Thursday, July 29, 2010

Ladakh - Day 8 - The lake Before Pangong - Preparation For The Big Surprise


The descent from Chang la is long and very scenic.

“Grassy slopes where Changpa nomads camp with their herds of yak, sheep, goats and horses. The camps are run mostly by women who milk the yaks (rather naks as the female of the species is properly called) to produce vast quantities of cheese over the summer months. Goats are sheared for the prized pashmina (cashmere) wool.”

That’s from the travel guide…

It gross injustice to use any one word or phrase to describe Ladakh – desert, mountains, snow, hill region, poplar, Buddhism, Monastery… because Ladakh is all of that and much more that words cannot describe, because every kilometer, the landscape changes.
This I have already mentioned.

The drive to Pangong too was very different from other parts of Ladakh.

The shades of the picture were mostly pastel and the texture was soft and smooth. There was a little more polish and refinement to the landscape than other parts…soft effects, special effects too…

Snow, more snow, frozen lakes and streams…


Pale yellow and green pastures with yaks, horse, sheep and cattle grazing in small herds in the distance







Marmots in the region…








As u approach Pangong, a small beautiful lake heralds the great waterbody.

That’s Fee, yours truly and Tim standing before the lake while Nicholas took a picture

You pass by a gorge of limestone cliffs
Stretches and stretches of smooth sand – perhaps this was once the bed of a lake or a river





This is the first view of Pangong after which the blue lake disappears behind the cliffs before reappearing again in all it’s splendour.
There is a signboard that proclaims it and people stop here to take the ‘first picture’.



No comments: