Day 5 - The Magnificient Pangong, Sand Storm and a Broken Wind Shield.
On Day 4, after returning the bikes, we had to plan for the next day. Day 5 and 6 were supposed to be Pangong and beyond. I was inclined to camp for the night at Pangong. With 22nd July being a full moon night (if I remember the date correctly), a near full moon on 24th would have meant the beautiful Pangong turning absolutely majestic. We were probably at the right place, at almost the right time. The initial plan was to leave on the morning of 24th, and return by the evening of 25th to Leh. The night of 24th was supposed to be spent at the lakeside. But, a straight forward NO by Arun to staying in tents, meant end of discussion. And, I guess others supported him too. I was probably the only one who wanted to spend the night at Pangong, so protesting wasn't really an option and leaving early towards Pangong, and returning by the night was decided. Car booked, and off to sleep we went with a early morning start of around 6 AM planned.
It was an early start on Day 5. We got up, got ready and with the car at the gate - all set to leave at 6 AM. Pangong is around 130 Km from Leh, with the route passing through Chang La, a high altitude pass standing at a height of close to 17, 586 ft. Even though the distance is not too much, but the terrain here means your average speed is much less. So, it takes anywhere around 4-5 hours to reach Pangong from Leh.
So, the journey begins towards Pangong. Our first stop was a roadside dhabha to get some snacks for the journey. It was cloudy at some places today. We could see dark clouds hovering over at one moment, and it became sunny all of a sudden. The roads, before the climb to Chang La were fantastic as usual.
Approaching the dark clouds
And, the blue skies are back!!
"Only the best of friends, or the worst of foes visit us" - True Story!
Beautiful blue skies, and golden mountains basking in the Sun!
More clouds!
And, then the climb to Chang La started. Just at the start of the climb was this beautiful little village(?) as seen from the top. Probably the most greenery I had seen till now on this entire trip after Manali.
The usual curvy roads.
After a drive of about 1.5 hrs, we were at the Mighty Chang La ! It is claimed to be the third highest pass of the world (2nd being Tanglang La, which we crossed on the way to Leh, after Sarchu and More plains). It was cold and windy at Chang La, the overcast conditions didn't help matters either.
After sipping a hot cup of tea at Chang La, we moved ahead towards our destination. The road ahead from Chang La all the way till Pangong Lake is back breaking. After a drive of about 2.5 hours in which we witnessed some very light snowfall, some rains, and some Sun as well. But, for the majority of the times it was overcast, cold and windy. Along the way, there were some beautiful grasslands where there was some wildlife (yaks/marmots etc.). I had heard a lot about the Pagal Naala, and even the driver warned us about the water rising in it if we start late, but frankly speaking, I don't remember having to cross any big stream of water (lucky us?). There was one small stream of water which we crossed, but nothing too big or dangerous. Till we reached Pangong, all we saw were Army camps, and nothing else. Finally after a drive of about 2.5 hours from Chang La, we were at Lukung, the village from where Pangong starts.
The first view of Pangong Tso -
Finally we were at Pangong Tso, after a tiring journey of around 4.5 hours.
And, this is what we were greeted with!
As soon as we reached Pangong, within a few minutes the clouds gathered above started frowning and it started raining. It suddenly got dark and gloomy. The grey clouds above us gave the lake a very dull look. I can imagine, what the lake would have looked like on a clear sunny day, and blue skies above. We clicked a few pics, had some lunch in the dhabha at the lakeside, and clicked some more pics :)
Ideally, we should have gone a little more ahead, maybe till Spangmik, but no one was really interested. Pangong had disappointed many, and the dark grey clouds had a big role to play. Personally, I still loved the lake, and would have preferred going further. We had already lost too much by not staying the night at Pangong, and the dark grey clouds just added salt to the injury. For me, if you have to enjoy some place you need to do that in a reasonably comfortable time frame. And, enjoying Pangong by driving through this route and returning back the same day would simply have not been possible. We would have just ended up being tired, and grumpy. And, that's what everyone was - tired and grumpy.
On the way back, we stopped to click a few pic of the grasslands and marmots.
The journey back to Leh was even more tiring and back breaking. We witnessed some more snowfall at Chang La while coming back. The next destination for the day was going to be Thikse Monastery.
We were tired, we were hungry and we were thirsty. But, first we had to visit Thiksey before going back to the guest house. We went into the monastery, and like all tourists clicked a few pics of the prayer wheels, prayer flags, and some architecture as well.
Just as we were about to leave, all of a sudden a gush of wind it us. And, with it came lots of sand and small stones. There was a Lama inside the Monastery whom we asked, if this happens here regularly, to which he replied - "Bombay ka fashion, aur Ladakh ka mausam kabhi bhi badal sakta hai" He pleasantly surprised us with his sense of humour and we were left laughing. They advised us to sit inside the monastery while they closed the doors and wait for the sand storm to pass. After about 20 minutes, the storm finally relented and we exited from the monastery. When we reached our car parked outside the monastery, we were shocked to find the rear wind shield of the car broken. The driver told us that the storm was real bad and it shook the car real bad. According to him, the car was violently rocking back and forth with the strong winds, and that's when small stones which came along with the wind broke away the rear windshield of the car.
Finally, around 7 PM we were back at our guest house. What the shortened Pangong trip had done was given us an extra day :) This proved to be a sort of blessing in disguise!
At the guest house, Sikander, who arranged the taxi for us was waiting for us for a trip advisory for us. He had a few plans for us!
Next - River Rafting in the Zanskar!
It was an early start on Day 5. We got up, got ready and with the car at the gate - all set to leave at 6 AM. Pangong is around 130 Km from Leh, with the route passing through Chang La, a high altitude pass standing at a height of close to 17, 586 ft. Even though the distance is not too much, but the terrain here means your average speed is much less. So, it takes anywhere around 4-5 hours to reach Pangong from Leh.
So, the journey begins towards Pangong. Our first stop was a roadside dhabha to get some snacks for the journey. It was cloudy at some places today. We could see dark clouds hovering over at one moment, and it became sunny all of a sudden. The roads, before the climb to Chang La were fantastic as usual.
Approaching the dark clouds
And, the blue skies are back!!
"Only the best of friends, or the worst of foes visit us" - True Story!
Beautiful blue skies, and golden mountains basking in the Sun!
More clouds!
And, then the climb to Chang La started. Just at the start of the climb was this beautiful little village(?) as seen from the top. Probably the most greenery I had seen till now on this entire trip after Manali.
The usual curvy roads.
After a drive of about 1.5 hrs, we were at the Mighty Chang La ! It is claimed to be the third highest pass of the world (2nd being Tanglang La, which we crossed on the way to Leh, after Sarchu and More plains). It was cold and windy at Chang La, the overcast conditions didn't help matters either.
After sipping a hot cup of tea at Chang La, we moved ahead towards our destination. The road ahead from Chang La all the way till Pangong Lake is back breaking. After a drive of about 2.5 hours in which we witnessed some very light snowfall, some rains, and some Sun as well. But, for the majority of the times it was overcast, cold and windy. Along the way, there were some beautiful grasslands where there was some wildlife (yaks/marmots etc.). I had heard a lot about the Pagal Naala, and even the driver warned us about the water rising in it if we start late, but frankly speaking, I don't remember having to cross any big stream of water (lucky us?). There was one small stream of water which we crossed, but nothing too big or dangerous. Till we reached Pangong, all we saw were Army camps, and nothing else. Finally after a drive of about 2.5 hours from Chang La, we were at Lukung, the village from where Pangong starts.
The first view of Pangong Tso -
Finally we were at Pangong Tso, after a tiring journey of around 4.5 hours.
And, this is what we were greeted with!
As soon as we reached Pangong, within a few minutes the clouds gathered above started frowning and it started raining. It suddenly got dark and gloomy. The grey clouds above us gave the lake a very dull look. I can imagine, what the lake would have looked like on a clear sunny day, and blue skies above. We clicked a few pics, had some lunch in the dhabha at the lakeside, and clicked some more pics :)
Ideally, we should have gone a little more ahead, maybe till Spangmik, but no one was really interested. Pangong had disappointed many, and the dark grey clouds had a big role to play. Personally, I still loved the lake, and would have preferred going further. We had already lost too much by not staying the night at Pangong, and the dark grey clouds just added salt to the injury. For me, if you have to enjoy some place you need to do that in a reasonably comfortable time frame. And, enjoying Pangong by driving through this route and returning back the same day would simply have not been possible. We would have just ended up being tired, and grumpy. And, that's what everyone was - tired and grumpy.
On the way back, we stopped to click a few pic of the grasslands and marmots.
The journey back to Leh was even more tiring and back breaking. We witnessed some more snowfall at Chang La while coming back. The next destination for the day was going to be Thikse Monastery.
We were tired, we were hungry and we were thirsty. But, first we had to visit Thiksey before going back to the guest house. We went into the monastery, and like all tourists clicked a few pics of the prayer wheels, prayer flags, and some architecture as well.
Just as we were about to leave, all of a sudden a gush of wind it us. And, with it came lots of sand and small stones. There was a Lama inside the Monastery whom we asked, if this happens here regularly, to which he replied - "Bombay ka fashion, aur Ladakh ka mausam kabhi bhi badal sakta hai" He pleasantly surprised us with his sense of humour and we were left laughing. They advised us to sit inside the monastery while they closed the doors and wait for the sand storm to pass. After about 20 minutes, the storm finally relented and we exited from the monastery. When we reached our car parked outside the monastery, we were shocked to find the rear wind shield of the car broken. The driver told us that the storm was real bad and it shook the car real bad. According to him, the car was violently rocking back and forth with the strong winds, and that's when small stones which came along with the wind broke away the rear windshield of the car.
Finally, around 7 PM we were back at our guest house. What the shortened Pangong trip had done was given us an extra day :) This proved to be a sort of blessing in disguise!
At the guest house, Sikander, who arranged the taxi for us was waiting for us for a trip advisory for us. He had a few plans for us!
Next - River Rafting in the Zanskar!
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