Srinagar on NH 1D. The roads were narrow and busy until we hit Kangan; from here began the stretch of well-laid, open winding roads. This is where the G55 AMG shines, as the brutal power of the 500+ horses from its 5.5-litre supercharged V8 works in tandem with the AMG’s agile handling capabilities. The suspension of the G55 was stiffly sprung which affected the ride quality. The chassis of the G55 has been built not just for off-road but also for handling bends, like any other sportscar. Throw it around a tight corner, and it will bend the law of physics to obey your command. To our dismay, the flappy paddles were missing on the AMG. The steering was lively but heavy, so you need some good stamina to drive the G55 for long durations.
After a quick halt at Sonamarg, I switched over to the GL 350 CDI. Driving the GL350 CDI with its light steering wheel and AIRMATIC suspension was a breeze and to add to it, we had paddle shifts which made it fun to drive. In about 10km from Sonamarg, we reached Zoji La (‘La’ meaning pass) which is nature’s border between Kashmir and Ladakh. We had to pull over before Zoji due to the road works being in progress, and these were the last few moments that we could savour in the Kashmir territory. Up ahead was another miraculous realm - the extreme opposite of the land that were in.
After crossing Zoji La, begins the territory of Ladakh. The vegetation around had vamoosed, but nature didn’t fall short when it came to making it beautiful. It felt like the barren mountains were there to tell the world that beauty doesn’t lie only in vegetation. We passed through the Drass Sector from where the Tiger Hill was visible. On the way, we saw a lot of memorials to those who had embraced death to achieve glory in the 1999 Kargil conflict. An emotional moment, but they did make us feel proud. After Drass, the next major town for anyone to stopover is Kargil. Typically, when one speaks of Kargil, the thought of war and large mountains comes to mind, but not many know that Kargil is the second-largest town in Ladakh after Leh and this was our stopover for the first night.
Kargil - Leh -Pangong Tso -Leh
Kargil is a town based on the banks of Indus and has a population of close to 10,000 with the majority being Shia Muslims. We headed from Kargil towards Leh. The treacherous stretches of road felt smooth thanks to the AIRMATIC suspension. The roads even though winding, began to widen and better surfaced once we passed the Fotu La Top, which is the highest altitude road on the Srinagar-Leh road. After Fortu La, the descent to Leh began and we did encounter kilometres of straight stretches on plains and at times road running parallel to the Indus.
On the way, you pass Pathar Sahib Gurudwara which is worth a visit and listen to the tale of the place and relish some hot tea with biscuits which are served complimentary at the Gurudwara. Another place worth a halt is the Magnetic Hill, which about 50km before Leh. The magnetic hill is known to have a strong magnetic field that is capable of even slowly pulling your car towards it. We tried this on our GL, but since majority of the body shell is made of aluminium, it didn’t affect the GL 350.
After Leh, we had to make a short visit to Pangong Tso and head back the same day. Pangong Tso (Tso means lake) is about 130km from Leh and the route to the lake is from Chang La, which is the third highest motorable road in the world. The road to the lake was narrow and only one vehicle could pass at a time.
(See the videos of the route from Leh to Pangong Tso and back to understand how difficult the terrain is, and at such high altitudes due to lack of oxygen, engine’s power dips as well)
All-in-all driving in these conditions where one isn’t just dealing with bad roads but are also those located at high altitudes where oxygen is scare, makes it difficult for both man and machine. The GL and G weren’t just capable of handling such terrains, but also the journey was comfortable as we had all the luxuries and comfort that one will expect from a premium vehicle.
