The coldest night of our trip had baffled us in Pangong. With the temperature dropping down to -6 and no heater in the room had made our night's sleep almost impossible. Neither had we enjoyed the beauty of the lake completely the previous evening because of the cool wind. We had woken up with dreary eyes for some hot breakfast and loads of sunshine. That really helped us in moving forward.
First glimpse of Pangong Tso
Motorists photographing after their successful journey...
It was a very long journey- Pangong lake to Tso Moriri, about 300 odd kilometers with passes and more lakes to witness on our way. We had packed our extra meals owing to the remoteness of the route. Driving along the lake side we witnessed new colours and views of the lake which we earlier thought had never existed. From deep blue to turquoise green and sky blue, the shades never seemed to end. We had driven the whole length of 35 kms of the lake (which seemed never ending) that lies in the Indian border. Rest of it- about 100 kms is part of China.
The view that we woke up to in Pangong...
Pangong in the morning
Another view of the lake in the morning...
Another picture before we say Good bye!
Being a saline water lake, Pangong doesn't support any aquatic life. The occasional visitors are the migratory birds such as Bar Headed Geese and the Brahmi Duck. We did spot them on this stretch. When the sight of the lake was fading from our vision, there were the 'Umbu' shrubs that became visible. Their myriad colours ranging from deep red to yellow to orange was a stunning scene against the backdrop of the brown shades of high mountains.
A short stop that we had taken at Chusul to refresh ourselves with 'Lemon, Ginger, Honey' tea prepared us for the difficult terrain that was soon to follow. Happily grazing 'Pashmina sheep' were our part of adventure in a vast valley that we had hit later. They were different from the regular sheep with more silky and straightened hair and curly horns. After a thorough permit check at the check post we had started climbing up a 'pass'. Every hairpin curve we crossed, we were compelled to stop and take picture.
Pashmina sheep
Can you spot Pangong tso at the far end?
The entire stretch lay ahead of us, unperturbed by any human activity, with just one vehicle in sight. This route to reach Tso Moriri through the Changthang valley is considered as one of the most beautiful and scenic in Leh. Even before we had descended the pass (Kaksang La), we were thrown open to a lake with Yale blue shade and a range of mountains behind it that resembled the colour of dark chocolate. The first glimpse of the lake took our breath away! At once I thought I had landed in Iceland having seen its' pictures on Instagram. But Yes! it's in India and it's for real. The stunning beauty of the lake may be very inviting but it's very difficult to venture out to go near the lake. The area is completely desolated and no roads lead to the lake. The only way is through a hike. And, do not be fooled by the picture that may give an impression that lake is accessible but from the road there is a deep drop. Turning back looking at the lake again and again was quite obvious as we moved ahead and started feeling the cool winds of snow clad mountains nearing us.
The secret lake...
Another view
A bumpy road that we had taken so far now bore a new look with fresh tarmac slicing the brown mountain tracks. The zig-zag patterns of the curves lead us to another beautiful lake called the Yaye Tso. A freshwater lake in the shape of an apple, Yaye Tso is a marshland visited only occasionally by yaks, sheep and horses. The dried yellow marshes around the lake makes it more picturesque. Though the lake accessible, it is a marshy area(and dangers of quick sand) so you never know where it's going to pull you down. Located in Hora La ('La' meaning 'pass'), this lake is no less beautiful than the others.
Yaye tso
Moving ahead we had driven along Indus river to reach another check post at Mahe and a small bridge. Next what welcomed us were the 'Umbu' shrubs again in various hues of red and orange that accompanied us for 2-3 kms. That's when we had reached our fourth lake of that day- Tso Kiagar. Drizzle of snow-clung mountains at the backdrop and the turquoise waters with yellow marshy area all around it makes it look serene. We see couple of horses grazing here that added to the beauty of my photographs. Blue sky, brown mountains, turquoise waters, yellow marsh! What more could we ask for, it was all there. And, that's where we had spotted a solo motorist snaking away- the second vehicle that we had spotted in this entire journey. So, it was just us and mountains throughout!
Tso Kiagar
By then, we had realized reaching the destination mattered little. We had seen such beautiful landscapes during the journey that reaching Tso Moriri was just for the sake of a place to stay. No sooner had we moved from the lake than we hit the plains of gigantic proportions. Everywhere we laid our eyes on there were just yellow coloured plains. We had gotten down from the car and had kept on circling around to take in the elated feeling we felt.
First look of Tso Moriri...
A closer look
View from our room
Tso Moriri in the morning
Tso Moriri was very near then. The lake looked prettier from a distance, as we approached the beauty seemed to have faded. Not that it wasn't beautiful but by then we had lot many lakes to compare it with. Again the evening cool wind had started its' trick not letting us spend quality time near the shore. We weren't disappointed either. We had gotten more than what we had asked for in this journey- less than 12 hours, memories of 5 beautiful lakes to hold on for a lifetime.
P.S. Picture credits to Mr. Hubby too!
First glimpse of Pangong Tso
Motorists photographing after their successful journey...
It was a very long journey- Pangong lake to Tso Moriri, about 300 odd kilometers with passes and more lakes to witness on our way. We had packed our extra meals owing to the remoteness of the route. Driving along the lake side we witnessed new colours and views of the lake which we earlier thought had never existed. From deep blue to turquoise green and sky blue, the shades never seemed to end. We had driven the whole length of 35 kms of the lake (which seemed never ending) that lies in the Indian border. Rest of it- about 100 kms is part of China.
The view that we woke up to in Pangong...
Pangong in the morning
Another view of the lake in the morning...
Another picture before we say Good bye!
Being a saline water lake, Pangong doesn't support any aquatic life. The occasional visitors are the migratory birds such as Bar Headed Geese and the Brahmi Duck. We did spot them on this stretch. When the sight of the lake was fading from our vision, there were the 'Umbu' shrubs that became visible. Their myriad colours ranging from deep red to yellow to orange was a stunning scene against the backdrop of the brown shades of high mountains.
A short stop that we had taken at Chusul to refresh ourselves with 'Lemon, Ginger, Honey' tea prepared us for the difficult terrain that was soon to follow. Happily grazing 'Pashmina sheep' were our part of adventure in a vast valley that we had hit later. They were different from the regular sheep with more silky and straightened hair and curly horns. After a thorough permit check at the check post we had started climbing up a 'pass'. Every hairpin curve we crossed, we were compelled to stop and take picture.
Pashmina sheep
Can you spot Pangong tso at the far end?
The entire stretch lay ahead of us, unperturbed by any human activity, with just one vehicle in sight. This route to reach Tso Moriri through the Changthang valley is considered as one of the most beautiful and scenic in Leh. Even before we had descended the pass (Kaksang La), we were thrown open to a lake with Yale blue shade and a range of mountains behind it that resembled the colour of dark chocolate. The first glimpse of the lake took our breath away! At once I thought I had landed in Iceland having seen its' pictures on Instagram. But Yes! it's in India and it's for real. The stunning beauty of the lake may be very inviting but it's very difficult to venture out to go near the lake. The area is completely desolated and no roads lead to the lake. The only way is through a hike. And, do not be fooled by the picture that may give an impression that lake is accessible but from the road there is a deep drop. Turning back looking at the lake again and again was quite obvious as we moved ahead and started feeling the cool winds of snow clad mountains nearing us.
The secret lake...
Another view
A bumpy road that we had taken so far now bore a new look with fresh tarmac slicing the brown mountain tracks. The zig-zag patterns of the curves lead us to another beautiful lake called the Yaye Tso. A freshwater lake in the shape of an apple, Yaye Tso is a marshland visited only occasionally by yaks, sheep and horses. The dried yellow marshes around the lake makes it more picturesque. Though the lake accessible, it is a marshy area(and dangers of quick sand) so you never know where it's going to pull you down. Located in Hora La ('La' meaning 'pass'), this lake is no less beautiful than the others.
Yaye tso
Moving ahead we had driven along Indus river to reach another check post at Mahe and a small bridge. Next what welcomed us were the 'Umbu' shrubs again in various hues of red and orange that accompanied us for 2-3 kms. That's when we had reached our fourth lake of that day- Tso Kiagar. Drizzle of snow-clung mountains at the backdrop and the turquoise waters with yellow marshy area all around it makes it look serene. We see couple of horses grazing here that added to the beauty of my photographs. Blue sky, brown mountains, turquoise waters, yellow marsh! What more could we ask for, it was all there. And, that's where we had spotted a solo motorist snaking away- the second vehicle that we had spotted in this entire journey. So, it was just us and mountains throughout!
Tso Kiagar
By then, we had realized reaching the destination mattered little. We had seen such beautiful landscapes during the journey that reaching Tso Moriri was just for the sake of a place to stay. No sooner had we moved from the lake than we hit the plains of gigantic proportions. Everywhere we laid our eyes on there were just yellow coloured plains. We had gotten down from the car and had kept on circling around to take in the elated feeling we felt.
First look of Tso Moriri...
A closer look
View from our room
Tso Moriri in the morning
Tso Moriri was very near then. The lake looked prettier from a distance, as we approached the beauty seemed to have faded. Not that it wasn't beautiful but by then we had lot many lakes to compare it with. Again the evening cool wind had started its' trick not letting us spend quality time near the shore. We weren't disappointed either. We had gotten more than what we had asked for in this journey- less than 12 hours, memories of 5 beautiful lakes to hold on for a lifetime.
P.S. Picture credits to Mr. Hubby too!
