Pangong Lake - A Gorgeous Wonder!

The journey was no less than the destination...

It is an amazingly beautiful drive of around 6hrs from Leh on a dramatic mountain terrain via Karu and Sekti village.

We started early morning with Tenzing, an experienced and cheerful driver from Leh. We drove through the vast barren landscapes with small villages and some greenery appearing every now and then. This was followed by the barren mountains of interesting shades of blue, grey and purple. They soon started to get white with snow and was fully snow covered as we approached The Chang La (17,590 ft.), world's third highest pass. We took a break to have hot meal of maggi and bread omelette at then-highest cafe of the world. Now the highest cafe is at Khardung La.
As the day progressed water on the roads started increasing. Glad we were to have listened to our driver and started early morning.

Travel Tip - One need to hire cab from Leh as taxis from outside Leh are not allowed to ply on this road. Start from Leh as early as possible. Water on roads will keep increasing as day advances.

 

The view of the road that we came driving on from Chang La

It is always good to start as early as possible from Leh 

The drive was more or less smooth except for a few places near the pass. There are many interesting road signs from BRO that make the journey even more enjoyable. Below are a few of them that fascinated me:

"Be gentle on my curves."

"Don't be a gamma in the land of Lama"

"Darling I want you but not so fast"

"Feel the curves, do not test them"

"Mountains are pleasure only if you drive with leisure"

"Love the neighbor but not while driving" 

A little farther on the road we met these cute little creatures called Marmots. They came out of their burrows as we were passing by. They did not seem to be shy at all. Rather they seemed curious and playful. It was fun playing with them and clicking them.

A curious Marmot spotted on the way to Pangong approaching the camera 

The Gorgeous Pangong Tso...
While we were still in the awe of meeting marmots, we saw a hint of brilliant blue in the barren brown terrains. I could not believe my eyes. The whole tiredness and the cold disappeared and we were filled with a joy, excitement and anticipation of what is in store. The moment is still engraved on my mind. It was surreal to see almost every shade of blue in sparkling water in these barren lands.

Brilliant hues of blue in the barren brown terrain - the first view of Pangong lake

This was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful creations of nature that I had ever seen. The sight of unending expanse of deep blue water and the spectacular Changchenmo range in the backdrop. 

This beautiful Himalayan lake Pangong Tso (Tibetan for "high grassland lake") is situated at a height of about 14,270 ft and is 134 km long. It extends from India to China and around one-third of the lake lies in China. The lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point.

Pangong is one of the largest brackish water lakes of Asia

The fascinating fact about Pangong Lake is that it has saline water and even then the water freezes. There is no aquatic life but some migratory birds can be spotted. It was a visual delight to watch the gulls and ducks play over the beautiful lake

Brown headed Gulls at Pangong

The first place we crossed was the army camp at Lukung. From here till Spangmik, the road was merely stone filled dirt track. Spangmik is the last village till where foreigners can go with an inner line permit.

Spending night with the locals at the height of 14,270 ft. ...
The village has merely 5-6 houses of which 2 provide the facility of home-stay. We chose to stay in one of them rather than at the camps nearby; One, because in a remote place like this I want to contribute to the economy of the place and second, I love to experience the local life and interact with locals.

Me with my hosts in the neatly organised kitchen of our home-stay at Spagmik

The evening was spent in the kitchen-cum-common room chatting and having endless cups of tea. There was a biker who had come from Bangalore and was exploring Himalayas from past one month on his bike. I still remember his adventure tales that inspired me to do Leh-Khardung La on bike.
The hot dal-chawal and ladakhi rotis with vegetables tasted heavenly delicious in the chilling cold of Ladakh. We were provided with a cozy room with wooden flooring covered with carpets and wooden roof. The bedding was warm and comfortable. And the hospitality of the hosts made it even better.

The home-stay at village Spagmik

One can also stay in the camps on the shores of the lake. The camps are made of canvas and the floors are covered with jute carpet to provide warmth. Each camp has an attached bathroom with cold running water. Thick blankets and a hot water bag is provided for warmth.
On the way back we visited Shay and Thiksey monasteries.

This was undoubtedly one of my best journeys so far. Have already visited Pangong thrice and every time it seems more beautiful.


P.S.- Pictures are clicked while on a road trip Himalayan Voyage with INDIAN TERRAINS in June 2012 and July 2014

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Weekly Inspirational Travel Quote

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What all to pack on a road trip to LADAKH

Now that you have decided to explore Ladakh on road, how and what to pack is very important. Needs of every individual will vary but  the following things shouldn't be missed out on.

CLOTHING: In Ladakh it is best to dress in layers, since majority of coldness is due to wind chill and temperatures can change rapidly depending on the place, time and weather. Hence dressing in layers will allow you to add/subtract layers as and when needed. So make sure apart from your regular clothes, you are also carrying a sweater, gloves, cap (protect head and ears from cold winds), warm inners and if possible, air/water resistant jacket. Pack separately for the road travel and for leh and surroundings.

MEDICINES: Carry Diamox if you aren’t allergic to sulfur drugs as it helps reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness. Additionally, carry general medicines for headache, fever, stomach ache, cold and cough syrup. Also prescribed medicines you are on.

PERSONAL ESSENTIALS:

• Sunscreen lotion: UV rays at high altitude can be quite damaging to the skin, even during the harshest of winter, so don’t forget to carry a good quality sunscreen lotion
• UV sunglasses: Having decent quality UV sunglasses (Fastrack ones are available for as little as Rs. 800) is quite essential, especially if you are traveling early in the season or during winter, when mountain passes have a lot of snow cover and sunlight reflecting from the snow can be even harsher.
• Lip balm: Dry and cold weather of Ladakh will make your lips dry, which can get quite painful due to cracking and skin coming off, so make sure to carry a lip balm or Vaseline.
• Mustard oil: Mustard oil can be used for moisturizing skin, putting it in your hair and for lubricating insides of nostrils, which can become quite dry and painful due to dry and cold winds of Ladakh.
• Other essentials like Soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, toilet paper, shaving kit and face wash.

FOOD ITEMS:

• Water: Water is the most essential thing while traveling in Ladakh, since dehydration can further complicate health issues at such a high altitude. So make sure you are carrying at least couple of liter of water per person all the time and drinking at regular intervals.
• Glucose: Carrying water mixed with Glucon C/D is a good idea while traveling at high altitude, as it provides instant energy on the move, when your appetite is likely to be reduced due to AMS and at the same time, doesn’t act as a diuretic, like most caffeinated energy drinks. Carry couple of small packs with you, which you can mix in water, at the beginning of the day.
• Chocolates, biscuits and nuts: Carrying couple of chocolates, a pack of biscuits and few hundred grams of almonds, raisins and cashews is a good idea, as these provide instant energy and easy snack and don’t take up too much space. Those who love spicy food, make sure to carry pickle or sauce, since Ladakhi food is a bit bland.

DOCUMENT AND IDs: It is essential to carry at least one government issued identity card and couple of photocopies of it, since it is needed while applying for inner line permit and at certain places, to register at the check post. You should also carry your medical insurance card (if you have one), your printed itinerary, couple of copies of your flight ticket (if traveling by air) and list of important contacts (useful in case your mobile phone stops working).

BATTERIES AND MEMORY CARDS:

• Spare camera batteries: Carry at least one spare set of batteries required by your camera, since in cold environment, batteries can die quickly.
• Car charger or battery bank: If you are an avid smart phone user and planning to log your route on your favorite GPS App, then make sure you are carrying car charger or a power bank with at least 4000-5000mAH capacity to keep your mobile phone running throughout the day.
• 3 socket Belkin Surge Protector: While it is a little large in size, 3 socket Belkin Surge Protector will not only keep your gadgets protected from power surges, but will also allow you to charge multiple devices simultaneously and at the same time, provide the crucial cable length to safely place your gadgets in rooms with idiotic power socket locations that sadly many hotels have.
• Enough memory cards to last you the entire trip: Doesn’t matter if you are carrying a laptop or planning to burn CDs/DVDs at Leh, carry enough memory cards to cover your entire shooting duration in Ladakh. If needed, borrow from friends but don’t depend on laptop HDDs or worse still, virus infested cyber café computers to copy and save your photographs.
• Torch: Not really needed if your mobile phone has one, but if in case it doesn’t, carry a small LED one.

MONEY: While our recommendation would be to carry enough cash you need, to avoid wasting time withdrawing cash, it may not be feasible for everyone. So please keep in mind that ATMs beyond Srinagar and Manali are only available in Kargil and Leh and they too are few with often long queues in front of them.

I personally recommend Himalayan Vogage – An Ultimate road trip to Ladakh . being organised every year by INDIAN TERRAINS - perfectly chalked-out itinerary and an understanding trip leader.

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