Journey into Ladakh -2

Here's the 2nd post on the trip. The week ahead turned out to be tons of fun and lots of camping at sub-zero temperature.

We headed to Pangong Tso(lake) , a 5 hours drive from Leh via the third highest pass in the world, the Changla pass.
Pangong Lake is the world's highest brackish lake at 14,256 feet above sea level.
It is 134 km long and extends from India to Tibet. Two thirds of the length of this lake falls in China. It is only 8 km wide at its broadest point.
You need special permit to visit this lake.

The placid, salty and calm water takes up various shades of blue,green, purple at differnt times of the day.




We had plans of camping at the lake side but wasn't granted permission by the authorithy and hence headed a few kms back and pitched our tents there.

I was amazed at the super luxury camping that evening .We had a cook and helper traveling along with us and had access to mouth watering, piping hot food and also a hot desert that night.Simply awesome at such a deserted harsh terrain.

That night with multiple layers of clothing in the subzero temp. there was an impromptu session of singing by some of my traveling mates, a bit of a irritant initially for me , since it broke the peaceful calm of the night. However, as the night progressed I didn't mind the music. It had been aeons since I was under such a bright night sky and could see shooting stars every couple of mins.

We headed back to Leh the next morning and sacked out that night. The next destination was Nubra.


We crossed Khardung La, the highest motorable road in the world at 18380 Feet on the way to Nubra.

It had a souvenir shop, where i picked up a few t-shirts and a canteen serving out hot maggi and hot chocolate and such .



Nubra,The name Nubra is applied to the district comprising the valley of the Nubra river. It is popularly known as the valley of flowers.
The Nubra Valley area is very close to the Siachen Glacier - site of the world's highest "cold" war which explains the substantial build-up of military troops there. At 20,700 feet, we(India) control this 47-mile glacier, one of the longest outside of the poles, and even has a helipad there at 21,000 feet.You need a permit to visit Nubra.We had a game of fresbie in the sand dunes that evening.

Diksit Gompa

Visited an ancient and beautiful monastery at Diksit in Nubra Valley the next day. The Gompa was founded in the year 1420. We headed back to Leh for another pit stop.
















Tsomoriri
Tsomoriri or mountain lake, one of the highest lakes in the world, lies in the Changthang (literally meaning, northern plains) region.

It is situated in the middle of the elevated valley of Rupsgu surrounded by 6000m peaks which surround the lake.

It is a fresh to brackish water lake, spread over an area of about 120 sq.km. with a maximum depth of 40 m.



Tsomoriri is administratively designated as a Wetland Reserve and is also rich in wildlife that includes Kyang(wild ass), red fox , Black necked cranes and geese. We camped near abouts in freezing temp. and to our surprise there were a bunch of cyclists and campers already at the site. The first time we saw folks other than us at a campsite.

This valley is inhabited by a sparse population of "Changpas" nomadic shepherds who engage in

















Tsokar
We headed to Tsokar the next morning. This was the most picturesque journey so far. The giant hills were changing colours all around as the sun and clouds interplayed.

All along the 2 weeks, we came across a bunch of foreign cyclists and bikers of all ages, mainly elderly people who were roughing it out in the terrain. I was just in awe of the fitness level of the folks, I wish I am able to get to that level someday.

This is the end of my ladakh experience and I hope I am able to experience the place and its people every summer. The place has left an indelible mark on me and changed my perspective to certain things around!

Photos from the trip(2nd week)
Ladakh Pangong Lake & ChanglangLa
Ladakh Khardungla Pass
Ladakh Nubra
Ladakh Diksit
Ladakh Tsomoriri
Ladakh Tsokar

Photos from the trip(week 1) :
India:Ladakh Rohtang Pass
India:Ladakh Sarchu Moray Plains TanglangLa
Ladakh : Leh and Manali
India:Ladakh Hemis
India:Ladakh Leh Palace
India:Ladakh Shey Palace
India:Ladakh Thiksey

Useful Links:
High Altitude: Acclimatization and Illnesses
Himachal Tourism
Map of Central Ladakh
Wikipedia Ladakh
Wikipedia Leh
J&KTourism

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