HANLE
In the entire Ladakh region, mostly tourist come with a set itinerary to visit the most prominent places. A commonly chalked itinerary would be NUBRA, PANGONG & TSOMORIRI. Typically, 7 nights at these 3 places (including 2-3 nights at Leh for acclimatization) & you can say that the entire stretch has been covered. However, there are quite a few remote places in Ladakh which are still untouched & non-commercialized.
Hidden in the Himalayas on the Indo-China border in the Changthang region is one such small village by the name of HANLE. It is one such place which is completely out of the world. Since very few photographs are published on websites, it becomes difficult for a first time tourist to judge the beauty of this place. Secondly, the remoteness of the place also becomes a decisive factor whether a visit would be worthwhile or not. Under the given constraints of a rationed vacation period, the time required to reach Ladakh & back (especially by a road journey), this destination often doesn’t make it to the itinerary.
HANLE is one such pristine virgin places which has a certain uniqueness compared to other Ladakhi destinations. Behind the HANLE monastery, you will see several dwarf sized mountains in the backdrop of a huge mountain. It’s something unique and can be seen from the HANLE monastery and the OBSERVATORY. Typically, after the first visit, when a traveller falls in love with Ladakh, you can expect him to explore more during his second visit & reach such destinations which I am sure he will never forget.
When I reached HANLE during my last visit, a group of 55 people from MUMBAI (my hometown) had reached there. Whatever homestay options available were completely booked & there was not a single place for me in the entire Hanle. A small dingy room (7’ X 5’) in one of the home stay was offered which no one would prefer to stay. Another option was an open hall in the Monastery. After a lot of to & fro between the village and the monastery, I was totally disappointed & approached a group of ladies sitting at one of the shops in the village. Although, I was travelling solo, one gracious lady with a very small kid about 6-8 months agreed to accommodate me in her house in the dining room area. Her husband was out of town & her kid was having high fever & there was no one else in the big palatial house except for her younger brother. I will never forget the kind lady and that house where I was served dinner & breakfast in the morning. I was moved to tears, when she said “it would be Rs.300/- for the stay & if you liked the dinner, give whatever you please”. People are so simple & kind in Ladakh region, such simplicity & kindness touches your soul. Truly, it was one of my best experience.
GEOGRAPHYCAL LOCATION
Although, the altitude is not exactly confirmed, it is slightly lesser that 4,500 metres which is the altitude of the World’s highest observatory located in Hanle. It is at a distance of 254 kms from Leh & 162 kms from PANGONG Tso.
BEST TIME TO VISIT HANLE
By road, both the access routes to Leh (Srinager – Leh Highway & the Manali – Leh Highway) remain closed during November to May due to heavy snowfall.
HANLE remains frozen during winters (November to March). The right time to visit is from May to September / October.
DO I REQUIRE INNER LINE PERMITS
HANLE is located in the Changthang region & is in the close vicinity of the Indo-China border. As such, it requires INNER LINE PERMITS. The standard format of the Inner Line permits does not cover HANLE region. A request to include HANLE in the ILP has to be made to the DM’s office at Leh. Depending on the border situation, it would be in the discretionary authority of the DM to approve the permit OR not.
The Final Say Lies with the ARMY
Even if you have an authorized permit, its not a 100% guarantee that you would be allowed to proceed beyond a certain point. Depending on the situation at the border, the ARMY may even disallow you to proceed to HANLE. There had been instances in the past, where tourists were made to return.
HOW TO REACH HANLE
Invariably, HANLE is combined with PANGONG TSO AND / OR TSOMORIRI lake. The following possible routes can take you to HANLE.
- LEH TO HANLE (via UPSHI – CHUMATHANG)
Leh – 34 kms – Karu – 13 kms – Upshi – 54 kms – Kumdok – 8 kms – Kere – 30 kms – Chumathang – 24 kms – Mahe – 19 kms – Nyoma – 25 kms – Loma – 50 kms – Hanle:- TOTAL 257 kms.
This is the most conventional route from Leh to HANLE. Drive till UPSHI is Ok. But beyond UPSHI, the road enters narrow valleys alongside the Indus river till CHUMATHANG. On both sides of the road, you will find high mountains and you would be travelling in a narrow valley. To me, the road was a bit kind of depressing to go on. The road condition is fairly good with some rough roads beyond UPSHI for about 15 odd kms.
The road from LOMA BEND to HANLE is completely tarred good roads. Be careful if you are speeding. At many places, there are bumps (i.e. the road beyond the horizon is a slope). You can’t see the slope beyond & once you go over the bump, the vehicle could jump causing damage to its suspensions.
2.PANGONG to HANLE (via CHUSUL)
PANGONG TSO – 9 kms – MAN –11 kms – MERAK – 26 kms – CHUSUL – 12 kms – REZANG LA – 19 kms – TSAGA LA – 14 kms – TSAGA – 20 kms – LOMA BEND – 50 kms – HANLE:- TOTAL 161 kms.
This is my favourite route. You would mostly be taking this direct route from Pangong Lake. This is the most beautiful route of travel. PANGONG lake is far more beautiful beyond MERAK. This route takes you through the most enchanting valleys and landscapes in the whole Ladakh region. It also gives you the opportunity to save a day & directly reach HANLE / TSOMORIRI. From TSOMORIRI, you can proceed via SUMDO, TSOKAR lake and exit on the MANALI LEH highway at Moore Plains. If you proceed to the right, you will reach LEH via TANGLANG LA & the left would take you to MANALI via PANG, SARCHU & KEYLONG.
3. PANGONG to HANLE (via TANGSTE – ERATH)
PANGONG (SPANGMIK) – 13 kms – LUKUNG – 35 kms – TANGSTE- 88 kms
– CHUSUL (via ERATH) – 12 kms – REZANG LA – 19 kms
– TSAGA – 34 kms – LOMA BEND – 50 kms –
HANLE :- 251 kms.
This is an optional route from Pangong to Hanle, but would be a longer one. One would have to backtrack to Tangste & then take a left to ERATH. The only advantage of this route is that it is a good tarmac road & would be a faster route till Chusul compared to the Pangong Lake route. For low ground clearance vehicles like Hatchbacks & sedans, this route would be ideal. Its very unlikely that you would be taking this route since most of the tourist opt for the scenic Pangong Tso to Hanle route via Man & Merak.
4.LEH to HANLE (via Debring – SUMDO – MAHE)
Leh – 34 kms – Karu – 13 kms – Upshi – 61 kms – Tanglang la – 14 kms – Debring – 31 kms – Tsokar – 33 kms – Sumdo – 20 kms – Mahe – – 19 kms – Nyoma – 25 kms – Loma – 50 kms – Hanle:- TOTAL300 kms.
This is quite a good scenic route compared to the Chumathang route. But distancewise, it is greater by about 40-45 kms.
THINGS TO DO AT HANLE
HANLE is a very small village housing nor more than 300 houses & about 1000 plus people. There are a few homestays in the village & a provision to stay at the Monastery. Since HANLE is not much frequented by tourists, there are no luxury hotels in HANLE.
HANLE MONASTERY
The HANLE monastery is one of the largest monasteries of Ladakh & was built under the patronage of the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century. Sengge Namgyal died at Hanle on his return from an expedition against the Mongols, who had occupied Tsang and were threatening Ladakh.
From the terrace of the monastery, you can see several drawf sized mountains in the backdrop of a huge mountain. These small sized mountains are visible from every place in HANLE.
Both, the HANLE monastery & the World’s Highest Observatory are located on two hillocks which are opposite to each other. HANLE village is located diagonally opposite to both these places.
INDIA’s HIGHEST ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
Rated as the third highest in the World, HANLE’s Astronomical Observatory is located at an height of 4500 mtrs on Mt.Saraswati in HANLE. The installed telescope has a diameter of 2 metres.
This Observatory is being managed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru. After conducting a research on various locations like TSOMORIRI, HANLE in Jammu & Kashmir, KALPA, LAM DAL & KAZA in Himachal Pradesh, HANLE was selected on the basis of the merits of its location, climatic conditions, highest visibility, clear skies & logistical convenience.
The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour make it one of the best sites in the world for optical, infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths. By some estimates, Hanle has 150-180 cloud-free nights, besides over 260 nights, that are useful for observations. Moreover, it isn’t affected by monsoons, thus experiencing fewer instances of cloud cover.
You can visit the Observatory & get a 20 minutes briefing about the detail of the Observatory by the volunteers.
You can also see the HANLE monastery on the opposite hillock & the dwarf sized mountains in its backdrop.
HANLE NIGHT SKY VIEWS
Try viewing the endless stars in the night at HANLE. Gaze at the unending, boundless, skies in the night. You would have never seen such a starry sky anywhere. The location of HANLE was selected for the Observatory on the basis of the cloudless skies, low pollution, low humidity & rainfall.
If you have a good DSLR camera with a tripod stand, try using the low speed option (2 sec or 4 secs) with wide aperture and 1600 ISO.
LEISURE WALKS
With a very limited population & the whole nature to yourself, try taking some leisure walks in the village or upto the monastery. The mystic beauty of the place acts as an antidote to the urban stressed soul. It’s a natural detoxicant. A visit to HANLE would remain etched in your memories forever.
PHOTI LA
At an altitude of 5,524 mtrs (18,124 ft), Photi La is one of the high mountain pass in south-eastern Ladakh. It is about 30 kms from HANLE and the approach road is a very steep dirt track. It is inaccessible during winters.
UMLING LA
Situated at an altitude of 19,300 feet and at a distance of 105 kms from HANLE, UMLING LA is now claimed as the Highest Motorable pass. UMLING LA is located in the close proximity of the China border & is hence classified amongst the most sensitive areas.
Being a high altitude pass, there is an acute scarcity of oxygen leading to breathing issues. Hence people with a history of respiratory or cardiac complications should avoid going to this pass. You may have acclimatized yourself quite well by the time you reach HANLE. However, UMLING LA is at an extraordinary height compared to HANLE, which leaves you exposed to AMS.
Conquering the highest motorable road in Ladakh was a fatal attraction for every person visiting Ladakh since decades far before Ladakh shot to popularity after the release of “3 IDIOTS” in 2009. A visit to Khardung La was seen as an achievement. The much hyped Khardung La pass still bears the signs of the highest motorable road at 18,379 feet. Contrary to these claims, its actual elevation was found to be 17,582 feet only. It is heard that what existed at 18,379 feet was a mule track, but there are no signs of tarred road at that height. Competing claims from SENO LA in Tibet at 18,258 feet, MARSIMIK LA in Ladakh at 18,314 feet & MANA LA in Uttarakhand at 18,406 feet on the INDO-TIBET border continued to hound the title of the Highest Motorable pass. Finally BRO constructed roads across the UMLING LA pass at a staggering height of 19,300 & sealed the victory to the debated title with this remarkable achievement.
CAN I TRAVEL TO UMLING LA
Due to the close proximity of the UMLING LA pass to the Indo-China border, this road was restricted ever since it was built in 2017. Since there was no specific permit announced, tourists with a HANLE permit started visiting this pass in 2017 & 2018. There were no check posts between Hanle & Umling La to regulate the inflow of bikers / tourists. Very soon, achieving triumph over the newly proclaimed “World’s Highest Motorable Pass”, UMLING LA became the fatal desire of every adventure seeking soul. HANLE started seeing a sizeable inflow of such adventure enthusiasts / bikers.
Subsequently, the border sensitive area was regulated by the Army & it started stopping tourists venturing in that direction.
As on date 2021, visit to UMLING LA is not permitted. In fact, there is no provision for permits itself from the D.M.’s office in LEH.
I would suggest avoiding any short cuts / bypass roads to reach UMLING LA, since motorists had been apprehended in the past doing so. It is better to get it clarified at Leh D.C.’s office & refrain from bypassing any restrictive guidelines.
GEOGRAPHY
UMLING LA is situated at a distance of 105 kms from HANLE, 360 kms from Leh & at an altitude of 19,300 feet.
WEATHER CONDITIONS
The entire region experiences high velocity winds & temperatures in minus most of the time during the year. It is reported that summers see a temperature of – 10 deg.C to -20 deg.C. Winters are reported to dip further upto – 40 deg. C.
Please ensure that you carry a thick jacket to take care of the cold. Road conditions being varied from loose gravel, muddy roads, steep climbs, river crossings, it is recommended to have all seasons footwear, thick gloves & proper face gear etc.
Permits for UMLING LA
Given the present scenario of Chinese ingression in the Pangong Sector of the Indian territory, NO PERMITS are issued for UMLING LA. It is also not certain, whether permits would be issued in future OR not. In case, you manage to get the permits, you can have the following 3 options to reach UMLING LA.
ROUTES to reach UMLING LA
Route 1: LOMA – 14 kms- DUNGTI – 44 kms- KOYUL-43 kms-DEMCHOK-UMLING LA
At LOMA, get yourself registered and cross the bridge over the INDUS river. After the bridge, the right turn takes you to Hanle, while the road on the left continue to DUNGTI, FUKCHE & DEMCHOK. A drive from FUKCHE to DEMCHOK would leave you astounded by the beauty of the route. DEMCHOK, a village partitioned in the 1962 after the Indo-China war has left its inhabitants divided by the international border. Under normal conditions, the Army permits the localities visiting their relatives across the border. Indo-Chinese border being in a stone’s throw range, you can see the Chinese roads across the borders. You are very much in the range of the Chinese Army observation outposts. Unlike the other 2 routes, you would approach Umling La from the opposite side.
- Unless you have good contacts in the Army, it is not certain that you would get permits from the D.M’s Office (Leh) to access this route.
- Even if you get a permission, there could be a possibility that access to this route be denied by the Indian outposts at DUNGTI or KOYUL.
- Photography on sensitive areas would be restricted. Hence please follow guidelines if permissions are granted.
Route 2: Hanle-Photi La- Photile-Umlingla
In case, you are able to manage the permits, this route would be the most preferrable route. However, you would not be permitted to descend from UMLING LA to DEMCHOK.
HANLE – 35 kms – PHOTI LA – 22 kms – PHOTILE – 7 kms – 1st BRIDGE – 5 kms – RIVER CROSSING (bridge is under construction) – 38kms – UMLING LA.
The road till PHOTI LA is a dirt track characterized with loose gravel & a steep climb till the top. Road continues to be the same on the descend till PHOTILE. Scarcity of oxygen at that level leaves your bike / vehicle gasping for oxygen. Beyond PHOTILE the road conditions improve and you would find yourself crossing a couple of water crossings over the Indus in the next 12 kms. You will finally come across one more bridge (river crossing) on the left. The straight road goes to Ukdungle. Cross the river here & proceed straight for the next 38 kms. Most of the road is tarred, but the last 10-12 kms would again be loose gravel.
Route 3: Hanle – 32 kms – Ukdungle – 28 kms –RIVER CROSSING- 36 kms – Umling la
This route goes through UKDUNGLE village & connects the Route 2 from the opposite side. The water crossing here would be on your right side, since you are approaching from the opposite road. However, the road via UKDUNGLE is a dirt track & should be opted if you are used to offroading.
AMS
Higher the altitude, lower is the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere. Being a high altitude pass characterized with harsh weather conditions, proper acclimatization of the body is required. Hence plan your journey in such a way that you would ascend gradually & have spent a couple of nights at 15,000 feet levels before you proceed to Umling La. Proper hydration, gradual ascend and acclimatization would help you ensure that you don’t get hit by AMS.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION OF UMLING LA by BRO
The road constructed by the BRO under the HIMANK projects connects HANLE to Chisumule & Demchok village & passes through the UMLING LA pass. Considering the location, constructing a road across the UMLING LA was a difficult task. During summers, the temperature at the top is around – 10 degrees to – 20 degrees Celsius & winters are as bad as – 40 degrees Celsius. With oxygen levels dipping to less than half, conducting construction activity was a Herculean task. It was extremely harsh & rough conditions for the workers who were working there for a year.
As mentioned by Brigadier DM Purvimath, no one can survive at that spot for more than an hour without proper acclimatization & training. Acclimatization of the personnel were done at three stages in LEH, SAKTI & NYOMA for a period of 16 days before their induction at the construction site. Working season being limited, emphasis is given on the mental as well as physical condition of these jawans.
Captain Bharat Mani Choudhury, the doctor who takes care of health of the jawans in the entire sector mentioned that it is mandatory to have the blood pressure and oxygen level of each jawan frequently monitored. Oxygen facility was made available at different places for an emergency. The personnel were instructed to avoid drinking stream water, consume less spicy foods and have an adequate intake of water daily.
A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION for BRO
BRO personnel had done & have always being doing the unachievable. A very big thank you to every jawan & the personnel, who have risked their lives at such an altitude to give INDIA a feature in its crown.
STAY OPTIONS AT HANLE
Being a non-commercial & offbeat destination, HANLE has very limited stay options. During my last visit, a couple of Homestays including PADMA homestay & the Monastery rooms were surprisingly booked. I was accommodated at one of the house in Hanle.
- SONAM GUEST HOUSE / PADMA HOMESTAY
- Address :- Shakbar Street, Hanle-Khaldo Village, Ladakh.
- Tel. :- Mr. Sonam Dorje +91-9469224302 / 9419834944
- Email :- sonamdoray19@gmail.com
- Review :- Managed by a family, this is one of the most decent & hospitable places to stay in Hanle. Has about 10 rooms with attached bath & 2 rooms with common baths.
- HANLE HOUSE
- Address :- Near Panchayak Ghar, Anley Khaldo, Nyoma Block, HANLE, Ladakh.
- Tel. :- Thupstan Angchuk (9419818993)
- Reviews :- Tourist who have visited through Online booking website have given positive & good reviews of HANLE HOUSE
- KELSANG HOME STAY
- Address :- Naga Hanle Village, Leh Ladakh, 194101
- Tel. :- +91 9469462906 / 9469769642
- Email :- dorjeyangmo18@gmail.com
- HANLE MONASTERY
- Address :- Hanle, Ladakh
- There are quite a few rooms available at the HANLE monastery too. One can approach the Monastery directly for rooms.
PREFERRED VEHICLES
Any 2 wheeler of 150 cc onwards is OK, provided it is serviced & maintained properly. Although most of the riders travel on Enfield Bullets (I too ride a Bullet Classic), its absolutely not mandatory. Do carry spares, puncture repair kits, airpumps etc. Tyres are preferred to be tubeless although not mandatory. Puncture Repair become easier comparatively. For 4 wheelers, mid-sized, high ground clearance SUV’s (say 190mm & above) are preferred. Its not mandatory to have a 4 x 4 SUV. But Hatchbacks & sedans should be avoided due to low ground clearance.
TO SUMMARIZE
The above article would guide you to undertake necessary steps to equip yourself to plan your trip to HANLE. I have tried to elaborate as much as possible on the Itinerary to be selected, the routes details, stay options and the duration you can spend in HANLE & the surrounding areas. If you find this article helpful, please share the same with your friends, families & contacts.
You can also share your experiences, add details / updates on the subject. You are most welcome to put forward any travel questions which you would have in planning a trip to Ladakh. Please feel free to write to me in the comments section below.