GPS tracks of the Hanle to Tso moriri route, without touching chumur.

[zack2137]

And we spotted this little bugger near Mahe. It's a long shot though.

Another one somewhere between Chumathang and Leh. Ran off rather quickly.

And yes, same driver, same car!

 

[hiambuj]

Does Rigzin carry his own wolves? Just like I am told the Corbett staff makes foot prints daily morning.

 

[dhirenmalani]

Somehow I missed out this thread, a route very close to my heart like many others Excellent snaps Dhiren and awesome journey!!I couldn't help sharing the wolf we spotted near Tso Kiagar and also the Tso Kiagar itself in Jan this year with same car and great Regzin!!The Wolf:View attachment 430723Tso Kiagar in Jan:View attachment 430724

woooh, awesome snap of the wolf kaushik da, in the tso kiagar snap are you guys on the lake, i saw your log of driving on pangog tso, it seems you were on a mission to drive on all the tso's of ladakh.regzin was remembering your family trip fondly, and it seems you have taught him quite a bit of bengali also.

 

[zack2137]

Does Rigzin carry his own wolves? Just like I am told the Corbett staff makes foot prints daily morning.

Not just wolves. He has a knack of spotting marmots, ibex, yaks, kiyangs, and almost any other animal that you can think of. He spots them early, stops at a comfortable distance and keeps pushing you to get a decent shot
When jolly, he'd even chase those animals to get them into action. For example, the birds at Pangong

 

[dhirenmalani]

Not just wolves. He has a knack of spotting marmots, ibex, yaks, kiyangs, and almost any other animal that you can think of. He spots them early, stops at a comfortable distance and keeps pushing you to get a decent shot
When jolly, he'd even chase those animals to get them into action. For example, the birds at Pangong

yep, he thoroughly enjoyed chasing the kiangs in chumur plains, had a whale of a time actually, and he was absolutly hilarious when he got into the mood, could get you into splits with his jokes and anecdotes, the best guy to have along in ladakh.

 

[hiambuj]

Not just wolves. He has a knack of spotting marmots, ibex, yaks, kiyangs, and almost any other animal that you can think of. He spots them early, stops at a comfortable distance and keeps pushing you to get a decent shot
When jolly, he'd even chase those animals to get them into action. For example, the birds at Pangong

cool.

 

[dhirenmalani]

Does Rigzin carry his own wolves? Just like I am told the Corbett staff makes foot prints daily morning.

hmmm, now its looks possible with all these wolf snaps popping up , we had both his cars with us, that is why he was able to produce a pack of 7 of them i suppose, and we were thinking they were wild,

 

[xplorerdev]

Dhiren bhai. Excellent route narration with superb photography. I am planning a Leh-Ladakah from 21st Sept - 3rd Oct 2015 in my Swift Petrol with Extra Cautious and Careful driving. I have started doing my homework. I have summarized the route you have mentioned.

Route 1: (I guess this is the regular route)
Hanle > Punjok > Kyuntso > Nidar > Nyoma > Mahe > Sumdo > Tso Kiagar > Tso Moriri.

Hanle > Punjok: Tar road. Cross the gate at Punjok village to go towaqrds Kyuntso.
Punjok > Kyuntso: Gradual Ascent. Keep following iron markers on road-side.
Kyuntso > Nidar > Nyoma > Mahe > Sumdo > Tso Kiagar: Need Info !
Tso Kiagar > Tso Moriri: Need Info !

Route 2: (This is way more than a regular route. 'Extraordinary Route' would be the right phrase)
Hanle > Punjok > Kyuntso > Salsal La > Chumur > Tso Moriri > Tso Kiagar > Puga > Polokongka La > Tso Kar

Hanle > Punjok: Tar road. Cross the gate at Punjok village to go towaqrds Kyuntso.
Punjok > Kyuntso: Gradual Ascent. Keep following iron markers on road-side.
Kyuntso > Salsal La: Immediately after Salsal La decent, there is a right turn which seemed like a rocky track. DO NOT take this. Keep going straight towards Chumur plains.
Salsal La > Chumur: Entry point to Chumur plains is marked by a gap between 2 hills.
Chumur > Tso Moriri: Once you are in the Chumur plains, head towards a small hillock to the right side. Go to its base and travel right. A left here will take you deeper into Chumur Plains. Keep right and this will take you to Chmur - Tso Moriri road. Finally you will hit a crossing. take a right here towards Karzok. Smooth roads after this point.
Tso Moriri > Tso Kiagar: Need Info !
Tso Kiagar > Puga: Need Info !
Puga > Polokongka La: Need Info !
Polokongka La > Tso Kar: Need Info !

Ques 1) Is the summary correct? Have I missed something crucial? Any entry incorrect?
Ques 2) Would you be able to add something for the 'Need Info !' sections mentioned in Blue?

Regards
Dev

 

[drdeepakbhat]

I beg your pardon, a really great great snap of a really really rare creature but its not the tibetan wolf --- its THE RED FOX....... VERY VERY ELUSIVE.
Great capture Kaushik
google field guide mammals of ladakh wwf -a pdf download for details

 

[dhirenmalani]

Hey, Firstly apologies for a late response, have logged in after a long time.

Dhiren bhai. Excellent route narration with superb photography. I am planning a Leh-Ladakah from 21st Sept - 3rd Oct 2015 in my Swift Petrol with Extra Cautious and Careful driving. I have started doing my homework. I have summarized the route you have mentioned.

Route 1: (I guess this is the regular route)
Hanle > Punjok > Kyuntso > Nidar > Nyoma > Mahe > Sumdo > Tso Kiagar > Tso Moriri.

Hanle > Punjok: Tar road. Cross the gate at Punjok village to go towaqrds Kyuntso.
Punjok > Kyuntso: Gradual Ascent. Keep following iron markers on road-side.
Kyuntso > Nidar > Nyoma > Mahe > Sumdo > Tso Kiagar: Need Info !
Tso Kiagar > Tso Moriri: Need Info !

Both these route are not regular, have personally not done the kyuntso - nidar - nyoma stretch, but people on this forum have done that stretch, so you could get more first hand info from them, my recollection is that tanveer has done it refer his logs.
from nyoma you would be on the regular route. only concern would be ground clearance of the swift. otherwise it should be a breeze.

Route 2: (This is way more than a regular route. 'Extraordinary Route' would be the right phrase)
Hanle > Punjok > Kyuntso > Salsal La > Chumur > Tso Moriri > Tso Kiagar > Puga > Polokongka La > Tso Kar

Hanle > Punjok: Tar road. Cross the gate at Punjok village to go towaqrds Kyuntso.
Punjok > Kyuntso: Gradual Ascent. Keep following iron markers on road-side.
Kyuntso > Salsal La: Immediately after Salsal La decent, there is a right turn which seemed like a rocky track. DO NOT take this. Keep going straight towards Chumur plains.
Salsal La > Chumur: Entry point to Chumur plains is marked by a gap between 2 hills.

NO NO. We bypass chumur and dont touch it, we just travel thru the chumur plains, do go to chumur proper without permits, you will end up in trouble. Its a very sensitive area with lots of chinese incursions regularly happening.

Chumur > Tso Moriri: Once you are in the Chumur plains, head towards a small hillock to the right side. Go to its base and travel right. A left here will take you deeper into Chumur Plains. Keep right and this will take you to Chmur - Tso Moriri road. Finally you will hit a crossing. take a right here towards Karzok. Smooth roads after this point.
Tso Moriri > Tso Kiagar: Need Info !
Tso Kiagar > Puga: Need Info !
Puga > Polokongka La: Need Info !
Polokongka La > Tso Kar: Need Info !

Bang on, for chumur plains only caution is that it being a salt march can cause your vehicle to bog down if it is too wet, but since your plan is in september, it should not be a issue, the entire route is now mapped out in open street maps, you can do turn by turn navigation using it. download OSMAND app and download india maps in it. it is a offline map, you do not need connectivity. and it is very accurate.
The route we took bypasses chumur proper, it cuts across the chumur plains and links up with the chumur tso moriri road.


Regarding tso moriri - to tso kar, no issues regarding vehicle, its on the regular circuit, check out route in osmand.

Ques 1) Is the summary correct? Have I missed something crucial? Any entry incorrect?
Ques 2) Would you be able to add something for the 'Need Info !' sections mentioned in Blue?

hope your queries are answered, feel free to ask for more details.

Regards
Dev