PANGONG TSO – 9 kms – MAN –11 kms – MERAK – 26 kms – CHUSUL – 12 kms – REZANG LA – 19 kms – TSAGA – 34 kms – LOMA BEND – 24 kms – NYOMA – 20 kms – MAHE – 16 kms – SUMDO – 22 kms – KIAGAR TSO – 20 kms – KORZOK (TSOMORIRI :- TOTAL 213 kms).

YES” friends, it is possible to directly travel between PANGONG lake & TSOMORIRI lake. This direct route connecting PANGONG TSO with TSOMORIRI TSO is called as CHANGTHANG region. Offlate this route has gained immense popularity for people seeking adventure. Secondly, the serenity & the scenic beauty of PANGONG lake beyond MERAK is incomparable & enchanting than the conventional route. This extract will cover all the tips to travel on this route & make you familiar with the associated risks too.ng Tso.

• This route passes very close to the INDO-CHINA border connecting places like REZANG LA & TSAGA LA. This route being a very sensitive border area, travel along this route requires an ILP specifically highlighting that you intend to travel on this route. It requires you to mention all the places enroute TSOMORIRI / HANLE mentioned above.
• Only Indian tourist are allowed to travel on this route. Foreigners are not allowed beyond MERAK. Compared to the Leh – Tsomoriri route, there are very few tourists who travel on this route. You would not find a vehicle in sight for miles. This route is absolutely isolated beyond MERAK.
• There are no tar roads beyond PANGONG. In fact you won’t find any roads beyond Merak. You would have to follow the visible tracks of the vehicles that have passed from that route & keep a constant eye on the direction.
• As the road diverges deep inside a few kilometres beyond MERAK, you would not even find the tracks.
• While travelling between MERAK & CHUSUL, I had lost track a couple of times & had to backtrack to explore other tracks.
• Keep an eye on the Electricity poles nearby. They serve as a guideline & a direction to your travel on this route. The Electric Poles which may not exactly travel with you, but would ultimately converge on the Indian side. In case you come across a tricky bend where poles are not visible, try taking the right route. The left route should be avoided as it could lead you to the Chinese side.
• Keep basic spares, puncture repair kits, fuses, clutch & accelerator wires,  check the spare wheel (4 wheeler) for adequate pressure. If you get stranded, you would be in the middle of nowhere. Getting help would be very difficult. Do stop for a while to enjoy the vistas & to give a break to the vehicle. Do not overexert the engine.
• Beyond Chusul, do make a halt at REZANG LA for a cup of tomato soup from the Army camp. Do read the story of the 1962 war, where an army company of 120 jawans led by Maj. Shaitan Singh fought against waves of Chinese ingression & 114 jawans gave the supreme sacrifice. Believe me, there would be no Indian who would not be moved to tears after reading the story.
• Road beyond Rezang La would continue to the the same dirt track till you pass TSAGA LA. On the left side, you will find endless stretches of beautiful vast valleys. Just before TSAGA village, you would be greeted with tarred roads about 85 kms from PANGONG lake. Proceed till LOMA, where you take the left for HANLE & the right for TSOMORIRI.
• After registering at LOMA, cross the bridge across the INDUS river. You will find two roads after the bridge. The road on the left takes you to DUNGTI, FUKCHE, KOYUL & DEMCHOK, which is again a highly sensitive border area. Unless you have obtained permits from the D.C.’s office mentioning KOYUL (its very unlikely that you would get it, unless you / your driver has good contacts in the army), you would not be permitted beyond DUNGTI. The road on the right side takes you to HANLE (51 kms) and the entire stretch is good tarred road. Do not overspeed on this road and keep an eye on the bumps on this road. The road is very tempting to speed, but you may find your vehicle jumping over the bumps a few times. If you are not able to see the road beyond the horizon of the bump, slow down.
• At MAHE checkpost, register yourself & take a left on the bridge for KORZOK (Tsomoriri) further 60 kms.

If you are opting for the ILP routes, you would have to make sure that you carry petrol / diesel for refueling your vehicle, since there are no petrol pumps on the ILP routes. Even if a petrol pump exist in Diskit, it may or may not be operational. Fuel may be available with the locals, but the quality of the petrol / diesel is not reliable. Apart from Leh city, petrol pumps are available at KARU & UPSHI. Beyond these places, the next pump would be at TANDI in Himachal Pradesh. Hence please make sure that before you leave LEH, you carry the necessary amount of petrol with you to reach your destination without any dry outs.

The below table provides the routes & the distance for which you should make a provision for fuel.

In case you are opting for the “Wari La” route instead of the “SHYOK” route to reach Pangong Tso from NUBRA, you would have to add 80 kms (approx). Please carry plastic petrol cans according to the fuel requirements. 

PHONE SERVICES

If you are travelling to Ladakh, I would recommend you to buy a Post Paid BSNL card. Prepaid cards are not available in J & K and services to prepaid cards from other states are not available. BSNL has towers in most of the places in & around Leh. You will find services operational at Chusul & Hanle. However, Pangong & Tsomoriri would not have services. There would be satellite phones in these areas. 

In a nutshell, this is an offbeat route, but the real glimpses & beauty of PANGONG lake is beyond MAN & MERAK. The lake widens at a certain point glittering the aqua green colors in all its grandeur. I would strongly recommend you all to experience this route, not for the purpose of saving one day, but to enjoy the true beauty & explore these virgin treasures of the Ladakh region.