Last Updated on April 26, 2024 by Audrey Scott
Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags greet us as we reach Ladakh's Gongmaru La pass. All the residual fatigue from climbing up to 16,800 feet/5,130 meters seems to evaporate once we've reached this place, our goal. It's been six days in the Markha Valley and we've been up and down — and up again.
We have to remind ourselves not to move around too quickly up here, not to exhaust ourselves from the altitude. But it's difficult to contain the excitement of being on top of the world — and as photographers, to grab a piece of and bask in every little visual slice that we can capture. The scenery stuns with layers of mountains for as far as the eye can see, while a surprise snowfall earlier in the week means our view is blessed with dramatic snow caps.
But what goes up must go down. Soon, we must begin a long journey into the valley below. Until then, we have this view to enjoy.
Wow that is incredible. Having the panorama gives you a much better feel that even pictures would. Very cool!
Always love your panoramas guys! Your pics from Ladakh in general have been mouthwatering.. 🙂
@Liz: That’s the goal with these panoramas – to have the viewer feel like he/she is in the middle of it all. Glad you enjoyed it!
@Peter: Thanks – appreciate the kudos! And yes, Ladakh is full of incredible landscapes like this. Hard to choose which are the best 🙂
I wouldn’t count on the height written in the stones.. I know the people who wrote it there :p
@Guy: Ha! Don’t worry, I didn’t take the height of the pass from the stones. It was written on a map that our guide had and I looked it up afterwards 🙂 So now I’m curious – what number did you write??
@Guy: Well, that’s not too far off. Not like you wrote 7,000 meters or something 🙂
Yes, the Annapurna’s pass was a more difficult pass. I think partly because the base camp was further away from the top of the pass. And, of course, Thorong La is a few hundred meters higher.
I checked my photos, they wrote 5200… (they wrote it in stones one day before I arrived the spot)
It didn’t feel like 5200 at the time, 5130 is more like it :p
The climb wasn’t as hard as the Around Annapurna’s pass, wasn’t it?
thanks for the panarama… really motivational!
That is awesome, soon we are going to be climbing the highest peak in the Dominican Republic which is going to be so much fun. Its around 10,000 ft so 7,000 less then here but will still be fun =)
@Gabriel: I think there’s a line of a song that goes, “…climb any mountain.” Enjoy.