Have you seen any saltwater lake at an altitude of around 14000 feet? Do you know any lake that is shared by two countries? Excited huh! Don’t worry; we will take you on another thrilling ride to one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, Pangong Lake, also known as Pangong Tso. This blog has got to be the most exciting one as far as we are concerned.
In case you don’t know who we are…
We call ourselves Travel Freaks…
After almost a week since landing in Jammu, we were up for the most awaited spot of this trip. If you haven’t read any of our blogs in this Leh-Ladakh blog series, do read them. We have shared our experience as that will help you plan yours. Of course, we are just a click away for any help.
Returning to our story, we had a fantastic day trip to Turtuk the previous day, and it was time for us to bid adieu to Nubra Valley and head to Leh. However, before going to Leh, we visited the most famous lake in the region, Pangong Lake. The journey was challenging as over 400 km was covered that day. You might have guessed it right: we departed early, at around 7 o’clock in the morning. We already got our lunch and breakfast packed to have it on the way.
Now that we have departed, many of you might be wondering…..
Table of Contents
1. How was our onward journey from Nubra Valley to Pangong Lake?
When we started our journey, the temperature was close to 10 degrees Celsius. There were partial clouds, and we kept our fingers crossed for clear weather at the Pangong Lake. Initially, the road consisted of large pebbles instead of a pitch-black top. You can understand the ride was not as smooth as we had experienced till now.
Soon, there were dark clouds, and it started raining on the way. We were a bit worried about finding such horrible weather. Thankfully, when we reached close to Durbuk, the rain stopped. It was around 8:30 AM, and we thought it was better to have breakfast.
We stopped by a roadside restaurant and had our breakfast with tea. As usual, the sight had been scintillating while we had food on the way. Having lived in a city throughout our lives, such moments create lifelong memories for us.
After halting for close to 45 minutes, we continued our journey. We saw many bikers on the way. They all seemed passionate about travelling and biking, given the distances they had to ride. Unfortunately, again, it started raining. We sat in our vehicle with gloomy faces and least cared about the outside scenic view. We prayed hard for sunny weather.
To our surprise, as soon as we got the first glimpse of Pangong Lake, the rain stopped, and the sun seemed to play hide and seek. We were over the moon seeing such weather. It was around 12:00 PM when we reached the Pangong Lake.
Now that we reached our destination, you might be curious about…….
2. How was the experience at the Pangong Lake?
As soon as we got out of our vehicle, a cool breeze was blowing. The weather was clear as we could see the sun. There were a few more vehicles parked there. Finally, the moment came when we were standing in front of Pangong Lake. It was one of our dreams to visit this place. Grateful we could do it.
Do you remember the questions we asked at the beginning of the blog about the saltwater lake at an elevation of 14000 feet? We were referring to the Pangong Lake. Seeing a saltwater lake at such a high altitude is pretty surprising. Nevertheless, the deep blue water with the brown mountains at the backdrop caught our attention. It felt as if we were lost in the beauty of the place.
We had our lunch at a local restaurant nearby; in fact, there were a few restaurants where you could opt to have food. The restaurant owner referred to Pangong Lake as a “chameleon“. During early morning and evening, the colour changes to pink and orange. During the daytime, the colour of the water seems to be either some blueish shade or greenish shade. It makes the Pangong Lake truly special from any other lake.
Most importantly, India and China-occupied Tibet share the lake’s water. The water also freezes during the winter period. It also attracts adventure seekers during such extreme cold. We did notice a few migratory birds. A few travellers took a dip in the chilled lake water. The locals set up a few tents where they rented yellow scooter dummies and bike dummies for photo sessions for a price of 50 INR per person. The scooter and the bikes became quite popular after the Bollywood movies “3 Idiots” and “Jab Tak Hai Jaan“. We also took a few snaps that you can see from the pics above.
There are possibilities for our readers who wish to stay near Pangong Lake, as there are a few homestays nearby. For us, we had to return to Leh that day. After two memorable hours with many snaps of and around the lake, we started our return journey to Leh by 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Now that we have started our return journey, you might want to know……
3. How different was the return journey from Pangong Lake to Leh different from the onward journey?
The return journey was again over 200 km. The weather was cloudy during the onward journey, especially around the Durbuk area. Hence, after Durbuk, we got snowfall on our return journey, and when we reached the Chang La Pass, snowfall was much more prominent. We loved the weather.
Despite having travelled for over 150 km, our soul was still at Pangong Lake. We could not forget the moment spent near the lake. On our return journey, the view was as beautiful as possible. We loved the architecture of the houses in and around Leh, especially the window with a wooden design on top of every window. The people were so warm and welcoming that we cannot explain it in words.
When it was close to 6 o’clock in the evening, we reached Leh. Our stay was at the Fort Road as before. The place was quite close to the Leh Mall.
Now that we reached Leh, many of you might have queries such as……
4. Is there any other lake apart from the Pangong Lake in the Region?
The answer is Yes; the region has another famous lake named Tsomoriri Lake. However, the lake is along the Leh-Manali Highway and is about 220 km from Leh. The lake is quite popular among adventure seekers; especially, there are trekking opportunities around the lake. There is no doubt about the beauty of the lake, too.
If you have time, you can plan this lake; you will undoubtedly enjoy it. We decided to stop at Leh for a full day to enjoy the place. We didn’t get a chance to try the local delicacies yet; we were having the usual rice, lentils and mixed vegetables.
The day we returned from Pangong Lake, we had Mushroom Paneer Tingmo for dinner, a famous Tibetan Dish from the region. After dinner, we strolled in the Mall Road area, enjoyed the night vibes and ended our day.
The next day was all about leisure as we enjoyed the local life of Leh, and, most importantly, explored the whole market from afternoon till late evening.
We had a fantastic tea by the roadside, visited most of the souvenir shops only to pick a few for our loved ones and ended the journey of Leh on a high note.
After a full day at Leh, the next day was about our return via Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Interested to know more?? Do follow us for the final part of this blog series.
Wait! We are not going anywhere without this last question……
5. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of a new place. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau