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Sankoo
A picturesque expanse surrounded
by colorful rocky mountains, Sankoo is an upcoming township with a small
bazaar (42 kms south of Kargil) and numerous villages around. Dense plantations
of poplars, willows, myricarea and wild roses fill the bowl shaped valley,
giving it the ambience of a man-made forest tucked within the mountain
ramparts.
Two side valleys drained by
large tributary streams of the Suru river, the Kartse flowing from the
east and the Nakpochu descending from the west, open up on either side
of the expanse. The Karste Valley runs deep into the eastern mountains
mass with a large number of isolated villages tucked within its course.
The 4-day trek between Sankoo and Mulbek follows this valley; the route
passes through some very beautiful alpine areas on the way the 4950 m high
Rusi-la . The high altitude settlement of Safi and its mixed Buddhist-Muslim
population is struck between the Rusi-la and the Shafi-la over which the
final leg of the trek passes before entering the Mulbek valley. A southward
diversion from the foot of the Rusi-la leads to Rangdum across the glaciated
Rangdum pass where the Karste River rises. The 3-day trek to Drass across
the Umba-la (3350 m) follows the western valley. Sankoo is a very popular
among local picnic lovers who throng the area from Kargil town and other
places. Locally it is also popular as a place of pilgrimage to the ancient
shrines of Muslin scholar-saint, Sayed Mir Hashim, who was specially invited
from Kashmir for imparting religious teachings to the region's Buddhist
ruler, Thi-Namgyal of the Suru principality, following his conversion to
Islam during the 16th century. The shrine is situated in the village of
Karpo-Khar on the outskirts of Sankoo where the chief had his summer palace.
How to reach ?
Sankoo, Panikhar and Parachik
are connected with Kargil with regular bus services, in summer even twice
a day. A bus ride from Kargil takes 2 hours to Sankoo, 3 hours to Panikhar
and about 4 hours to Parkachik. Rangdum is serviced by the BI-week bus
service to Padum, which increases according to demand. Some trucks plying
between Kargil and Padum also offers a lift in the cabin for the price
of a bus seat. Cars and jeeps taxis can be hired from Kargil for visiting
different places in the Suru Valley, including Rangdum and Penzila.
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