Pangong Lake Leh:Winters Diary Part2

All About Ladakh

The mighty Changla@enroute Pangong Lake Winters

 The two most interesting facts I came to know while travelling in the Himalayas are "LA" means "PASS" and "TSO" means "LAKE".Most of the TSO's we have in India are accompanied by LA's.Ex: Nathula Pass in Sikkim is accompanied by "Tsomgo or Changu Lake",Changla by "Pangong Tso".

 Changla is the third highest motorable pass in the world at a height of 17800 feet while the locals claim it to be second highest pass.It doesnt matter to us what the truth is because we were so excited to be on the gateway to one of the best lakes.The feeling itself is nauseatic and cauz of these several factors:

 -Well, at one end the journey to Khardungla(highest pass) is short and sweet.The journey to Changla is long and more scenic.
 -Changla cauz its so much fun to get our pics clicked on the board which says "Third highest pass in the world"
 -Changla cauz of small temple we have at the pass.
 -Changla in winters cauz the air is thin,and the area around have so much snow,that you wish if you could carry some home :)
 -Changla in winters cauz you get to know how harsh can the conditions be for the army.
 -Changla cauz of the great tea by the army.
 -Changla cauz a stopover before the grand experience doesnt hurt.


And was the lake "THE PANGONG LAKE"

 A journey so long of almost 5 hours can sometimes be boring.The vast white sheet was turning to be  monotonous when all of a sudden I saw some water.It felt like relief.I almost jumped off and said "Aha,pangong".The driver corrected me "no mam thats just a water body" to which I quiety asked "How far?".15 minutes.Finally the wait was going to be over.


And the last 15 minutes was..

 How incredible is to see the yaks "herds of" walk over the white sheet of  ice.So conviniently poised and elegantly posing each of them.We took our cameras out and there go "click click click".I wish I had a home somewhere just there.

Precautions:

 -Guys if you are nauseatic or have a tendency to puke over hilly areas,according to our driver,lehsun is what the locals take.My mom has her medicine as hing.

 -Guys if you are travelling in winters,one word of caution,is do not open the windows or hop around while going from leh-pangong..as you might feel dizzy once you are uphill.The best way is to stop as many times once you are returning back.

 -Guys winters can be severely harsh,so if you have light woollens or the kind of jackets we get in Bangalore,that might not work.Either carry heavy wollens,or buy a one from the leh local market.

 -And do not forget those cold creams,we might pay no heed to it in our indian winters out in rest part of the country..but that works great in Leh.My fav: Ponds cold cream,and loccitone lip balm..

Pangong Lake in Winters=Nature's Wonder










"Wow","Simply Mindblowing",no words can describe the marvelous beauty of the thin white sheet covering the vast space on earth.When we started from Chang la,we were excited about what is going to be ahead.The sparkling whiteness of the terrain made me think "no wonder what people say","India is best".I have
seen pictures of my friends in Switzerland,and I envy them but when I saw the beauty around,I didn't regret a single moment to where I was.

And next..came the RAMP walk on the ice




We have had heard numerous stories from the locals there for sometime..as to why the mountains on the other end is black,that pangong lake is just 30% in India,and then when we were finally though all the listening of the stories,we decided to just relax and stroll around.

15 minutes and we thought of just to go into the frozen ice.The thin ice at the bank of the river was cracking with every footstep.And then I asked my driver "How deep is the water?",he said "very" and well according to him,the depth of the lake is so much that at one point of time a submarine used to go inside the lake.

For info on Pangong Lake and the Chinese submarine 20 years back on the lake,read:
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=385230&catid=44

Well,since it was all snow covered,I asked him "is there any way I can hop in the middle of the lake " to which he replied "at your own risk".The bluntness of his reply just made me sad,and my expression made him do something I never thought he would.He started collecting stones,laid several of them on the bank,threw a few of them into the lake...and then shouted "jump" but be careful.

One stone to another,jump and jump,little pieces of ice cracking,shoes all wet.And to my surprise,after a few jumps,I was at the middle of the frozen lake.The feeling was incredible.The very fact that the icy cold cracking snow is so frozen at the middle and I was safe to where I was at the moment,was great.

The lake wasnt as frozen as the one we have from dec-feb,where the snow is so hard,that even the vehicles can cross across.This one was the cracking one...and I loved the RAMP walk.The journey of 5 hours all seemed to be more than worth all of a sudden.The journey was over,but I still have the fondest memories and till date,one of the most silly adventures too.


Leh visit,Pangong Lake,Nubra Valley,Khardungla Pass,Panamik,Siachen in Summers

Pangong Lake is everyone's favourite,at least by now,thanks to 3 idiots.But whats sad,is the number of canteen which is there besides the lake now,turning it into a nightmare.The drive to Khardungla Pass,the hot black tea at K top,the camel ride at Nubra,the hot water springs at Panamik,Passing the siachen checkpost.Read my travel journal on Leh in Summers.



Read my journey from Bangalore to Wagah on road,Agra to Leh by Road,and Bhutan by Road soon :)