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Home , More plains, Tso Kar, Tso Moriri

Feature lakes of In celebration of our third anniversary, AUTO BILD chose to explore the three highest lakes in the country. The challenge was to chart a route to these uncharted destinations. Join us as we take you to magical lakes of mystical Ladakh... Pictures: Pawan Dagia

LEH High on SPANGMIK KARU lakes MAHI TSUMDO

TSO KAR

TSO MORIRI

KORZOK GOMPA

KILLINGSARAI

JISPA

KEYLONG

MANALI

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adakh they say is a mysti- The call of the ma- night's sleep we decide to push on Treacherous cal place. Time and again jestic to next morning, certain that terrain and inhos- is always hard to pitable conditions explorers make their way the Montero's large fuel tank has ignore. Especially are a given for through treachourous ter- more than enough fuel to make it. if there is an ad- travellers from rainl and respond to its calls. Last This ensures we are amongst the venturous streak Manali to Leh. year we endured this treachery in in your heart fi rst to hit the road as the other Rain, snow, slush trying to get the cheapest car in somewhere, no few travellers head back to Tandi and landslides the world on top of , matter how dor- to refuel. En route, we cross the can play havoc the highest road in the world. This mant. Every bend, snowy Baralacha La at 16,043 feet on one's schedule year we have embarked on a jour- every turn of the before descending to and and it is advisable ney to travel to the highest lakes winding mountain heading towards the 21 loops of to come prepared in the country. Admittedly though roads seems to Gata and the beyond. with extra time in this time we are in a vehicle better lead to a view Further on lay the icy Tanglang La hand to account suited for the journey – a brand new more breathtaking at 17,500ft. Only then will we start for unexpected HM-Mitsubishi Montero. than the one be- the descent towards Leh. By the time exigencies. The We make our way to Manali, fore it. From lush we reach it's well after dark. Rohtang La or a popular destination for tourists green pastures The next morning begins our Rohtang Pass from all over, from where our jour- on gently sloping quest to get to the fi rst of the lakes in particular is ney really starts. However as we hills further south we intend visiting – Pangong Tso. quite prone to start our drive to Rohtang Pass, to the rocky, A virgin destination till recently, landslides and is we receive the grim news that the pine lined slopes Pangong Tso has suddenly become frequently shut pass is closed, thanks to landslides. higher up to the popular after some scenes from down by the BRO, icy, cold, barren who then clear the Nevertheless we drive till Marhi, Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots was shot and perhaps even slide and make where the climb to Rohtang starts, on its shores. scary peaks sur- it passable for and wait along with a million other rounding the high But before we can drive off to traffi c again from tourists most of whom will go no passes, there is Pangong Tso, we must get a permit both sides further than the snowy slopes at no place on earth – an Inner Line Permit to be pre- the top of the pass. that can replicate cise. We get one from the Deputy As hours pass, some decide to the feeling of awe Commissioner's offi ce in Leh and return to Manali. We however decide that one develops then head off. For those of you to wait it out. Suddenly we hear for Mother Nature who will read this and go off to commotion. Bikers running to their as it does here in bikes, drivers running to their cars. the Himalayas, The police are letting cars through especially in the towards Rohtang! remote regions But as we rearch the summit, we of Ladakh where see a couple of cars stopped ahead. the feeling is There's been a fresh landslide! It's heightened by total chaos with people scampering rare instances of away and BRO workers trying to inhabitations ensure no one gets hurt and so on. A couple of hours later however the BRO manages to clear the road. By this time heavy rains have turned the road into a slush pool. Regu- lar 2WD cars have already started spinning their wheels in search of traction. However we are part of a happier lot. We slot the shifter in 4WD and the Montero eases out of the slush. Soon this results in us being far ahead of the crowd and we reach the top of Rohtang. Thanks to the road being closed for a while, the top is fi lled with snow. It's a lovely feeling. As we drive down toward Keylong, we realise trouble ahead. The only fuel pump at Tandi has shuts at 8pm and the next fuel station is a full 365km later! We decide to hole up for the night at nearby Keylong. Full of enthusiasm after a good

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see the lakes, please keep Suraj Tal, at 16,020ft, is the second highest lake in India and the about two hours in hand to world's 21st highest. It lies just below the Baralacha La in the Lahaul- get the necessary permits. Spiti valley in the state of , around 65km from Also, please remember that the town of Keylong. The lake is the source of the Bhaga river which the DC's offi ce only starts joins the Chandra river at Tandi to form the Chandrabhaga river. functioning at 10am. The Chandrabhaga is called the Chenab from the time it enters the Formalities done, and per- Jammu and valley. mits in hand, we start driv- ing towards Pangong which is around 161km away from Leh. As we move out of the world of tarmac and start our ascent into the mountains the roads get narrower and the climes colder. It takes us a couple of After Khardung La hours to reach , which at at 18,380ft, which 17,586ft is the world's second high- is the highest est pass after Khardung La. motorable pass in We are pleasantly surprised to the world, Chang see that the ever present Indian La at 17,586ft is Army is not only serving hot tea, the second high- free of cost to all tourists, but is also est. Travellers to selling souvenirs! We take a break Pangong Tso must and sample the army's hospitality, cross the Chang La which is cordial and warm, despite to get to the valley beyond wherein the biting cold in the air. lies the immense From Chang La we start going lake. Atop Chang downhill to reach our destina- La, the Indian tion around 75km away. Now that Army has set up a might not sound much to you but small tourist cen- believe you me in these conditions tre that provides it takes a hell of a lot of time to weary travellers travel 75km. with a welcome As we begin our descent, we spot cup of steaming short cuts through the mountains. tea. That too free Confi dently, we slot the Montero of cost! There's into 4WD and go for the kill. In also a small sou- just a while, we have a feeling that venir shop from we might have chewed more than where one can buy we can swallow. However thanks to mementoes

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the Montero's capability we actually swallow the problem. Its superb ground clearance and ramp and departure angles ensure that we can comfortably play mountain . We make it to Pangong Tso just as daylight starts to fade. Unbeliev- able shades of blue mesmerise us all. There aren't too many places to stay at Pangong Tso. We chose tented accommodation at a prop- erty called Martsimek, which also has cottages. The next day once again brings along bad news. We had decided to get to our second lake, Tso Morriri via and Loma. But the Section House Offi cer of Chushul informs us that we cannot travel via that route since Loma is too close to the Sino-Indian border. He suggests we head back towards Karu and take a detour via Upshi. With no way out, we head back. As we climb Chang La again it starts snowing heavily. So much so that the Montero is soon covered in snow and the road is slippery. However it is here that the Apollo Hawkz on the Montero show their mettle as they provide the much needed traction. On the other side safely, we carry on towards on The Montero Many SUVs are available in India now. Some are best retained for mild off- PANGoNG tso road terrain and then there are the Altitude : 13,940 feet serious off-roaders. The HM-Mitsub- AReA: 700sq km ishi Montero is defi nitely the latter ------and hence was our choice of vehicle. Pangong tso is the largest trans-national lake of South Asia. At fi rst glance it looks smaller than , but that is only On this journey we encountered every because the lake is a lot narrower than it is long. of its 700sq terrain possible, from snow to gravel km area, about a third lies in indian territory while the rest and of course tarmac – both broken lies under chinese control, in . in fact the and smooth. The Montero, with its (loc) between india and china runs right through the lake. the shores of Pangong tso also saw some heavy fi ghting be- 202bhp, 3.2-litre V6 diesel engine tween indian and chinese troops in the 1962 Sino-indian war. mated to a 6-speed auto transmis- Recently, the lake has gained popularity after it was shown in sion, proved a potent off-roader with Aamir Khan's fi lm 3 idiots. the waters of the lake are said to Ladakh sees some enough power to conquer the steep Hi- be salty and does not support aquatic life, except some crusta- very extreme malayan gradients. Not to mention its ceans. Also, the lake is what is known as a Remnant lake and variations in easy-to-engage shift-on-the-fl y 4WD is said to have been formed when a larger water body dried terrain, thanks to up, leaving the lake. ensured we never got stuck. Last but ------its tree-less land- not the least, its myriad luxury fea- scape. So, while in PlAceS to StAy tures, including heated seats, made peak summers the there are two options for travellers who wish to spend the sun could be harsh the driver super comfortable. night on the shores of Pangong tso. We stayed at the Mart- enough to kill simek camps, which offers both tented accommodation as well with heat strokes, as cottages. Both are clean and basic and cost Rs 2,000 per bitter cold and night. one can add in dinner for Rs 150 per person. the fare is frequent snowfall simple but tasty and the staff courteous. you can also stay at could mean the a similar camp at Spangmik, which is 7km further ahead. danger of fatal frostbite

70 www.autobild.in Issue No 01, august 1, 2011 Issue No 01, august 1, 2011 www.autobild.in 71 Feature lakes of ladakh the banks of the mighty and green are found The Gata Loops Indus. After 142km, we reach a Y- aplenty in the is a series of Ladakh region. 21 bends and junction. As we had been told, the They are found not hairpins that take road ahead disappears giving way only in the Himala- you from 15,302ft to a barren rocky flat land. yas but also in the up to 16,547ft. It's As we momentarily hit 100kmph, Tibetan Plateau, probably the most the Montero's suspension soaks ev- Central Asia, Mon- twisty stretch of ery bump, rut, pothole and what golia and even as road that can be have you, like it's a piece of cake. far north as some found anywhere As the speedo hits 100kmh, we hit a parts of Russia. in our country and immense hump and the huge hulk Domesticated yaks requires immense of the Montero leaves ground mo- are often used as concentration mentarily! As the traction control beasts of burden from drivers light comes on, we try everything possible to ensure we don't crash. Thankfully we land safely on terra firma. With our confidence in the Montero growing, we decide to plough on at the same speed hop- ing the numerous computers on board the vehicle and the fantastic traction offered by the Apollo tyres will see us through. Far away, we spot a bit of blue! Is it Tso Morriri? Some nomads' tents being the only place where we can confirm whether it is indeed the lake we are looking for, we head towards them. Turns out the lake ahead is not Tso Moriri but another one called Kyagar Tso. This was certainly a bonus for we had only bargained on visiting three lakes and this was not one of them. After reconfirming that we are on the right road, we head off to- tso Moriri Altitude : 15,075 feet AREA: 121sq km ------Tso Moriri is part of a conservation area, and boards prohibiting hunting in the region can be seen on the drive to Korzok. Among other animals and birds, one can spot the very rare black necked crane, great crested grebe and black necked grebe here. Tibetan wild ass have also been spotted in the vicinity of Tso Moriri. Although sightings are very rare the region is also home to the Himalayan . Tso Moriri is also the largest high altitude trans-Himalayan lake that is entirely in Indian territory. ------Places to stay Tso Moriri sees quite a few tourists, who according to locals, have increased in numbers. As a result there are three accom- modation choices here. There is the Crane Guest House in Ko- rzok. One can also choose to stay at the Tourist Centre, which has a few rooms. We however recommend the Tso Moriri Lake Camps and Resort. The resort offers both tented accommoda- tion as well as cottages. Both are clean and comfortable and will cost Rs 2,500 per night. The tariff includes dinner as well as breakfast for two people. Meals are a buffet affair with a limited selection but the food served is tasty and the staff are super courteous.

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wards Tso Moriri. A few kilomtres ahead the fl at lands disappear. A small lane is what we are on with a drop on one side and mountains on the other. True to the words of the nomads, we spot a lone metal bridge. We cross it and spot the massive Tso Morriri! It's a sight to behold as the clear blue skies refl ect off the waters of the lake offering a spectacular panorama! In our enthusiasm we plough on ahead only to realise that there are no signs of life. We are all a little confused, for we have defi nite information that there were camps and places to stay and a huge ITBP camp at Tso Moriri. It is only now that we spot the camp, but it's on the other side of the lake! We make our way back to the bridge and turn off into what looks like no road at all. Snaking through we reach the ITBP tent and show our permits. Miles away we spot the road we were on and thank our stars that we have had the good sense to stop and look for the little cluster of buildings that passes for the village that is Korzok. Unlike at Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri offers three choices of accommoda- tion – a guest house, a tourist centre and a camp overlooking the lake. However we decide to pitch our tent that night! With sleeping bags laid, and tent pitched, we head into the village for food. The night is a cold one and it starts snowing! In our little tent we feel one with nature in a way that touches our soul. We wake up to the beautiful rays of the morning sun bouncing off the waters of the lake. But as we Altitude : 15,080 feet take in the drama of the sight in AReA: 200sq km front of us, we realise it has been a ------while since we have had any contact there is an ancient ladakhi legend as to how tso Kar was formed. legend says that there was a super human who with folks back home! protected this region from the evils of the world. one day, he Not knowing where else we could We found this drank some hot tea much too quickly and ended up sneezing turn for help in a land where con- single horn on the hard. two drops of water from his tickled nose fell onto the nectivity is as rare as a blue moon world and they became two lakes, one of which is tso Kar. banks of Tso Kar, in the sky, we went to the ITBP camp indeed, as we approached tso Kar we saw that there are two and asked if they could point us to presumably lost lakes instead of one. by a ram in some ------a phone booth or something. fi ght or some old PlAceS to StAy Again, to our surprise, they rose sheep. In these tso Kar is the least frequented of the three lakes we went to the occasion in a way we hadn't desolate moun- to, presumably thanks to how diffi cult it is to get there. As a imagined. Instead of giving us di- tains sheep and result there are no places to stay around the lake. the only rections to a phone booth, they mountain goat are village we saw was about 5km further on. Should you want showed us into their communica- the only animals to visit tso Kar, we recommend you do it on the way back to tion centre from where we could that one sees in Manali from tso Moriri. otherwise, you should head back to use their satellite phone to call numbers. Yaks home. It's at times like these that tso Moriri where there is accommodation available for tour- aside that is one realises that though we live ists. in a world where calls on mobile

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Our Montero was shod with Apollo's latest Hawkz A/T tyres. The 17in tyres phones, text messages, BBM- tyres to shreds and it is on this proved to be an ideal companion on this ing are the norm, there are still path that we encounter an oncom- drive. Thanks to the wide variations in places where connectivity with ing truck. It suddenly dawns on terrain in Ladakh, we had to drive over the outside world commands a us that this is the only vehicle a variety of surfaces. But be it gravel, high premium. we have seen on this desolate snow, slush or tarmac, our Apollos pro- To get to our next destina- road since morning. We ask the vided the performance we desired. The tion – Tso Kar, we head back the driver for directions to Tso Kar Hawkz proved especially grippy while same way for around 43 kilometres and he tells us to carry on on crossing overfl owing streams and even and reach a small village called the same road. when subjected to extreme torture on Tsumdo. As we approached the En route we tackle one of unforgiving terrain strewn with rocks, village it started snowing again. the worst mountain climbs we came out with fl ying colours. Yes you read it right! Snowfall in have faced so far with gradients the month of June when the plains Pang, which comes beyond belief. In addition, every after the phenom- are burning. In a hurry to record turn was strewn with rocks and enal Gata Loops the awesome scene with our cam- gravel so that tyres were fi ghting on the road from eras we jump out of the cosiness Manali to Leh is for grip. Suddenly it all ends and of the Montero's heated seats. The actually a motley from the top of the mountain we cold is shocking and numbing. The collection of tents spot Tso Kar, and beyond it pristine snowfall is so heavy that in the brief where you can get tarmac! few moments of our stopover, we some food. After a Even from a distance we can and the car, is covered with a thin hard day's driving, make out that Tso Kar is partially white layer. Hurriedly we jump back this will be the frozen, which isn't something we had inside. We turn on the heater and best tasting food expected. Parked by the lakeside, very soon, are back to feeling cosy you'll get even if we realise that this is where our in a cabin that seems as warm as the fare is basic journey of discovery ends. toast at 22 degrees! That such beauty could exist in We trundle through the snow such a desolate land is a revela- and after a few more moments are tion. And that we've seen them is blessed with bright sunshine. It's nothing short of a blessing. a crazy world here. Ahead lies a Rahul Ghosh stretch good enough to tear away

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