Oh those piercing eyes. A Ladakhi portrait in the Indus Valley.

I love the captivating eyes and the warm smiles (you'll see) of the Ladakhi/Tibetan people. This photo was taken at a restaurant in the Hymia village where i camped overnight while cycling along the Indus valley. This kid was so fascinated by me, the he(/she) sat observing me the whole time i was at the restaurant. And, I in turn was captivated as well.

The village of Sissu on the banks of the Chandra river.

Here you see the Sissu village lying on the banks of the Chandra river. In the background are the snowcapped mountains of the Pir Panjal range holding back the rain clouds coming in from the plains of India.

sunset throwing shadows over the mountain ranges near shey village. Leh, Ladakh.

sunset throwing shadows over the mountain ranges near shey village. Leh, Ladakh.

View from the Merak monastery

The road from Lachulung La to Pang along the Lachulung Lungpa stream,

After Lachulung La the landscape once again changes dramatically. The road snakes its way down through a narrow canyon with the Lachulung Lungpa stream running right beside the road. Eventually the canyon opens up to reveal an even more dramatic landscape. Extraordinary shapes, chiseled by the elements, jut out of the sandy mountain sides. These shapes appear mostly in clusters, some looking like anthills while some other clusters look as if they are pieces from a chess set.

The ochre mountains towering over the Bharatpur tent city.

The descent from BaralachLa brings forth another stunning change in the landscape. The dull grey scree slopes are replaced with spectacular ochre mountains powdered with a little snow on top and laced at the edges with a dark reddish hue.

A Changpa nomad with his flock at the Tsomoriri lake.

A Changpa nomad with his flock of sheep on the shores of the Tsomoriri lake.

Cycling along the Morey Plains.

Out of Pang the road climbs up a hill and then the landscape opens up into the Morey plains. Situated at about 4500m, it is a dramatic flat stretch of land about 45km long and 20km wide, fringed by low hills. On a clear day with a splattering of a few puffy clouds it can look quite beautiful up there. Occasionally one can spot a Tibetan wild asses, Kiang, grazing the plains here and maybe even a red tailed fox or two.

A lone horse grazing by the wetlands near the Tsokar lake.

Photo taken at the Thukje village.

autumn scenery showing the shey and thiksey villages near leh, ladakh.

autumn scenery showing the shey and thiksey villages near leh, ladakh.

Cycling the Indus valley route

Cycling the ascent to the BaralachLa pass

Start of the Gata Loops

Passing Sarchu, the road continues north through the Tsarap valley (the Yunam river now takes on the Tsarap name) and arrives at the infamous Gata loops. The Gata loops are a series of 21 switchbacks (hairpin bends) carved out of a massive scree slope of the Zanskar range. The loops take the road from an altitude of about 4200m all the way up to 4700m over a span of 10km. The slopes have a scrubby vegetation here and it is not uncommon to see herds of Blue mountain sheep (Bharal) grazing here. 

The Yunam river cutting across the Sarchu plains.

The Sarchu Plains, is a high altitude (4300m) grassy plain forming the valley system between the Great Himalaya and Zanskar ranges. The Yunam river cuts through the Sarchu plains forming a deep, wide canyon in the middle of the grasslands. At the far end of these plains lie the Sarchu camp, consisting of numerous tented camps providing hot food and accommodation to weary travelers.

View from the hill leading up to the Morey plains.

Out of Pang the road climbs up a hill and then the landscape opens up into the Morey plains. Situated at about 4500m, it is a dramatic flat stretch of land about 45km long and 20km wide, fringed by low hills. On a clear day with a splattering of a few puffy clouds it can look quite beautiful up there. Occasionally one can spot a Tibetan wild asses, Kiang, grazing the plains here and maybe even a red tailed fox or two.

The Sarchu Plains, is a high altitude (4300m) grassy plain forming the valley system between the Great Himalaya and Zanskar ranges. The Yunam river cuts through the Sarchu plains forming a deep, wide canyon in the middle of the grasslands. At the far end of these plains lie the Sarchu camp, consisting of numerous tented camps providing hot food and accommodation to weary travelers.

A magical sunset scene from the Stok village in Ladakh.

Sunset is always a magical time in Ladakh with the mountain ranges throwing out various hues of yellow and orange light as the shadows slowly creep up their sides. This is a view of one such sunset from the Stok village with the Stok palace in the foreground.Photo Note: This is a perfect scenario for using a GND filter. But even with a GND (3 stop) the range between the lights and shadows was so great that i had to use 'soft' filters in Lightroom to balance the exposure.

Pangong Lake reflections near Lukung

Lake view near the Merak Village

Grasslands along the banks of the Pangong lake at the Merak village.

The glacial run of stream from the mountain irrigates the grasslands making this spot one of the most beautiful camping spots in Ladakh.

Pangong range towering over the Merak Village

The snowcapped peaks of the Pangong range mountains towering over the Merak village.

The road right after the Lachulung pass.

After Lachulung La the landscape once again changes dramatically. The road snakes its way down through a narrow canyon with the Lachulung Lungpa stream running right beside the road. Eventually the canyon opens up to reveal an even more dramatic landscape. Extraordinary shapes, chiseled by the elements, jut out of the sandy mountain sides. These shapes appear mostly in clusters, some looking like anthills while some other clusters look as if they are pieces from a chess set.

The mountains of Chang Chemo range leading to the disputed Aksai Chin plateau.

The mountains of the Chang Chemo range on the far side of the Pangong Lake. The Change Chemo range of mountains lead to the disputed Aksai Chin plateau. The dispute over the control of the Aksai Chin plateau is the reason for the 1962 war between India and China when India discovered that China was building a road through the Aksai Chin plateau to connect its Xinjiang region with Tibet.To learn more about the mountain ranges and geography of Ladakh, check out the following Kettik article. Getting to know the Mountain ranges of Ladakh

View from the hill leading up to the Morey plains.

Out of Pang the road climbs up a hill and then the landscape opens up into the Morey plains. Situated at about 4500m, it is a dramatic flat stretch of land about 45km long and 20km wide, fringed by low hills. On a clear day with a splattering of a few puffy clouds it can look quite beautiful up there. Occasionally one can spot a Tibetan wild asses, Kiang, grazing the plains here and maybe even a red tailed fox or two.

Cycling on the road from Sarchu to Gata loops.

The road follows along the Tsarap river.

The beautiful emerald waters of the Tsarap river.

Arch-like rock formation at the top of the Gata loops.

The snowy surroundings of the BaralachLa pass.

Cycling the ascent to the BaralachLa pass

Sandblasted mountain sculptures on the route to Pang.

Eventually the canyon opens up to reveal an even more dramatic landscape. Extraordinary shapes, chiseled by the elements, jut out of the sandy mountain sides. These shapes appear mostly in clusters, some looking like anthills while some other clusters look as if they are pieces from a chess set.Read more : The Manali - Leh highway : A visual journey through the landscape

Sandblasted mountain sculptures on the route to Pang.

Eventually the canyon opens up to reveal an even more dramatic landscape. Extraordinary shapes, chiseled by the elements, jut out of the sandy mountain sides. These shapes appear mostly in clusters, some looking like anthills while some other clusters look as if they are pieces from a chess set.Read more : The Manali - Leh highway : A visual journey through the landscape

Guiding the flock home. Village scene from Hymia in the Indus valley.

A typical evening scene probably played out at every village in Ladakh everyday. Shepherds guiding their flock home through the fields of their village. This particular photo was taken at the Hymia village along the Indus valley.

Salt beds and Marshes around Tsokar lake

The TsoKar ('White Lake') is one of the three high altitude salt water lakes in Ladakh. It is located at an altitude of 4660m/15280ft in the Changthang region of South Eastern Ladakh. The reason why it is called the 'White Lake' ('Kar' - White, 'Tso' - Lake) is obvious when one visits the lake and sees all the white salt deposits all over the lake shoresRead more here.

Sandblasted mountain sculptures on the route to Pang.

Eventually the canyon opens up to reveal an even more dramatic landscape. Extraordinary shapes, chiseled by the elements, jut out of the sandy mountain sides. These shapes appear mostly in clusters, some looking like anthills while some other clusters look as if they are pieces from a chess set.Read more : The Manali - Leh highway : A visual journey through the landscape

Blue mountain sheep (Bharal) grazing by the Gata loops roadside.

The Tibetan Argali Homestay at the Thukje village near Tsokar lake.

There are a few home stays available in the village. We stayed at a place called the Tibetan Argali Homestay, which is located right by the main road opposite the Thukje monastery (which is located on a small hill overlooking the village). Even if the place is closed, you can track down the lama of the monastery and he should be able to arrange some food and accommodation for you. The lama also runs a small provision store and you can find a few basic elements like biscuits and noodles.

Nomadic kids at the Sumdo village

These kids belong to nomadic families. While the family are away busy grazing their flocks in the high altitude grasslands these kids stay in the boarding school and study. At sumdo village there is a school run by the SOS organization. Travelers can stay there for free, but a small donation is appreciated.

Maan village

Stakna Monastery

The Stakna monastery perched on a small hill with the snow capped mountains of the Zanskar range towering behind it.Stakna, the literal meaning of the word is 'tiger's nose' and the monastery is so called because it sits perched on a hill which looks like a tigers nose. Sitting on the small hill, the Stankna monastery is one of few monasteries in Ladakh which can be viewed from all angles and this gives rise to a few interesting photo opportunities.

The road to Jispa village.

Jispa is a pretty village and a popular stop over point for motorcyclists who stop here to escape the crowds of Keylong. The narrow Bhaga valley opens up here with the river gently flowing over the wide riverbed.

Pangong Lake near Spangmik village

Can you see it ? Rainbow over the Tsomoriri lake in Ladakh.

A rainbow was the last thing i expected to see on a sunny October morning in Ladakh. But this magical land is always full of surprises and this was a special one.I arrived at the banks of the Tsomoriri lake late on the previous evening and unable to find the way to the Korzok village, i camped by the lakeside. At 4400m, the night was slightly cold and windy and i had just a packet of biscuits for dinner. You might think that its a tough situation to be in, but i enjoyed every minute of it.The next morning i woke up to a beautiful sunny day and spent the morning basking in the warm sunlight. There was nobody around for miles and i felt that i had the lake all to myself. And if that wasn't enough, i spotted the mountains putting on a small welcome show for me with this beautiful subtle little rainbow.Its days like this that make you feel as if you are the luckiest person alive.

Mountains on the route from Spangmik to Maan village along the Pangong Lake

Salt beds near the Tsokar lake

The TsoKar ('White Lake') is one of the three high altitude salt water lakes in Ladakh. It is located at an altitude of 4660m/15280ft in the Changthang region of South Eastern Ladakh. The reason why it is called the 'White Lake' ('Kar' - White, 'Tso' - Lake) is obvious when one visits the lake and sees all the white salt deposits all over the lake shores.Read more here.

autumn scenery showing the shey and thiksey villages near leh, ladakh.

autumn scenery showing the shey and thiksey villages near leh, ladakh.

white chortens outside the shey palace..

white chortens outside the shey palace.. Near Shey village, Leh Ladakh

A weasel peering out of his hiding place. Thukje village, Ladakh.

Cycling the ascent to the BaralachLa pass

The scree slopes of Zingzing bar.

Zingzingbar is located at the base of the Great Himalayan range and it is the base camp for the climb up to the BaralachLa pass.