Where The Streets Have No Name

Ladakh Chronicles, part 8 – Tso Moriri

April 5th, 2009

God’s mirror in the mountain

14^th July
We got up early and got ready. As the drive to Tso Moriri was a long one, we were to leave early. We left our guesthouse at around 9:30. As Prateek wasn’t there, Qayyum (from Plan Himalayas) was going to be with us on the Tso Moriri camping trip. Though, three of our members had gone, our vehicle was full. Besides Amjad (driver) and Qayyum, there was our cook and bags of food supply. We had kind of a lazy start till Upshi, as the weather was a bit dull… both outside and inside our vehicle. We really hoped that this drive and Tso Moriri, to be really good to sucker us back into that traveler’s mood.

We took a small halt at Upshi, as Qayyum and Amjad had left without breakfast. While they were having breakfast we also decided to have another round of tea. A nice hot herbal tea was a good idea indeed, as it helped a bit to awaken our senses.

Our ride to Tso Moriri was quite different than earlier rides. Unlike passes and roads on high mountains, we were cruising along Indus River, with tall mountains on our both sides. It was a different view from what we had gotten use to since the past days, and it was really a refreshing change. The sun kept playing hide and seek through clouds, making mountains to change their texture with the light and shadow. As we moved further, mountains started changing their colors. We were seeing more varied colored mountains in this region. While orange tinge dominated, there were some redder mountains while some were stark purple mountains. It was a beautiful drive through such a magnificent view, along the equally joyous flowing Indus river.

At around 1:30, we reached Chumathang. A small village, which as Qayyum informed us was a mid-point of our route. We decided to have a meal there and then proceed. As usual, it was Maggie noodles. But it is some different fun altogether to have Maggie noodles here, unlike in Mumbai… where Maggie noodles are usually a quick resort for a midnight snack. While having our lunch, I noticed something which I believe we hadn’t so far in our entire trip. First in our trip, a local movie’s poster. Apparently there was a small theatre in Chumathang, where it was being screened in the evening. Janchat Stampa (the movie name, which I have no idea of that meant), was supposedly a romantic / drama movie. From what I could make out from the poster, there must be bit of an action too… judging by some angry villain-ish looking dude.

Ride after Chumathang was a slight drag, as we all were a bit dozy after the lunch. But sooner enough, the view was getting beautiful and it was kind of like we were getting emotionally closer to the view. Soon we were off the road and on a dirt track. Traces of civilization were getting thinner and more and more of raw earth was being exposed to our senses. Jaimin didn’t seem to approve the idea of getting intimate with nature around us, covering his face with scarf to avoid flying dirt. After about half an hour later we left the road, we spotted the trailer of things to come. Tso Kiagar lake was teasing us amidst the vast plane and mountains in background. A small blue patch in between the brown landscape was good enough to blow our sleep away. Something in the air told me that Tso Moriri is going to be amazing.

As we drove around Tso Kiagar, we spotted a marmot. But the little bugger was too sensitive to our presence and too fast for me to shoot. As I didn’t have my zoom lens, it was impossible to get a decent shot. Leaving the idea to chase him anymore, we moved on. We hit a small camp of Changspa tribe along the way. We decided to visit one of the Rebo, where an old woman was weaving a blanket of Yak wool. She was very much engrossed in her work to pay any attention to our shooting, but her daughter and couple of kids from another Rebo seemed quite enthusiastic to pose for the camera. We decided to take a look inside the Rebo next day while returning, as we were too eager to reach Tso Moriri and the camp.

Qayyum informed us that we are almost at Tso Moriri and anytime now we should see the lake. Next ten minutes were full of anticipation, as our eyes kept hunting for that first glimpse of it. Our wish was granted sooner than we thought and it was indeed amazing. It was some sight to feast your eyes on. Truly a marvel of nature, the splendid vista of Tso Moriri leaves one spellbound. Driving along the shore, we soon reached our campsite, the small village called Korzok. Our campsite was located in the village as camping is not allowed near lake, due to sanitation issues. I feel that it’s really necessary, to preserve the beauty of the lake. As we unpacked and stretched ourselves, Qayyum and Amjad set up our tents. After a nice warm cup of tea, we decided to take a walk around the lake. Most of the part of the lake is guarded by a fence, so we had to walk at least a kilometer and half to get access to the shore. But every bead of sweat, every breathless step was worth the beautiful painting… it was as if the nature was painting in front of our eyes.

The evening was very much young, with bright sunlight shining on the water surface. Looking from a distance, the lush green fields on the shore were making their presence felt. Vibrant palette of blue was romancing the beige mountains. As we reached the shore, the clarity of the water left us speechless… you just understand the definition of “pure” without putting it in words. It was so crystal clear that I’m sure gods would see their reflection every time they look down from heaven. If the water stopped still, it could be hard to tell it’s there; you could see the bed of pebbles underneath so clearly. Not to mention, the water was freezing cold. We sat for a while on the shore, mesmerized by the sheer grandness of this godly sight. I decided to take a walk along the shore, shooting video while Maggi and Jaimin engaged in search of firestones. As I walked along, taking in the beauty of the lake, certain tracks of “civilized” society started showing up. I could see the evidence in the form of chocolate wrappers, empty wafer packets, couple of cigarette butts in the lake. Pardon my language… but I hate such jerk-off fuckin’ tourists. If you’re planning to visit Ladakh soon, or any other place as such. Please keep your surroundings clean. You would only be doing a favor on your future generations.

It seems there was another longer hiking track, about 3 kms long. But both, the view and our tiredness didn’t let us take it. Sun was slowly dipping behind the mountains and the chill in the wind was getting stronger. As we walked back to our camp, we ran into a large herd of Yaks. Maggi was a bit scared, but the Yaks seemed to be more scared of us. Before even Maggi could make us change the course, the Yaks had bolted in different directions giving us a clear road. As we returned, we had another round of hot tea and sat around chatting, and enjoying the marvelous show of light and shadow on the mountains. By 7:30 the food was ready, and so were we. Our cook had prepared a rather extensive course, with three different sabjis and two types of dals. After such a filling meal, we decided to call it a night and wake up before sunrise. The air was freezing cold by now and it was slightly windy too, making it even chillier. God bless whoever invented sleeping bags, as the feeling of warmth felt like blessing as we slid in. Never in my life had I gone to bed this early, at 8:30.

15^th July
I woke up around 4:30 in the morning, but stayed in my bag. I had already instructed our cook to wake me at 5:00 in case I didn’t get up. Got out of tent, exactly at 5:00 when he came to wake me up. Maggi too was, half awake… Infact, she was feeling all the more cold inspite of her sleeping bag shawls jackets and what not was on her. She missed her Vodka at this time. We had tea and snacks together, as the daylight started sipping in the sky. Then, I realized how catching up the sunrise was going to be… a rather futile exercise. The sun was coming up from, the other side of the lake, the front side, and it was covered in a thick layer of cloud. All the hopes to catch the orange ball and golden edge were out. Nevertheless, feeling quite fresh, Maggi and I decided to take a walk to the village and the northern shores of lake after breakfast. While having breakfast, we discussed about our plan for the day. We decided that we would skip camping night at Tso Kar lake and instead head to back Leh, move rafting to one day earlier and use one extra day gained for resting. As Jaimin wasn’t much interested for walk, Me and Maggi decided to hit the road. As we were to leave in an hour, we told Qayyum to pick us from Lake instead of us coming back to camp site.

The village was already buzzing with people busy in their daily activities, as we walked through. Sun was now quite up and its warm rays were giving a nice feeling amidst freezing wind. We walked around the shore, trying to catch some close shots of Bramhini ducks. But those little creatures were too shy, and once again absence of my zoom lens was felt prominently. After a really long walk, we sat down near shore watching the ever beautiful landscape. After about an hour and a half, Qayyum and guys arrived and we proceeded towards our next destination.

On our back back, we visited the camp of Changspa tribe and experienced the interiors of Rebo, their tent house. Rebo is made of yak skin and it’s really comfortable and warm once you enter in. The interiors usually consist of large pole in center as a main support system of tent with stove/kitchen settings at it’s base. The rest of the house is set around this circle. There is a small opening in the center at top, which works as a exhaust for smoke coming from stove and as a main light source in daytime. The stove is lit almost always as it also functions as centralized heater. In the first Rebo that we visited, the regional sheriff had come down to visit head of the tribe for some official work. The lady of the house was preparing hot cup of tea for her guests, with fresh goat milk which she milked right in front of us. We didn’t want to interrupt the Sheriff’s meeting, so we moved on to another rebo nearby where a curious but shy kid led us inside for tour. The lady of this house was very excited have us as guest and she kept giving us bits of information about rebo, the structure, her kitchen and stuff. Thankfully, we had Qayyum to translate it for us as we barely understood the word she was saying… but her enthusiasm was fun to watch. Most of the tribal and village people we met on our way were bit of shy and reserved types, curious about us nonetheless but shy at the same time.

As we moved along from the Changspa camp, we came around Tso Kiagar lake. It was looking even more beautiful than the day we arrived, like a beautiful lady coming out of bath, radiating with freshness. The surface was pretty much still and giving away marvelous reflection of it’s beautiful surrounding. We were really hoping for such still surface over Tso Moriri, while we were walking on shore in the morning, that would have been such a sight. We bid our adieu to Tso Kiagar as we moved ahead.

Road to Tso Kar was anything but road. An off-road drive in mountains, where sometimes you make your own path; where even dirt tracks disappear and you just drive through vast patches of rocks, leaving thick clouds of dirt behind. On our way, we took a small halt at a small lake, or group of ponds to be precise. These weren’t some ordinary ponds though, as they were saturated with sulfur. The whole land it seems was abundant with sulfur and you can really smell it in the air. You can put your hand in water and feel slight warmth, unlike freezing cold water of regular lake. Qayyum had sprained his leg couple days ago so he took a warm therapy of sulfur water for few minutes. Amjad informed us that drive to Tso Kar should take around an hour and half to two hours max from there and that the road is going to be even rockier. Sounds like fun, isn’t it?

Tso kar has very distinctive personality, unlike the other lakes where you spot a blue patch in midst of brown/gray landscape… Tso Kar adds something more to the sight. A white border surrounding its shore, made from salt. Yes, Salt. Tso Kar isn’t your average lake, it’s a salt-water lake. Supposedly, the salt/mineral density of Tso Kar is significantly high and it was quite evident from the thick white shores surrounding it. As you drive past Tso Kar, you can’t help but get awed by the wonders of nature. Half-an-hour from Tso Kar, we stopped at a small camp; at least that’s what we thought. Qayyum informed us that this small camp is a seasonal village, much like Bharatpur camp. We had Maggi noodles for meal and rested outside the tent for some time. From here, it was a long drive back to Leh.

After our stomach’s were full, the drive afterwards was mostly lazy and spent in short naps. There was nothing much than flying dirt and long and famous Morey planes. Counting out couple of exciting moments, like a far sighting of Jackal and then another sighting of a Kiang. Both the times I missed my zoom lens the most, but for what it was worth we were able to get a short video of the Kiang. All of us were mostly napping, except driver of-course till we hit Manali-Leh highway, at around Tanglangla pass. Though we had passed from here just few days ago, a feeling of nostalgia passed our minds. Remembering the Manali-Leh drive, Ashok’s jokes and my brief encounter with my mountain sickness.

As we reached near Upshi, something in our vehicle got busted. Supposedly there was oil leak and we took a halt at Upshi. Quyyum and Amjad started fiddling with the machine, while we took a tea break. They managed to get it fixed, although temporarily, as the problem again raised its ugly head just near the ourskirts of Leh town. Fortunately, Qayyum managed to keep the car running, though now we were limited to running at 20kmph max and we took sweet 35-40 mins to reach Leh town, what was supposed to be 5-10 mins drive. Thankfully, we managed to reach the garage before the car totally gave out on us and the garage guys were able to get it fixed in no time. By the time we reached our guest house, we were tired and dying to take a hot shower.

After a good hot shower and some food, we went to Qayyum’s office to confirm about the next day’s plan for rafting. Qayyum had already made the arrangements to pre-pone our seats and got us rafting batch for next day. We had to be ready by 9:00 am as the pickup was scheduled to arrive at the guesthouse. After rafting we had rest of the day to ourselves for some roaming around in Leh town. Another day, another new adventure awaiting.

Related videos from Maggi’s youtube channel:

Next : Ladakh Chronicles, part 9 – Rafting in Indus

Tags: Bramhini ducks, Changspa, Chumathang, Hymia, Indus, Janchat Stampa, Kiang, Kiari, Korzak, Ladakh, Leh, Likche, Morey planes, Pashmina goat, Purple mountains, Rebo, salt lake, sulfur mountain, Tanglangla, Tiri, Tso Kar, Tso Kiagar, Tso moriri, Upshi, Yak wool
Posted in Travel | Comments (1)

One Response to “Ladakh Chronicles, part 8 – Tso Moriri”

1. AndrewBoldman Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 09:10 PM

   da best. Keep it going! Thank you

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