9th July

I woke up at 4:50 am to capture the sunrise, but there were heavy clouds as if it would rain. It didn’t rain but sun was visible at 5:45. By that time i clicked some shots.

After sunrise i went back to sleep till 8 o’clock. We had breakfast and went around the lake on our bikes. The scene was so beautiful that anyone would love to stay there forever. We spent some time beside the lake.

Finally, we said goodbye to Pangong and left for Leh at ~11 am. This was the first time we were going on the same route twice, so it was pretty easy. Till Chang La weather was cloudy and temperature was definitely below zero. It was the coldest day on our whole trip.

We reached Leh at 3 o’clock, and took rest for 2 hours. I looked at my new shoes, which were now in irreparable condition. I would say buying running shoes for this trip is a waste of money.

In the evening, we set out for seeing some places in Leh. We went to Shanti Stupa. There are 2 ways to reach there – 500 stairs and a road. We chose the easier one 🙂 Shanti Stupa is an awesome place to relax and meditate. Whole of the Leh city can be seen from the top.

Coming down from the stupa, we saw Tibetian market. We went through ChangsPa Lane and did some shopping in the old market. ChangsPa lane is a happening place. It’s little hard to spot Indians in this area. There are some good places to eat also. We met two of our colleagues in this area, who were also on the trip but in an Innova. We spent some time together and then went back to our hotels.

Day summary: Pangong Tso – Leh, 4.5 hrs, 150 km