Overview:

Yaye Tso Lake is a high-altitude lake located on the Chushul – Mahe road in Ladakh. It is one of the lesser-known lakes of Ladakh, fed by the melting waters of the surrounding glaciers, at an altitude of 4,820 meters (15,814 ft).

Hor La Pass, also spelled as Horla Pass, is a high-altitude pass in Ladakh. The elevation of the pass is 4,966 meters (16,974 ft) and it is one of the two passes on the road between Chushul and Mahe.

Together, both of these places are located in one of the least-explored regions of Ladakh. Not a lot of people travel on this road but the ones that do will surely be charmed by the scenic beauty they will witness on this route.

The condition of the road is a mix of good and average. There is road widening work happening on this route due to which, the traffic these days is slower than usual. But other than that, the condition of the road is mostly smooth. To know more about the latest updates on Yake Tso Lake & Hor La Pass, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Koo, Telegram and YouTube. or mail to "tmydestination@gmail.com"

The route across Hor La and Kakasang La is a direct route between Mahe and Chushul. This road was carved out about 8 years ago to reduce the distance and travel time between both the villages.

Before this road came into existence, the only way to travel between Mahe and Chushul was via Loma and Nyoma, a total of about 110 kilometers.

But the Hor La road reduced this distance to only about 62 kilometers, providing quicker and better accessibility between both villages.

There are 2 passes on this route, Hor La at an elevation of 16,194 ft and Kakasang La at an elevation of 17,834 ft. There are also four high-altitude lakes en route – Yaye Tso, Mirpal Tso, Ordong Tso, and Yashu Tso.

Of these 4 lakes, Yaye Tso and Mirpal Tso are visible from the main road itself. The other two lakes however would require you to leave your car and trek a little to reach them.

For complete information about:
How to Plan a Trip to Leh Ladakh – A Complete Travel Guide.

Leh to Yaye Tso

From Leh, you can start early in the morning between 5.00 am to 6.00 am. While traveling via the Chumathang road, you reached the Mahe Bridge around 1.00 pm.

Beautiful view of Yake Tso Lake in Summers

Here, you turn right, cross the bridge and go to Karzok where you can make a plan to stay for the night. But before doing that, you can explore around the destination to first go straight to the Hor La Pass and see the Yaye Tso Lake. The distance between Mahe Bridge and Hor La was only about 20 kilometers.

Mahe to Hor La

The road between Mahe Bridge and Mahe Village was really bad, for a total of about 3-4 kilometers. But after that, as soon as we turned on the road to Horla, it turned into an enjoyable drive on a super smooth road.

The unique thing about Hor La is that the ascent is not that steep. There are a lot of long loops which ensures that you gain altitude gradually.

In fact, you will not even feel like you are driving up a high-altitude pass. Unlike other passes, where you have a ditch on one side, at Hor La, the entire landscape rises with you. See the picture below to know what I am talking about.

After an enjoyable drive and a few breaks, You can reached a point that was marked by a lot of flags. You could see the Yaye Tso Lake in the distance.

Thato La / Nurpa La

Before this entire road from Mahe to Chushul across Hor La was carved out, there still used to be a road from Mahe to Yaye Tso. This road climbed up for about 17 kilometers from Mahe and ended at the top of the mountain from where one could see the lake.

There are a couple of villages up there, near the lake. So anyone guessing that this road provided connectivity to those villages. It would end at the top of a mountain right before the lake. This top at that time was known as Thato La.

But after the entire route to Chushul was carved out and the road got extended, it went even further up to Hor La. After that, Thato La ceased to exist and the highest elevation point was then replaced by Hor La. But the flags of Thato La were still there at the old spot.

Hor La

After you drove for about 7 more kilometers and reached another spot marked by flags. From that point, the road was going downhill and you had reached the top of the Hor La Pass.

Yaye Tso

Yaye Tso is really a beauty in itself. There are numerous lakes in Ladakh. Some of them are very large and some are really small. But one thing that is common among them all is that they are a giant in natural beauty. Yaye Tso is a testimony to that fact.

Namshang La

There is a check post near the bridge where you registered yourselves. Entries were made in a register before after that you were allowed to cross the bridge and proceed further.

The road in and around Mahe was really bad and it continued to remain that way on the other side of the bridge as well.

The condition of the road actually deteriorated. After a super bumpy ride of about 12 kilometers, you reached the village of Sumdo.

Just before Sumdo, You take left turn on the road that goes to Karzok. This is where the ascent of Namshang La Pass starts. At an altitude of 16,270 ft, it is one of the easier passes of Ladakh.

The incline of the pass is not that steep. From Sumdo, the top of the pass is only about 12 kilometers. Had it not been for the bad roads and the flags at the top of the pass, you will not even realize that you actually crossed a high-altitude pass.

There is a small lake on the other side of this pass known as Kiagar Tso due to which, this pass is also known as Kiagar La or Kyagar La.

Kiagar Tso

You cab stay for some time or take a small break at the top of Namshang La before start driving down to its other side. You had hardly gone for about 4 or 5 kilometers before you see another beautiful view.

Right in front of our eyes was the beautiful Kiagar Tso.

This is one of favorite lakes of many travelles in Ladakh. It may be a lot smaller in size than Tso Moriri but sometimes, actually think that it is more beautiful than Lake Moriri itself.

Like Tso Moriri, Kiagar Tso is also a freshwater lake and supports the wildlife around.

Chumur Road

The road to the left is all tarred and smooth. The one going straight is a dirt road. This leads people to believe that the road to Karzok is the one going left which is incorrect. It is actually the one going straight.

The road to the left runs for another 70 kilometers to the Chumur Area which is out of bounds for tourists. It is a restricted place due to all the Chinese incursions that have happened in that area.

So keep that in mind. When you reach this spot, do not turn left and continue going straight. From this point, Karzok Village is about 11 kilometers away.

Conclusion:

I hope you like the information which I provide here on Yake Tso Lake and Hor La Pass .

I hope the information provided above is sufficient to the level of knowledge and helpful in your plannng to this place in your next Ladakh Trip.

To know more about the latest updates on Yake Tso Lake How La Pass, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Koo, Telegram and YouTube. or mail to "tmydestination@gmail.com"