Ladakh's Most Beautiful Places Pangong Lake and Hanle | Merak Village | Hanle Observatory

This is the cold desert of India, Ladakh. In this dry desert, you will see tall but dry mountains that stretch far and wide. There are no trees or grass on them. Because in these dry mountains of the Himalayas, it rains only 3 inches a year. So it is beyond imagination how difficult it would be to have water in such a barren place. But despite all this, there is a lake in the middle of these dry mountains of the Himalayas which is the largest lake in the entire Himalayas. Its name is Pangong. This sea-like lake, located at an altitude of 13,000 feet in the middle of the mountains, is so large that you can reach Pune from Mumbai in such a distance. But this lake will not end even then. Because this lake is 160 kilometers long, and its length makes it so special. But nature gave this desert such a big lake, but on one condition, that not a single drop of water from this beautiful lake is drinkable. And that is why it is India's highest saltwater lake. So now behind me is the legendary Pangong Lake. Legendary means it is really a legend, because in such a cold desert, in such a dry area, there is such a big lake, 160 kilometers long. Pangong Lake is not just a lake, but it is an entire ocean in itself. It is such a big lake, with which you can travel 25, 30, 40, 50 kilometers. So many villages will come together, so many sceneries will keep changing, but the lake will always remain. And this is just its 30-40% part, which we are able to see from here in India. Because it is such a big lake, that it looks like two countries to handle. This blue water on the entire brown landscape is very beautiful. Looking from above, you can see how far this beautiful lake has spread. Starting from the Karakoram range of East Ladakh, it goes to West Tibet. And in this entire journey, its name is also changed many times. Out of which, the lake on the side of India is called Pangong, while in Tibet, it is known as Soniak and Rumso. But with Pangong Lake, the villages make its beauty even more beautiful. Today, despite the popularity of Pangong, this beautiful village is still unknown, whose name is Merak. In this small village, there are only a few houses, behind which these very high and snow-covered mountains are its identity. Because of this, every scene here looks beautiful. And because of being a lake, there is greenery here, which adds a different charm to these dry mountains. Right now, I am in a very beautiful village of Ladakh, Merak village. And to tell you the truth, do you know what is the most beautiful thing about it? Do you know what is the most beautiful thing about it? That on one side, you will see snow peaks, and not just one, many snow peaks. And just in front of it, is the most beautiful Pangong Lake. What else do you want? I mean, here in the village, you will see a very complete view. It looks very beautiful. Generally, it is very difficult to see trees in Ladakh. But there are a lot of trees here. And there is also grass near the lake. So, there is a lot of greenery here compared to the rest of Ladakh. This place, Pangong Lake, is a bit offbeat. Because no one comes here. This is the last village of Pangong Lake. So, one should come here. But it is a very beautiful place. Right now, I am walking in this village. Hoping to meet some people here, or get to know a little about this place. So, let's go. So, in Merak, there are some mud houses like this, And the reason for this is that this is a cold desert. And there is a lot of mud. So, the whole house is made of mud. And there are some wooden windows and doors. And it is also very warm. Because, as you can see, there is a lot of wind here. And this is the wind of summer, which is also very cold. So, what would have happened in winter? So, they kept it well insulated in the mud houses. That's why these big walls are made of mud. And they have put some bushes on the roof to insulate it a little more. And right behind this house, there is such a beautiful view. But it is very cold here. One special thing about Merak is that there is a very unique beach near the lake. In the middle of Pangong Lake, there is a road made of sand. On both sides of the road, there is water, which looks very beautiful. I don't understand why Pangong Lake has been underestimated so much by calling it a lake. I mean, it is such a big lake. And you can see the water. There are such waves in the water as if they are floating in the ocean. And which lake has a beach? I mean, there are so many lakes in it. And it is called a lake. I mean, this is the whole ocean. Either the ocean is a lake or this is the ocean. It is not just a lake. It was night when I saw these waves. I didn't even realize it. And after a night full of stars, in the morning light, these mountains look like gold. This is the beautiful mountain of Karakoram range, Kangju Kangri. Looking at it from here, it feels like you just touched it. But its height is more than 22,000 feet. On the other side of the mountains, when I saw the side of the lake, there is so much peace in this moment. There is a light breeze, because of which these small waves are forming in the lake. And I can hear them. And I can also hear the birds from far away. And there is the sunrise in front. Perfect moment. There is a lot of peace in it. When I walked away from the lake towards the village, I saw something amazing. While walking around Mirak village, I saw a small stone house. And I understood what it is. It is called Rantak. I will show you from inside how amazing it is. What are you doing now? What are you doing? Is it Sattu? Are you making Sattu? Is it from your farm? So this is Rantak, which is a kind of natural wheel, which runs on water. To run it, the stream of water coming from the glacier is diverted towards the house of this stone. Then when the water touches the ground, it turns the turbine very hard. So this stone, which is attached to it, also starts rotating. There is a cone-shaped basket on top of the stone, in which there is a cone, i.e. a bar. And a horn of a sheep is attached to this basket, which vibrates the basket and keeps the grain of the cone falling down. And in the same way, this wheel keeps grinding the cone for many days without stopping, which is called Sattu here. But only in summers, because in winters, this stream also freezes. After walking a little further in the village, a hilltop comes, on which the Mirag Monastery is built. And seeing the prayer wheels of the monastery, I could never stop myself from visiting them. Anyway, in a remote place like Mirag, I had the hope of finding a monastery. But the one who did not have that is this school. This is a government school Attention! I mean, you think that in such a remote place where the water supply also came in 2021, after seeing such a good school there, I felt very good. Saying bye to the children of the school, I went away from Pangong, to another beautiful place in Ladakh. But before going to that place, I will tell you the story behind the music you are hearing in the video. Many of you have asked me many times which music I use in my videos. So let me tell you that for almost 2 years, I have used only Artlist in all the videos I have made. Artlist is an online platform on which you get royalty-free music, sound effects, footage, everything. Just like you need emotions for a good storytelling, music is very important to express those emotions. And on Artlist, I get music for every emotion of the video. Like for a drone shot, I get cinematic music or I get to show nature with peaceful music. And sometimes when I have less time, I go to this artboard feature and mention the idea of my video. And with the help of AI, I get music, sound effects, footage, recommendations for that video. In fact, now on Artlist, AI voiceover and LUTs are also available. Now I don't need any other subscription for editing. Everything is available on Artlist and you will also get 2 months extra free from the link in the description. You will also get 10% off if you subscribe to Artlist Max. And the playlist of the music I have used in this video is also in the description. So you can start with that music too. In the south of Latak, about 250 km away from Leh, comes Hanle. In this village, located at an altitude of 14,000 feet, hardly 300 people live. But in such a remote and remote place, people don't just come to see this village, but come to see the world which is hidden in its sky. This is India's highest astronomical observatory which is built here because there is no other place to see the galaxy. That's why this whole area comes to India's first dark sky reserve in which many telescopes have been installed. But among them, this Himalayan Chandra Telescope is the highest. So this big dome you are seeing, this telescope is being controlled 3000 km away from Bangalore. All the data goes to ISRO and ISRO researches the data because there are no facilities to build such a big space center for research. Another special thing about this place is that it is a cold desert. Cold desert means that most of the time, it is sunny and rainy. When the weather is clear and the sky is clear, you can see and research the whole universe of the other world which is not visible to us in cities or cities. We can see that here. And the best thing is that you can see this telescope from inside. Oh! Wow! So big! It feels like I am in a space station after coming to this area. Really! Now the telescope is in the shed and it opens at night. At night, the telescope comes out through all the mechanical procedures and records everything. At that time, no one is allowed inside. And there are such big suspensions here which controls everything and rotates the telescope. Such a big telescope completely rotates. Very good! I have never seen anything like this before. And by having this observatory here, one thing is also understood that there is no better place than Hanle to see Milky Way. Now I can see such a beautiful Milky Way from here. Because the place where I am is completely dark. That's why I can see the Milky Way behind me while talking. It is difficult to make a video and show the Milky Way. So I am just taking photos so that you can get an idea how beautiful it can look. And it is not that it looks like this in the photos. It will look very clear to you with naked eyes. But the position of the Milky Way also changes every season. And in India, it looks beautiful from March to October. But in Hanle, not only Milky Way, but Aurora lights have also been seen many times. Which is often seen on the poles of the earth. And in the last one year, it has been seen three times. All the secrets hidden in the sky of Ladakh are hidden under its ground. Because in this place of Ladakh, boiling water This is Chumathang Hot Spring. The water is so hot that you can see how it is boiling. The water is boiling at home. The temperature is so hot that I can only touch it like this. This is another hot spring from which hot water is coming out. You can hear the sound of hot water. When the water is coming out and the stones on it are shaking due to the pressure of the water. Hot water from the ground comes out due to geothermal activity. Which is the wonder of nature. In Ladakh, nature presents itself in a very unique way. Whether it is a beautiful lake or a sky full of stars. Here you feel that so much is yet to be seen. The valleys here spread far and wide make you feel that we are just a small part of a big city. In this big open sky all those big problems seem so small. The feeling of growing up in a big city cannot give you the peace that you feel in these mountains when you grow up. Because in reality our problems are not big in the city but the world we have created is very small.