TRAVEL DIARIES – LADAKH 2026
Day 6 | Kargil to Leh | 270 km
THE ARYAN VALLEY. THE PLACE THAT STAYED IN MY MIND FOR TWO YEARS.
Today I don't want to write much about the 270 km drive from Kargil to Leh. I want to write about a place that had been sitting in my mind for almost two years.
Aryan Valley.
Two years ago, during my Om Parvat and Adi Kailash trip, I was sitting with a close friend who was a Commandant in the SSB. Our usual discussion about travel and adventure was going on, and I mentioned that I had already travelled to Ladakh at least 12 times.
One of the Assistant Commandants asked me, “Sir, have you visited Aryan Valley?”
I said, “No. What is Aryan Valley?”
He replied, “Then you haven't seen Ladakh completely.”
That sentence stayed with me.
He told me about the valley, the Dard/Brokpa community, their distinctive culture and the legends surrounding their ancestry. One popular tradition connects the community with Alexander the Great, with a story that some of his soldiers remained behind in these mountains after his campaign reached the Indus.
There was another rather unusual story too. It was said that some European women, particularly from Germany, travelled here because of the belief that the Brokpa had preserved some kind of “pure Aryan” lineage and that their genes were superior.
There is, however, no strong evidence that such organised “pregnancy tourism” actually existed, and the idea of a “pure Aryan gene” has no sound scientific basis.
But for me, the story did its job.
Aryan Valley was fixed in my mind.
I had planned to visit it during my previous Ladakh trip with friends, but time did not permit.
This time, I was determined.
So from Kargil, instead of taking the usual route towards Leh through Lamayuru, we took the road through the Batalik sector towards Aryan Valley.
The climb over Hamboting La, around 13,000 feet, itself was an adventure. Sharp ascent, sharp turns and a completely different landscape.
And then came the valley.
Darchik → Garkone → Dah → Hanu → Achinathang.
The first thing that struck me was the greenery along the Indus. Fields and apricot orchards appeared between the mountains, and small villages seemed to have found their own little pockets of life in this otherwise harsh terrain.
But what really interested me was the people.
The Dard/Brokpa community has preserved a distinctive culture, language, traditional dress, jewellery and customs. In Dah and Hanu, you can actually feel that this is not just a beautiful destination but a living cultural landscape.
I kept thinking about that conversation from two years ago.
The Assistant Commandant had not exaggerated about one thing. This really is a very different side of Ladakh.
And then there is the Alexander connection.
History has not conclusively established that the Brokpa are descendants of Alexander's soldiers. It remains a fascinating local tradition and legend. But when you are travelling through these remote mountains, listening to these stories from the people who have lived here for generations, you understand why such legends have survived.
That, for me, is the charm of travel.
You don't have to accept every story as history.
Sometimes it is enough to listen.
By the time we completed the Batalik, Darchik, Garkone, Dah, Hanu and Achinathang circuit, I knew that the two-year wait had been worth it.
We still had around 200 km to cover before Leh.
It was a long day, but somehow I wasn't tired.
It is 7 PM now as I write this from Leh.
The girls are absolutely mesmerised by what they saw today.
And I am equally happy.
After so many trips to Ladakh, I thought there couldn't be too many surprises left for me.
Aryan Valley proved me wrong.
Two years ago, someone asked me a simple question:
“Have you visited Aryan Valley?”
Today, I finally got to answer:
“Yes. Now I have.”
And perhaps I finally understand what he meant when he said,
“If you haven't seen Aryan Valley, you haven't seen Ladakh completely.”
Day 6 done. ❤️🏔️
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
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