This 480 km journey is so amazing that the environment is changing every kilometer, people are changing and dialects are changing. In the last blog you read that we crossed Sarchu to reach Pang. Today's blog is about a magical place located beyond Pang which people know as "More Plains". Ladakh is located in the north of India and this wonderful place is present in its womb where the average height is 4800 meters. With 60% oxygen level, there is almost no greenery here and for about 6-7 months of the year this place is cut off from the world due to heavy snowfall. So let's go on this wonderful journey.
It is the month of June and we reach More Plains by car at 4 pm. This place is a magical place because the Trans Himalayan land is so rough that finding plain land here is almost negligible but More Plains is a land which is 40-45 kms of absolutely flat land. Seeing this plain land, it feels like we have come to another planet. I explored this place for the first time in 2014 and since then I come here every year and find this place new every time.
We take shelter in a small local shelter here. We have decided that we will spend the night here. After talking about the money with the owner of this local shelter, we enter a cave like hut where I keep my bags and come out and my companions rest. Leh city is 122 kms from here. In the local language this place is called debring and tourists stop here for tea and snacks. While roaming here, for the first time I came to know about a tribe named "Changpa".
This tribe is mainly found only in the Changthang area located on the border of Ladakh and Tibet, and from here this tribe has spread to other areas of Ladakh. The people of Changpa tribe are also called nomads, being tribals these people are seen roaming from one place to another with their animals. If we talk about their main occupation, then these people rear sheep, yak and goat. This tribe rears goats which give pashmina and by selling its hair they earn money which helps in furthering their life.
These people live with their animals at an altitude of 4500 meters to 5500 meters, and they have to face temperatures up to -25 degrees. To avoid such dangerous cold, these people use the skin of yak to cover their body. And if I talk about their religion then these people follow Buddhism but with time their clothing style has also changed under the influence of western civilization. I felt very good talking to them because unlike me these people are not after jobs, money and material things.
They are living a simple life, anyway it may take 50 years for modernization to reach here but I believe till then this tribe will survive and will preserve its principles. As I move ahead from here a goat herder is giving water to his sheep and goats in the newly made lake present here. Out of curiosity I go near him. On my greetings, the man says "Jule Jule" which means "Hello how are you?
The boy is going to his camp with his animals where he will keep them all in a pen. The boy also invites me to come to his camp which I gladly accept. After reaching the camp, I keep my camera in the bag and I did this because all of their friends do the same thing that they get busy clicking photos and videos with the camera and no one gets to hear their story. When the boy locks his animals in the pen, he says come let's sit in the camp.
Going inside, he tells me that we are very troubled by the snow leopard here, almost every night the leopard comes and takes away one or two of our animals, so we all stay awake and guard the whole night. An old man sitting in the camp, seeing me, says that there is no need to be surprised because if these animals are there, we are there and if they are not there, we are also not there. "I did not understand"... saying this, I look at him, on which he says that "In winters, there are snow storms here and at that time our animals get lost, then in -30 degrees the whole village gathers and goes out to search for these animals, and they find them too". Because if these animals get extinct then our purpose of living will also end.
Difficult time of winters keeps us active because of them, otherwise we too would freeze and die here. I had understood his words and now it was time for me to say bye to him, on which he said that "I am glad that you did not use the phone and camera". I passed a smile and saying "Jule" to him I come to my camp where all my companions are sleeping. I also take a deep sleep after having dinner. So friends, how did you like this blog", have you also met any tribal?.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from canon 77d (55-250mm) and edited on laptop lightroom app, post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.
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