Because of the snow (and the roads) there’s not many tourists coming into town from above.
And the road up from Purne is still not passable, which means I’m in the fortunate position of having the place to myself.
Lobsang has a cool little cabin across from his house that has been used to house some temporary teachers from Czech Republic, or it did for the past few summers. For now that is where I store my bicycle. The teachers apparently come and stay for a few months each summer. Wow. How nice would that be? I guess that explains why everyone’s english is so good, and their thinking seems to be so modern. The folks in town seem to really appreciate the place they live in.
I have a few snaps I took in 2018 when the BRO arrived. They had arrived in 2017 but 2018 was the first time the vehicles proceeded below Kargiakh.
Kargiak 2018: Vehicles arrive. 
Kargiakh 2018, bro parked outside of town. Fortunately road stays well below the town. 
Kargiakh 2018: Vehicles proceeding below Kargiakh for first time in 2018. At this point the bulldozer is towing the dump trucks through a big swamp created when they drove through the irrigation canal.
I know there’s going to be a road with taxis and tourists up here someday, maybe even later in 2019? For now Kargiakh is still the same place I remember from 30 years ago. I took a bunch of pics, hopefully you enjoy them. The air and light up there are really great. Around sunset everything seems to sparkle, but could just be my low blood sugar? 🙂
The Granite?
The other thing to consider. The granite? Um… none of the mountains around here are made of granite. Where did all these huge gorgeous granite river boulders come from?
Kargiakh is stuffed with these lovely river-polished granite boulders and the Kargiakh-Po seem to really like it. They lever it into all sorts of constructions.
I’m guessing the granite rocks are all erratics moved by glaciers and rivers long ago?
Loafing Across Zanskar 