We turned the Jimny, kicking up a cloud of rocky dust, and sped off towards a Himalayan thermal hot spring located on the route to Hanle.
The Puga Valley is like a crucible, sits amidst the Zanskar Trans Himalayan range, famed for its geothermal activities, with abundant hot springs, steam vents, resulting from underground magma chambers heating groundwater.
These springs can reach temperatures as high as 80°C
Rugged Tsokar Terrain
Himalayan Mountain range near Tsokar
coloring it light brown as the
habitation slept below in the shadows
throughout the road as we skirted the
grey mountains with the Zanskar
range looming ahead in the distance
mountains of eclogites, shattered and
broken hanging under the clear sky
completely broken hill mass before
taking a sharp descent towards the
Puga hot springs
The Puga Hot Springs
the snowcapped Zanskar range that
stood tall and bold above the
surrounding grey mountains
existed, the SUV convoy dived for a glimpse
as the Zanskar range guarded in the distance
was interrupted by static mud pools of
water as we drove towards the hot springs
had furrowed the land. The ground around
the hot springs were soft, and we hardly
could walk, let alone drive as the vehicles
would have been grounded, so we
parked away on the high grounds
the geothermal hot spring fumes coming out
of the ground with a shower of hot water.
We were unable to go to it as the ground
was spongy, muddy and clayey
a bike latched on was parked beside our
SUVs’. We were all mesmerized by the hot
springs in the distance
Inference
- Geothermal Activity – Famous for its hot springs, steam vents, and mud pools, with temperatures reaching up to 80°C
- Sulphur Deposits – The area is rich in Sulphur, which is evident from the yellowish deposits around the springs
- Tectonic Setting – Located near active fault zones within the Zanskar Range, the geothermal activity is driven by tectonic processes of Indian and Eurasian plate collision
- Unique Biodiversity – The hot springs and surrounding areas support a distinct ecosystem, including microbial life adapted to the extreme geothermal conditions
| Distance of Puga Springs from Leh | 170 Kms |
| Distance of Puga Springs from Srinagar | 420 Kms |
| Best time to visit | August through early October |
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SPITFIRE GAUTAM 