The partly frozen Indus river meets another frozen Zanskar river. The Indus river is the longest that flows through India and the country is named after the river, from the word Sindhu. Here it flows, in a quiet corner of the world, in its winter slumber.
Of all the flight routes, I’ve been on, there is one that always makes me pay extra and fight for a window seat. It is simply the flight over the Himalaya to Ladakh. It is not just because one gets to see snowy mountain ranges, but the landing is hair-raising! Mountain ranges on both sides feel like they’re within touching range.
The transformation from deep, wet and green valleys to high snowy mountain ranges and the dry high mountains with frozen rivers beyond that is a visual delight. The warmer humid Himalayan south mountains give way to the arid high plateau that is influenced by the frigid Siberian cold. This has to be my favorite landing of all places. It is also one of the highest civilian airports, at 11,500 feet. Literally takes away your breath when you land!
The land of ice and fire, Pangong Tso, Ladakh
A long day’s drive from the capital Leh had brought us to the vast and frigid Changthang plateau. At 14,000 feet and above, temperatures in the past have regularly reached below -40C. During a walk to a hill above the lake at dawn, we estimated the minimum temperature at night to be close to -25C.
To reach the village of Merak, close to the Indo China border, one has to drive along a rugged stone jeep path along the lake, and cross close to 7 frozen streams. It was a delight when we were driving at one point and I could barely see the underwater surface of the solid frozen salt lake.
The lake is 135 kms. long and 35% of it belongs to India, the rest to China as a part of Tibet. Here, on the harsh Tibetan plateau, even salt lakes which don’t freeze easily, freeze solid due to the harshness and the extreme cold. I have been here thrice, and each season has its own beauty, but winters were by far, extremely harsh. One wonders how the locals live in tiny 10 house villages with basic amenities like frozen water toilets! Yes, we used toilets that had frozen water! Brrrr…..
Contribution by: Varrun Varatharajan
