Pangong Lake and Hanle | Unexplored Villages of Ladakh | India's Highest Astronomical Observatory

Pangong lake is the highest altitude and largest saltwater lake in the World. It is located in both china and India, with the border passing through it. It is approx. 134 km long lake of which one third part lies in Ladakh and two third part in China. You can explore the beautiful and peaceful villages across the lake like Maan, Chushul and Merak village. Hanle is a large historic village in Leh district of Ladakh, it is located in the Hanle river valley on an old branch of ancient Ladakh Tibet trade route. Hanle is quite famous for its Highest Altitude Indian Astronomical Observatory, the town experiences highest number of clear skies throughout the year. The observatory has the Himalayan Chandra Telescope, the second largest Cerenkov Telescope in the World. Hanle has the clearest night skies with negligible light pollution making it best for stargazing in Ladakh. It is a site of 17th century Drukpa Kagyu Monastery, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Hanle is also home to various rare wildlife species of the Himalayas, like Snow Leopard, Wild Yak, Tibetan wild ass - Kiang, Pallas cat, Eurasian Lynx and many more.