Drang-Drung Glacier (New Explorations 2014)
The 'Drang-Drung Glacier' (also called Durung Drung Glacier)
is a mountain glacier situated near the Pensi La mountain pass at the
Kargil-Zanaskar Road in Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir in India.
The Drang-Drung Glacier is the largest glacier
in Ladakh other than Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Range, with a maximum
length of 23 Kilometers (14 miles) and at an average elevation of 15,680 ft (4,780 meters). The glacier lies in the north eastern Himalayan Range known as Zanskar
Range, situated 142 kilometers (88 mi) south from Kargil and 331 kilometers
(206 miles) east from Srinagar the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Drang-Drung Glacier is the long river of ice and snow, a
source of Stod River which is a tributory of Zanskar River and Zanskar River is
a tributory of Indus River. The Doda Peak with an elevation of 21,490 ft (6,550
metres) rises from the glacier.
How to reach?
The Drang-Drung Glacier is accessible from Srinagar or
Srinagar Airport in two days, 331 kilometres (206 miles) of drive 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 distance and a feasible place for a night halt.
From Kargil the glacier lies on the right side of
Kargil-Zanaskar Road 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 trekking of one day from the road leads to the head of
Drang-Drung Glacier. The road is only open for traffic from the month of May to
September due to heavy snowfall at Zojila and Pensi La passes, and the best
time to visit is July to August.
