Visual Quotient

Please visit Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Day 8 – Aug 7 – Nyoma to Tso Moriri (Korzok)

At Nyoma, we were rudely awakened to the fact that there are no petrol pumps in that area. The one at Nyoma was no longer operational. Diesel was available with a car mechanic near Mahe. So, we decided to skip Hanle (which meant missing the Upland Buzzard) and drive straight to Tso Moriri.

The birding enroute to Mahe was awesome. We came across another Common Tern hovering close to the banks. A fast-flying Northern House Martin tested our photography skills. A group of Common Mergansers later, we came across a flock of Mongolian Finches. The pink colored birds were amongst the most beautiful that I’d come across on the trip. They hopped away from us on the walls of a disused settlement near Mahe. As luck would have it, we came across a group of Chukars at the same place a few minutes later. The first time in the trip, light was conducive for a couple of good photographs.

Beyond Mahe (I forget the name of the town), we stopped at the local mechanic. He fixed our flat tyre with a smaller tube (which meant we could take lesser chances). The diesel looked ominously diluted with kerosene.

We had breakfast at Upper Sumdo. The small dhaba on the stream provided great views of Black and Güldenstädt’s Redstarts. A White-throated Dipper was hunting all along the stream and we saw it really up-close.

Enroute to Korzok, the landscapes were mesmerizing.

We also came across a Plateau Pika very close to the road unmindful of the traffic.

Our drive to Korzok was tumultuous to say the least. The poor quality diesel had an immediate impact and the engine started knocking badly. With a lot of stops, we got to Korzok. Taking up accommodation at a home-stay (Black-necked Crane Home-stay), we tried to figure out the problem with the car, lest it be something other than the fuel. Nothing worked and we retired for the night, a very frustrated group.

Day 9 – Aug 8 – Tso Moriri to Tso Kar

With the car not behaving well, we decided to cut short our stay at Tso Moriri and head to Tso Kar. We saw a small flock of Bar-headed Geese at Tso Moriri on our way back.

After breakfast at Upper Sumdo, we headed to Puga Valley where Golden Eagles were known to roost. When we reached the school building there, we realized that there was a lot of construction work going on. We asked the folks there if they knew anything about the eagle. One of them said that he’d found a carcass of a huge bird near the water a few weeks back and had retained the wing and the claw. Partly due to our frustration with the car, we jumped to the conclusion that they were thee remains of a Golden Eagle. (Later, when better sense prevailed, we realized that the remains were of a Eurasian Eagle Owl.)

With the impression that there were no more eagles there, we drove to Tso Moriri. This was another beautiful lake with some amazing opportunities for Landscape photography.

A Lesser Sand-Plover was standing ground letting its juveniles have a quick get-away.

We drove to the camp site on the other side of the lake and took lodging at a small dhaba there. After lunch, we set off to Startsapuk Tso – another lake a few kilometers from Tso Kar. Enroute we spotted Tibetan Argali. However, a couple of people from another group had got down from their vehicle to try and get closer to the animals. The Argali took off immediately and were not seen after that.

Startsapuk Tso offered some amazing views, with the sun playing tricks behind the clouds and the Kiang offering some great foregrounds.

We looked for the Little Owl in the settlement there. Though there were signs of fresh droppings, we couldn’t find the bird. On our way back, mysteriously, the car started running smoothly. We drove about a bit and were delighted that things were back to normal. But since, we’d had very bad issues over the past couple of days, we (very wisely, in hindsight) decided to cut our trip short and get back to Gurgaon asap.

Day 10 – Aug 9 – Tso Kar to Keylong

Morning at Tso Kar was brilliant. Along with Horned Larks, we saw Hume’s Short-Toed Larks and Brandt’s Mountain Finches near the camp site.

Around 7:45am, we were greeted by Common Ravens. They were perched on the Stupa and were busy pecking each other gently. As we walked closer, one of them gave a very nasty call which spooked us completely. They then flew into the garbage dump behind the camp. We could see that the stray dogs were very wary of these huge crows and didn’t mess around with them much.

We had breakfast and started off to Keylong. The journey was fun till we crossed over Taglang La. Then, we realized that there was a trail of diesel behind the car. There was no way to fix it as the problem seemed to originate near the engine. As fuel was dripping on to the fan belt, we had to drive slowly with frequent stops to prevent the engine from heating up.

10km before Keylong, the fan-belt broke. We parked the car near a dhaba and hitched a ride on an Army truck to Keylong.

Day 11, 12 – Aug 10, 11 – Keylong to Manali, Manali to Gurgaon

With the drastic turn of events, all birding plans were completely abandoned. The first thing on our minds was to get the car fixed, even temporarily, and get back to Gurgaon. We found a mechanic in Kelong who changed the fan-belt. We drove to Manali that evening and discovered that the closest Tata Authorized Service Center was in Mandi. After a night halt in Manali, we drove to Mandi in the morning, all the while losing diesel.

We drove back to Gurgaon that evening, 4 days ahead of schedule.

All in all, a fantastic and adventurous trip.

Tips for travel to Ladakh:
1. Carry your own diesel. Beyond Leh, there are no petrol pumps and car breakdowns are fairly regular.
2. Permits to Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary can be obtained at Leh. Ensure that you carry at least 5 photocopies of the permits as they have to be submitted at multiple points.
3. Maggi is available almost everywhere. Water is abundant and very clean, except close to camping sites. You don’t need to carry too much of these essential commodities.
4. Dhabas are fairly clean to spend a night, though they typically don’t have an attached toilet.
5. There is very limited, if non-existent, mobile phone coverage beyond Leh. There are STD booths at a few places and the ITBP allows citizens to make calls at specified timings elsewhere.