• This photo feature tells you in brief about the history of Turtuk, how it became part of Bharat, meeting with the erstwhile ruler and the origin of the Balti people.

We were standing at Thang, a tiny remote village, on one of the Northern most points of India.  A deep, thickly forested Ravine – lead to the Indian Army Outpost dotted with Army Bunkers. Indian soldiers were at eyeball to eyeball distance from their Pakistani counterparts. An Indian Flag marked the ground where we stood. 

The Line of Control (“LOC”) was shorn of all the drama and jingoism of the Wagah Border. 

Local Baltistani village women lent us binoculars for viewing the border posts and the area under Pakistani control. We scanned the Pakistani village-in a vain and futile attempt to confirm whether the Indian side looked more prosperous. As a show of solidarity for the local Balti people, we bought some fresh Apricots that were really nice.

The twin villages of Thang (in India) and Pharnu (in Pakistan) which were intertwined, like brother and sister or parent and child, suddenly separated on the night of 16^th and 17^th December, 1971. The umbilical cord that bonded these two villages was severed. People who had lived there for two thousand years, now had a separate identity. The inhabitants who probably had never known or even understood the concept of a nation were now either Indian or Pakistani. 

Amidst rugged mountains and terrain, at the confluence of the World’s highest Mountain Ranges – the Himalayas and the Karakoram – is the region of Baltistan, which is predominantly under Pakistani occupation and control.  

The region is home to several towering peaks, kissing the skies at well over 23000 ft above sea levels. Nature is an Omnipotent force here. Living amongst gigantic stony mountains, biting winds and temperatures that drop to -20 C, can make life a living hell.  The landscape provides limited opportunities for farming. Fruit trees like Apricots and Walnuts are amongst the only forms of vegetation there.

The Balti people, originally Buddhist when they migrated from Tibet, were converted to Islam by the end of the 15th Century and are predominantly Shia. Customs and traditions are a mix of Tibetan and Islamic. The Balti language, which is similar to Tibetan and Laddakhi, incorporates words of Urdu.

Our next halt was the Yagbo Palace. 

It is a modest dwelling made out of local woods. Luxurious carpets lined the floor. Photographs, artefacts and swords adorned the walls, whispering the glorious history of the Yagbo kings.

We were ushered into the presence of an old gentleman, with a regal bearing, a handsome face with creases that resembled the ruggedness of the mountains, in long flowing white Robes and a Walking Stick with intricate carving. He bore a stern expression with no pretence or attempt at amicability. The noisy touristy chatter turned into a stark silence. The groups attention swung in his direction with bated breath, as if we were about to witness the unfolding of a spectacle.

The gentleman in a mix of English and Hindi explained the history of the Palace, built by Raja Turab Khan in the 16^th Century. It was built using the most basic, rudimentary tools and technology. Wood was the main building material. The old gentleman patiently described the history of the palace and Baltistan. The Yagbo Family ruled a little kingdom for over 500 years, which encompassed lands on both sides of the LOC.  It was annexed in the 1840’s by Dogra ruler Raja Gulab Singh, thus came under the suzerainty of Jammu and Kashmir.

We could sense that this was no ordinary old man trying to make a living. After some gentle prodding, he revealed himself as Mohammed Khan the current king of the Yagbo Dynasty.

The palace and the surrounding villages were part of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir from 1948 to 1971, when the Indian Army annexed it. The palace was used as HQ of the Pakistan Army for the region till 1953. 

Our next stop was the Turtuk Heritage House. A small spartan house of about 150 sq ft. it was home of the former Sarpanch.  The house was dark and depended on natural light that crept through the crevices in the walls. The walls were lined with all the requirements of daily living such as pots, pans, hookahs, shoes, storage urns.  The Balti lady explained that this house was exactly like a specimen of a house that the Balti people lived in. Everything was made in the home or in the village itself, using local materials, wood and parts of goats.

As we internalised the information, we were teleported to a Tibetan village and lifestyle of a thousand years ago.

The last few decades, had brought an invasion of modernity, change and development. When I questioned the lady, “do Balti people still live in similar houses and are they as self-sufficient?” She said times were changing.  We sensed that modernity and Tourism was steadily gnawing away at lifestyle of two thousand years.

We stopped for delicious helpings of very reasonably priced Momos, to satiate our hunger as we prepared for the ride back to Nubra Valley and the comfort of our hotel.

To read all articles by author

To read all articles in Travel and Yatra section

Also see albums of close by places

1. Diskit Monastery

2. Sand Dunes Nubra Valley

3. Khardungla Pass

4. Siachen Glacier Base Camp

5. Turtuk

6. A good travelogue on Turtuk