Foreign diplomats and members of the United Nations and other international organizations are required to apply for permits to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. Two of the five villages inhabited by them may now be visited, Dah and Biama. The route follows the Indus down from Khalatse, past the villages of Domkhar, Skurbuchan and Achinathang, along a fairly good road. In the gorge of the Indus the sun's heat, reflected off bare rocks and cliffs, is frequently intense. The same heat makes it possible to take two crops every year from the fields.
Fruit is also grown - apricots, apples, walnuts and even grapes.
Skurbuchan, Domkhar and Achinathang are attractive villages, with an air of modest prosperity about them. Copyright 1999, JeevanSathi Internet Services Pvt.