Photo tour / tour Tibet Lake -1: Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Tso Startsapak, Cham Dance on Lake Pangong.

In 2023, the Tibet-Ozerny-1 trip will take place in the format of an 11-day tour and at a budget cost.
About the budget of this tour:
in 2022, the cost of participation in this tour was 890 USD, in 2023 - 872 USD, despite the fact that the duration of the tour increased by 1 day.
The reduction in tour cost compared to 2022 is a matter of using our own vehicles on the tour.

The tour has an English-speaking guide and a Russian-speaking consultant-photographer.
Travel in the full sense of the richness, and at the same time - the budget.
The tour takes place in the format of a photo tour / tour.

THERE ARE TWO ACCENTS IN THIS JOURNEY:
1. ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE HIGH-MOUNTAIN LAKES OF LADAKH AND THE SACRED MYSTERIES.
2. CLOSE ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE CULTURE AND SYMBOLISM OF LIVING TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN LADAKHA.

Why so - just 2 accents?
Because we never know, and we can’t even guess which group will be on which of our tours).
Therefore, we take everything and in fact - we will follow the wishes of the group.

For photographers:
photo tour will be very interesting for photographers of any level - from pros to amateurs, and just active tourists.
For professional photographers, this trip is a great opportunity to collect material for a personal exhibition.
For amateur photographers, this is a good practical school for continuous photography in places where you can take pictures around the clock.
For tourists, this is an incredible journey, the analogues of which you will not find in any tour operator.
And, as a bonus, learn the basics of travel photography.

This photo tour of the alpine lakes of Little Tibet was the hit of the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 seasons and is objectively the most spectacular and vibrant photo tour of Ladakh.
Moreover, the Tibet Ozerny-1 travel program is extremely saturated - for 11 days there is not a single day off, all days will be extremely filled with photography.

For travelers and those interested in the culture of living Tibetan Buddhism:

The most important thing, perhaps, is to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama with your own eyes, to be present at the Long Life Pulzha during His birthday.

Sacred Buddhist mystery with the performance of the Tsam Dance in the very remote Sashikul Gonpa monastery on Pangong Lake.
In 2017, there were tourists here - count on the fingers.
These are - indeed - the origins, practically the same as it was here hundreds of years ago.
This is living communication with culture, with culture bearers, this is presence at services in monasteries, communication with lamas.
And these are the infinitely beautiful places of our highlands, this is an opportunity for emotional and mental reboot, a very refreshing perception of the world.

The sacred Buddhist mystery with the performance of the Tsam Dance in the Hemis Monastery is perhaps the most striking sight among the summer mysteries of the Ladakh valley. Here, the incomparable retinue of Guru Padmasambhava, ancient masks, which are more than 500 years old, come to the site of the monastery, and this is perhaps the most crowded mystery in Ladakh.

Key highlights of this journey:
1. Four high-mountain lakes of Ladakh (Little Tibet): Pangong Tso, Tso Kar, Tso Moriri and Kyagar Tso - the places are not just beautiful, the places are fantastic.
2. Valley of high mountain geysers between lakes Tso Moriri and Tso Kar.
3. Remote villages of high-mountain nomadic shepherds of the Ladakh people Chongpa.
4. Burgundy Gorge - one of the most fantastically beautiful places in Ladakh.
5. Ethnographic photography in the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh.
6. Ethnographic and genre photography on Buddhist mysteries Hemis Tsechu and Sashikul Gustor.
7. Free photography for photographers: the tour program is designed in such a way that participants can take pictures during normal hours in an individual schedule.
8. Very tasty tour price, especially with early booking - 872 USD.
And more importantly:
THERE WILL BE A LOT OF LAKES!

We have described in detail as much as possible each day of Tibet Lake-1 travel.
All the photographs were taken by us and are a real reflection of the places we will visit, and at the time when we go there.
Photos are clickable to large size.
The description of each day of the tour indicates the total mileage per day and the height of the places visited.

Day 1, June 27: Arrival in Delhi. Flight Delhi - Leh. Acclimatization, height 3 600 m.
Arrival at New Delhi International Airport (India) from your country of residence.
We issue an e-visa - it usually takes about 10 minutes, if there is no queue, we get luggage and go from the international terminal D3 of New Delhi airport to the terminal of domestic airlines D2 or D3:
The transition takes about 5 minutes: when leaving the terminal D3, immediately turn left, five minutes after the transition and we are in terminal D2.
D3 is located in the same building as the international arrival terminal, but on the second floor:
you have to rise from the arrival floor to the second floor and there are signs everywhere.

This is a common practice on our tours in Ladakh:
flights on which participants of our tours fly to New Delhi airport usually arrive at terminal D3 from 2 to 5 in the morning, immediately go to terminal D2 or D3 and fly off to Leh in one of the morning flights.
We take flight tickets for the Delhi - Leh flight so that the time margin between external and internal flights is at least 3 hours.
At the terminal D2 or D3 we check in for the flight Delhi - Leh, flight to Leh, 1 hour 20 minutes.
The flight Delhi-Leh itself is an exciting photo shooter for photographers, the plane flies over the most beautiful peaks of the Himalayas.
We strongly recommend that when buying tickets, immediately book seats near the portholes, and not in the middle of the plane - there the wings will interfere with the shooting.
For those who want to photograph mountain ranges from an airplane, places 25F to 30F and 25A to 30A will be most successful.

The plane literally creeps-moves along the gorge in the middle of mountain ranges, glaciers float behind the windows of the plane almost nearby - it seems a stone's throw:

From a height we look at the Ladakh Valley, along which our journey will take place, look at Lake Tso Moriri, for example - in a few days we will arrive there:

By the way, in front of Lech itself there will be incredibly beautiful, vibrant valleys - just fantastic:

Arriving in Ladakh, the plane makes a beautiful U-turn over the valley (a great time for photography), flies over Spituk Gonpa Monastery and lands at the only airport in the valley - in the city of Leh.

Transfer to the hotel, breakfast.
Lech is located at an altitude of 3600 m.
And on the first day of our tour, it is very important for participants to undergo the correct high-altitude acclimatization:
we are instructed on the correct behavior at altitude, we drink a lot of fluids, we relax at the hotel for the first hours on arrival.

After an acclimatization holiday in the hotel, we go for a leisurely adaptation walk along the narrow streets of Old Lech:
We get acquainted with the infrastructure of the city, learn to navigate in Leh, walk around the old part of the city.

The old town of Lech has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Monument Fund.
We will end the walk in the wonderful cafe-restaurant Penguin, where our first dinner will be held in Leh.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 2, June 28: Walk along the Ladakh Valley. Basgo Gonpa Buddhist Monastery, about 60 km, 3,400m.
This morning we set off for our first car acclimatization tour of the Ladakh Valley, to the beautiful Buddhist monastery Basgo Gonpa.
Incredible landscapes await us along the way, such as this place is the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers.

In general, the entire valley of the middle course of the Indus River is very unusual:
the mountains here are multi-colored, bright saturated tones - burgundy, green, red, purple, yellow - and all this beauty is mixed in almost vertical mountain folds.
The rocks themselves are quite soft - sandstones, clay shales, which allowed the weathering processes to create incredible relief forms here for many millennia.
And in the midst of all this are snow-white Buddhist stupas.
Impressive.

We will have breakfast on the way - in the village of Nimo, in a local tavern, we will try real Ladakh food - very tasty: samosas and air cakes from tsampa with boiled peas in small bowls.
They cook delicious food in Nima; people from all over the valley flock to this tavern.

And after breakfast - we will continue our journey to the Buddhist monastery Basgo Gonpa.

Basgo Buddhist Monastery, Basgo Gompa - built in 1680 by the rulers of the Buddhist dynasty Namgyal.
The village of Basgo itself has been known since antiquity and is mentioned in the Ladakh Chronicles as a political and cultural center and the former capital of Lower Ladakh.
The monastery is famous for its unique 16th century frescoes and the statue of Buddha Matreya:

Basgo Gompa stands on steep rocks, no, probably more correctly like this:
Basgo Gonpa both grew on the tops of steep cliffs, which really are part of its foundation and literally hangs - hovering in the air over the village of Basgo.

The landscapes on the territory of the Basgo Gonpa nature reserve are simply unbelievable - there is no other word for it:
bizarre-shaped cliffs interspersed with the buildings of the monastery, and are not interconnected by paths, but by steep mountain paths.
And in the middle of this rugged landscape - in the hollows are colorful lakes and natural phallic idols.

It is infinitely beautiful here: Basgo Gonpa is probably the most unusual Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.
Basgo Gonpa is located in steep claret rocks, the territory of the monastery itself is absolutely incredible landscapes.
You can roam here ad infinitum.
What will we do.

In the evening we set off on the way back to Leh with numerous stops:
in the evening light, the Basgo Valley is especially beautiful.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 3, June 29: Hemis Tsechu Mystery at Hemis Gonpa Monastery, Dance of Tsam Guru Padmasambhava, about 70 km, 3,800m.
Today we are going to the world-famous Buddhist monastery of Ladakh - Hemis Gonpu.

But only today it won’t be so deserted here, on the contrary - Hemis Gonpa will be full of people, because today the most important holiday of the year takes place here - the Buddhist mystery Hemis Tsechu with the performance of the Tsam Dance.
Buddhist mysteries in general are the most honest and powerful action on our planet, but what happens in Hemis Gonpa as a whole is difficult to describe in words.
Here, the ancient world of Dharma Protectors, invisible in everyday life, led by Guru Padmasambhava, reigns on the site.
There will be a sea of ​​impressions, this is an opportunity to get in touch with what has been happening unchanged for centuries and to see and feel this sacred action live.

Hotel in Leh.

Day 4, June 30: Leh - Lake Kyagar Tso, Lake Tso Moriri, Karzok village, 252 km, 4600 m.
Today we go on a long and rich road of impressions, now - up the river Indus.
Today we are waiting for a meeting with the alpine lake Tso Moriri, we have a beautiful and long road with stops:

The nature here is so beautiful that it is impossible not to stop at least for a while.
At one of these stops we will have a picnic lunch in nature in the bed of the Indus River.

Then we will overcome the Yalung Nyalung pass (5450 m) and the dusty plateau Rupshu.
From the pass, we have a view of Kyagar Tso Lake, an uncontrollable blue color, like the precious eye of an aquamarine framed by brown shores.

And after another 17 kilometers - a long-awaited meeting with Lake Tso Moriri.

Tso Moriri, Tsomoriri, Tso Moriri - the largest alpine lake in Indian Tibet, 215 km southeast of Leh at an altitude of 4595 m above sea level.
The maximum length of the lake is 19 km, the maximum width is 3 km, and the maximum depth is 40 m.
It is the largest alpine lake in the trans-Himalayan region within India.
The water in the lake is slightly salty. The lake is available only in the summer season.
On the shore of the lake is the Karzok Gompa Monastery and the village of the same name Karzok, where we are heading.

Lake Tso Moriri is a wonderful remote quiet place.
In calm weather, Tso Moriri shakes with his mirrors:
the world really becomes double, dual and this duality of the surrounding reality is tangible literally physically.
The sunset mirrors at Tso Moriri are simply amazing.

Evening walk on Lake Tso Moriri, to the farthest stupas on the right bank of the lake, above the lake, above the smooth surface of the waters.

And later - dinner in a mobile restaurant with nomads, evening puja in the Buddhist monastery Karzok Gonpa.
Hotel in the village of Karzok.

Day 5, July 1: Karzok Village. Lake Tso Moriri. ChongPa nomad settlements, about 50 km, 4,400 - 4,600 m.
Today we have yet another busy day.
Early in the morning we meet the dawn on Lake Tso Moriri on the opposite shore from the village of Karzok - there are a lot of interesting places for taking pictures:
along the edge of the lake there are small puddle ponds, in which there is always a mirror reflection of the bowl of giant mountains Tso Moriri:

Then we go to the gorge of Korokov Fu - summer pastures of the shepherds of Chongpa from Korzok.

And we will take pictures in the villages of the nomads ChongPa:
there will be a lot of genre photography, the nomads will always be interested, including it will be possible to wander among the huge Tibetan yaks, drink tea in the nomad’s mobile homes, take pictures of children and much more.

For the evening, plans can be very diverse, landscape photography of the lake from various points, for example:
Photographing Lake Tso Moriri from an observation deck above the village of Karzok.

If there is calm weather, you can go down to the Tso Moriri floodplain and photograph the water mirrors.

And we hope that we are lucky and we get during our photo tour in thunderstorm weather.
The thunderstorms on Lake Tso Moriri are simply amazing for taking pictures.

Hotel in the village of Karzok.

Day 6, July 2: Lake Tso Moriri, geyser valley, Lake Tso Kar- valley Rupshu - Tanglang pass La Rumce (Burgundy gorge) - Leh, about 200 km.
Heights of the day: 4,400 m (Valley of Geysers) - 4,700 m (Lake Tso Kar) - 5,358 m (Tanglan La Pass) - 3,600 m (Leh).

Early in the morning we set off further along the route:
1. Morning photo shoot on Lake Chiogar Tso: just 17 km from Lake Tso Moriri there is a very beautiful lake - Chiagar Tso, we already saw it on the way to Karzok.
Our first stop on this day is here - for morning photography, we will wander along the shores of the lake with cameras.

2. On the road we are waiting for a lot of interesting places for photography - from ethnographic and animalistic photography in nomad camps to macro, animalistic and, if there are the right clouds, landscape photography.

3. The Valley of Geysers. Yes, it is on the road from Tso Moriri to Tso Kar that we will visit the unique high-mountain valley of geysers, located at an altitude of about 4,500 m.

Geysers here are very different: from small gurgling with huge bubbles to hot geyser fountains more than three meters high.

The valley of geysers in the literal sense of the word is a completely fabulous place:
here the climate changes dramatically under the influence of hot springs and in the midst of the high desert Ladakh green alpine meadows suddenly appear interspersed with salt marshes, the slopes acquire the most vivid colors.
The macro photography of the sources themselves is incredible, these are abstract paintings:

Yellow - yields of crystalline sulfur, among which transparent ammonia crystals, brown, green crusts of salts are hidden.

The main thing is that we are lucky with the weather and then we can photograph endlessly in the valley of geysers:
including birds that live in huge numbers on the shores of the valley, small gurgling sources - very textured photographs are obtained, and, of course, geyser fountains.

You can also swim in the springs, and not only you can, but the springs are considered healing, so do not forget to bring bathing suits with you on the tour.
Geysers themselves give beautiful vivid drawings - paintings.

Valley of Alpine Geysers, Rupshu Valley. Photo tour / tour Tibet of Lake-1: Pangong, Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Tso Chiagar, Dance of Tsam on Lake Pangong.

Closer to 11 o’clock in the morning - we arrive at the next fantastic place - on Lake Tso Kar, have a quick lunch and go for a photo shoot on Lake Tso Kar.

Lake Tso-Kar - perhaps the most beautiful of the lakes of Lesser Tibet.
The epithet "beautiful" is not quite that, Tso-Kar is just charming:
soft colors, halftones, closed miniature, watercolor colors of the mountains surrounding the lake, peace and quiet.
The word "Tso-Kar" literally translates as White Lake. This lake is named so because the salt lake and all its shores are covered with whitish deposits of salt.
Lake Tso Kar - is located 150 km south-east of Leh in the Rupshu Valley at an altitude of 4700m.

From the height of Tso Kar it looks like this: on the left is Tso Kar itself, and on the right is Tso Startsapak.

Tso Kar is very capricious and very diverse in all its manifestations:
from the weather, which can change here every half hour to landscapes - here and the surface of the water with reflection mirrors, and colorful salt marshes, and winding channels of the channel connecting different parts of the lake.

We ride around the lake by car, enjoy the constant changes taking place at Tso Kara and, finally, animalistic photography:
herds of yaks and herds of wild horses graze near the lake, which are very close to them.

In the afternoon, we are waiting for a very interesting and saturated with landscapes and panoramas alpine road.
We will climb the second highest pass in Ladakh - Tanglang La (5358 m), and from the height we will see the alpine dusty valley of Rupshu.
Photographing in the dusty Rupshu Valley and at the second highest pass in Ladakh Tanglang La.

View of the Ladakh Valley from the Tanglung La Pass.
It is along this road that we will go down.

In the evening we descend to a height of about 4,000 in the small village of Rumce.
The place here is very atmospheric:
Rumce village is located at the entrance to the Burgundy Gorge, against which the white stupas and houses of the village look amazingly bright.

And at the very end of the day - Burgundy Gorge, South Gate to the Valley of Ladakh and one more of local wonders:
here the mountains are really bright burgundy and the mountain layers, like raging, escaping from the bowels of the essence, are standing on their hind legs, and stone mushrooms grow in the middle of the rocks.

Late, already in the dark evening, under the stars we arrive in Leh.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 7, July 3: Day of free photography in Leh. Old Town, 3,600 m.
Today we wander and photograph in the old Leh:
narrow streets run between houses dating back several centuries.

You can go inside the houses - everything has been preserved here without any changes - so many interesting things can be found here, for example, such Tibetan amulets on the walls of dwellings.

Quietly the ancient streets we rise to the Royal Palace of Leh:

And, of course, a lot of genre photography.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 8, July 4: Transfer Leh - Tangse. Pangong Lake, about 180 km, 4400 m.
Heights of the day: Leh (3,600 m) - Chang La Pass (5,316 m) - Tangse village (4,200 m).
We rise early in the morning, have breakfast and go by car to Lake Pangong Tso.

A stunningly beautiful road upstream of the Hindu River awaits us.
Near the Buddhist monastery Chamdey Gonpa, we turn left from the main road and begin to climb to Pangong Lake.

The road will go to the peaks, and from a height we will see valleys stretching beneath us with drawings of fields.

And what beautiful plots of paintings come across:

The road rises to Chang La Pass, 5,316 m., Named after Sadhu Changla Baba, to whom the Hindu temple on the pass was dedicated.
Further, the road with a wide ribbon will roll down a beautiful plateau to the small village of Tangste with the eponymous Buddhist gonpa monastery, nestled among the rocks.
We stop for a short time in Tangs, throw our things in the guest house and go further - on our first date with Pangong Tso Lake.
5 kilometers in front of the lake there is a stop in the meadow, where there are a lot of manual marmotas - this is the Tibetan marmot, you can photograph them there from close range.

Pangong Lake is located at an altitude of approximately 4250 m and is located on the very border with Tibet.
The lake is 134 km long and 5 km wide. The lake itself is 1/3 owned by Ladakh (India) and 2/3 belongs to Tibet (the Tibetan territories now under Chinese occupation).
A magnificent evening in Pangong: regardless of the weather, all evenings in Pangong are magnificent.

Hotel in Tangs.

Day 9, July 5: Sashikul Gustor Festival at Sashikul Gonpa Monastery. Return to Lech, about 180 km, 4200 - 3600 m.
We will spend the next half day in a very ancient (12th century) Buddhist monastery Sashikul on the Buddhist mystery Sashikul Gustor.

As mentioned above: Dance of Buddhist lamas of high initiation in the Masks of Divine Enlightened beings from the space of Bordeaux.
You can talk infinitely much about the Tsam Dance, this is an incredible action, one of the most powerful energy phenomena on our planet.

And this is a very colorful, unusual action, which is always gathered by locals from nearby villages.
There will be everything: from kids running around the site of the monastery among dancing lamas to grandmothers, in a full Tibetan outfit, where only one headgear weighs about 17 kilograms.

Dance Tsam is an unthinkable, very bright kaleidoscope of images, conditions, emotions.
Yes, you can talk about it, but it's better to see it with your own eyes once.

We go to the monastery of Sashikul Gonpa on the second day of the Buddhist mystery Sashikul Gustor.

In the afternoon we set off on the way back to Leh to almost familiar places.
“Almost” - because in different lighting places look very different.
A lot of interesting little things appear, which at first - due to the total volume of impressions - were simply not noticed.
Who will have these little things - we'll see).

Perhaps this is an abstract illustration of a riverbed with raving horses:

and perhaps a bright abstract drawing of the surrounding mountains and the blue water of the river backwaters ....

We come to Leh, we are engaged in fees.
Evening walk on the Main Market - we say Lech "Goodbye", we buy souvenirs for relatives and friends.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 10, July 6: Celebration of the Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Choklamsar, about 20 km, 3600m.
Today is a big holiday for all Ladakh - the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
This day is always very solemnly celebrated in Ladakh - on the Teaching field in Choklamsar.
From all over Ladakh, on this day, Ladakhis and Zanskaris gather here - in festive national clothes, with whole families.
and this is one of the opportunities to see H.H. Dalai Lama:

It will be very festive, there will be many national songs and dances in honor of the celebration and, of course, there will be a Long Life Puja to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
This is one of the most beautiful holidays in Ladakh.

We return to Leh.
Evening walk through the Main Market - we say "Goodbye" to Lech, we buy souvenirs for relatives and friends.
Hotel in Leh.

Day 11, July 7: Flight Leh - Delhi. Homecoming.
Early morning transfer to the airport and flight Leh - Delhi.
And again, the Great Himalayas will look at us through the windows of the plane.

Upon arrival in Delhi, you can tour the capital of India (on request), transfer to the airport and return to your homeland.