When you hear people say they’re visiting India, it’s likely that New Delhi will come to mind. However, did you know that just 1 hour (by flight) north of Delhi, you will find Leh, a district in the region of Ladakh, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (the northernmost state of India). There is a travel advisory against traveling to Jammu and Kashmir but it specifically excludes the region of Ladakh.
Since we were in India at the end of May (think 112 oF/45 oC), we figured an escape from the heat would be a welcome addition to the itinerary. We did some research and learnt about Leh – it is situated at a height of about 11,500ft (3,508m) above sea level and has an average temperature of about 60 – 70 oF at this time of the year! Just what we needed – a break from the scorching heat of New Delhi.
Delhi, India
Jammu & Kashmir, India
On one of the days of our week-long trip to Leh, we visited Pangong Tso (or Pangong Lake; Tso is Ladakhi for lake) and camped overnight. What’s interesting about this part of our trip is that Pangong Tso is located at about 14,270ft (4,305m)! That makes for really thin air and low oxygen, which poses a challenge to some. Another interesting fact about Pangong Tso is that it is a salt water lake in the Himalayas and does not flow into the ocean (it’s called an endorheic lake) and extends from India to Tibet. Only 1/3 of the lake lies in India, the rest is in Tibet!
Jammu & Kashmir, India
THE JOURNEY
I’d love to say that a visit to Pangong Lake is a must for everyone but I’d be lying if I said that. I’d describe the 100 miles (160km) journey to Pangong Lake from Leh by jeep as a “rough ride”! Overland Escape (our tour agent) helped us organize our “Overnight at Pangong” trip. A permit is needed to visit the lake, also taken care of by Overland Escape. Our driver arrived on time and we departed Leh at 9:30am in the morning. The start of the ride was over paved albeit dusty roads which made for a rather smooth drive. We were lulled into a sense of peace and tranquility as we looked outside at the sparse, open land that is decorated by snow capped mountain peaks and clear blue skies. We then began ascending a steep mountain road and this is when we realized the smooth ride was just a tease!
We were on a winding, one-lane rocky mountain road that catered to two-way traffic which included cargo trucks, army trucks, bikes, automobiles and people!
We were on a winding, one-lane, sometimes unpaved, sometimes paved, rocky, dirt road that hugged the sides of the stony mountains! The road was shared by army trucks, cargo trucks, jeeps, cars, bikes, pedestrians and workers filling in holes in the road! All this two-way traffic on a narrow one lane dirt road with rocky mountain on one side and a steep hundreds-of-feet drop on the other. Our jeep would often have to stop and “scoot over” the side of the street to let oncoming traffic by.
The ride through the unpaved parts of the road became one of the scariest, most bumpy rides I’ve ever had in my life! My head would come close to the roof or window of the jeep every second or so. You should’ve seen the horror on my face – I was SURE I was going to have a concussion by the end of this trip! I kept thinking to myself – people with neck & back injuries would find this to be a rather uncomfortable ride!
This went on for about 3 hours at which point, we arrived at our first stop, Chang La Pass (17, 585 ft), the third highest mountain passes in the world. The high altitude and lack of oxygen made us a little disoriented. Thankful for the break, we stepped out of the car and were greeted by breathtaking landscape covered in blindingly white snow! We were so disoriented, we actually forgot to take pictures!!! Here, we stopped by the one “restaurant” that served food and drinks. We ordered “special maggi” (which is basically instant noodles with some vegetables), a “regular maggi” (instant noodles without anything else) and two drinks. It cost us 65 rupees (~$1.50). It was simple but provided enough warmth and tummy fuel for us to go on!
SAFETY FIRST
An interesting part of the journey was reading the many signs on the road that remind anyone passing by that safety is top priority. Here are examples of some of the safety reminders we found intriguing:
- No one is chasing you!
- Drive, don’t fly.
- This is a highway, not a runway!
- Speed thrills and kills.
- Alertness avoids accidents.
- Life is a journey, complete it.
- Daredevil? Not here, please.
- Hurry and worry goes together.
- Drink whisky, drive risky.
- No hurry, no worry.
- Be gentle with my bend.
- Better late than never.
- I am curvaceous, slow down.
- Speed is like a knife to a life.
- If you sleep, your family will weep.
- Lower your gear, curve is near.
- If married, divorce speed.
WE MADE IT TO PANGONG TSO!
After another 2 hours through more mountain road, valleys and the occasional small town with greenery, a sheet of intense blue water appeared out of nowhere – it was the Pangong Tso! After “checking in” to our camp (we stayed at Martsemik Camp at Eco Huts), we sat at the banks of the lake. We sat there appreciating the beauty of the lake, cameras forgotten for that moment. After all the dry, pale brown, stony mountain scenery that have surrounded us throughout the journey, this view was just surreal! It was breathtakingly beautiful, almost seemed unreal at times! Everywhere we turned, it was a different shade of blue, different scene and different backdrop! Enjoy…
Yak can be seen grazing the pastures near Pangong Lake
We sat on the banks, gazing at the lake, taking in the beauty of the sight!
Sitting on the banks of the lake, this is what I was looking at…
Seagulls were aplenty!
1/3 of this lake belongs to India, the rest belongs to Tibet!
These tents are restaurants.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Our photos above were taken using our Nikon D700 DSLR with the Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 Wide Angle lens.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE, STAYING OVERNIGHT AT PANGONG TSO?
We both had a bit of a headache when we first arrived, due to the high altitude and lack of oxygen. It went away after a while. At night, it was cold! We both went to bed with at least 3 layers of clothing each. The winds were rather strong, so you could hear the flapping of the tent against the wind throughout the night. Since the sun sets behind the mountains, you’ll only get to see sunrise over the lake. We wanted to wake up in time for sunrise but was a little too groggy in the morning to be able to drag ourselves out of bed!
Our home for the night!
Our tent for the night
Our beds for the night
Our bathroom for the night!
In the morning, even though our camp served breakfast (they served vegetarian Indian dinner the night before), we decided to wander off and explore some of the “restaurant” tents in the area and have breakfast there instead. When we saw “Omlit with chapati”, we were delighted! You see, we’ve been eating vegetarian Indian food since the day we arrived in Leh and have not had egg the past week! Seeing that they had “Omlit” (aka omelet) made us rather happy! We had omelet and maggi for breakfast!
We have not had egg since the day we arrived in Leh! Seeing that they had “omlit with chapati” (e.g. Omelet) made us very happy!
This is the tent that served the “omlit with chapati”
The lady that made our breakfast in her simple kitchen. She didn’t speak much english, so we couldn’t communicate a whole lot.
REMEMBER:
- Just one hour by flight, north of New Delhi, is the city of Leh (region of Ladakh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir).
- The travel advisory against visiting Jammu and Kashmir specifically excludes Ladakh.
- Pangong Tso is located near the Indo-China border. Less than 1/3 of the lake lies in India, the other 2/3 stretches into Tibet.
- It took about 5 hour drive to get to Pangong Tso from Leh through the winding, rocky, mountain roads.
- The ride got rather bumpy most of the time – I don’t recommend it for people with neck and back injuries. If you have these conditions, I’d recommend that you inform your driver so he drives slower to reduce the bumpiness!
- You don’t have to camp overnight. You have the option of driving back after spending an hour or two at the lake.
- We chose to camp overnight – it was an awesome experience for us because we’ve never slept overnight at such high altitudes before. It’s also great to stay overnight because it gives you time to recover from any potential headaches and then enjoy the lake later in the day or the next morning.
- There are several “camp” sites that you can choose from.
- It’s best that you hire a tour agent to organize your trip to Pangong Tso – you’d need a VERY experienced driver to get you there! We did not see any clear signage to point out the directions! I would not recommend renting a car and trying to drive there yourself!
- A permit is required (military checkpoints on the way) so make sure your tour agent helps you with the permit.
- There are several agents available in the town of Leh itself, so if you didn’t book any activities before arriving, it’s OK because you can walk into any of the agents in the city and get a trip set up.
- We went with Overland Escape.
- PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Our photos above were taken using our Nikon D700 DSLR with the Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 Wide Angle lens.
- Altitude Sickness is a real threat to people visiting Leh and its viccinity because of its high altitude. Vistet (of http://vistet.wordpress.com) shared some great pointers to preventing AMS (thank you, Vistet!). In Vistet’s words: “A few quick notes on altitude sickness : since the typical run for Pangong Tso from goes outside safety guidelines ( http://korta.nu/5c3a ) it’s important to get at least three nights at Leh´s altitude first. And lastly , as a frequent guest in Ladakh and having been forced to deal with AMS in others a number of times : the myth of of heavy water intake as protection against altitude sickness is exasperating , illogical ( more fluids in does not equal less edema ) and potentially dangerous – see for example The Himalayan Rescue Association site on this , or the Institute for Altitude Medicine in Telluride.”
62 Comments
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so so so good. I found your photos stunning and it has peaked my interest even more. Just make sure to discuss this with them when you book. Lol – yes those signs sure are good, aren’t they!
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Author
Thanks for the compliment! Did you get a chance to go stay at Pangong Tso too? Hope you had a great time and found our tips useful!
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{Tips} Color Correcting Underwater Photos
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Very accurate description . I have been there but am visiting the lake again . The beauty of the lake can not be put in words. Will plan to stay overnight. Thanks .
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It definitely is a beautiful place. We can’t recommend it enough to all our friends!
Jeremy & Shirlene recently posted..{Spain} La Alhambra, Granada’s Top Tourist Attraction
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slow down, i am curvaceous. We drank a lot of water when we were there and that seemed to have helped us. Outside of our comfort zone but definitely an adventure. The picture of the road looks exactly like it was out of the movies.
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Thanks for such stunning pictures – just what i was looking for , to make a trip to leh and subsequently to pangong lake. Your pictures are absolutely breathtaking. Just when i was about to abandon my ladakh trip with my sister, your post has given me an instant hope. I plan to book my trip with overland escape , would you recommend them? I am not sure how AMS would affect anyone of us. i hope its not too bad to get things out of hand.
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Sorry to say , the Overland Escape Manali-Leh-Srinagar program I´ve seen is textbook example of doing everything wrong :
* starting from the wrong direction : serious AMS is basically a non-issue if you start from Srinagar and have one night in Kargil at 2693 meters.
* First night around 3000 meters : Manali is just under 2000 meters , and the acclimatization value of a single night there is very , very low. The first effective night of acclimatization should be in Sissu , Keylong or Jispa , all around four hundred meters lower than Leh . OE shoots instead for Sarchu @ 4253 meters (!) – and by pure chance this altitude is not mentioned. Apart from the risk of severe AMS , you´ll have low chances of actually reaching Sarchu because of the massive jams between Manali and Rohtang , with hundreds of vehicles carting day trippers up and down the pass. Last three years has all meant five plus hours for me crossing these first fifty klicks. Fairly high chances of either improvising new accommodation on the way ( the better option) , or driving on by night to Sarchu . The check post at Darcha closes the road for the night , with good reason.
Third night is spent @ Pangong Tso : again completely unneccesary strain/risk : both Alchi and Nubra are a few hundred meters lower than Leh , and offer both relief after the Manali-Leh road , and at the same time give more basic acclimatization to 3000+ altitude.
Unfortunately most Manali tour operators run their standard tours at surreal distance from safety guidelines ( http://korta.nu/5c3a ) . Few get more than really , really bad headaches and nausea , but I´ve carried out a fellow passenger from the vehicle in Pang twice , and last year one person died there in a pulmonary edema.
You´ll get a lot more out of this journey by starting from Srinagar ( keep an ear to the ground re the political situation) . If you are hooking up with a trekking tour from Leh , allow three days ( nights , actually ) at Leh´s altitude before setting out.
My take on the Manali-Leh road here : http://korta.nu/sleepless
vistet recently posted..Rohtang : Major Landslide
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Hi Aparna – Thank you for your comment. I’m glad we’ve inspired you to travel to Ladakh!
Unfortunately, we are not experts on AMS, so I’m not sure how it will affect you and your sister (I hope it doesn’t affect you too much!). Jeremy and I are in decent health and fitness shape, we work at 9-5 jobs and take vacations a few times a year. Our experience was to fly into Leh from Delhi, stay a few days and then head out to higher altitude once we got acclimated. Jeremy had a headache when we first got to Leh but I was OK (I heard that AMS affects men more than women?) but was OK after a half day. We both however did get headaches when we were at Pangong Lake, Chang La Pass and Kardhong La. My advice would be for you to know your body and venture out only when you feel comfortable. Tour agents there should understand this and be flexible to your itinerary changes. Just make sure to discuss this with them when you book.
We’d give Overland Escape about 3 stars out of 5. From our experience, we didn’t feel they were as organized of an agent as other agents we’ve worked with (e.g. we had to remind the agent of several ‘agreed upon’ items on the itinerary that was not there when we got to Leh). So if you do book with them, make sure to be thorough with all your requests and double check with them before you arrive on all the arrangements (e.g. be clear you want an English speaking driver and/or english speaking guide etc…) and ask for them to supply you with bottled water (it was convenient for us this way, so we didn’t have to worry about finding stores to buy water. The driver had water for us in the car everyday.
Good luck on your trip! 🙂
Hi Vistet – thanks for the information regarding the road trip! I hope it’ll be useful to some potential visitors to Leh!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{Worldwide} Our 7 Links, What You May Have Missed the Past 7 Months-
Thank you Shirlene for your valuable pointers.Like i have written in my earlier post i am going to give pangong lake a miss unless something dramatic happens to me and i go with the flow. Its ironic because it were your pictures at pangong lake that changed my mind and i decided to take a trip to ladakh. anyway theres always another time and hopefully next time i havea few more people with me so that we might be in a better position to handle complications from AMS. Will keep your pointers in mind! All the best !
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No problem, Aparna! I hope you have a great time in Leh!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Juleh, the Magic Word in Leh
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Thank you vistet! Have been majorly following all your posts in trip advisor. I will be taking a flight to leh from delhi and the first 3 days will stay put in leh. The 4th and the 5th day is reserved for journey to nubra and back and 6th day to pangong and back. Since i have heard so much about “climb high sleep low” i am not going to be a part of the pangong trip. Also 10 hours of drive in a difficult terrain is no fun . i intend to stay a couple of more days in leh and may be visit an ngo or two . cant wait to start my journey to leh.
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Absolutely breath taking. Your photos look like paintings. I’ll have to add this to the list of places to visit. Truly off the beaten path and the kind of traveling I love!
InsideJourneys recently posted..Learning to Embrace My Name-
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! It’s the view itself that’s like paintings! Some of our friends asked how much we had to photoshop the photos to make it look like that… the answer is none! We didn’t use photoshop. We just used simple photo editing software to adjust the white balance, contrast, exposure and crop of the photos. The colors and the view there really do look like that. The lake really is blue (reflecting off of the sky, I think) and the surroundings really contrast each other well like in the photos we took. We definitely recommend Pangong Tso if you’re an adventurous traveler who wants to go off the beaten path
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{UAE} Dubai Desert Safari
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I’m just itching to get back to India & visiting Leh & surrounding areas is a high priority. I found your photos stunning and it has peaked my interest even more.
Nomadic Samuel recently posted..Pig Head | Siem Reap, Cambodia | Travel Photo-
Thanks for the comment! We are glad we were able to “re-invigorate” your interest in going back to India and visiting Leh and it’s surroundings. We have a couple more photos to share of the areas around Leh for future posts – stay tuned!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{USA} Sea Kayaking & Camping on San Juan Island, WA
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slow down, i am curvaceous. so so so good.
oh, those photos are incredible.
jamie – cloud people adventures recently posted..My (Our) 7 Links-
Thanks Jamie! The location was incredible! Lol – yes those signs sure are good, aren’t they! Rather creative!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Overnight at 15,000ft @Pangong Tso
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Beautiful pics! You managed to give color to a place that otherwise might look pretty dull.
Laura recently posted..Park Guell, Barcelona. Visiting Gaudi’s Masterpieces For Free-
Thank you, Laura! We’re happy you like the post! The lake really is out of this world. The sky is so blue that the lake just looks mesmerizing with the color of the sky reflected over it!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Paradise on Earth, Taj Mahal
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Beautiful photos! Wish we had more entertaining street signs like those in the US! Some of those are quite funny!
Jeremy Branham recently posted..Airport guide for travelers – flights, apps, guides, technology, sleeping, and more-
Thanks Jeremy! I know the signs are pretty cool, huh! If I were driving, I’d definitely slow down just to read the signs 🙂
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{USA} Sea Kayaking & Camping on San Juan Island, WA
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Your pictures are so mind blowing ! Love it
Miqtravellers recently posted..Off to Japan soon-
Glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by and providing the feedback. Really appreciate it!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{USA} Sea Kayaking & Camping on San Juan Island, WA
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Wonderful shots od a part of the world I would love to see – and I’m loving those safety messages!
robin recently posted..Pájaros-
Haha – yeah those safety messages are something, aren’t they! It definitely kept us quite entertained throughout the ride. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to provide the comment!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{India} Paradise on Earth, Taj Mahal
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You make me long to visit India again – I can’t wait until we go back! I’m always excited to read your posts, because I know the photos are going to be stellar. And, as usual, I was right. 😉
Christy recently posted..The Seven Links Project-
Aww, thanks Christy! Really appreciate the feedback and we’re glad you like our posts! We’ll strive to keep it up! We too can’t wait to hear about your travels back to India in the future!!! 🙂
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{China} Picturesque West Lake of Hang Zhou
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Always love their posts! –> {India} Overnight at 15,000ft at Pangong Tso http://t.co/xuLanRG via @Idelish #travel #india #photography
