The Changthang
The Changthang is a part of the Tibetan Plateau which is located in the Western and North Western part of Tibet and it also includes Eastern Ladakh. Its a forbidding Plateau and is home to a number of Lakes like the Pangong Tso and the Tso Moriri. However it holds a large array of wildlife in its high altitude Wetlands. Its home to the Changpa People who are nomadic herders known to keep the best herd of Pashmina Goats.
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.
Kiki’s Blog
Stories from the Himalayas
Five years ago the Galwan Valley was in the News for the wrong reasons after a deadly clash between the Indian and Chinese Armies in the Valley located in Ladakh lead to many deaths on the contentious Border between the two countries in wake of continued Chinese intrusions into Indian territory.
This area along the Shyok River, of which the Galwan Nallah or the Galwan River which forms the Galwan Valley has been off limits to Civilians since long but now the Indian Government has decided to open up the area for Civilians and we were amongst the First Civilians to venture into this beautifully desolate part of the Eastern Karakorams in Ladakh. Earlier Civilians could only venture upto the Village of Shyok from where the Shyok River takes a U turn and flows in a Northerly direction.