The Shyok, means the river of death, and this Yarkandi name was probably given it by the Central Asian traders who littered this fantastic landscape with their bones over the centuries. In fact ominous names abound in the region of the Karakorum. Daulat Beg Ouldi, or the place where Daulat Beg died, Daulat Beg probably was some rich Yarkandi nobleman who perished after the rigours of the descent from the Karakorum pass.

Here, at the incredible altitude of 18,200 feet lies the Khardung-la, the pass connecting Leh valley to the south, to the valley's of the Nubra and the Shyok, to the north. In fact the Khardung-la can be termed the gateway to the Karakorum or the land of black gravel as the name itself translates.


The Khardung has had it's periods of glory in the past. As one of the most important passes in the ancient Central asian trade route, it was in fact the last major obstacle before the caravans could reach the valley of the Indus. In more recent years it became famous as the highest motorable point in the world, a distinction it held for many years, till the chinese built the Karakorum highway.

Here too lies the worlds largest non-arctic glacier system, the Siachen. Rising from the dizzy heights of the Karakorum in the northwest, in the region of Sia Kangri, the Siachen starts it's 90 kilometer long journey to the Nubra headwaters. Enroute, the Siachen is joined by the Shelkar Chorten and Mamostang glaciers, which in turn are formed by numerous feeder glaciers. Thus it is that almost 14 moraines ride the surface of the great Siachen.
To the east of the Siachen is the Rimo glacier group. The North, Central and South glaciers sprawl on an almost level roof...... between 6000 and 7000 meters above sea level. All three glaciers have between them almost 700 square kilometers of ice which is, at places, almost a 100 meters thick. It is from this enormous mass of ice that the Shyok takes birth. Thus the Siachen glacier empire contains about 2000 square kilometers of ice surface and almost 200 cubic kilometers of ice.

The lakes of Ladakh may be left overs of the ancient sea that once covered Ladakh and Tibet, or so some eminent goelogists have argued. Primarily drainage basins for the surrounding higher country the water is salty and brackish. Pangong Tso, across the Changla pass, from Leh is only 8 km wide at it's broadest but is an amazing 134 kilometers long bisected by the international border between India and Tibet. Most of the fresh water inlets into the lake are towards the Tibetan end.





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