Kargil, vegetarian’s hell!
For travelers traveling on the Srinagar – Leh highway, Kargil is the preferred night stop. However if you are a vegetarian like me, chances are, you will end up hating Kargil!
This is because at dinner time, it is almost impossible to find vegetarian food in Kargil! Yes you heard it right; almost every restaurant in Kargil serves non-vegetarian food at night.
A sad realty that came to light during my first trip to Ladakh. Thankfully I was warned in advance by Salil and Sunil, who had taken the Srinagar route to Ladakh and had to eat watery cauliflower and boiled rice for dinner!
Thankfully now there are a couple of options these days for vegetarian travelers planning to spend the night in Kargil.
The first place you can expect to find vegetarian food at night in Kargil is a small restaurant run by Sardarji, which is located opposite Taxi Stand in main market (little to the left).
The second place where you can expect to find vegetarian food is at the Caravan Hotel in Kargil, which is I am told, also a decent place to spend the night at.
So if you are planning to spend the night in Kargil, make sure you either locate the above two places or fill your tummy at Drass (if coming from the Srinagar side) or at Mulbek (if coming from Leh).
I think one reason you normally do not find vegetarian food is because it is easier to keep warm by eating meat. Also most people in mountains are not vegetarians as food is (or was) not abundant and hence eating meat was a good option.
Being a non-veg, this is one thing less I have to worry about!
I am not really sure if it is due to that, I mean Drass is supposed to be colder than Kargil, yet one finds vegetarian food at night without any issue and the same goes for Mulbek.
[...] him that I was planning to ride till Rangdum and next day ride to Drass, as I was a vegetarian and Kargil is a hell for vegetarians. He advised me to stay at the J&K tourism bungalow in Drass and if I had any difficulties, [...]
[...] Day 13 (16th September 2006): Padum (Zanskar Valley) He asked me about my plans for tomorrow and I told him that I was planning to ride till Rangdum and next day ride to Drass, as I was a vegetarian and Kargil is a hell for vegetarians. [...]
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[...] non stop ride as I knew it was probably the last place where I could get a decent meal for the day (Kargil vegetarian's hell). After a longish stop to eat my breakfast cum lunch cum dinner, it was time to move on. Managed [...]
it is completely stupidity to tell that kargil is a hell for vegetarians as being a resident of kargil i know better than any one else .If no vegetables are there atleast u can get rajmas .MOREOVER DUE TO SHORT OF VEGETATION there is almost lack of vegetables in the area ,stay from DEC-MAR u will have first hand experience and wont complain any more.Thokpa which is made from flour is available in most restaurants is a vegetarian food i think.I request such travellers to ponder over the thinks and then complain.Drass may have veg foods it is an economical reason veg being cheap is served there as most restaurant goers are workers ther hardly any local people takes full meals in thes small restaurants.
Raza what I have shared here is my personal experience of staying in Kargil four times. Each time I wanted to have food in Kargil (whether dinner or at one time even lunch) I had to check out a little over half a dozen restaurants before I could find any vegetarian food. And it is not like I was looking for some exotic vegetable or food, even Rajma Chawal weren’t available at majority of the restaurants!
I can understand if this happens in winter when the area is under blanket of snow and roads are closed, but in September when tourist traffic is still flowing and all the shops in the market are stocked with vegetables and what not?
To me that is not at all acceptable and as I tourist who does have the option of spending the night at another town, I would rather exercise that option, then to stay at such a place and hunt for food.
Oh yes Thukpa is also of two variety, vegetarian and non-vegetarian and it is mostly non-vegetarian type one finds in Kargil. Provided thing haven’t changed drastically in past couple of years.
[...] has already clarified my earlier post, apart from that, I don't really like Kargil because of this Kargil, vegetarian?s hell! | Yogesh Sarkar's Blog. People there are ok, but I personally find people of Ladakh and Zanskar much more friendly and [...]
hello yogesh, i own a bajaj avenger 200 & i’ve planned an adventurous trip on my bike ( allahabad-delhi-manali-leh-srinagar-delhi-allahabad) what amount of money should i keep for my trip.We r two people. We r going 2 opt for budget hotel during r trip.