Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Kailash Manasarovar Yatra -2012 -18

Paiku Tso Lake

A snow capped montain peak

 A canal formed out of molten snow

A Tibetan house


Paiku Tso Lake



Gupta on the banks of Paiku  Tso Lake

Some of our group members stretching their legs after a long journey



Vibrant colors and elaborate designs inside the restaurant

Oven of Tibetans


Suthar with the Tibetan family

Suthar and Mukherjee

It was a down hill journey from Lalung La pass and we saw many Himalayan Goats, Eagles, crow and other animals on the way. The mountains were bald and brownish and at many  points they had written the names of the places in bold letters. Yaks and sheep were grazing in the grassland formed  out  the streams formed out of molten snow. Thus our journey continued for another two hours and we reached the picturesque Paiku  Lake. This part there is hardly any rain. 


Paiku lake is sits at  an elevation of 4600/15100 ft  and is a brght turquoise  sorrounded on the three sides by snow covered mountain peaks reaching near 6000 meters. The lake is 27 Km long and 6 Km wide at its narrowest. Streams fed by glaciers cascade to the valley floor and sink through alluvial sand before reaching the lake. The catchment area of the lake is endorheic meaning there is no outlet from this lake it can overflow into Brahmaputra once it reaches a level of 100 meters  and this has never happened so the water of the lake is still brackish.  

The sherpas stopped the bus for lunch at this scenic place we captured the beauty of the mountain peaks and the lake in our cameras and stretched our legs after a long journey and had our lunch in a nearby house. The inside of the house is panted with vibrant colors and elaborate designs. Normally the Sherpas prepare lunch  in the morning and carry them in hot packs and serve them at the time of lunch after heating them. Because of long journey and  elevation there was no appetite at all and also it took some effort to eat also. It's advisable to keep the body hydrated always so drink hot soup or dal and never travel empty stomach in these higher elevations.

After lunch and some rest we recommenced  our journey again as the highway was good the driver drove the vehicle at it's highest set speed and we enjoyed  the changing face of the mountains. . We could make out that the wind is howling from the dust storm created outside. After travelling for  about two hours like this we  crossed Brahmaputra River and reached Saga.    

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