Traders of the Chelong Valley, Ladakh

Gulam Jaffar at his shop in Panikhar

For generations, traders from the Suru Valley in Kargil, Ladakh, have journeyed southwest from Panikhar village, in Suru Valley, passing through the picturesque Chelong Valley to reach the Warwan Valley in Jammu and Kashmir. Panikhar, which serves as both a hub for trade and commerce and the entry point to the Suru Valley from Chelong Valley, has long been a key stop on these trade routes. Today, this historic route has become a popular trekking path and is even being considered as an alternative access to the Amarnath Shrine. 

Following the tradition of his ancestors, Gulam Jaffar, 82 years, from Panikhar spent many years making annual treks for trade to Warwan and Pahalgam. In Warwan, Jaffar would exchange young Dzhos (a hybrid between yaks and domestic cattle) from the Suru Valley for fully grown Dzhos from Warwan. Typically, he traded two young Dzhos for one adult. On some occasions, he would trade one young Dzho along with some money for a fully grown Dzho. The adult Dzhos Jaffar brought back were either used for meat or sold to buyers from Kargil, particularly those from the Sod area, who would then sell them in distant places like Leh. Over time, some of the young Dzhos he had traded in Warwan would mature into adults and return, creating a continuous cycle of exchange. This practice had survived for many generations.

Gulam Jaffar was actively involved in trading Brangsee (honey), which he sourced from the villagers of Warwan. The hives were ingeniously constructed within the walls of village huts, with the main hive located inside the house and a small hole-like opening in the wall connecting it to the outside. These hives were placed in wooden cases, referred to by Jaffar as Shing Dongmo. The cases were plastered with mud, leaving only the small external opening for the bees through the wall of the hut. Remarkably, the villagers shared their living spaces with these hives, sleeping in the very rooms where they were kept. To harvest the honey, smoke was used to drive the bees out of the hives. The honey was then manually collected through a meticulous process that required nearly 10 days to produce 20-30 kilograms. After collection, the honey was ground and filtered by hand before being packed into skin cases known as Kyalba. At that time, the honey was sold for Rs 20 per kilogram, a stark contrast to the current price of nearly Rs 2800 per kilogram.

In the days before electricity or kerosene oil, Gulam Jaffar would gather a type of wood called La-shee from the Warwan forests. This wood, which burned like a large incense stick, with its glowing tip casting a faint light that lasted less than an hour, was a vital source of illumination during the dark nights. In later years, Jaffar would carry 5 liters of kerosene for six families from Pahalgam through the Chelong Valley. This kerosene was used to light their homes, with each family carefully rationing less than a liter to last the entire winter. They would finish their dinners and sleep early  to conserve the oil. At that time, the market price for kerosene was Rs 3 per liter.

Gulam Jaffar also recalls the difficulties of paying taxes like Bhaps and Jinsi to the revenue officials. The entire family would clean their crops meticulously, and his father would transport them to the revenue office in Kargil. Despite their hard work, corrupt officials sometimes rejected the crops, making those days feel like Zulum (oppression). The burden of these taxes was so heavy that some families in the Suru Valley were even forced to sell their fields Zhing (fields) and gardens Tsas (gardens) to pay them.

During winter, the Chelong Valley was cut off for six months due to snow. At the age of 40, Jaffar once took the Umbala Pass route to Dras and then onward to Kashmir. This route, which directly connects the Suru Valley to Dras and bypasses Kargil, took him two days to travel—a journey that now takes just three hours by car. On the first day, he camped overnight at Umbala Pass, and on the second day, he stayed in Lamochan village before continuing to Dras. From there, he traveled to Zojila Pass and Sonamarg to purchase rice (Bras) at Rs 1 per kilogram.

Habbibullah

Habbibullah, 77 years from Panikhar traveled 3-4 times through the Chelong Valley to purchase butter from the villagers in Warwan, Kashmir. In Warwan, the villagers would prepare 3-4 kilogram butter doughs and pack them in skin bags called Kyalba. Once back in Panikhar, in the Suru Valley, the women in his family would transfer the butter from the Kyalba into utensils, separate the liquid portion from the dough, and purify it. They would then shape the butter into 3-4 kilogram balls. Habbibullah would then take the butter to Kargil for sale in September and October. The butter that Habbibullah purchased at Rs 12 per kilogram would be sold for Rs 24 per kilogram in Kargil.

 Salim Khan, Haji Gulam Mehdi and Ali Jaan

Haji Gulam Mehdi, a resident of Panikhar, spent much of his life engaged in the meat trade. In his younger days, he made yearly journeys to the Warwan Valley in Kashmir, traveling through the Chelong Valley for trade. On one occasion, he embarked on a three-day journey to Sukhnai, a village in the Warwan Valley, to purchase livestock. There, he bought 400 sheep, which he later sold in Kargil. In the past, the road from Panikhar to Warwan was so narrow that horses sometimes fell into the river. Currently, a road is under construction, extending about 10 kilometers into the Chelong Valley from Panikhar. Haji Gulam believes that if the road were improved and a tunnel built at Boban glacier, it would transform life in the Suru Valley. 

In addition to his trading activities in Warwan Valley and Kargil, Haji Gulam has fond memories of the years he spent at cattle camps, known as Doks, at a site called Raygun in the Chelong Valley. The Dok was particularly renowned for its clean water, drawn from the Dok-Chu Chesma spring. Each year, Haji Gulam spent 3-4 months there, caring for livestock and gathering wood, juniper (Shukpa), shrubs (Burtse), and cow dung (Sherang or Shilang) to use as fuel. His family members would visit him in the Doks, collecting surplus grass, shrubs, and cow dung to take back to the village for later use. Whenever possible, Haji Gulam continued his trading from the Dok, exchanging young Dzhos for adult Dzhos with Warwan traders who visited the camps, sometimes paying them in cash.

Life in the Doks, however, was not without its challenges. Wild animals like snow leopards, brown bears, and wolves often posed a threat to their livestock. Despite these dangers, Haji Gulam lived this way for 10-15 years. Haji Gulam eventually stopped traveling through the Chelong Valley and now owns a popular grocery shop in Panikhar. After 20 years, he returned to the area with the author, reflecting on his memorable days as a trader.

Every year, Bakarwal nomads like Ali Jaan and Salim Khan from the district of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir visit the Chelong Valley, which they refer to as Do Naldu. From Kathua, they travel to Ramban, cross the Banihal Pass to reach Anantnag, and then make their way to Kishtwar before crossing a glacier to finally reach the Chelong Valley in the month of May. In good weather, the journey from Kathua to Chelong takes about 15 days. They stay for three months, grazing livestock and trading sheep and wool with traders who visit them from different parts of Ladakh before returning to Kathua via the same route. When the author met them in the Chelong Valley, Ali Jaan owned 200 sheep, while his cousin Salim Khan had about 250 sheep.

Haji Gulam regularly purchased sheep and wool from the Bakarwals visiting the Chelong Valley. Despite the declining demand for wool, which once sold for Rs 65 per kilogram but has now dropped to less than Rs 10, Haji maintained a strong and supportive relationship with the Bakarwals. Among them, he had particularly close ties with Ali Jaan and Salim Khan, whom he knew through their parents—long-time friends of his. Their bond was so strong that, during their visits to Panikhar, the Bakarwals often stayed at Haji Gulam's home, where they were treated like family members. Through his shop in Panikhar, Haji continues to extend credit and provide rations to the Bakarwals when needed, further solidifying their connection and mutual trust.