It was our fifth day in Ladakh and our next venture was Tso Moriri. We decided to go Tso Moriri directly from Pangong rather than going back to Leh. There are two ways to reach Tso Moriri first is directly from Pangong to Tso Moriri and other is from Leh to Tso Moriri. It is important to know that If one choose to go directly from Pangong to Tso Moriri, permit to travel along this route is required in advance as this route is along the Indo-Tibet (China) border. Tso Moriri is a high altitude mountain lake at a height of 15,074 ft height. Frankly speaking I was not much excited about visiting Tso Moriri as the aura of Pangong lake would take time to sink in and our driver had never been to Tso Moriri via this route. Nevertheless, we started our journey leaving all odds behind with full zeal. The route is completely isolated and mostly with dirt roads or no roads. Initial stretch of road goes along the Pangong lake and diverge once you reach end of Indian side of Pangong lake. We were just following the unpaved road. Its indeed a journey full of adventure with azure sky following you, bumping on those dirt roads and intimidating mountains.
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| Isolated route from Pangong to Tsomoriri |
There are possibilities that you might not find any vehicle in this route as not many visitors follow this route apart from crazy travelers like us. So, be prepared for any emergency and carry extra fuel, food and water with you. Its a secluded route but the experience you will garner here is worth taking a risk.
Apart from the beautiful panoramic views what touched my heart, was the hardship of army personnel guarding our border living in bunkers and far flung stations for the nations security in-spite of all odds. On our way we came across Kumaon Memorial, it is built in the memory of heroes of Rezang La 114 martyrs of 13 Kumaon who fought against Chinese army on 18 November 1962. Watching the fluttering national flag kissing the sky at the memorial drenched us with patriotic feeling. Witnessing the different aspects of defence in this trip have increased the respect for defence personnel manifold times in my heart.
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| Kumaon Memorial |
This up and down hill journey to Tso moriri was full of great surprises. The drive from Pangong to Tso moriri had been of long and we almost spent 8-9 hours in our vehicle. There was one more lake before Tso Moriri which we confused with the Tso Moriri lake known as Tso Kyogar.
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| Tso Kyagar lake |
We geared up ourselves to witness the magical moment and wondered when would we reach Tso Moriri lake. As we reached Tso Moriri and saw the flawless beauty of god, we all were stunned. Frankly speaking I will suggest to skip Pangong and visit Tso Moriri in case time is a limitation. Tso Moriri is still raw and untouched comparative to Pangong lake as not many tourist frequently visit this place. This is a favourite destination for trekkers. Here one can enjoy the solace in the lap of nature. A divine lake between green pastures and snow clad mountains which make you speechless and one would be captivated by her beauty.
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| Fresh water spring leading us to Tso Moriri lake from camp |
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| Breathtaking Tso Moriri lake water |
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| Tso Moriri lake |
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| Snow clad mountains guarding the Tso Moriri lake |
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| Tso Moriri village |
Winds in Tso Moriri give a chilling effect during evening time as it is surrounded by snow clad mountains. There is one view point at Tso Moriri from where you can have the look of Tso Moriri lake. We decided to visit that point in morning. At night when we were sleeping in our camps, we were able to hear the clear sound of flowing spring water alongside the camp. In Tso Moriri power cut are similar to Pangong and power is not available during most of the day.
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| View of Tsomoriri lake from view point |
Next morning after breakfast we visited the view point and headed to Leh. It's hard to say adieu to Tso Moriri.
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| Horses grazing on the side of Tso Moriri lake |
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| Finally I got to a see a Yak from near |
We reached Leh in the afternoon after a long journey. On our first day we didn't visit some of the places like Thiksey monastery and Shey palace. Thiksey monastery is the largest monastery in central Ladakh. It is located on top of a hill at an altitude of 11,800 ft in the Indus valley. It's a must visit place. It is clean, well maintained Monastery with beautiful architecture and provides you an amazing view of valley from its roof top. You can take your camera inside by paying some amount. Now let the pictures do the talking.
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| Colorful painting on the roof of Thiksey monastery's entrance roof |
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| Beautifully en-carved entrance of Thiksey monastery |
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| Huge Buddha Statue inside Thiksey monastery |
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| Artisans beautifying the statue |
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| Beautiful paintings on the walls |
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| Beauty of the monument (Thiksey Monastery) |
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| You guys must be thinking why I have clicked this photo? These mannequin were outside the souvenir shop in Thiksey Monastery and what is interesting about them was the sentence written on the ID card holder on the neck of male mannequin saying " Don't touch me and my wife" |
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| Amazing views from the roof top of Thiksey Monastery |
There was one souvenir shop in Thiksey Monastery just a few steps once you enter the premises where you would find different stuff depicting the Ladakhi culture but everything they were selling was just double the price of local market of Leh. So, its a better option to do shopping in Leh market.
Our next visit was Shey palace, it was used as summer retreat by the kings of Ladakh in the past. The exteriors of palace look beautiful but as one enter the palace you would feel disappointed. Everything was in ruins and there was nothing exciting about this palace.
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| Shey Palace |
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| Golden chorten spire of the Palace |
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| View of the valley from the Shey Palace |
Last day of our trip we left for rafting at the Sangam point and shopping. I already told you about the sangam point in my previous blog. We did 14 km long rafting. It was good fun and full of adventure. At starting we thought 14 km would be enough but we didn't realize how fast we crossed 14 kms. If you are skeptical about the safety issue, don't worry. Its absolutely safe just follow the commands of the guide who will be there with you in the raft. It was my first time experience of rafting and it was awesome.
After rafting we headed back to our homestay and took some rest. Now comes the best part for ladies, time for shopping. There is a decent market in Leh where you can find nice stuff with reasonable prices for which you have to do bargain politely and make efforts for choosing a right shop.
Now it's time to say goodbye to Leh with treasuring the beautiful memories in our hearts for forever.
Great post
ReplyDeleteThank You :)
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