Leh-Ladhak Trip Day 8 & 9

It was a lovely sunny morning on day 8 that we woke up to. After morning ablutions and prayers, we had our breakfast and got set to leave The Creek at Nubra valley. This was one of the best properties we stayed in with almost everything including the weather being ideal.

We packed our stuff and loaded them on our cars and left for our next destination which Pangong lake. The route was scenic as always – rugged barren brown mountains alongside which the river Shayok was flowing. We were informed that we should be prepared for the cold weather at our destination.

Pangong lake became famous after a movie called “Three idiots” had a couple of scenes from this location. It is a salt water lake at a height of approx.. 14500 feet above sea level. The lake itself is huge which is 134 kms long and is divided into five sub lakes. Approx. 50% of the lake is in Tibet, China and 40% is in Ladakh. Balance 10% is disputed and lies between the two countries. The lake has absolutely no life as no vegetation grows at that height and hence, water creatures also cannot survive here. The place is under the control of the army and movements are restricted. No fresh water is available locally here. No permanent structures are allowed to be constructed here.

Our first view of the lake was mesmerizing. The lake has several different shades of colour to it. At places, it looks dark blue, at places, it is light blue and at other places it has an emerald, green colour. We stopped at a height and took some snaps from there. Later we drove down to the wooden rooms which were our night halt. The rooms were compact and decently furnished. However, as the night progressed, we discovered gap between the door and the walls which led to cold air coming in.

Immediately after reaching, we decided to head towards the lake which was a few hundred meters from our rooms. When we reached the lake there was a crowd of people enjoying the scenery and taking pics. There were some locals who had put up props from the movie 3 idiots and people were paying some money to use the props for pictures.

Within 15-20 minutes, we felt uncomfortable with the ice cold winds that was blowing quite fast due to the open area. So, we decided to head back to our rooms. Once there, it became so cold that few of our group members couldn’t stand it and went straight to bed. That too was not warm enough and we were wondering how we are going to survive the night here.

After some time, few of us went to a nearby room which was the restaurant and had a light dinner comprising of soup and some roti sabzi. After that we felt it is best to sleep it off. However, we soon discovered that the cold air coming form the gap between the door and the wall was unbearable. Also, the condition of a couple of our members (Jayashree & Lalitha) took a turn to the worse with vomiting, loose motions, shivering, breathlessness etc. On top of it, there was a power cut which lasted a long time. Soon, the water supply also stopped due to shortage.

We don’t know how we spent the night. Looked like it was never ending. As soon as it was morning, we decided to leave the place and get down to lower area. So, without having bath or doing any prayers, we had a light breakfast – some coffee & toast and left the place. Yes, Pangong is beautiful but I would not recommend that people plan to stay in that place simply because of the lack of infrastructure and the hostile climate.

On the way to Pangong and on the way back, we saw a strange animal which looks like a half rabbit and half squirrel. It is called Marmot. They are herbivores which hibernate during winter. During spring & summer, they are busy eating to make up for lost time as well as store fat for the harsh winter ahead. They are very friendly and come close to humans seeking food. We were warned not to feed them as it might prove harmful to their delicate digestive system. We were also told that some humans catch these innocent creatures and slaughter them for their meat which is seriously affecting their population.

After we drove for a couple of hours, our team slowly came back to their spirits. The drive was back to Leh through the Chang La pass. This is also at a great height – nearly 18000 feet above sea level. We didn’t stop here for long but got slightly delayed due to the heavy army convoys. Some of us did get down to get some pics. After that, we drove on and reached Leh by afternoon. The drive was long and our team was weary from the previous night.

At Leh, we were put up at a hotel called the Lassermo which was in the heart of the city – about 4/5 kms from the airport. The hotel was standard 4 star type hotel with very comfortable rooms & bathrooms. We had a good shower before proceeding for a late lunch. In the evening, we went for a stroll around the market area to do some shopping and came back early as the next day was completely free for us