
Pangong Lake is situated at an altitude of about 13,900 ft in Leh District of Jammu & Kashmir in India. The name Pangong is derived from Tibetan word Banggong Co which means "long, narrow, enchanted lake". One third of the lake is in India while the remaining two thirds lies in Tibet, which is controlled by China. Majority of the streams which fill the lake are located on the Tibetan side.Pangong Lake is the world's highest brackish lake at 14,256 feet above sea level
Pangong Tso can be reached by road from Leh. It is about 160 kms from Leh & can be reached in a 5 hour drive from Leh, most of it on a rough and dramatic mountain road. The road crosses the villages of Shey and Gya and traverses the Chang La, the Third highest motorable mountain pass (5289 m) in the world., where army sentries and a small teahouse greet visitors.
The spectacular lakeside is open during the tourist season, from May to September.
Leh - Karu - Chang-la- Durbuk - Tangse- Luckung- Spangmik and return.
This route takes the travellers through picturesque villages of Shey and Thikse, and turns off the Indus valley by the side-valley of Chemrey and Sakti. The Ladakh range is crossed by the Chang-la (18,000 feet / 5,475 m) which despite its great elevation is one of the easier passes, remaining open for much of the year even in winter, apart from periods of actual snowfall. Tangse, just beyond the foot of the pass, has an ancient temple.
Spangmik, the last point to which foreigners are permitted, is only some seven km along the southern shore from the head of the lake, but it affords spectacular views of the mountains of the Changchenmo 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 snowcapped peaks of the Pangong range.
Permit: Foreigners require an Inner Line permit (easily obtained in Leh town) to visit Pangong.
There are camps setup on the banks of the Pangong lake for accommodation-Camp Watermark & Camp Whispering Waves.
Pangong Lake is accessible and visited by tourists in May - Sept Period.