Leh Express's video: Padum to Penzila Pass Pensi La Drang Durng Glacier Roya Enfield Himalayan Leh Express

Padum to Penzila Pass ( Pensi La) | Drang Durng Glacier | Roya Enfield Himalayan | Leh Express Padum is named after Padmasambhava. It is the only town and administrative centre in Zanskar. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other being Zangla. It is 240 km away via the link road from Kargil town (National Highway No. 01D).The population of Padum is about 13,459 people.[1] The traditional heart of the village is below the gompa and Palace khar (now in ruins) where two large chortens stand above old buildings. A road was constructed in 1980 from NH1, Kargil over Pensi La while the road to Darcha is yet half way through. Padum has several hotels, homestays and restaurants meant for tourists. Padum has a post office, internet cafes and telephone booths. Geography Padum is at the centre of the tri armed Zanskar valley. It has an average elevation of 3,657 metres (11,998 feet).[contradictory] There are several villages to the north-east of Padum leading to Karsha monastery. Pensi la - Pensi-la (Pensi Pass) is a mountain pass in the Ladakh union territory of India, which is known as the Gateway to Zanskar. Pensi La is 4,400 m (14,436 ft) above sea level and connects the Suru Valley region to the Zanskar Valley region. The summit at this end of the Suru Valley, the only peak which can be seen, is 7,012 m (23,005 ft) high, while the mountain to the north is 6,873 m (22,549 ft). The pass is about 25 km from Rangdum Monastery.highest point of the road pass To the west of Pensi La watershed flows the Suru River, an important tributary of the Indus which meets at Kargil. The Drang Drung Glacier to the eastern flank of Pensi La is the source of Stod or Doda River which flows into the Padum Valley, and joins with Tsarap Chu to form the mighty Zanskar River."The descent from the Pensi La into the Stod Valley [in Zanskar] is steeper than the climb up from Rangdum Gompa, but not too difficult. The road winds about with many hairpin turns, which can be cut across on foot, to the river below. Wild rhubarb can be seen growing on the slopes. The generally used trekking route follows the road on the left bank of the Stod (or Doda). . . . The grass at the foot of the Pensi La furnishes a good pasturage and this is a fine camping spot.Pensi-La is also the gateway to the Padum, the headquarters of Zanskar sub-division of Kargil district. A 240 km road connecting Kargil town to Padum, through the Pensi La remains open for a brief 5 months, between May and October.[citation needed] Before the modern road was built, the pass, apparently, used to be open only three months of the year because of heavy snows.View of Glacial lake and the Drang Drung Glacier, as seen from Pensi La, Zanskar, Ladakh, India.Pensi La Peak - Source of Stod River Drang Drung Glacier- The Drang-Drung Glacier (also called Durung Drung Glacier) is a mountain glacier near the Pensi La mountain pass at the Kargil - Zanaskar Road[1] in the Kargil district of Ladakh in India.The Drang-Drung Glacier is likely to be the largest glacier in Ladakh other than the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Range,[3] with a maximum length of 23 kilometres (14 mi)[4] at an average elevation of 4,780 m (15,680 feet). The glacier lies in the northeastern Himalayan Range known as the Zanskar Range, 142 kilometres (88 mi) south of Kargil and 331 kilometres (206 mi) east of Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.The Drang-Drung Glacier is a long river of ice and snow, a source of the Stod River[2] which is a tributary of the Zanskar River and the Zanskar River is a tributary of Indus River. Doda Peak with an elevation of 6,550 m (21,490 feet) rises from the glacier.Drang Drung Glacier seen from Pensi La Access-The Drang-Drung Glacier is accessible from Srinagar or Srinagar Airport in two days, 331 kilometres (206 mi) by car or bus which leads by NH 1D, a national highway which connects Srinagar and Leh through the towns of Ganderbal, Kangan, Sonamarg, and Dras. Kargil town is at the half-way point From Kargil the glacier lies on the right side of Kargil-Zanaskar Road[1] which passes through a gorge valley of Suru River and under the shades of two mountain peaks of Nun and Kun. After crossing the Pensi La mountain pass a trek of one day from the road leads to the head of Drang-Drung Glacier. The road is only open to traffic from May–September due to heavy snowfall at Zojila and Pensi La passes, and the best time to visit is July to August