CLC: Chapter 7 Conquering Mighty Chang-la

We started the day late but it didn’t help us. We were taking about the khurdang la right from the start of our trip. Road not being open for khurdang la and nubra was really bad. Khurdang la is the highest motor able road in world lying at 18,800 ft and missing that was not what we anticipated. The chances of road opening to manali were also bleak.

We weren’t sure if should just stick on to the local site seeing or still take our chances of atleast going to pangong tso. We got mixed news of road being open for pangong. Finally we believed in our success mantra “Trust” , then we headed towards the blue lake. We were also planning to go to Tso morriri but we weren’t sure as this was lying in manali route.

We were trying to take few photocopies of the permit so that we can handover them to army security if required. We wanted to make sure we had full fuel and air is proper in our tires. We requested for direction with a Buddhist monk for gas station, He made sure that he guided us till we reached gas station. After filling gas we filled air manually with our portable air kit.




We quickly drove few kms as road was good. We crossed many monasteries shey place being one of them. We soon see that we were moving steadily on the slopes of the snow peaked mountains. We soon switched our GPS to track our altitude , it immediately showed 14,000 ft. We were really excited as we were coming close to 15,000ft. By this time we saw few vehicles coming in front of us, we tried to stop then and enquired about the road. Most of them said its difficult to pass as the entire road is covered with snow.



Zojila expierence was still fresh in our minds ,but still we headed ahead, We soon started driving in snow. Now the roads were getting narrow, even a small slip on the sides would be a disaster. Visibility was decreasing as we were reaching close to 16,000 ft. What ever we could see was just snow and occasionally a black patch which we could call as road. Vehicle was totally out of traction and control, we were just moving in inches as two of the guys were showing way for the driver. Anxiously driving further we were totally excited when we reached 17,000 ft. By the time we reached the peak point our GPS was showing 17,586 ft and then we stand on the peak of second highest motor able road in world.




We were stopped temporarily by army guys as cleaning work was going on the road. Giant bulldozer was sweeping the roads so that we can altealst slide if not drive on the snow. After a quick chat with army veteran who has spent 17 years in the same place we get a tip to cross chang-la around 9.00 Am in the morning next day.Amit was mean time feeding the stray snow dogs. Dogs definitely would have enjoyed the fun more than the biscuits it had.




Immediately descending down first we spot a completely frozen lake , could be a river. We could distinguish as it was just snow everywhere. Driving further we were surprised to see a completely different landscape which had no resemblance to those snowy mountains we crossed. Still puzzled we head further to get surprised more.




After driving along a well paved road we were passing a completely dried river. The beach sands were still holding the traces of water flow. Heading further we were experiencing sand safari, yes the road were completely covered by loose clean sand and our car was just floating in them.



By now we were getting little skeptical as we had only 10 km to reach pangong tso. We didn’t spot a single person for almost couple of hours now. We again enjoyed driving alone in the road rather all kind of roads. Now we were passing through rough patches of road where most part of the roads were covered by boulders. We were just couple of kms away from the lake still nothing has been spotted.



We were afraid if the lake was really still there and would we get something to eat there. We finally spotted few workers in a truck, we checkd with them if we could find some stores there. We crossed a model village and then we reached this amazing blue lake completely serene.



We headed straight to a small restaurant that just had some maggi and eggs to serve us. Our initial plan was to pitch a tent along the lake, but the weather doesn’t seem to be conducive. After a quick lunch we checked with them if we can find place to stay. They had a small place we thought that was great.




By this time it was snowing in the lake, it was a salt water lake hence it was not freezing at least for the eye. We were already struggling to catch our breath, air was really thin there. We were experiencing little headache and nausea due to lack of oxygen. We had a stroll over lake we felt it’s better to view lake from our room.



Honestly it just the experience rather than words for the lake. Such an amazing serene place. Even when the brown mountain surrounds the lake, water was still spotting a blue look. The water in the lake was crystal clear every single detail in the water bed could be seen easily. The best thing would be is just sit around the lake and spend months just seeing the color change of the lake.

We really didn’t feel that we were under a roof as bed,pillows were really wet due to mist. We ensured with the restaurants guys that we got few roties and dal for dinner. We played cards for some time . We couldnt even laugh thinking of rupesh duck hunting effort, Every time we laugh we were running out of oxygen.




We managed to learn some Ladakhi with the local girls in the restaurant. After finishing dinner we struggled to get some sleep as the place was really cold over there. After rolling for some time and making ourselves warm we managed to catch some sleep.




Morning was early as the sun light came early but still we were just managing to handle the cold weather. Thanking and catching few picks with locals we started our journey back. As this was early we could spot some mongoose kind of rats which we getting first rays of sun.


Now it’s again the time to return back to the wonderful road which we struggled to pass a day before. We had to drop tso morriri as manali road wouldn’t be open for another 10 days at least. After driving through all sorts of road we are stopped at the army check post.

Army guys requested us to put chains to our wheels, we apologized saying we didn’t have one. Seeing the vehicle number plate many guys from madras regiment quickly came for a chat. They suggested us that we would wait till the army conveys goes ahead as they might clear some snow. The road was worse than yesterday because there were heavy winds blowing which were depositing snow on the pathway. Army guys were little cautious as there were couple of deaths due to avalanche in the same areas couple of days before. We came to know from them that temp on the way were planning to pitch in the tent was -20C. Guess that would have been the end of out trip




By now we were copying old tamil songs for the army guys who were just passing time by seeing only snow. We were hearing details of siachen and their brave stories. After waiting for close to an hour we spot army convey who quickly arrives. We followed them till the check post . Though we had few problem we handled them as by then we were pro in these condition.

We were happy to spot the army souvenirs shop being open. Being completely satisfied with 17,586 feet road and the heavy snow condition we almost bought everything in the store. Probably we are still wearing them while writing and reading this blog. Unarguably our memory and experience is the best sovereign we carried. We even thought of updating our resume with details such as Chang-la trained professionals.



While descending down we were indulged in a small fight with local cab driver. Later we realized that the driver was speeding as there were sick people in the cab. We offered to help them but they said they were good.

The best of the Pangong tso trip was that we could see everything in one single journey, Snow, mud,mountains, river, lake , Even places where half sun rays falls. Still wondering the landscape we reached leh again. We headed back to the summer harvest for american chopsey and Wanton soup.