Visit India’s last village ‘Turtuk’
Clever commandos armed with automatic rifles are moving very secretly along the rocky road. Just hills and mountains all around. There is no green anywhere. Suddenly the position of the enemy base was understood from the top of a low gray hill. By looking at the binoculars, the commando confirmed the location of the enemy base. With that, he looked around. A few palm trees, a couple of bushes, unnamed flower trees are spreading green there. The commando aimed his sniper gun.
This scene from a computer-based commando game bears some resemblance to the Leh region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. There are also greenish-gray low hills, rocky roads. After passing through such a hostile environment, when you reach the last village on the north-western border of India called Turtuk, you will get a touch of soothing green. Then you can aim the camera lens at the unnamed flower in the context of the gray mountain.
On the whole way from Nubra to Turtuk, there was no green anywhere for once. Once upon a time, when I went down from the hill to a very flat place, I saw a chill in a hurry. Then again those gray rough hills, crumbling earthen walls, gurgling rivers, unbearable cold, drizzling deserts, rocky mountain paths. I thought Turtuk would be like that too — there is no sign of green anywhere, just roughness and roughness all around. But when I reached Turtuk, what I saw in an instant, came out of my mouth unknowingly — the blessing of God!
The location of this village is about three thousand kilometers away from Bangladesh! The distance of this village is only 205 kilometers from the city of Leh in India! It takes eight to nine hours to go. More than three thousand people live in this village. The village of Turtuk is surrounded by hills. Nowhere in those mountains is there so much touch of trees, grass or green. The surrounding hills are either rocky, earthy, icy, or hard as steel. Just strangely, the whole village of this turtuk name wrapped in green! This is not possible without the special blessings of God.
Turtuk is a village in the Nubra tehsil of Leh district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and is known as a very important military base. There is no official India-Pakistan route on this route. The Pakistan border is only eight kilometers away from here.
In the village of Turtuk, starting from paddy, wheat, jab, potato, coffee, and other vegetables, apples and various fruits are cultivated regularly. A variety of flowers, rocky houses, pure spring water are all here. There is a turbulent, fast-flowing Sayak river. Rows of hills, waterfalls, streams, and rivers flowing from the hills. Another special feature of this village is that when the hills outside this village are covered with snow, even if it snows here, it is not very much a hindrance to life. It snows right here, but when it gets a little sunny, the ice melts quickly and turns into water and goes to the nearby Sayak River.
All the houses in Turtuk are made of stone. The only difference is that those who are a little better financially can cut the size of the stone and build a decorated house using some cement. And those who do not have that condition, they collect stones like themselves and put them one by one, sometimes with the help of river mud or just by arranging piles of stones to build an entire house or house to live in!
As far as the whole village is concerned, talking to different people, it is understood that most of the residents here are quite poor. The gift of nature, the comings, and goings of tourists are helping them to survive. The life of the people of Turtuk is very simple. Although there are various opportunities including electricity, TV, dish connection. There are even mobiles! But all in all, they are a very poor and neglected almost isolated population. Where nature is very generous, Bidhata is very emotional and people are all very common.
However, in this village, those who have a little bit of status or who have two or more rooms in addition to their own living room, they rent them as homestays for tourists. Where a day or night can be spent in peace without any noise. The homestead business is a big source of income for the people here. In addition to staying in Turtuk, there are also some food hotels for tourists. Where you can find a variety of food at a very reasonable price, depending on the order of travelers.
Going-coming and staying-eating in a hurry
If you want to go to Turtuk, you have to be quite thrilled to get close to the nature of this village, the silence, the exceptional way of life, the rural life of the common people. There is no direct plane service due to environmental reasons. Still, with a little less effort, a little more cost, and at a much lower cost, but in a very exciting way, I’m going to tell you the way to Turtuk.
You can go to Delhi by plane from Dhaka. From Delhi to Leh plane. You can also go to Kolkata by bus or train from Dhaka. Train from Kolkata to Delhi. From there by bus to Srinagar or Manali or by reserve jeep (in case of group travel) to Leh.
It will take at least three days to go to Leh by road from Delhi! Stay overnight at two places, one night in Srinagar or Manali and another night on the way to Leh. The cost of staying and eating in Manali or Srinagar at night will depend on your taste and mentality. However, there are some risks to keep in mind when going on this road. Symptoms may include high altitude problems, shortness of breath, insomnia, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, and depression. It is important to keep it with the necessary medicines. But yes, if you can get to Leh this way, it will be one of the best achievements of your life.
You will understand when you go. How terribly beautiful the world is! The journey in this way has been and will remain a memorable memory of my life.
Arriving in the city of Leh, one day we must rest to cope with the stress of the long journey, just as we did. Then you have to take special permission to go to Turtuk via Nubra Valley. Must be accompanied by an original passport. Then you have to reserve a car. Turtuk 205 km through Nubra Valley, will take 8–9 hours. Terrible, you have to cross the mountain path a lot, you have to cross the fast-flowing river many times. You have to go to Nubra and show your approval at the police station and give a photocopy of your passport for the new approval, you have to tell where you are staying at night. Then you can go to Turtuk.
The cost of staying in Turtuk is not very high, you will get everything within your means.
The ideal time to visit Leh is from May to September. Leh then became isolated from the rest of the region due to snowfall. That is why the Indian authorities did not allow him to go to Leh after September. Those who want to go and see this terribly beautiful nature can take advantage of the long Eid holidays ahead.