The Himalayan Desert: Ladakh - Day 3 & 4

Day-3: The Road To Pangong-Tso

Pangong Tso is a large lake east of Leh, close to the China border. The lake had always been a tourist spot, but it has exploded in popularity after the Bollywood movie "3 Idiots". In the summer time, the lake is teeming with tourists, and I guess the tranquil beauty is lost. Luckily, we were visiting in winter. We headed out around 7:00AM, with our same old driver - Jordan. The hotel had a packed lunch for us, and a couple of oxygen cylinders. This was because we would be crossing the second-highest pass in the Himalayas - Chang La. We headed off, and were soon on the outskirts of Leh. Jordan pointed out as we crossed his village - "Sakti" - on the way.

Monastery near Jordan's village.

We soon took a steep road, and started climbing higher. The roads were really rugged from here on. 

There were no pitstops, rest-areas or "dhabas", but the Indian Army has posts with usable toilets.

A dog watches as we stop to use the rest room at a Army outpost.

 All around, the surroundings are extremely rugged and barren. As usual, the temperature was low, but the sun was shining strong, which made it warm in the car. 

Barren, rocky landscape.

Rocky road, and mountains with a spattering of snow.

On the way, we passed Chang-La - the 2nd highest motorable road in the world. This pass lies at 17,680 feet (5.4 km) above sea level, and is the reason why taxis to Pangong-Tso always carry oxygen cylinders.

Chang-La - 17,600 feet high pass.

While we did not need the oxygen cylinders, it was definitely a bit uncomfortable here. The air was thin, and even walking took some effort. There are warning signs advising tourists to not linger here more than 10 minutes. From here onwards the road was downhill for a while. We entered a valley, which had a large Army camp of the "Hodson's Horse" regiment. I could see a sign proudly proclaiming - "This valley is protected by the Good Lord... and Hodson's Horse". I was familiar with this Army regiment, as it is mentioned in William Dalrymple's "The Last Mughal", which I had read some five or six years back.

Further down the road, Jordan stopped the car near meadow with a half-frozen stream. There was a herd of yaks grazing on the other side. 

Yaks grazing.

The whole place was eerily silent, except for the bubbling of the water, and the occasional startling sound as some ice melted and plopped into the water. As we moved on, we spotted a herd of pashmina goat. This is the goat whose wool is used for the famous pashmina shawls.

Pashmina goats.

  

As we moved on, the road became more and more bumpy. The video below gives an idea of how bumpy this ride was. Jordan had a pen-drive of old-and-new Bollywood songs, which he kept playing throughout the 5 hour drive!





 Soon, we could catch a glimpse of the lake from the mountain roads.We were getting closer to the lake! We finally crested a hill, and crossed another Army camp, and saw the vast expanse of the lake surrounded by mountains. 

First glimpse of Pangong-Tso