Incredible Northern India - Day 4

Route Trip in Ladahk.



Day 4 from leh to Pangong Lake (approximately 251 kilometers)

Our first stop is at Shey Palace, once the summer palace of the Royal family. The prince of Ladakh installed the 12m tall gold-plated copper statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.
This palace is also known as Khar Chung built by Senge Namgyal in the beginning of the 17th century. It was erected on the ruins of an already existing castle. Shey monastery belongs to red hat order.

Then we visit Thiksey Gompa. This monastery belongs to Gelukpa order (yellow hat). The layout of the monastery complex resembles the Potala palace of Lhasa, Tibet.

Ladakh has many historic monasteries called Gompas, where Buddhist monks and nuns live, study and practice their religion. The monasteries of Ladakh are situated in scenic locations, on hills and mountains and have rich collections of Buddhist Thangka paintings, art and artifacts.



Waiting for the Inner Line Permit, we have small lunch in the car ending it with an apple. Seem like we all listen to the quote that “An apple a day, keep a doctor away”.



In the middle of nowhere, our car stops working. Some part is broken, so we will have to wait for the travel agency to send a new car from town. Since we have 2 cars, all girls are plied up in the good one and leaves all the guys behind. We stay at the Spangmix village.



Yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia, the tibetan plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. They have long shaggy hair to insulate them from the cold. Yak may live to more than 20 years.

The marmots are a genus of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.
Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, Eurasian stepps, Pyrenees in Europe, the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada in North America, Deosai plateau in Pakistan and Ladakh in India. Marmots typically live in burrows (often within rockpiles, particularly in the case of the Yellow-bellied Marmot), and hibernate there through the winter. Most marmots are highly social, and use loud whistles to communicate with one another, especially when alarmed. Marmots mainly eats greens and many types of grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers.

Pangong Tso (or Pangong lake; Tso: Ladakhi for lake) is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m. It is 134 km long and extends from India to China. 60% of the length of the lake lies in China. The lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point. During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water.