Pangong Lake Vacation

Pangong Lake in Kashmir is the world’s highest brackish lake at 14,256 feet above sea level.  A few years back the government decided to open it to tourists though the lake and its surrounding is under army surveillance.

The tourism department intends to develop the infrastructure and facilitate the route leading to the lake.

A place too easily arrived at is scarcely worth traveling to at all. Consider the ‘tired tourist’ who simply seeks solace in much talked about destinations, where he tends to relax and stroll the evenings away, buy a few souvenirs and sample the cuisine from the endless menu. and there’s the ‘tireless traveler’ - the learning by living person who opts for a destination in order to explore and experience the unknown.


¤ The Beginning of The Cruise

The 160 km trip to Pangong Lake from Leh is one such experience.It begins with Thiksey village famous for its huge monasteries covering an entire mountain ridge. Beyond this remote village there is nothing but the extreme mountain ridge andranges for company. Occasionally we encountered either patrolling army men or Ladakhi families waving at us.
Come Changla Pass (17,350 ft.) and its is time to test your lungs.Not to worry, oxygen is aplenty with army men doing their rounds on the rough terrain. They are a helpful lot indeed ever willing to assist anyone stranded in the wildness.Sunset and moonrise at Tangste.


¤ The Challenges Throughout The Journey

The topography throughout the journey shoots up so abruptly that they throw off all calculations of distance - what looked to be a ten-minute crossing easily required an hour or more. At times, it appeared as if so many of nature’s forces were warning us away at the steep slopes and uneasy bends and not to forget the great chunks of ice appearing static and frozen in time.
At Darbuk village near Tangste Valley stood a chain of war memorials with Regimental Insignias in commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. Some of the army bunkers and trenches are still in use.Villagers can be seen here along with their large herds of Pashmina sheep and long tailed yaks.


¤ Pangong Lake

The placid Pangong Lake is not just a tourists paradise but a geologist’s domain too and if one is to brush up with political history, the place is a melting pot of confusion and for sure it in no fun for the army in the biting cold to take care of the strategic landscape.


¤ A Travelers Delight Zone

Travelers enjoy the solitude for a day or two, zoom their cameras to shoot the black neckedSiberian crane around the Mahe marshes which are the only breeding ground for these migratory birds.At times they are seen swarming in the cool colourful water of the lake. If one has boating in mind, one is heading for disappointment.Very few boats are available and they belong to the army who may consider your request but won’t allow you to go beyond half a kilometer though one third of the 150 km lake belongs to India. The remaining 100 km stretch of water belongs to China.

The lake was once divided between Ladakh and Tibet as early as 1684 under the Treaty of Tingmosgang signed between the king of Ladakh, Deldan Namgyal, and the Regent of Tibet. As of today it is shared by India and China.

The long and narrow lake stems in the neighbourhood of the famous Chushul mountains. The size of the lake is best inferred from the probable etymology of its name, Pangong, which means extensive concavity.
The mirror calm water is cold, clear and extremely salty, holding sufficient quantity of lime to form a calcareous deposit, which cements the pebbles together in patches of concrete on its bank. It is believed that there are a large number of minerals in the basin of the lake, which result from the melting of the snow.The water sparkles in distinct shades of blue, green, purples and violet, being transparent to a good depth.

With ease one can pick pebbles from under the water and if one is lucky enough a fossil shell in the clay deposits may be a rewarding find.The discovery of these fossils have led geologists to believe that in some remote period, the water of the lake must have been fresh and lively.

With only army men as visitors to the lake so far, the surroundings are neat and clean. No paper, plastic or metallic cans littered around, but in days to come when the infrastructure is geared to receive tourists, will they respect the environmental sovereignty of the place?