Blogs from Pangong Tso, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Asia

My solo journey to Ladak, one of the crown jewels of India, began with meeting few strangers at the Mumbai Central railway station, who are now my friends for life. Train journey from Mumbai to Delhi was pleasing, as soon as we reached the capital of India, we commenced an overnight journey to Manali. Manali, being a high-altitude Himalayan town, the roads were no doubt scary and steep with lots of blind curves, but this was just the beginning. I woke up with a spectacular view of all mountains around and the Beas river flowing. The view was mesmerising, as fog took over the lush green mountains, the combination of colours made me feel like we were moving towards the heaven. Reaching at the hotel, we had breakfast, a brief round of introduction, and then dispersed ... read more

Ladakh is located on the Northern tip of India bordering Tibet (now China). Most people in Ladakh are of Tibetan/Ladakhi Buddhist lineage. It's an extremely friendly place with lots of foreigners, mainly from Europe. Reaching Ladakh is a pain given that there is not enough connectivity with the rest of the country. But that is probably what makes this place a great one since it is still less mainstream than other places in India. Here are some pictures on the way to Pangong Lake in Ladakh.... read more

I boarded a shared cab from Leh, that left for Pangong Lake at 6 in the morning. The lake is more like a land locked sea, shared by the countries of India and China; with the larger portion falling in China. It was a five hour ride, which started getting beautiful once we crossed Karu and started gaining height. This time, unlike the other tourists in the cab, I wasn't bothered about photographing the view. Since I had already been in Ladakh for quite a few days and had taken a lot of pictures; I just thought of enjoying the view. Of all the passes that one encounters in Ladakh, the ascent to Chang La (17586 ft) is said to be the steepest. The road for the last few kilometres was not in a good condition, ... read more

Pangong Tsu... read more

After white-water rafting the Zanskar river, My Danish friend and I headed out on motorbikes. I was on a Yamaha and my friend on an Enfield Thunderbird. We speeded out from Leh in the early morning, leaving behind the dusty clouds of traffic. On the way to Karu fuel station, we visited Stakna Gompa with amazing views of the Indus valley. I actually spent all day trying to start the bike in gears 2 and 3, not even in neutral, so luckily by the next day as we ascended the world’s third highest motorable pass, Chang La, I had it nailed. We slept in Tahktog, east of Leh, an incredibly remote place with dogs barking right outside all night and altitude making sleep impossible. The locals reminded me of hilltribe villagers in Thailand, the young girls ... read more