Super moon at Pangong Lake – A magical night

We all are going through a weird phase of our lives. The kind of weird that makes us relate with all the science fiction movies that we once used to dismiss. But, this chapter of life has also allowed us the time to reflect on the path we have traversed so far. Indranil and I feel fortunate for having been able to load our life stories with some amazing travel memories. Although we cannot travel now, this quarantine life in Costa Rica often finds us relive in our heads some of our best travel moments. All of them are precious but looking back, some stand out. One such moment was when we witnessed the rise of the super moon at Pangong Lake.

It was a magical night. The earth has orbited round the sun about seven times since then. Still the proceedings of that night feel as fresh as dew drops. Come on in on our reminiscence of that spectacular night in the Himalayas through this photo story.

The planning for super moon night

Over the years, Indranil and I have been part of some epic road trips in the Himalayas with our little gang of Himalaya travel buddies. As thrilling these Himalaya travels are, the planning phases are no less exciting. All the friends participate enthusiastically in what feels like climatic brainstorming sessions. By the end of this laborious process, we manage to carve out super detailed trip itineraries with special emphasis on simple yet delightful experiences.

It all started with our first ever trip to Ladakh in the year 2013. During the travel research phase, we decided to design our itinerary so as to include seeing the super moon of the year from a serene spot. Therefore we fit Pangong in our 2 weeks Ladakh itinerary in a way that we could sit by a lake and watch the largest moon of the year rise over the Himalayan mountains. We looked forward to the night of the super moon at Pangong Tso, a 134 km long endorheic lake that is shared between India and Tibet.

The journey to Pangong

In this digital era of one-liner wisdom, we often come across quotes stating how the journey is often as beautiful or in some cases, more important than the destination. Well, the interpretation is literal when it comes to traveling in the Himalayas.

The road from Leh to Pangong takes you through 220 kilometres of stunning mountain scenery. As the frames through the car window moved from rugged brown mountains to velvety white mountains to blue lakes, we wished this journey of 5-6 hours stretched longer.

One of the highlights of Leh-Pangong route is the Changla Pass. At 17,586 feet (5,360 meters), it is one of highest motorable mountain passes in the world. On our way to Pangong lake, we made a stop at Changla Pass. Within a few minutes, breathing at that high altitude started to seem like a mountainous task. A cup of herbal tea later, as our bodies started to feel warm, we allowed the snow covered mountains to mesmerize us.

The setting at Pangong Lake

After a tiring yet soothing car ride, we reached our campsite at Pangong. They had small cozy tents with each tent having its tiny sit-out area. Although the tents were small, the campground was fairly spacious with designated lounge areas under the shades of umbrellas. The Pangong lake lied adjacent to the campsite. So, every time we came out of the tent or relaxed on the lounge chairs, we got the view of the pristine Pangong Tso framed by the Himalayas. Back then, Pangong lake was not as touristy or commercialized as it is now.

The wait for the super moon at Pangong

As the afternoon hours passed, we all geared up for the night that we had long been waiting for. “Tonight, we will finally see the super moon at Pangong lake.” With cameras in our hands, we took a walk along the shoreline, waiting for the sun to go down any moment.

Where we come from, all of us friends have always known darkness to fall by 6:30 pm, or latest by 7:00 pm. But here, it appeared that we needed to wait much longer. It was almost 7:00 pm, but the sun seemed to have still some work left for the day.

During our walk, we came across different people.

We met a group of Harley Davidson bike riders from Assam. They had been traveling for 22 days. We exchanged some travel stories from our respective trips. They let us pose on their bikes for cool photo ops.

A Ladakhi man was strolling by the lake with his child. As our paths crossed, we paused to listen to some local stories from him. The man and the child were also kind enough to pose for our cameras, not shy at all.

After a while, to wind away this waiting period, we decided to settle at a local tea shop, sipping on piping hot tea. At this point, we started to wonder if we had miscalculated something while planning for this super moon at Pangong. Did we get the date wrong? Is super moon at all visible from Pangong? Did the moon change its course? Okay, no we did not actually consider that. But, we did start laughing at possible ways we might have messed up our super moon expedition plan. But there was no way to check as we were outside the reach of cellphone coverage.

Moon rise at Pangong

It was past 8:00 pm and it was still not dark, and there was no sign of moon on the large piece of sky over us.

With not much habitation around, we relished the serenity of that dusk hour and the cool atmosphere by the lake. We had unknowingly stopped thinking about the super moon at Pangong. Just then one of our friends exclaimed, “Look!” All of us turned our heads towards where his finger pointed at.

A light golden crescent peeped from behind the snow capped mountain peak!

The super moon had started making its entry. The sheets of snow resting on the mountain slopes glowed under the moonlight. As the sky became darker, the snow looked whiter.

Our gaze fixated on the shiny ball as it made its way from behind the mountain to up in the sky. The camera shutters became busy.

We love photography but we still believe that human eye is the best form of camera ever created. We do not think our cameras could do justice to the magical sight we witnessed of the rise of the super moon at Pangong lake. However, our friend Arijit managed to compose a beautiful photo which we think comes very close to capturing what our eyes registered that night. Click on the photo to check it out on Arijit’s Flickr profile.

Moonlit night by Pangong Lake

As the night progressed, we talked less and breathed more, taking in the magic of the moonlit night by the Pangong lake. The moon shone on the lake, glistening the water. We went near the lake and saw our reflections on the moonlight tinted water.

Some times we sauntered along the lake, and some times we stood silent by the lake. All of us embraced the quiet of the night and delved deeper into our inner souls. Moments like these are when life comes alive!

The morning after at Pangong

Snuggling under warm blankets, we kept reflecting on the divine night of super moon at Pangong lake. We could catch up on some peaceful sleep despite the harsh temperatures.

The next day we went further down the village to spend some time by the Pangong lake under the morning sun. Birds were fishing for their prey in the clear blue waters of the Pangong lake. The surrounding snow capped rugged mountains rose high to pierce the blue skies and white clouds above. The morning scenery made up for perfect picture postcards. Yet a part of us still dwelt on the night before.

Closing thoughts

Pangong Tso undeniably features high on our list of most beautiful destinations we have ever visited. Not just because of the picture perfect location, but also because of the night of the super moon at Pangong. Whenever we look back on our time at Pangong, we can still sense the tranquility of that mystical night. Even seven years later!

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