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Leh-Karu-Changla-Durbuk-Tangtse-Lukung-Spangmik and return.
This route proceeds past the picturesque villages of Shey and Thikse, and turns into the side-valley of Chemrey and Sakti. The Ladakh range is crossed by the Chang-la (18,000 ft / 5,475 m) which is one of the easier passes remaining open for much of the year even in winter. Tangtse, just beyond the foot of the pass, with an ancient temple and a Tourist Bungalow, is a convenient halting point on this circuit.
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The main attraction of this circuit is the Pangong Lake, situated at an altitude of 14,000 ft (4,267m). It is a long narrow basin of inland drainage, hardly 6 to 7 kms at its widest point, and over 130 kms long, and bisected by the international border between India and China. Spangmik, the farthest point up to which foreigners are permitted, is about 7 kms along the southern shore from the head of the lake. It presents a spectacular view of the mountains of the Chang-chenmo range to the north, their reflections shimmering in the ever-changing blues and greens of the lake’s brackish waters. Above Spangmik are the glaciers and snow-capped peaks of the Pangong range. Spangmik and a scattering of other tiny villages along the lake's southern shore are the summer homes of a scanty population of Chang-pa, the nomadic herdsmen of Tibet and southeast Ladakh. The Pangong Chang-pa cultivate sparse crops of barley and peas in summer. It is in winter that they unfold their yak wool tents called rebo, and take the flocks of sheep and pashmina goats out to the distant pastures.
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