Pangong TSO/ Pangong Lake around Sightseeing
The world’s highest saltwater lake, Pangong Lake situated at a height of almost 14270 ft. Its waters, which seem to be dyed in blue, stand in stark contrast to the arid mountains surrounding it. Extending to almost 160km, one-third of the Pangong Lake lies in India and the other two-thirds is situated in China.
One of the most famous lakes in Leh Ladakh is Pangong Lake, derives its name from the Tibetan word, “Pangong Tso”, which means “High Grassland Lake”. You could spend hours in contemplation here, and still not have enough of its beauty. Pangong Lake is also known to change colors, appearing blue, green and red at different times. If you have decided to go on a trip to Ladakh anytime soon, don’t forget to visit the Pangong Lake. The beauty which awaits you there cannot be described in words. It has to be seen, felt and absorbed within yourself.
At dawn, get out of your camp and watch the sunrise. Watch, as the rising sun gradually disperses the darkness and ushers in light. Carry a camera with you, and capture these splendid moments.
The route to Pangong Lake is as beautiful as the lake itself. To get a glimpse of this beauty, stop about 10km from Pangong Tso, if you are coming from Leh. You will be greeted by a few signboards saying, “Stop here to see rare endemic species Marmot”. Marmots are large squirrels which are found in mountainous areas and reside in burrows. Despite being quite dodgy, they do come out from their potholes during the day, so there is a good chance of spotting them.
An adventure is all about taking on challenges, and being brave enough to try anything unusual. One of the unusual things to do in Pangong Lake is to take a dip in its cold waters. Usually, tourists leave Pangong Lake after sunrise as they have to reach Leh before sunset. Before doing so, take a dip in the lake. Yes, it sounds crazy, and you would be crazy enough to try it. But craziness is what makes an adventure thrilling and memorable.
Suggested route to explore Pangong Lake / Pangong Tso
The routes to explore Pangong Pake have many options. The options depends on your nos of days in hand. But the most important thing to visit Ladakh is acclimatized yourself sufficiently for a smooth a memorable vacation. After spent at least two night in Leh and one night in Nubra Valley you can move further to explore the beautiful Pangong Lake. Few options are as follows –
Leh to Pangong Day trip and back to Leh
If you are short on time, then you should make a day trip to Pangong Tso via this route only because it is best in road conditions in comparison to other routes and hence fastest of all.
Leh to Pangong Lake distance by road using Karu – Chang La pass route is 170 km. This route to Pangong Tso is what most people take to visit this beautiful lake in Ladakh. You can reach in about 6 Hrs (depending upon the number of breaks you take in between the journey). The route along with the distance between the subsequent places are as follows:
Leh to Karu (36 km) to Sakti (10 km) to Chang La (34 km) to Durbuk (32 km) to Tangste (9 km) to Lukung (34 km) to Spangmik (16 km)
Please remember in this trip you have to sacrifice the beautiful Sunrise & Sunset at Pangong Lake.
Leh to Pangong and night stay at Pangong and back to Leh
Leh to Pangong Lake distance by road using Karu – Chang La pass route is 170 km. This route to Pangong Tso is what most people take to visit this beautiful lake in Ladakh. You can reach in about 6 Hrs (depending upon the number of breaks you take in between the journey). The route along with the distance between the subsequent places are as follows:
Leh to Karu (36 km) to Sakti (10 km) to Chang La (34 km) to Durbuk (32 km) to Tangste (9 km) to Lukung (34 km) to Spangmik (16 km)
You can cover Thiksey, Hemis & Shey Palace / Shey Monastery while going through this route. This route provides the best road conditions for all other routes. So, if you are one of those who prefer relaxing vacation and do not want to rush through places then, suggest making a two day trip to Pangong Tso lake via this route from Leh. Assuming your body has been acclimatized properly by staying for a couple of nights in Leh and spending a night or two in Nubra Valley before attempting to sleep near Pangong Tso. You can enjoy the beautiful Sunrise & Sunset at Pangong Lake. Hence, when they visit Nubra Valley (always recommended for better acclimatization) first then back to Leh and stay another night then next day to explore Pangong Lake.
Nubra Valley to Pangong and night stay at Pangong
Many traveler want to visit Pangong Lake directly from Nubra Valley without going back to Leh. For all such people, there exist two routes from Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso.
Route – 1 (Nubra Valley – Wari La – Pangong Tso)
Nubra Valley to Pangong lake distance by road using via Agham – Wari La Pass route is 243 km. This route goes via mighty Wari La Pass, one of the remotest passes of the Ladakh region and retakes about 11 hrs. (depending upon several interim breaks you take). The route is long and rough and hence requires you to leave very early from Nubra Valley so that you reach Pangong Tso (Lukung or Spangmik) before the sun goes down.
If you are planning via Wari La route, then do check the conditions at Agham village before ascending towards it. It is a remote region, and you will hardly find any tourist or vehicle going past by you. Hence, in case required, help will not be easy to find.
You do not need any special permit for Wari La Pass route and permits for Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso are sufficient for traveling on this route.
The route along with the distance between the subsequent places are as follows:
Diskit to Khalsar (19 km) to Agham (31 km) to Tangyar (11 km) to Wari La (28 km) to Tathok (25 km) to Sakti (4 km) to Chang La (34 km) to Durbuk (32 km) to Tangste (9 km) to Lukung (34 km) to Spangmik (16 km)
Do not attempt this route in the early season because firstly, Wari La might not be open being low on priority for BRO, and secondly, the roads are not stable in the early season. So, being a remote place, any help might be hard to find.
You may carry spare fuel from Leh to cover about 425 – 475 km because the Deskit petrol pump in Nubra Valley may not have fuel. Well, now a day, the fuel availability is much better at the Deskit petrol pump. If you do not find it then you will be covering Leh – Nubra Valley – Wari La – Pangong Tso – Leh without any other petrol pump.
Route – 2 (Nubra Valley – Shyok Village – Pangong Tso)
Nubra Valley to Pangong lake distance by road using via Agham – Shyok Village route is 175 km. This route from Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso via Shyok Village and has become quite popular among tourists with fewer days in the past couple of years.
It is much shorter than the Wari La route, takes about 7 hrs from Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso and hence will save more time and energy. But, again, there are some landslide prone stretches on this route and sometimes you may have a couple of nasty water crossings to tackle. You have to cross the main water stream Shyok River early before increase the water level. So, leave early in the day from Nubra and confirm about route conditions at Agham village. If you are alone, it is better to wait for a few vehicles at Agham village to tag along with them.
You do not need any special permit for the Shyok Village route and permits for Nubra Valley & Pangong Tso are sufficient for traveling on this route.
The route along with the distance between the subsequent places are as follows:
Diskit to Khalsar (19 km) to Agham (31 km) to Shyok Village (48 km) to Durbuk (18 km) to Tangste (9 km) to Lukung (34 km) to Spangmik (16 km)
You also need to carry spare fuel from Leh to cover 350 – 400 km because the Deskit petrol pump in Nubra Valley may not have fuel. Well, now a day, the fuel availability is much better at the Deskit petrol pump. If you do not find it then you will be covering Leh – Nubra Valley – Shyok Village – Pangong Tso – Leh without any other petrol pump.
Things to remember for explore Pangong Lake
Phone Signals around Pangong Lake
BSNL Postpaid Connection does work in many areas in and around Pangong Lake but most of the places are out of network signal.
Petrol Pumps around Pangong Lake
Do not forget to refill petrol / diesel at Leh petrol pump. Now a day a petrol pump in Nubra has been constructed but it might be out of fuel most of the time. So better to full your tank at Leh and move further with few options of more fuel with your hand.
ATMs around Pangong Lake
You will not find any ATMs in Pangong Lake and hence, it is always better to carry cash from Leh (the only place where you find ATM in Ladakh) itself.
Medical Facilities around Pangong Lake
There are no medical support available in this region. Only army can help you for initial assistance. Nearest support you can get at Leh town.
Preferred Vehicles for exploring Pangong Lake
The higher ground clearance vehicles are preferable and 4×4 ones generally not required. Road conditions at few areas are not good even few areas dont have any constructed road also. You have to cross few water stretches also. Based on this consideration high ground clearance vehicle are preferred for explore this areas. Hatchback and Sedan is not suggested vehicle for visiting this lonely planet or Himalayan Destination.
Permit for Pangong Lake
There are certain areas in Ladakh which are considered inner line (areas close to the border with either China or Pakistan), and Pangong Tso Lake is one them. Therefore, Indians will need to obtain an inner line permit for visiting this place. Foreign nationals visiting this place are required to obtain a protected area permit if they want to travel from Leh to Pangong Lake. Earlier, obtaining an Inner Line Permit (ILP) was a cumbersome task.
Night Stay around Pangong Lake
For a comprehensive list of accommodation options or hotels or camps around Pangong Tso lake, you can refer these good stay options nearby the lake. Please keep in mind that starting from 2018, Leh DC has issued a ruling to vacate all of the illegal Pangong lake hotels and camps. Make sure you double-check with your hotel or camp folks before making the deal.
You cannot do camping near the shores of Pangong Tso lake as it a Ramsar site wetland reserve, which means you cannot camp nearby the lake.
Tangtse has few guesthouses having much better facilities to fight the cold and provide comfort in winter months also. Stay at Tangtse is the only options for the guest who travel in between October to mid April. If the sun is shining and you do not mind the hard cold winters, then also you can make a day trip to Pangong Lake from Tangste to see magical shades of blue color at this lake. However, do not forget to check the weather conditions before leaving Leh at the time of winter. Weather can change any time and can make a trouble for you.
Best Time to travel to explore Pangong Lake
In general, the best time to travel to Pangong lake is in the summer months when the Ladakh has in full flow of tourist.
- January to March, Pangong Lake remains mostly frozen, has extremely cold conditions with no options to stay around the lake except few basic home stays in Spangmik and Man – Merak villages.
- April, Pangong lake starts to melt and starts transforming into the beautiful palette of multi shades of blue colors.
- May to Mid September, Pangong Lake is the peak tourist season. Tourists flock to the shores of the Pangong Tso lake in these months. In this summer period, you can witness a large number of birds around the lake including the most common Bar-headed goose and Brahmini ducks. You can stay just bank of the lake, lots of camps are there to enjoy every moment of the lake.
- Mid September and early October, Pangong Lake the tourists start to reside as the cold starts to set in and accommodation tents start to pack up. This is one of the best time to visit Pangong Tso, just because of to see the full glory of beautiful shades of blue color in this lake. The colors are purely magical at this time of the year, and with less number of tourists comparatively, you get better deals and enjoy more.
- Mid October to December, Pangong Lake, all the accommodation packs up, and the only nearest place you can stay is either in some home stay with basic facilities to fight the harsh cold or in some guest house at Tangste, about 34 km away from the Pangong Lake
