15.06.2023 : From Noida to Katra - Driving distance covered 662 km in around 11 hours with breaks for breakfast and lunch of 45 minutes each.
16.06.2023 : Trek to Vaishno Devi shrine - 13 km trekking to shrine, helicopter ride to Katra on way back.
17.06.2023: Katra to Srinagar - Driving distance covered 230 km in around 9 hours with breaks for breakfast for 30 minutes (many halts for passing of army convoy) and 20 km in Srinagar.
18.06.2023: Srinagar - Around 30 km for local sight seeing.
19.06.2023: Srinagar to Kargil - Driving distance covered 190 km in around 6.5 hours, another 20 km (to and fro) to Hunderman LOC view point.
20.06.2023: Kargil to Leh - Driving distance covered 197 km in around 6.5 hours.
21.06.2023: Leh local sightseeing - 68 km
22.06.2023: Leh - Khardung La - Diskit - Hunder - Turtuk - Thang - Diskit - Driving distance covered 304 km in 12 hours which includes time when we were stuck at the mountain stream.
23.06.2023
This day we were heading to the Pangong Tso. Since we were to take the Manali route without going back to Leh, we had to plan about fueling our car accordingly as there were very few petrol pumps on the way. After Leh only petrol pump on the route was in Diskit and we heard there was another newly opened petrol pump in Tangstey near Pangong Tso. Besides it seems some shops on the way sells petrol, with the likelihood that the quality is compromised. We planned to fill our car tank and the two jerrycans purchased previous night. We checked out from the hotel at around 7:30 am and went straight to Petrol pump. After filling petrol we retraced our route to Khalsar. Yesterday we came to Khalsar from Khardung La which is a Y point and we took the fork to Turtuk.
At Khalsar we saw a petrol pump. Availability of fuel is an issue to be planned well in Ladakh though it has improved a lot in recent times. There were a few restaurants near the petrol pump though these were just opening at that early hours. We went to Midpoint restaurant. There with a breakfast of Paratha with pickles, we had juice of Sea Buckthorn or Leh Berry, a round or oval fruit reddish or yellow in colour. Called by many as the wonder plant of Ladakh, the whole plant including its fruit, leaves and seeds are thought to have anti-ageing, memory restorative and energy boosting properties.
From Khalsar there are two routes to Pangong Tso - one passing through Wari La and Chang La which is considerably longer at 220 km. The other route passes through village Shyok and is around 160 km. We were told that the road through Shyok was built in recent past and we should be able to reach Pangong Tso in five to six hours. However, we found out that not be the actual scene. Google maps is not reliable in Ladakh and we took several road maps prepared by individual travelers indicating road conditions. But the road conditions keep changing which happened in this case. A majority of the route is driven next to the Shyok River (literally meaning the river of death). This river is known for its unpredictability; there are even local songs about the destructive powers of the river. Immediately upon leaving Khalsar towards Agham village we faced several tracks through riverbeds. With no directions we just tried to follow other vehicles which were very few in some stretches. In one moment, we were driving next to the river bed, sometimes on the river bed itself and the next moment, we were on a steep climb with many hairpin bends. Besides the road was under renovation and we hardly got a smooth patch! So many times we crossed mountain streams flowing over the road. It was literally off-roading experience. The petrol in the plastic jerrycans, we could not get a metallic ones, was leaking due to poor road condition and the smell combined with the horrific road condition made us nauseous. We could not open windows as it was very sunny and travelling without AC was not possible for long time at a stretch. The saving grace was the natural beauty which kept us going.
Earlier we thought we would reach Pangong Tso comfortably by noon. We reached Tangste, the nearest township to Pangong Tso at around 12:30 pm. Locating the petrol pump we refilled the car tank as we would not get another petrol pump anytime soon on the route we planned to follow. We expected the road from Tangstey to Pangong Tso to be better which was not to be. It took us more than two hours to cover the distance of around 40 km on that tortuous road! As we neared Pangong Tso, we reached a location which was inhabited by marmots. We took some snaps and they did not seem to be camera shy.
The first glance of Pangong Tso lake as we reached Lukung washed off our fatigue. The road also became smooth. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the ink blue lake surrounded by snow clad mountains, its water sparkling in the afternoon sun. Each curve on the road revealed a different angle with another pretty sight.
We were looking for an accommodation with a sight of the lake. We checked into World Attic camp where we got a tent with a view of the lake unhindered. It was past 3 pm and we did not have our lunch. The camp dining hall was closed for lunch. We had some tea with the baked roti and apricot jam we purchased in Leh.
After resting for some time, we went near the lake. The lakeside was full of tourists all busy capturing memories. Many were posing on the bum seats and red scooty imitating the scenes from Three Idiots. It is such incredibly beautiful. Situated at an elevation of 4,225 m (13,862 ft), it is the world's highest saltwater lake. The lake is 134 km long and divided into five sub lakes called Pangong Tso , Tso Nyak, Rum Tso (twin lakes) and Nyak Tso. Approximately 40% of the length of the overall lake lies in Ladakh which is known as Pangong Tso, 50% in Tibet and the remaining 10% is disputed and is a de facto buffer zone between India and China. One could spend hours in contemplation here, and still not have enough of its beauty as the lake keeps changing colour as the day passes.
As darkness descended we came back to our camp and went to the dining hall. Dinner was quite elaborate starting with soup and we had a hearty dinner.
Pangong Tso, with zero light pollution, is considered one of the best places to see the Milky Way. All the lights are mandatorily switched of at 11 pm. After dinner we again went to the lake side which was darker than the campsite and enjoyed the solitude with hardly anyone present there in contrast to the hustle and bustle during the day. I was surprised that it was not too cold even at night! The spectacular view of Milky Way took me back to my childhood days and I tried counting the stars. Coming back to camp we waited for the lights to go off to enjoy the sight of the Milky Way once more just standing in front of our tent.
Then it was time to put our weary limbs to rest.
24.06.2023
Next morning I got up early and came out of tent to see the early morning view of the lake.
As I was busy taking pictures, Sanjay discovered a puncture in one of the tires of our car. He repaired it, but could not refill air as our kit was not working. A gentleman from a nearby tent enquired what the matter was and offered help. The gentleman named Suresh was travelling with his wife Jayanti and Son Vishnu, a student of mechanical engineering. Vishnu brought their kit and filled air in the tire. We got talking and came to know they were from Kerala but settled in Hyderabad. They travel extensively and visited Ladakh earlier too. We were happy to meet another very nice traveler family. These incidents enhances the pleasure of traveling.
After an early breakfast, we left the camp at 7:30 am towards Hanle for star gazing as it is one of the world's highest sites for astronomical observation. We wanted to reach Hanle early to be able to see the observatory during it's working hours. We travelled by the lake till Merek and got to see some more breath-taking views.
Till Merek road was good and road was ok till we reached Chuchul village. Afterwards it was more like driving trough a rocky field with no defined track. There was hardly any population on the way. At times it felt like we were the only human beings inhabiting the Earth. We saw so many types of mountains - some rocky, some sandy, some black, some brown. But on this route we never had to climb a mountain. We kept seeing boards indicating Rezang La War Memorial. We did not know about it and looking at the road condition and navigation problem, did not try to visit it. Later we came to know Rezangla war memorial was built in remembrance of 120 brave soldiers who fought a fierce battle till their last breath on 18th November, 1962 during Indo-China war and they saved Ladakh from Chinese invasion. We passed an Army training area on the way which was named after a soldier from Assam, my native state.
Slowly landscape started changing. We saw pastures with animals grazing on it. Roads started appearing and river Indus once again joined us. We saw Pashmina farms. A little past 12 noon we made our entry at Loma Check post. The nearly 50 km stretch of road after Loma was excellent and straight like an arrow. But there were sudden dips with the potential of throwing up passengers from their seat if caught unaware. We passed through beautiful Rhogno village on the bank of Indus and reached Hanle at 1 pm. Just at the border of Hanle we could see the Hanle Monastery by the road side.
Hanle, easily one of the remotest villages in India, is a historic village located in the valley by the Hanle river, in the Changthang region of Ladakh. The valley has a Stark landscape surrounded by bare mountains and a vast open valley devoid of any vegetation.
We visited some homestays and checked into Happiness Homestay after confirming that they have a telescope for star gazing. Hanle does not have much option for food except home stays and they provide lunch only with prior notice. Generally tourists arrive in the evening for star gazing and leave in the morning. Padma, the sweet daughter of the owner gave us tea and pickles to go with last installment of our baked roti purchased in Leh.
Then we hurried to the observatory. After arriving at the observatory we came to know that Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle is a field office of Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru and is operated remotely from Bengaluru. There is no astronomer in Hanle and the technical staff there only maintains the system. There is no arrangement to explain the operation to tourist except a presentation prepared as some student project. The high-altitude Observatory located at 14,764 feet, is one of the highest observatories in the world. Hanle was picked to set up an observatory owing to its dry and cold weather. If there is any moisture, most of the light gets absorbed by the atmosphere, and very little light from the stars reaches the surface of Earth. Due to the dry atmosphere at Hanle, the lights coming from far away sources are not attenuated.
Hanle has been officially notified as India's first Dark Sky Reserve covering the six hamlets of Bhok, Shado, Punguk, Khuldo, Naga and Tibetan Refugee habitations within Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. A dark sky reserve is an area where light pollution is monitored. There are several restrictions around the reserve where humans are not allowed to have any loud source of light. So there is a total darkness which makes sky observation easier and more fun. Effectively, an expanse of 1,073km situated around the Indian Astronomical Observatory is now a sanctuary for darkness, where light is managed so that scientists and astronomy enthusiasts can access the night sky in its purest possible form. There is attempt to increase awareness amongst locals and promote astro-tourism in the area. As part of the initiative, the Institute set up the Astronomy Ambassadors Program and trained locals in the use of telescopes, and on the preservation of the night sky. Eighteen telescopes have been donated to the villagers including some homestays so that they can offer astro-tourists a truly stellar experience. Our homestay is one of the beneficiaries.
Coming back to the homestay we were delighted to find Suresh, Jayanti and Vishnu there. No mobile network is operational in Hanle except BSNL. We borrowed our homestay owner's phone to connect with our son. A vehicle came to collect the telescope of our homestay. We were informed that some telescopes in the village were being shifted to the ground where Gamma ray telescope was kept to facilitate star gazing for a group of students from Leh visiting Hanle on educational tour. We were asked to go the ground at night. After an early dinner of homecooked meal at around 9 pm we went to the ground and Padma, our homestay owner's daughter was a demonstrator. Unfortunately, it was one of the rare cloudy nights in Hanle and Milky Way was not visible. But we could see the Venus, the moon, twin stars and a cluster of stars through telescope. One of Padma's friend helped to get a picture of the moon as seen through telescope. We met a young Ladakhi Software Engineer employed in the observatory and had a nice conversation.
It was a wonderful night under the open sky star gazing with young enthusiastic students and would remain one of my fondest memories.
From Google Maps
23.06.2023: Driving distance of 158 km from Diskit to Pangong Tso covered in 7.5 hours.
24.06.2023: Driving distance of 160 km from Pangong Tso to Hanle covered in 5.5 hours.