India (October-November 2019): Trek from Thembang to Jang via Tse La (1/3)

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The itinerary of this trek is drawn in green line in both the map and the aerial image above. To see the aerial image in more detail click here to download the trek-ap.kmz file and open this file in Google Earth. The trek starts in Pangma, a hamlet located 5km north of Thembang and ends in Jang (red pins). The yellow pins (marked #1 to #8) point to the locations of the 8 successive camps of this trek. The other pins indicate the positions of various towns, villages, passes, and peaks.

 

For this trek I was accompanied by three Dirang Monpas from the Thembang area: Bodong, Tsering Wangchu, and Dawa Sonam (yakman). This team had been arranged by Lobsang Phuntsok (Tawang Tour and Travel) through leaders of the Thembang village, as more than half of the trek lies in the large Thembang′s territory. Our loads were carried by 4 yaks.

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Bodong

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Tsering Wangchu

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Dawa Sonam (with a boy who joined us until camp #4)

 

At the start of the trek (hamlet of Pangma, elevation: 2100m) the dense subtropical forest had been cleared to allow animal grazing. However, as we climbed toward the village of Chandler (see aerial map at the top of this page), the forest became quickly denser, with bamboos, taller trees, and even leeches. As yaks could not stay for long at the relatively low elevation of Pangma, our 4 yaks had been brought from Chandler in the morning just for a few hours in order to carry the loads to higher grounds.

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The 4 yaks reaching Camp #1 (elevation: 2870m), just below Chandler village.

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The village of Chandler seen from its small gompa. As many similar villages in the region, it is a village of brokpas (yak/dzomo rearers). Before the monsoon season, most of its people and their animals move to pastures higher in the mountain. At the end of the monsson season they return to the village where they spend the colder winter months. Due to climate change, there is an increasing number of yak hydrids, like dzos (males) and dzomos (females), that are more heat-resistant and, for the females, produce more milk.

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Typical Monpa house made of stones and wood (and sometimes bamboo) in Chandler, with large quantities of wood already stored for the winter.

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Monpa woman preparing Tibetan tea (a mix of tea, yak butter, and salt).

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Successive views from my tent during sunrise. The highest peak at the center of the third photo below is the main Gorichen peak (6488m), whereas the highest peak on the right is Kangto (7060m). Unfortunately, due to cloudy weather during most of the trek, I will rarely see these two peaks again.

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Between Camps #1 and #2 we followed an old road that had been built after the Chinese invasion of 1962, largely on the crest of a mountain ridge. Initially the surrounding landscape was a bit boring with views over dense and uniform forests, but later it became more interesting thanks to oddly shaped trees.

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View over a hamlet built on a small spur stemming from our ridge.

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Typical Mani wall in Monpa territory. Its style is very different from the Mani walls of Nepal and Ladakh, which are made of pebbles, rocks, and/or plates carved with short mantras.

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Dawa Sonam rebalancing the load on one of his yaks.

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For the first 4 days of the trek a boy had joined us. He was the son of a yak owner and was going to Potak (a yak pasture where we will set our Camp #4) to bring back home his father′s yaks for the winter season.

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Interestingly shaped trees, with long trunks and few clusters of branches.

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We reached a place called Thungri (elevation: 3200m), where we met the first army post of the trek and had to wait until the next morning before getting the permission to go forward. We set our Camp #2 there.

 

Beautiful sunrise at Camp #2.

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Beyond Camp #2 and until Camp #4, the trail is used to move cattle between villages and higher-elevation pastures. It is well maintained despite the fact that it often lies in ditches dug by water during heavy rain. Between Camps #2 and #3 it mostly follows the crest of a ridge (with the valley of the Sangti river occasionally visible on its western side). The traversed forests are stunningly beautiful.

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Machete

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Just when we reached our Camp #3 (elevation: 3730m) it started raining and we got wet for the first time of the trek.

 

To directly access the other two pages covering this trek, click on the following links:

- Thembang-to-Jang trek via Tse La (2/3)

- Thembang-to-Jang trek via Tse La (3/3)

 

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Return to my mountaineering/trekking/travel webpage | Return to main India Oct-Nov 2019 webpage