The Khurnak Fort () Ngari Prefecture, KNAB Place Name Database, retrieved 18 May 2022. is a ruined fort on the northern shore of Pangong Lake, which spans eastern Ladakh in India and Rutog County in the Tibet region of China. The area of the Khurnak Fort is disputed by India and China, and has been under Chinese administration since 1958.
Though the ruined fort itself is not of much significance, it serves as a landmark denoting the middle of Pangong Lake. The fort lies at the western edge of a large plain formed as the alluvial fan of a river called Changlung Lungpa, which falls into Pangong Lake from the north. The plain itself is called Ote Plain locally, but is now generally called the Khurnak Plain.
The Khurnak Plain is 8 miles long and 3 miles wide. It is, in fact, the mouth of a valley called "Changlung Lungpa" ( also called "Chang Parma", meaning "northern middle"). The river that flows through the valley—about 40 to 50 miles long—brings down waters from numerous glaciers lying between Pangong Lake and the Chang Chenmo Valley. The plain is formed by the alluvial deposits of the river encroaching into the bed of the lake.
The growth of the plain over the millennia has reduced the lake in its vicinity to a narrow channel "like a large river" for about 2–3 miles, with a minimum breadth of 50 yards. The constrained flow of water from east to west makes the lower lake to the west ( Pangong Tso) considerably more saline than the eastern lake ( Tso Ngombo).: "The waters of the western end are far more salt than those of that near Ote, noticeable even to the taste, but it is not until the stream that connects the two portions is fairly entered that it is by any means drinkable; thence for the whole distance eastward we used to take water..."
The top of the Changlung Lungpa valley is marked by a grazing ground called Dambu Guru. Here, the valley branches into two valleys, one going northwest to the Marsimik La pass and the other going northeast to the pastures of Nyagzu and Migpal. Migpal is connected via mountain passes to both the Chang Chenmo Valley in the northwest and the well-watered village of Noh in the southeast.
H. H. Godwin-Austen noted in 1867 that all of Khurnak Plain had considerable growth of grass and formed a winter grazing area for the Changpa nomads. The snow never stayed for long on the Khurnak Plain, even when the lake itself froze. The Changpa nomads of Noh (also called Üchang or Wujiang)
and Rudok camped out at the plain during the winter. To protect the tents against the wind, walls of stone and earth were built, and the floors were dug 3 feet deep. Strachey also labelled the Khurnak Plain as "Uchang Tobo", which might indicate a connection with the village of Noh.
From the Tibetan side, a route along the northern shore of Pangong Lake was available. Sven Hedin witnessed it being used as a trade route by Ladakhi traders going to Rudok.
"Occasionally we would meet on the northern track a caravan of sheep, laden with corn put up in small sacks, and travelling from Leh or Tanksi. One that we met this day consisted of 200 sheep: it was quite a pleasure to see how well-trained the animals were, and how orderly they marched along without being especially looked after."
The route was difficult to traverse in parts because of cliffs jutting into the lake. However, this was no impediment in winter when the lake froze.
In addition, a longer route from Noh via Migpal was also available.
(Map 3)
Evidently, the purpose of the fort was to guard against Ladakhis crossing to the Khurnak Plain from the south, crossing the narrow channel of the lake. Such activity was witnessed during the times of the British Raj as well.: "In some years the guards at Khurnak do not appear; in others they come down in force, then they are simply masters of the situation as they can prevent the rafts landing." The Khurnak Plain, being a prized winter pasture ground, was the preserve of the shepherds from Noh, the only permanently inhabited place on the north shore of Pangong Lake. Ladakhis, who lived south of Pangong Lake, had their winter pastures in Skakjung, much further to the south.P. Stobdan, Shift in India's Border Defence Provokes China, Maagzter, June 2020. "The area is locally known as Skakjung located 300 kilometres east of Leh and is traditionally the only winter pasture for several villages including Chushul, Tsaga, Niddar, Nyoma, Mud, Dungti, Kuyul, Loma etc. This area is located on the left bank of Indus between Dungti and Fuktse but the area extends even up to Demchok."
Godwin-Austen remarked that the Kashmiri authorities in Leh had recently exerted their influence in the region such that Khurnak was effectively controlled by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Alastair Lamb, the majority of British maps published between 1918 and 1947 showed Khurnak as being in Tibet.
During the 1960 talks between the two governments on the boundary issue, India submitted official records, including the 1908 Settlement Report, which recorded the amount of revenue collected at Khurnak, as proof of jurisdiction over Khurnak. The Chinese claim line of 1956 did not include the Khurnak Fort, but the 1960 claim line included the Khurnak Fort.
In 1963, Khurnak Fort was described by the US National Photographic Interpretation Center as follows:
As of 2019, a PLA border patrol company of the Western Theater Command was stationed nearby.
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