Remember the scene from the movie 3 Idiots when Kareena Kapoor comes riding on a scooter to meet Aamir Khan? Those of you who have seen the movie, already have seen the scenic beauty of the picturesque Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake. Situated in the upper reaches of Himalayan Mountain range in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, the most notable feature of the lake is the ever changing hues of the lake. Pangong Tso in Tibetan stands for "long, narrow, enchanted lake". One third of the lake is in India while the remaining two thirds lies in Tibet, which is controlled by China. Majority of the streams which fill the lake are located on the Tibetan side.
Pangong Tso is about five hours drive from Leh. During our recent trip to Leh, we chose to go to Pangong Tso last to give our body enough time for acclimatization. At Karu, about 45km from Leh city, we had to deviate left for Pangong lake. The road till Karu, that goes along the river Indus, is in a very good condition and could be made to Karu in well within an hour.
As we started ascending higher and higher, the temperature fell drastically and oxygen kept depleting. As we got closer to Chang La pass, the roads started getting worse with potholes and sharper curves. At Chang La, the second highest motorable pass in the world at 5360m, the mountains were magnificently snow capped and the weather was mind-numblingly cold. There is an army outpost at Changla pass which serves complimentary tea and has maintained public conveniences. Also there is a temple embellished with numerous fluttering Buddhist festoons, as colourful as a rainbow. The flags are of vibrant colours and have prayers written on them. The Buddhists put up this flags so that as the wind blows, it spreads its piousness in the air. It is such a selfless act for greater good that it touched my heart.
After a few clicks, we started our descent. The road conditions were pretty bad after Chang La pass, the descent was a steep one and at some places the roads were completely ripped off. We stopped for lunch at Tangste valley where stands a chain of war memorials in commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. Some of the historic army bunkers and trenches present here, are still in use. Tangste like any is a simple Ladakhi village - quaint and beautiful.
From Tangtse, it took us another one hour to reach Pangong. When we had the first glimpse of the azure, crystal blue color of this lake, we were awestruck by the beauty of nature.. It is amazing to look at! The mountains shadowed by the snow white clouds and visible till the snow peaks can be seen (yes, that far!)- engulf these beautiful blue green waters (I just can't get over the bright ever changing beautiful blues), and the overall scenery....WOW!!!! How can a place be so beautiful???
I felt like standing in front of the lake forever. It was clear, blue, pollution free and simply breathtaking. However, due to strong wind, the weather was extremely harsh and it was becoming extremely difficult to stand besides the lake. So, we decided to head back to the camp for a nice cup of hot coffee. The camp we stayed was "Pangong Resort Camp" which was beautiful and extremely cozy and well equipped to give us enough protection from the harsh weather outside. The restaurant had and added attraction with old Hindi songs being played continuously.
After sometime, we went back to enjoy the beauty of the lake and the its crystal clear water. Once you see this lake, you'll know that you would go back, just to get a glimpse of this mesmerizing sight again...and again...and yet again. It is the most beautiful sight, I had ever seen.. And it seemed to me like a picture come alive from one of the dreams or some of the Hollywood fantasy movie.. Seriously, this is amazing!!
Next morning, we returned to the lake just after dawn to watch the sun rise behind the mountains. The sky was slightly overcast and hence deprived us of the beauty. But what we saw was equally amazing. A rim of orange appears in the eastern ridges and rest of the landscape breaks into a dull dawn. The lake is dull grey, but slowly acquires its blue as the sun comes up. Clouds begin forming slowly and settle comfortably on the peaks to the east.
Soon it was time for us to leave. But before leaving, we decided to make one last stop at the starting point of the lake. The beauty of the place made me emotional and I stood there alone for some time - completely at peace. However, I definitely missed the absence of a loved one to share this amazing experience. We ambled around the lake for sometime photographing the brilliant blue lagoon. The cold winds from the lake made us shiver and dried our lips to crack, yet it was pleasure to promenade on the banks watching the waves of crystal clear water. I expected to see few aquatic birds but there were absolutely no fauna, probably due to cold. We continued on the road for few more kilometers in the direction of Sino-Indian border, clicked few photographs and started our return journey.
One notable mention of our return journey was a stop to see the marmots which are generally large ground squirrels. These cute looking animals were a treat to watch. They normally hide out in their burrows but in this route, you could see them as they know visitors would provide them with goodies. We spent some time with them clicking pictures and wishing we could take one home as a pet - to cuddle around!!
Overall this trip was memorable in every way - etched in my memory forever!!
Pangong Tso is about five hours drive from Leh. During our recent trip to Leh, we chose to go to Pangong Tso last to give our body enough time for acclimatization. At Karu, about 45km from Leh city, we had to deviate left for Pangong lake. The road till Karu, that goes along the river Indus, is in a very good condition and could be made to Karu in well within an hour.
As we started ascending higher and higher, the temperature fell drastically and oxygen kept depleting. As we got closer to Chang La pass, the roads started getting worse with potholes and sharper curves. At Chang La, the second highest motorable pass in the world at 5360m, the mountains were magnificently snow capped and the weather was mind-numblingly cold. There is an army outpost at Changla pass which serves complimentary tea and has maintained public conveniences. Also there is a temple embellished with numerous fluttering Buddhist festoons, as colourful as a rainbow. The flags are of vibrant colours and have prayers written on them. The Buddhists put up this flags so that as the wind blows, it spreads its piousness in the air. It is such a selfless act for greater good that it touched my heart.
After a few clicks, we started our descent. The road conditions were pretty bad after Chang La pass, the descent was a steep one and at some places the roads were completely ripped off. We stopped for lunch at Tangste valley where stands a chain of war memorials in commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. Some of the historic army bunkers and trenches present here, are still in use. Tangste like any is a simple Ladakhi village - quaint and beautiful.
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| Tangtse Village |
I felt like standing in front of the lake forever. It was clear, blue, pollution free and simply breathtaking. However, due to strong wind, the weather was extremely harsh and it was becoming extremely difficult to stand besides the lake. So, we decided to head back to the camp for a nice cup of hot coffee. The camp we stayed was "Pangong Resort Camp" which was beautiful and extremely cozy and well equipped to give us enough protection from the harsh weather outside. The restaurant had and added attraction with old Hindi songs being played continuously.
After sometime, we went back to enjoy the beauty of the lake and the its crystal clear water. Once you see this lake, you'll know that you would go back, just to get a glimpse of this mesmerizing sight again...and again...and yet again. It is the most beautiful sight, I had ever seen.. And it seemed to me like a picture come alive from one of the dreams or some of the Hollywood fantasy movie.. Seriously, this is amazing!!
Next morning, we returned to the lake just after dawn to watch the sun rise behind the mountains. The sky was slightly overcast and hence deprived us of the beauty. But what we saw was equally amazing. A rim of orange appears in the eastern ridges and rest of the landscape breaks into a dull dawn. The lake is dull grey, but slowly acquires its blue as the sun comes up. Clouds begin forming slowly and settle comfortably on the peaks to the east.
Soon it was time for us to leave. But before leaving, we decided to make one last stop at the starting point of the lake. The beauty of the place made me emotional and I stood there alone for some time - completely at peace. However, I definitely missed the absence of a loved one to share this amazing experience. We ambled around the lake for sometime photographing the brilliant blue lagoon. The cold winds from the lake made us shiver and dried our lips to crack, yet it was pleasure to promenade on the banks watching the waves of crystal clear water. I expected to see few aquatic birds but there were absolutely no fauna, probably due to cold. We continued on the road for few more kilometers in the direction of Sino-Indian border, clicked few photographs and started our return journey.
One notable mention of our return journey was a stop to see the marmots which are generally large ground squirrels. These cute looking animals were a treat to watch. They normally hide out in their burrows but in this route, you could see them as they know visitors would provide them with goodies. We spent some time with them clicking pictures and wishing we could take one home as a pet - to cuddle around!!
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