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
Since it was winter, there were hardly any tourists around. The camps, home-stays, and most of the touristy shops were all closed. Apart from us, there were just a handful of other tourists. It gave us a lot of space to explore the tranquil lake.
Panorama of the lake.
Jordan drove to a clearing, and selected one of the best spots and parked the car. We just sat by the lakeshore, watching the waves. While we were sitting by the banks, Jordan got his portable stove out, and heated tea, and lunch (assorted parathas). We sat on a large rock and sipped the masala chai - a very welcome beverage in the -7 degree C weather.
Crystal-clear waters.
When we finished our small lunch, there were even less tourists around. The area where we had parked seemed deserted. Our plan of visiting this place in off-tourist season seems to have paid off!
Not a soul around, expect us and the taxi driver.
As with the Indus-Zanskar confluence, the turquoise waters form a beautiful contrast with the grey mountains.
The blue turquoise of the lake contrasts with the slate-grey mountains.
Jordan told us that the water in the lake is salty, and has no aquatic life. We still saw some ducks or geese in the water.
Two ducks in the water.
Pangong Tso straddles the border between India and China. The lake is much longer compared to it's width. It stretches to about 133 km, and around 60% of this length is in China, and the rest 40% in India.
Straight ahead lies the China border.
We headed back by 1:30PM. There was a 5-hour drive ahead of us to Leh, and the road would be nightmarish after dark. We reached Leh just as it was getting dark. We visited the market near our hotel to stock up on bottled water, and then had dinner at the hotel. The next day we had just a few more sights to cover, closer to Leh.
Day-4: Bactrian Camels, Hemis Monastery & The Shanti Stupa
Next morning, we continued with local sight-seeing. We first tried to get into the Leh palace, but it seemed to be closed for the winter. One of the disadvantages in visiting Leh in winter is that many of the "must-see" sights are closed. We moved on to a camel farm - the two-humped Bactrian camel. These animals are much smaller than the Arabian camels, and are much more docile.
Bactrian camels.
We moved on to the Hemis Monastery. This Monastery is famous for it's annual "Hemis Festival", with traditional dances. This time of the year, though, it was silent and deserted. Not even a single monk was around.
Hemis Monastery.
We ended the evening with a visit to the Shanti Stupa. This is a Japanese-built Stupa on a hill overlooking Leh.
Shanti Stupa.
The place is very peaceful (at least in this season), and one can see amazing views of the mountains from here. Soft Buddhist chants play over the loud-speakers, making the experience very ethereal.
View of Leh from Shanti Stupa
This was our last night in Leh. The next day we had our flight back to Delhi. Overall it was a great idea to visit Leh off-season. While we did spend more on food and taxis, we were rewarded by almost exclusive access to the region's natural beauty.
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