Dah and Hanu
are places on the far side of the great Indus River on the far side of
Leh . Surrounded by the great Hindu - Kush mountains and peopled by a
hardy but gentle people who have a bank of strange legends to relate
for the weary traveller's ears.
Situated
In Isolation
Living in almost sheer isolation, Dah and Hanu, the two villages can
be accessed only by a really bumpy road ride, which skirts a sheer
cliff face with the river flowing fast and furious below. Then one
could trek up a goat-track and experience what it means to climb lofty
mountains. As one suddenly round a bend in the track, one is
confronted with terraced fields of barley, studded with apricot trees,
a smattering of stone huts and irrigation ditches covered with
flagstones which are actually pathways.
An Interesting Tale
The story, according to its warm and handsome people goes thus when
their forefathers chanced upon these villages on their expedition to
find a new land for their tribe, seeing its inhospitable nature, they
resolved to come back in Spring. When they returned as promised, they
saw barley seeds dropping from the warm straw and insulating their
shoes.
This phenomenon decided them to move here with their entire tribe,
Gods and all. The interesting story revolving around their Gods, the 'Lahs'
is that they were the only ones who held the secret to fertility but
since all they were interested in was dance, dance and dance, the 'Dahs'
discovered this secret by accident. The enraged Lahs then left the
place with a huge explosion leaving a gaping hole in the ground.
HOW TO GET
THERE
Air: Nearest
airport is Leh at 187-km. One can catch direct flights from Delhi to
Leh and once a week via Chandigarh . Flights to Jammu and Srinagar are
also there.
Rail: Nearest Railhead is situated in Jammu.
Road: Taxis are available from the Leh airport. One can also
travel by road from Manali or Srinagar.
WHERE TO STAY
Accommodation
is available in a range of hotels in Leh and in the tourist bungalow
run by the state tourism department at Saspol 106-km from Dah.
