Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 12: Night at Pangong Tso

19th July 2023, 3.00 to 10.30 PM  

After a rather uninspiring lunch at one of the many eateries at Pangong, we made our way to Spangmik where our resort was. It was past 3 PM when we checked in and by then the heat was intolerable. It would be another two hours before the sun dipped behind the mountain and the cloud cover wasn't sufficient to give us relief from the sun.

We thought it would be a great relief to take a nap after the bumpy nine hours and eagerly moved into our cottage at Misty Hills Cabins. Imagine our dismay when we discovered that inside the cottage was a furnace compared to the outside! To add to our woes, there was a transparent portion on the roof that let in the sunlight! Since we were at an elevation of 4258 metres (almost 14,000 feet) it would be foolish to expect an air conditioned cottage. Not only that, the resort ran on solar power during the day and on diesel generators late night. I chose to sit outside till the room cooled naturally. 

I was left wondering about the scary tales told by others before our trip. We were told that Pangong Tso being at a much higher altitude than Leh or Nubra valley, would be very cold. Not just that; very vivid descriptions of cold winds sweeping across the lake and shaking the tents so badly that it could fly off. It would be freezing in the tents, was what we were told, so we had made a wise choice and booked the wooden cabin. 

At the end of it we were left wondering if a furnace like cabin was better than a cool tent! Mercifully for me, I was kept busy by a few birds, just outside our cabin. A pair of black redstarts were busy gathering feed for a chick in their nest, hidden in a crevice, among the rocks that were used to build the wall. 

Another wagtail juvenile was calling for its food. It was the fag end of breeding season and the growing juvenile birds were keeping the parents very busy.

We caught up on sleep and while we slept the sun slipped behind the brooding clouds and allowed a quick drop in the temperature. Though we knew that our desire for a colourful evening was going to be unfulfilled, we decided to walk down to the edge of Pangong Tso. After all, the highlight was the lake. I carried my photography gear, just in case. We didn't want to trouble Tsewangji. He had been at the wheel since dawn, so we walked down to the lake shore. It was down the slope from our cabins and the walk didn't require any effort. With the clouds gathering over the mountain tops on either side of the lake our hopes for another Milky Way shoot was also fading.

The only consolation was a horned lark, so called because of the two tufts of feathers on its head that resembles two horns. Like its other feathered companions, it was also gathering food for some hungry chicks in its nest.

Night falls quite late here but the wind was picking up over the lake and it was getting a bit nippy. Our expectation of a colourful sunset was ruined by the clouds. It was more of browns and greys, than blues and shades of orange or pink. Since there wasn't much to do on the lake's edge, we decided to return to our cabin. I wasn't sure if I could make it back on foot. I had my heavy camera bag and the route to the resort was a gentle upward slope. I decided to call for the car. It was almost 7.00 pm anyway, though the skies were still bright.

 At a half past seven it was still bright. The Milky Way would appear only a little after 9.00 PM. 

Finally it became sufficiently dark by 8.00 PM so we decided to go across to the dining area for dinner. We were all set for another round of astrophotography.

By nine we realised the true meaning of teeth rattling cold. Despite the clouds that was obscuring the sky partially, we managed to get some shots of the Milky Way again, though it wasn't as good as the ones from Terith. Besides the clouds, the lights in the resort and surrounding buildings were  causing light pollution. 

The Milky Way over Pangong wasn't so impressive because of the ambient light and the cloudy sky but we could take pride that we had managed to shoot the galaxy from two of three locations in Ladakh.  It was a quarter past ten and the atmosphere outside the cabin was getting uncomfortably cold. It seemed a good idea to hit the bed. We had another drive the next day; to Tso Kar and the black necked cranes.

The Link to the previous post is here

Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 11: Road to Pangong Tso

 19th July 2023. 6.30 AM to 2.00 PM

Terith - Agham - Durbuk - Tangtse - Chilam - Harong - Muglib - Spangmik

The next stop in a typical itinerary is the Pangong Tso lake. This high altitude lake, located at an altitude of around 14,000 feet (4250 metres), is a salt water lake that straddles the disputed territory between India and China. The lake is around 130 kilometres long, extending from Ladakh in the east to Tibet in the west. About a third of it is in India and the rest in Tibet. About 10% east of the LAC is the disputed territory. 

To reach this lake there are two options. You can drive from Leh (about 160 kms) on a day trip which is what most people who go to Nubra valley and return to Leh, usually do on the next day. The downside of a day trip is that you'll be able to spend only a couple of hours at the lake, during the hottest part of the day. The best time at Pangong Tso is around sunrise and sunset, when the lake goes through various shifting colours. To enjoy that, a night's stay is an absolute must. (I credit this idea to my friend Lijo, who travelled through Ladakh on a scooter!) So, a better option, if you are driving from Leh, is to stay over and return the next day. In any case, a one way trip itself takes about 5 to 6 hours over the Chang La pass, so if you are doing a day trip, you will be on the road all day.

The other option, for people who travel to Nubra valley from Leh, is to drive directly from Diskit or Terith, to Pangong. It is about the same distance and will also take about 6 hours. When you drive directly from Nubra valley, you save on taxi fare as the extra distance traveling back to Leh and then going to Pangong Tso next day, is avoided. Also an additional night stay at Leh can be reserved for a stay in Pangong. The only problem was that the usual road from Diskit was undergoing up-gradation, so we had to drive over a non-existent road literally.

Since this was our option, Tsewangji had told us that we'd have to leave early. Other drivers had told him about the road going underwater as the heat melted the snow faster as the day progressed. We knew then, that we were in for an exciting drive so we got breakfast packed and left our resort at 6.30 AM. A few kilometres after our resort, we got onto a track than ran on the opposite bank, parallel to the river. Instead of crossing the Shyok towards Khalsar, we took the road that ran along the northern bank of the river, towards Rongdu.

The day we were travelling, the rain seemed to be holding back. The only problem was that it would get really hot as we neared Pangong Tso. There were patches of exposed asphalt but in most places the road was covered in sand. We were in for a surprise though. Our  experience at the Hunder dunes  had been a tad disappointing. A little after, Tsati village, we found more dunes on the road edges! This time, they were totally undisturbed. 

Progress, on the road that was playing hide-and-seek with us, was relatively slow. The clouds were still hovering above us but the absence of rain was a relief. For now, the fear of being held up by the rising waters of the river was dissipating.

The landscape was awesome, reminding me of the Wild West in Clint Eastwood movies but without the Stetson clad cowboys. It was a real contrast to the greenery that we were used to at home. No trees were visible for miles. The only greenery being the short thorny shrubs, herbs and grass. It was only along the river banks, around small villages and hamlets that trees were seen growing. 

Eventually, just before Rongdu, the road split. The one going straight goes to Rongdu and the one going right, over the Shyok would reach Agham. Luckily there was a bridge across the Shyok so the crossing was easy. We had planned to stop near Agham for breakfast as a tea would be welcome after a long bumpy drive. The guys at the hotel were kind enough to let us use their furniture to eat breakfast. It was getting warm so we also got some cold drinks to carry on the rest of the journey.

After Agham the road disappeared altogether. It was only rubble. The work on the new road didn't spare the old one. It was dug up and in the process of being freshly laid. Luckily traffic wasn't heavy so while we were raising dust behind us, we were not made to eat other's dust!

                                   

 The muddy water's of the Shyok was flowing alongside of us towards the Nubra Valley. It was looking menacing and we didn't want to be stuck somewhere unable to cross it. As the sun warmed up the landscape, our imagination was also running wild. The waters of the Shyok seemed to be rising each passing minute!

The road was still winding along the river, matching its twists and turns till we reached an area where the two ranges of the mountains closed in around us. It was not the most comfortable experience with boulders strewn on either side. On our left, the walls of loose rock and sand threatened to come down any minute. This feeling was reinforced after we crossed the road gang of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) clearing up recently fallen rocks! 

Eventually, the road again crossed the river and moved to the opposite side. Here it was almost in the middle of the river so the threat of falling rock was not there anymore.

The joy, however, was short lived! The flowing water had done its worst. We had to make our own road because the asphalted road was nowhere to be seen. It was covered with tons of rock and flowing water!

It wasn't an easy drive but it certainly was one hell of an experience. We were glad that we had the fortune to hire Tsewangji's taxi. He was a really cool and unruffled character. He wouldn't go scrambling across the rocks hastily. He got off the car to inspect the track ahead before his tyres crossed that stretch. We realized the value of having a driver like him when we ran across a stranded car. It seemed that the driver, in an adventurous mood, decided to go over some submerged rocks without first checking if it was possible! His rear tyres were now floating without touching the ground as his car had dug its rear wheels among the slippery rocks, and had bottomed out.

Our car had a tow rope but we didn't have a 4 wheel drive so it was unlikely that we could get him out of his predicament. Unfortunately, the couple inside seemed to think it was a part of their package! While a few strangers were trying to help them in the blistering heat, they were cosily sitting inside. Only after they realized that their weight was adding to the problem, did they get out. Their stars, it seemed, were aligned perfectly. A group of motorcycle riders we crossed a little earlier, had a back up vehicle following them. It was a pick-up truck with 4 wheel drive. The stranded car was tied to the truck and it was happily dragged out. Tsewangji allowed him to hang on to the tow rope, just in case. He would collect it later.

We made it to Tangtse without further adventures, where we filled up on fuel for the car at what is claimed to be the highest petrol station in the world. Then, since we weren't hungry yet, we decided to take a short diversion to Harong through Chilam. I was hoping to land a few birds. It wasn't my day. The weather was not getting any better. It was too hot inside and outside the car and probably the birds agreed too. They weren't active even along the banks of the stream that was flowing towards the Shyok.

It was half past twelve so we decided to go towards Pangong Tso and lunch. We had to return to Tangtse and take the Pangong road that would pass through Muglib.The road on this final stretch to Pangong Tso is also undergoing widening. 

The river here had much less water than the Shyok. Along the way, grazing on the patches of green grass on the edges of a tributary of the Shyok were herds of Changthangi goats, the source of the wool used to make the highly prized Pashmina (Cashmere) fabric. 

We finally arrived at the western end of the lake around half past one and since our lunch wasn't arranged at our resort, decided to stop in Pangong for a meal. It appeared that our luck was running out. It was very hot by then but there were clouds that heralded rain. Our plans for a second round of Milky Way shooting seemed at risk. 

As we drove towards Spangmik, where we were supposed to halt for the night, the first of the hundreds of tents and cabins on the lake's shores came into view. There are a few hundred (or maybe even thousands) of such tented accommodation all along the lake road. I was told that a little bit of bargaining would bring the room rates down significantly; especially in the beginning and towards the end of the tourist season. We had booked into a place that had wooden cottages because someone had told us that the nights would be freezing cold due to the sub-zero temperatures and the windy nature of Pangong's shores. 

For a place located 14,000 feet above sea level, it was disappointingly warm. We hoped that Spangmik would be different. More of our Spangmik experience in the next post.

Link to the previous post is here