Leh
Ladakh Tourism
The New Areas
Tso-Moriri Lake Circuit
Leh - Upshi - debring - Puga- Tso- moriri - Korzok and return
Leh - Upshi - Chumathang- Mahe- Puga- Tso-moriri- Korzok and return.
The area traversed by the Manali leh road, and containing the drainage basins
of Tso-moriri and other lakes is known as Rupshu. Here, the Zanskar range is
transformed into bare rolling many-hued hills divided by open high altitude
valley scoured by dust-devils. It is a landscape unlike any other in Ladakh
-or elsewhere in India.
The first circuit follows the Manali road over the Taglang-la as far as Debring,
a Chang-pa camping place. From here it strikes off east on a rough traks across
the basin of the twin lakes Startsapuk-Tso (Fresh water) and the Polokangka-la
(about 16,500 feet/ 5,030m) to Sumdo in the Puga valley - near the site of old
sulphur mines, then over a roller-coaster track to the head of the Tso-moriri,
and on to Korzok, a quarter of the way along the lake's 20 km length.
The alternative route, instead of leaving the Indus at Upshi, carries on up
the river, as it snakes its way through a gorge between the Ladakh and Zanskar
ranges, to the village of Chumathang, where there is a hot spring. At Mahe,
some 17 km further, the road crosses from the north to the south bank of the
river by bridge; it then follows the Puga stream up to join the first circuit
at Sumdo.
Korzok, situated at 15,000 feet (4,572 m) with its dozen or so houses and its
gompa appearing like a mirage among the barren hills, is the only permanent
settlement in Rupshu; otherwise the region is inhabited only by nomadic Chang-pa
herdspeople. The Rupshu Chang-pa live in tents all the year round, moving in
accordance with an old-established annual routine between the pastures the exist
wherever an occasional stream carrying snowmelt from the heights makes possible
the growth of grass, scanty indeed, but reportedly highly nutritious. The few
barley-fields at Korzok must be among the highest cultivation in the world,
but there is no guarantee that the crop will ripen every year.
Even Rupshu's bare hills support a sparse population of wildlife, and the animal
most likely to be spotted is the Kyang, the wild ass of the Ladakh and Tibet
plateaux. More plentiful are marmots (ubiquitous on mountain slopes all over
Ladakh), hares, and an unusual tail-less rat. The lakes are breeding-grounds
for numerous species of birds. Chief among them are the barheaded goose, found
in great numbers on the Tso-moriri, the great crested grebe, the Brahmini duck
(ruddy sheldrake) and the brown-headed gull.
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