The Nubra Valley has a historical romance, for the much famed Silk Route meandered along the banks of Nubra. From Xinjiang provinces of China via the mighty Karakoram Pass and Daulat Beg Oldi, travelers, traders, romantics, camels and horses traveled up and down in this valley reaching Leh before starting another long journey to Central Asia via Skardu and Gilgit. The graves of Yarkandi merchants of yore that one could see even today in Hunder, a village on the banks of Nubra, is a living testimony of this past journey.

Undoubtedly, they provide a reminder, both poignant and piquant, of the vagaries that have been visited upon this Valley. Poignant, because it is testimony to the wandering ways of men and their desire to both explore and profit from their exertions, and which often meant that they lived most of their lives on the move and often died far from their homes, among strangers. Piquant, because these desires have hardly been quelled in the present age and are, if anything, all the more sharpened with the more means and the greater speed of travel. And piquant, also because these desires that are today the basis for territorial claims, can just as easily also be a means for making peace and boundaries irrelevant.

To cherish this historical romance, one should visit the Nubra Valley and enjoy real India holidays. Even the most poetic expression of this Valley will fail to do justice to the reality. Is there a poet or a historian in today's world who can take pride in aptly explaining a historical relic, which is also a contemporary anomaly?

The Nubra is also a cultural synthesis. The Nubra joins Shyok near Diskit and flows towards north to finally become a part of the grand Indus. Like these two rivers, the people and its history also flows in parallel, retaining their identities, but still a part of larger civilization. The Nubra Valley is predominantly Buddhist dotted with Muslim villages and the Shyok towards the LoC is predominantly Muslim dotted with Buddhist villages. Monasteries, Chortens, mosques and graveyards highlight the cultural synthesis of parallel lands which even today are a part of a larger Balti identity. The oneness, despite contrasts in terrain, culture and races between the two valleys has to be seen to be believed.

The Nubra is also a tourist paradise. From Silk Route to Monasteries, the villages of Nubra provide multifaceted attraction. The Indian government has recently announced its decision to allow trekking and mountaineering in Siachen. Traveling along the Nubra, one would be fascinated by the bikers from all over the world, pedaling with their head gears, like fast moving ants. Monasteries dot the Nubra river, with the Gompa in Diskit Village, undoubtedly the oldest, largest and the most magnificent of all in this region. Of course, there are other monasteries on both sides of the Nubra, the ones in the right side of the river appearing as if being carved out of the mountains. However, the history, myth and the legend of Diskit Gompa makes it more interesting. Built in the 14th century, the locals say that there are numerous Mongolian and Tibetan manuscripts inside the Gompa. Like any other place of historical significance, there is a fascinating story associated with. According to the locals, once upon a time a Mongol demon stayed here; even after his slaying, his body kept returning and that even today the demon's furrowed head and hand lie in the monastery. The legend linking a Mongol demon in the Nubra, speaks for the historical binding of the Valley transcending the Karakoram.

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