Julley !! Ladakh

 

Julley, Hello !! in Ladakhi. This was my second trip to Leh- Ladakh but I’m still overwhelmed with the feeling of awe seeing the stunning landscape of the rugged mountains of Great Himalayas and its magnificent surroundings. I had visited Leh in August 2021 when I just started birding . I met Prof Parmil Kumar , a birder from Jammu in July 2021 in Srinagar and he was then contemplating a birding trip to Ladakh and I was happy to go on that trip. My knowledge on birds and birding then was very rudimentary. Our first trip to Ladakh was a fantastic experience covering all the hotspots from Nubra to Hanle till Tsokar wetlands.  However, this trip to Leh was planned to get my daughter Shravani to visit a new place completely different from mainland India and get some unique experiences before she joined her undergraduate course at the end of the July. I hope she appreciated the trip to Ladakh region ,with no mobile service beyond Leh.

Our first day at Leh, on July 19th ,was more to acclimatise to the high altitude, an elevation of 3,500 m   ( 11,500 ft) and the rarefied atmosphere of the region. We spent most of the day relaxing in the room and checking our oxygen saturation levels. My friend , Prof Parmil also reached Leh from Jammu. We spent time catching up with the new sightings in the bird world. We were staying at the police guest house which was newly constructed and very comfortable. In evening, spent some time catching up with my friend S D Singh, IPS who is posted here and learnt on his new passion to collect fossils and discovering precious mineral rocks from the rocky terrain of Ladakh. 

Leh to Agham

On the second day we started from Leh to Agham which was 107 kms and would take 3 hours. We were  hoping to see nine lifers on this trip from Agham to Tsokar to Leh. We started early at 6.00 am from the guest house towards Manali road to go to Agham, an extension of Nubra valley. Our bird guide for the trip was Padma Galypso , a young guy who has immense knowledge on birds of Ladakh .We picked him on way from his home near Shey marshes. After 30 mins drive , we stopped at Camp Kharu junction to have our packed breakfast and some tea as this was the last location for finding any tea shops till our destination. Interestingly, the local breakfast is Khambir, a fermented bread , omelette and butter tea and apricot jam. The  drive to Agham was beautiful traversing picturesque and diverse landscape of Ladakh from the mighty Himalayas . On way ,we crossed the Chemsday monastery, a lovely view from the road. The only vegetation that can be seen at some places were patches of willow trees and poplar trees. We got our first sighting of Chukar , a common partridge found here. I was looking for the cute looking Marmots , a large ground squirrel and we got to see a good number of them (6-7 marmots). 

Poplar trees      

Chemsday Monastery

                   

Chukar 

Marmot

  

We  reached Tangyar by 11.15 am and stopped briefly looking for the first lifer , the tiny purplish-blue bird of high altitude forest , the ‘White- browed Tit- warbler’. This place is known to be the nesting grounds for the warbler during summers. The sun rays were sharp and intense . We just stepped out of our vehicle and walked few steps towards the bushes of sea-buck thorn ,which was widespread and saw the warbler foraging in the grass.  I, immediately took few record shots before it flew into the undergrowth of the bushes. Hoping to see it again , we waited at that place for nearly 30 minutes , meanwhile Prof Parmil walked till the Tangyar river that was around 200 -250 Mts  and managed to get a better shot of the Wb Tit warbler.  Padma wanted to us check -in at our Homestay Agham Villa , have lunch and come back at 4.30 pm to look for the Wb Tit Warbler. As the sun was blazing, we left for the Homestay which was 15 mins drive from this spot.  Agham Villa is surrounded by fruit orchards and tall tress. The rooms were comfortable with french windows facing the garden with poplar plantation. We were welcomed by the sight of four Eurasian Magpies foraging on the fruit trees. After settling in the room, I explored the garden and noticed two families of Eurasian magpies, adults with juveniles around this place. 

Eurasian Magpie

Agham Villa

View from room

There was no mobile network but the homestay had wifi connection , which was a boon for us and could  be accessed from a spot in the garden. After lunch, my daughter and I spent some time catching up on the messages on our mobile. The dinning room had pictures of birds and mammals of Ladakh and we learnt that this place hosts mostly birders and wildlife photographers. In the evening , by 5pm we were back at the spot near Tangyar hoping to see the warbler in the habitat covering 300 m of sea-buck thorn bushes. The place was resonating with bird calls of Wb Tit warbler, Black Redstart , Blue Throat and Mountain Chiffchaff. I could not get any clear shot of the warbler even after an hour of search. We saw a herd of Blue sheep coming down the cliff across the river to cross the stream. It took only few minutes for the herd to come down , cross the river , the bushes and the road to move to the other side, all so fast !

Blue Sheep 

Prof Parmil got few dream shots of the Wb Tit warbler from a location 50 mts from my spot. I tried to walk briskly over to his spot, but I could feel my heart pounding in my mouth so loud that I stopped for a moment to catch my breath  and walked at a slow pace; the less oxygen surroundings has a perceptible effect on our physical condition. I could not get any good shot of the bird, so at 6.30 pm we decided to go back to the Home stay and try my luck tomorrow. We had an early dinner of some vegetable noddles and egg chinese rice. Sleep was quick as we were tired and exhausted from the drive . In the morning , we planned  to check out of this place by 5.00 am before going for the morning session of birding and then further to Shakti.

Agham to Shakti

On the third day of our trip , we were packed and ready on the dot, including my daughter, who grudgingly woke up and got ready. Today s trip , after the morning session at Tangyar ,  was to drive from Agham to Shakti. Our first agenda in the morning was to look for the Wb Tit warbler, before heading for the next target on way to Shakti. We reached the location at Tangyar in 15 mins. The sun was rising in the sky and I could heard bird calls from all corners of the area, from the trees and bushes. Mountain Chiffchaff ( female) was singing from a top perch of a medium size tree , Common Rosefinch , Blue throat, Black Redstart were singing their melodious morning songs. Padma could hear feeble calls of Wb Tit warbler. We looked around the bushes for more than hour with no sign of the bird. Meanwhile , saw a pair of Fire-fronted Serin foraging on the ground next to road, oblivious to our presence. The morning rays of sun was still not bright. Finally , Padma could hear its calls from another cluster of seabuck thorn bushes on the another side of the road. I rushed to the spot and luckily could get few good shots of the bird in the open before it flew back into the thickets.  

White browed Tit Warbler

Fire- fronted Serin 

Relieved, we started at 7.00 am to our next location near Wari La which is at an altitude of 5312 m (17427 ft ). We reached the location by 8.00 am. While scanning the area, Padma could see Little Owl on the rocks 150 mts from the road. Prof Parmil sprinted up the rocks to get some good shots. I was standing on the road side contemplating if I should climb the rocks, meanwhile heard the calls of Tibetan partridge . Not willing to miss the opportunity, I also trekked up on the rocky terrain at an elevation of 4,700 m and every step up made me breathless.

 

View of terrain & roads

Wari La  

We all waited for an hour but could not see the Tibetan partridge. There were calls coming from far away, so we came down to the road . After having our packed breakfast , we decided to move ahead scanning the area. We drove for less than half a km and saw the Little Owl on the rocks , sitting next to the road and to our luck saw the Tibetan Partridge walking up the rocks towards the cliff. We quickly jumped out of our vehicle and climbed up the rocks to get few shots of the bird. The Patridge was moving uphill and it stopped on a rock for few seconds , waiting for its two chicks to catch up with it. We could get few shots of the bird and its chicks. It was very hot and the sun was direct on the camera lens making it difficult to focus. We came down happy that we got to see another lifer.

Little Owl 

Yak 

Tibetan Partridge with chicks

      

This was the only target for the day. We moved to Shakti which was 41 Kms from this spot. The drive was beautiful crossing willow plantations and poplar plantations , herds of yak grazing in the backdrop of huge mountains and a pair of Woolly Hare. We reached Solpon Homestay by 11.30 am and our room was on the first floor , it had a small balcony facing the patch of cultivated land and tall trees. It was a beautiful view of the landscape from the window. The room was warm with wooden paneled walls. I was impressed with the vegetable beds of palak, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, potatoes and patch of wheat crop . Lunch was served in the owner's house dinning room. They were growing strawberries in the drawing room in pipes along the wall and there were hanging pots with climbers in their living room. The lady of the house had a nice warm welcoming smile and served us a sumptuous lunch of homegrown vegetables of  broccoli fry , papad, potato wedges , rice, roti and dal for lunch. There was nothing much to do for the day so we relaxed in the room and took a long nap. In the evening , just walked around the place enjoying the sight of rose blossoms and other flowers in the garden. Dinner was authentic local cuisine of Thupa and momos served in the Ladhaki style in the dinning room with cupboards of traditional utensils .The experience was memorable for us. The next day target was near Changla Pass and we had to start by 6.00am.

Dinning room

Strawberry plants

Main House

Shakti to Merak 

On the fourth day ,we were on road by 6.00 am going towards Changla Pass which is at an altitude of  5391 m( 17,688 ft) to see the next target, Himalayan Snowcock.  After that we were heading to Pangong Tso and night stay was at Merak. Himalayan Snowcock is found at an elevation of 5200 m near the Changla pass.While going towards Changla, we could see Shakti village, a conspicous green patch in the valley protected by two mountain ranges. 

Alpine Accentor 

Shakti

Himalayan Snowcock

  

Woolly Hare

As we moved forward, to our luck, the Himalayan Snowcock was basking on the ridge which was visible from the road and calling out. We took few shots of the Snowcock at this spot. We moved further and could see three more birds on the ridge , calling out loudly. There were many birding groups at this spot and nearly 20 birders were taking shots of the Snowcock. We also saw the Alpine Accentor foraging on the ground. We spent nearly 30-40 mins at this location. We crossed Changla pass at 8.20 am, stopped briefly to take some pictures at the pass. The road was very good and I was reminiscing our trip 3 years ago, when this road was in an extremely bad condition. We reached Durbuk at 9.45 am  and stopped for breakfast. On way, we saw herds of Pashima sheep grazing in the green patches. There were around 5-6 eating places including one joint offering pizzas and burgers. We went to this place to have Aloo parathas, omelette  and my daughter had a margarita pizza. After the short break , we were back on the road. To my surprise, the road was in very good condition and looked freshly laid. On way,  I was pleasantly surprised to cross an army post with a hoarding 'Black - neck Crane ' view point. The road was extended at this point and a shelter was made for the visitors.  Interesting , in August 2021, we had seen a Black -neck Crane foraging in the grasslands at this particular spot. Later, I heard that the crane had suffered an injury and died. All tourists going to Pongong Tso , a high altitude salt water lake saw the elegant and endangered Back- necked Crane. From the view point, we could not see any birds in the grassland. As the road was amazingly good and we reached Pangong Lake in 45 minutes.

Pangong Tso 

The beautiful blue aquamarine colours of the Lake can be seen from a distance as we drove towards the lake. I think,  it is one of the beautiful sights on the earth. The stunning cool colours of the lake in the background of sand colour of mountains from the Great Himalayan range contribute to the dramatic contrast between deep blue waters of Pangong Tso and the rugged mountain terrain.The lake is about 134 Kms long and 60 % of it lies in China, while the rest is in India. As we entered the road along the lake, we could see some activity of the Army conducting exercises . We drove further to the tourist spot and to take pictures at the lake. After enjoying the picturesque views of Pangong,  we started at 12.30 pm to go further to Merak which is less than an hour drive from this place. The road to Merek is along the Pangong Lake with breath-taking views. An important feature of Ladakh is that its roads at many places are crisscrossed by small streams from the melting glaciers. The rising temperatures have resulted in the melting of glacier leading to increase in the flow of water in the streams, flooding the roads. At 1.00 pm , we were just 15 mins from our destination Merek and had to cross a stream flowing on the road. We stopped to give way to the incoming vehicle. The driver of the Mahindra Xylo very confidently moved to cross the stream, but his vehicle got stuck in the middle with water coming up above 3 feet.The vehicle got so badly stuck in the rocks on the road brought by the flowing water. After making herculean attempts for an hour by the drivers of the stranded vehicles to push the vehicle forward or backward , the vehicle was  finally pushed back. The flow of the water was very fast and the water level was high. All the vehicles had to take detour on the banks of Pangong and we reached Zamta Home stay by 2.00 pm The Homestay faced the Pangong lake and the rooms had a view towards the lake. The couple who owned this Homestay were pleasant and warm who gave us a hot lunch of rice, roti, vegetable , dal and Papad. After resting for an hour, we went for evening birding to Khaksete , 10 mins from Merak. After the bad experience in the afternoon , we did not venture on the roads which had water flowing across it. This location is known to be the habitat of Tibetan Partridge. The vegetation of Merek is of alpine and sub-alpine environments of low growing  plants and grasses, shrubs and small flowering plants that can survive the cold , dry conditions of high altitude. For nearly an hour, Padma searched for any signs of the Partridge in the bushes. Another group of birders of nearly eight of them were also birding at this location. This place had many Tibetan Larks, Eurasian Magpies, Robin Accentor, Black -winged Snowfinchs, Common Rosefinch and Hill Pigeons. Also, saw a Plateau Pikka in the grass. 

      

           

Tibetan Lark 

Plateau Pikka

Black- winged Snowfinch 

                         

As the sun was setting, we decided to go back to our Homestay. We were not very hungry but had a small dinner at 9.00  pm and planned for the next day morning birding at 5.45 am . After the morning session, we intended to come back and leave for our next destination , Tsokar . With no mobile network or internet , we slept early embracing the quietness of the place.

In the morning, we left for Khaksete by 5.40 am. There was a nip in the air, a lovely morning drive towards the mountains. It was bright by 6.00 am. Padma stopped the vehicle and spotted the Tibetan Patridge leisurely foraging in the grass next to the track.  For the next one hour, we got some beautiful shots of the Tibetan Partridge, Great Snowfinch  and Chinese Ruby throat, Common  Rosefinch , Red-billed Chough, Hill Pigeons, Common Raven, all birds of high altitude.

Tibetan Partridge 

Reb-billed Chough

Chinese Ruby throat

Hill pigeon 

                             

Great Snowfinch

It was a very successful morning birding at this place with good vegetation of  bushes of  worm wood 

( Caragana Artemisia) and Juniper. The grasses grow in clumps and are common in the fertile areas where water accumulate from glacial melt. These grasses are crucial for the grazing of livestock like Yaks, Goats and Sheep. The summer season had many variety of wild flowers blooming in the area , low on the ground adding colour to the stark landscape.

Blue Cloud Flowers 

       

We got back to room by 7.30 am; after a good breakfast , started for our next destination to Tsokar.

Merak to Tsokar

On our fifth day of the trip, we started at 8.30 am , on our  long drive to Tsokar. On way crossed Chusul, a smalll village not far from Merak and got into mobile network area with messages pouring in. At this place , we also saw a pair of Eurasian Tree sparrows. We crossed Razang La memorial,  a war memorial constructed in 1963 to honour the troops of Charlie company of 13 KUMAON Regiment. It was past 10.30 am and we still have a long way to Tsaga La pass and Tsokar. The road from Merek to Tsaga La pass is along the Indo-China border. At many places , the road was being constructed. We could see army deployment all along the route. It was an awesome drive into nothingness. On way we also got to see herds of pashmina goats grazing in the small patches of grass wherever the glacier water was flowing as streams. Some stretches were bare , with not a blade of grass and some stretches had green patches with some small bushes of sea buck thorn growing. 

Pashmina Goats

 

After 45 mins drive ,we entered the area of River Indus flowing along the road. We also crossed sulphur hot springs. It was 11.35 am when we reached Loma Check post , an important Army post. We moved further to Nyoma,  a small but important town, especially with large presence of Army.  

Indus River

Common Merganser in Indus 

 

When we were 2kms from Nyoma, to  our surprise, Padma sighted seven black-necked Cranes foraging in the grass across stream of Indus river. We drove towards the inner road to get a better view of the Black- necked cranes and as they were foraging and walking  elegantly towards the other side. In fact, I was wondering as we entered this area that there was no sighting of Black-necked cranes and was happy to see seven of them, as they are highly endangered species. They were all adults with no chicks with them. It made us wonder , if the chicks have fallen prey to the Feral dogs, which are a menace to the bird life in Ladakh.

Hot Spring

Black -necked Crane

 We reached Nyoma at 12.30 pm and stopped for lunch. There were nearly 20 small eating joints and shops offering Tibetan, Ladakhi, North Indian food at Nyoma. We savoured authentic momos for lunch while others had local food.

After lunch, we started by 1:00 pm to Tsokar, crossed Mahe at 1.30 pm. At Sumdho, one road leads to Tsomoiri  and the right side to Tsokar. We took the left road to look for the Brown accentor.  Nearly, 5-6 kms from this location, we saw one individual foraging on the bushes near the stream. We spent 15-20 mins at this location and took some lovely shots of Brown Accenture, a very rare bird, and Robin Accentor. We started back to go on the road to Tsokar which is 43 kms drive. We were lucky again , near Sumdho ,  Padma noticed few Brown Accentors foraging at a location which was a protected site of Forest department. We took some shots from the road and on the other side of the road , noticed an upland buzzard perched on the rocks. Both Prof Parmil's and I had severe headache , it was pounding for some unknown reason, so I decided to take oxygen for 10 mins.  I felt a little better after inhaling oxygen .We did not stop at any location all way till we reached Tsokar. We crossed  Pologongka La,  a pass at an altitude of 4,949 m ( 16,237 ft ). The landscape is typical of the high altitude Ladakh region, with stark , arid mountains, vast plains and occasional patches of greenery in the valleys. The views from the passage are breath taking, giving a glimpse of the remote, rugged beauty of the region.We were in the Changthang plateau of Ladakh.

Brown Accentor

Blandford Snowfinch

Upland Buzzard

The area around is surrounded by rugged peaks and the loud sound of harsh winds.  I remember during our last visit, this route was completely in wilderness in between mountain ranges , with no mobile network or habitation around , we were not sure if we were going on the right track. There was tremendous change now ,   a new road was laid all the way till Tsokar but the mobile network connectivity was still not available. 

We reached Startsapuk , a fresh water lake by 3.30 pm. This is the spot for  Blanford Snowfinch , another rare bird and lifer and to our luck we saw one individual and 5-6 juveniles foraging in the grass. Padma continued search for Tibetan sandgrouse , a precious lifer seen here, for an hour around the lake. 

We slowly drove towards the Tsokar lake, a brackish water lake also known as white lake due to salt deposits on its shores, an important location for bird watchers. This lake has been supporting unique wildlife and migratory birds and a place to see Tibetan donkeys. The ground around the Startsapuk lake was of gravel and sharp stones, within 15 mins on the path , one of the tyres of the vehicle had a puncture. Dorjee , our driver and Padma quickly replaced it and we drove further for 10 mins , it was 5.40 pm we finally saw few Tibetan Sandgrouse fly over and land at a location close by. We moved towards the spot and some more birds joined the flock. We were thrilled to get some awesome shots of the Tibetan sandgrouse from the vehicle and very close.  It was a fantastic sight to see a big flock of gorgeous looking sandgrouse from a close range. 

Tibetan Sandgrouse

Startsapuk Lake

Habitat shot

After getting some beautiful shots, we moved  towards our place of stay at Tsokar Eco resort by 6.30 pm. It was less than 30 mins drive. During our last trip, it was dark when we reached our home stay and had s bad experience then. Tsokar is an off beat location  but offers a chance to experience the remote and serene landscapes of Ladakh and away from the tourists routes. 

The Eco resort was very basic but comfortable. We got a good cup of hot tea with a tasty local bread made of barley. This place gets very cold during the nights. There were 5-6 more guests staying in the other rooms. Dinner was good with hot steaming rice, vegetables curry , dal and papad. Interestingly, this place is a favourite haunt for birders and wildlife photographers. There were books of birds of Ladakh for the guests to browse and framed pictures of birds and wildlife on the walls. 

View opposite Eco resort 

Tsokar Lake

Tsokar to Leh 

On our sixth day , our birding trip is officially not over yet with one more lifer to be seen near Taglang La pass, the Tibetan Snowcock . We were packed and ready by 6.30 am to go back to Leh.  On way, we had to check for Tibetan Snowcock at the Taglang La . Padma scanned the area for the Snowcocks, but there was no sign of them. We drove further half a km and Padma spotted three birds of Tibetan Snowcock foraging on patch of grass on the slopes. We were elated, and quickly took some some shots from the road , while Prof Parmil and Padma ventured down the slopes to get better pictures, I stayed on and watched the birds from the binoculars. A very difficult bird to sight and is found only at this Range.

Tibetan Snowcock

Habitat shot 

Taglang La pass

We were at an altitude of  5,328 m ( 17,480 ft ) and nearly 108 kms from Leh. Tsokar is part of Tibetan plateau so the terrain is bare , with sparse vegetation. The terrain changes dramatically after crossing the Taglang La as the trans - Himalayan range starts.  Now, our birding is officially over with seven lifers and 58 bird species and some awesome shots of birds. On way , we crossed village sasoma, Miru and  reached Upshi town which brought us back into network area. We stopped here for some breakfast and tea and to connect with the outside world. After a short break of 30 mins , we started our trip to Leh, crossed Miru , a beautiful village with fields of wheat for nearly a km,  a sight not found in Ladakh. 

Miru Village

Stakna Monastery 

The Indus River was also flowing along the road as we got closer to Leh. Indus River is the life line in this harsh environment. While we were 50 Kms from Leh we saw the Stakna monastery. On way , there were quite a few Chortens , a semi- religious shrines or reliquaries, containing relics of holy people or scripts , a place of Buddhist worship.  We stopped to move it in a clock wise direction and offer our prayers . By 12 noon, we reached Shey, dropped Padma and moved towards our guest house. In 10-15 mins , we were back at the guest house in Leh.

After resting for a while , we all went out to eat authentic Tibetan food at Tibetan Kitchen and took a drive till Magnetic Hill and Pathar Sahib Gurudwara and got back by 4.30 pm. The landscape is totally different, absolutely bare mountains. It was very hot in Leh during day time . In the evening, we went to the Leh market to walk around the place. There were more shops of Tibetan art & crafts. We also witnessed the local women performing the Ladakhi dance in the central space for nearly 2 hours.

 

Many women joined the dance as we left , after an hour. A very unique way to showcase the traditional art and dance to the tourists visiting Leh and also ensuring the tradition is preserved for the younger generations to learn. 

We had our flights back home the next day morning. Ladakh gives me a different feeling of existence. The rugged mountains , deep valleys and arid landscapes all give me a feeling of solitude and calmness of the world beyond this earth. The existence of life in Ladakh in the extreme climate is a testament to the resilience of life in one of the most challenging environments on earth.

 

Chorten