The Changthang
The Changthang.
A place of immense beauty amidst desolation of the Tibetan Plateau. A place devoid of most human in habitation except for the Pashmina Goat rearing Changpas. With an average altitude of above 4000m it stretched from Tibet into Ladakh.
The Changthang is home surprisingly to a large number of wildlife species including the Snow Leopard, the Tibetan Wild Ass, the Chiru etc. The legendary Indus flows through the Changthang and it includes a number of wetlands and marshes which attract migratory birds such as the Black Necked Crane and the Bar Headed Geese.
The Changthang always fascinated the Western Explorers few of whom ever stepped into its splendid isolation. The unpredictable weather, the Artic conditions in the Winters and the paucity if human in habitation didnt help either.
I happened the drive from Pangong Lake to the Tso Moriri, two Lakes which lie within the Changthang. And to keep it simple it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The legendary Changthang. The home of the Changpa who produce the finest Pashmina bearing Goats. Pashm which for centuries bought neighbouring Kingdoms to War with each other.
Pic from this week. Some where on the Changthang between Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri.