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-   -   5000kms and 12 Passes, a 20 day wild wild ride to the roof of the world! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/65360-5000kms-12-passes-20-day-wild-wild-ride-roof-world-21.html)

Just read all 20 pages in one go, excellent write up and pics tsk really mindblowing.

now only thing going through my mind is when i will able to buy a 4x4 and do this :D

this is only of the best Tbhp travelogues, keep it coming :)

Simply amazing!. The pics....anymore encomiums would be a cliche, so i shall let that pass.

The great lakes of Ladakh. What a site they are!
Though not a patch on the Pangong, this lake is lovely in its own way. Everybody draws parallels between the two, and why not Tso? After all lakes like these are very rare. We are fortunate to have 2 of the great Himalayan lakes here. The chinese are luckier. but thats another story.

Now how does it compare to Pangong Tso?
Its a very difficult question.
Think of it this way. If pangong Tso is kings palace, the Tso Mori-ri is his Summer retreat.
Both are tasteful, and beautiful, but the Pangong is grander.

However today due to the recent snow on the mountains, the Tso Moriri was looking quite loverly.
the water is not salty(Yes I tasted it), but not really sweet spring water too.
This lake has wildlife, but we did not see any. Maybe time of the day?
.
To the south you see snow clad mountains, SE to be exact

To the north is where you came from

A close up of the mountains


How can any lake be complete without the White elephant.
Riding over 10 high mountain passes, abused by the toughest terrain, bouncing over the sharpest rocks, the white elephant had carried us here without any troubles.
Heck, even the tires held 32 front 35 rear and no new rattles or sounds emanated. The pachyderm was enjoying herself here


Time for a bath in the lake?


At home in the clouds?


After some fun here, it was time for another location. That involved driving back towards Leh. Just at the start of the lake, there was a nice spot, our target

But before that.. Pics

"When you look back on your life, what will you remember".
The answer my friend, is in the rear view mirror, and this answer will not blow away. It will always stay in our memories.




All those bad roads, all those sand tracks, all those back pains, its sights like this which make it all worth it


Like its bigger and more famous cousin, this lake also changes colors with every viewing angle.
Blue at one angle

And purple at the other


Finally, we were at our spot. Only one problem, there is no road going to the side of the lake


But when has the lack of roads fazed the safari? Its time to get off the track now
The wind has picked up, and now its like a sea with waves lapping the shores.






Just look at the waves.

And the white elephant


More Moriri


We spent almost 2 hours at this lake, and now it was time to turn back the steed


"If you look back...."


With the final goodbye, we set out towards Leh. And Kiagar Tso was also waiting...

TO BE CONT.........

thanks for your comments! The travelogue is more than half done now, well approx half done I think

Actually, this shows how much the terrains and regions have to offer for different people. I loved the moriri much more than the pangong, i dont know why, but it just seemed much more ...mellower?. I dont know, but i loved the moriri so much more than the oft-quoted pangong...

Tanveer, I cannot believe I missed this thread. Your dual rainbows have stunned me. Unbelievably beautiful.

+1 to that. This lake looks so very beautiful. We had stopped here for quite some time and had walked over the sand dunes to touch the water.

Yup! Every person has a different take on each of the lakes.
Would you believe it if I told you I found the little Kiagar Tso more lovely in some ways than the Tso Moriri!
Thanks Sam.Well I guess you are at the starting.
When this travelogue ends, it will have close to a 1000 pics. So make sure you have a good broadband connection when you load this log!

It was around quarter to 4 as we started on the road to Kiagar Tso.
Now its not really a road, its this.
Initially there is no alternate dirt track too, that happens only when you hit the plains
Pics of the "Road"
This is the worst kind of track. you are constantly shaken in a shivering motion, and even on the softly sprung safari, it feels that all your teeth will fall off.




After some time the dirt track climbs up, and you get the last glimpse of the Tso Moriri


And then come the "Plains".
you either follow the teeth chattering "Road", or be sensible and get onto the dirt tracks. At some places they become sand "traps", so attempt with a 4x2 only at your own peril






A shot of the Safari


I also met a couple of cyclists on the plains. They seemed to be from France from their accent, and were dead tired. "How far is Korzok"? The answer did not make them happy. 20 more kms of hell for them. I told them that its mostly downhill or plains now, so they will have an easy run.

Finally after the plains, we descended to the Kiagar Tso

It was far from our offroad track, and far even from main track

But track or no track, the white elephant will march to the banks

Pic of the steed


Spent a few minutes here, soaking up the scenery. Time was almost 4:30pm, and we had to reach Leh. I reckoned, 5 hours driving from here would see us at Leh before 10pm.
Good


So it was time to bid goodbye to good scenery, and with that the road also became good. Remember, the condition of the road is inversely proportional to the condition of the scenery. Hanle is an exception though!

TO BE CONT..........

Does anyone here has knowledge of the geological origin of these lakes?
The water could be salty only if it had been a part of some sea (Tethis?!) earlier... or (t)so I guess.
Some light thrown upon this will certainly complement this killer travelogue.

Tanveer, you are some dude! :)
Only thing that comes to my mind when I read your travelogue is... "What's Next?!". I am sure it'll be hard even for a Map/GPS savvy person like you to find your next circuit to beat this.

Thanks Sen!
Actually Pangong is fed by quite a few streams from the mountains, and all of them are freshwater, so indeed, its quite possible its leftover from the Sea which filled the area before India barged into Asia.
but I can't figure out where did the calcium come from. Its the calcium, not the salt which is responsible for the lake being dead.

As for the next circuit.
Well next time its Pangong - Hanle via Tsaga La, then Hanle to Nyoma(or even Tso Moriri) via the Kyun Tso lakes, and if possible also Chumur circuit.

then I also have Spiti to explore, which will be done most probably early next year, when the snows are yet to melt.

A M A Z I N G TRAVELOGUE!
Started reading it @ 1030 this morning... savouring every bit of your emotions & experience along with the pics.
You give the reader a feeling of 'being there'!
On a serious note... Ever thought of authoring a book about this trip...???

Thanks Rossi! I would author a book if some publisher is ready :)

If not a full fledged author yet (there's no reason for which that can't be though), you can surely become a chapter writter for Lonely Planet. :-)

BTW, does anyone have the Himalaya Lonely Planet?

The lakes gone.. It was time to head back to Leh. The plan was to reach as early as possible, which meant few photography breaks.
The road was awesome, since the scenery was pretty drab



On the way we saw a Changpa Herd.

And the Changpa's


Finally around 5:15pm, we were at Mahe bridge. There was an army convoy coming, so that meant a short wait.
The light was fading


The sun hid behind the clouds, and only the tips of the mountains were lit now




Thanks to the good road, we could keep a brisk pace.
This sector had hardly any traffic, and were frantically waiting for upshi. With upshi will come mobile signal, and then we would tell our hotel guy to keep the room for us tonight. He would be expecting us tomorrow!

Finally around 7pm, it was time for the last pic of the day. Taken at ISO 1600 and pulled up in RAW. So effective ISO 3200! Thats the reason for the noise


After that it was around 8:40 we were in Leh, exactly 5 hours since we had started from Tso Moriri. Earlier than expected!
So far so good.
But the lousy food at Korzok had left us hungry, and so it was time to find a place to eat. We decided to steer clear from the expensive places, and search the bylanes on foot.

Thankfully, we spotted a dhaba. A proper Dhaba, Dogra Dhaba.
It had a tandoor, stuff like Rajma Chawal and Chicken fry.

So it was time to Gorge gorge and Gorge!

Finally satisfied, and with a very small bill(dhaba you see), we headed to our hotel.
Unfortunately, our pet room was no longer with us.. West Bengal had invaded

TO BE CONT............