MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE BAR-HEADED GEESE AT PONG DAM LAKE,KANGRA VALLEY.

PONG DAM, well known as MAHARANA PRATAP SAGAR DAM, is an earth filled embarkment dam on R. Beas, just upstream  of Talwara city in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The lake created by the dam,became a renouned bird sanctuary. Pong Dam lake is the largest man made wetlands in the foothills of the Himalayas and is the home to around 43000 barheaded geese, probably half their number globally.Pong dam lake was declared a Ramsar Wetland site on account of its rich waterfowl diversity ,for conservation & sustainable use of wetlands. The large reservoir and its strategic location in the extreme NW of the northern plains have attracted migratory birds from the plains of India and central Asian countries & Siberia during Nov'-Mar'.The stretch of the Pong wetlands is 307sq kms.

Pong Dam Lake, Kangra Valley(H.P)

Pong Dam Lake View.

Pong Dam wetlands site.

As We walked ontop the wetlands site leaving the vehicle behind in the wheat field.

        Since mostly people around are not that familiar with the site, hardly someone attempts to make a visit.

NORTHERN PINTAIL.

The Barheaded geese ,at Pong dam lake wetlands.

It was a fine day in the month of feb'2014 , we thought to drive down 207kms from Jammu city to enjoy the beauty of these migratory birds. We started quite early in the morning around 7am  and drove down to Pong Dam ,via Kathua, Lakhanpur, Hajipur,Talwara ..... We were not aware that a permit is required to cross over the Pong Dam . We had to take a termporary permit from the gates,which allows only 20mins to cross over the dam & its flood gates as a hydal power station is located there. But our intentions were strictly to go to the Pong dam lake & enjoy the birds in their natural habitat. Since it was very cold & raining we were bit upset as we crossed over to the other side of the dam.(photography is strictly prohibited on the dam)...... Soon ,after we crossed the dam ,we could located the lake ,but kept wondering ,how to go close to the lake waters....
We had to struggle a bit to find out the Ramsar Wetlands site of the Pong Dam Lake ,which is almost 19kms from the Dam . As we crossed thru' a bridge we could locate the exact position & the tough job was to go up to the waters in the marshy stretch. Somehow , our friend could drive in his endevour vehicle but had to stop amidst the wheat fields on the Ramsar Wetlands site of Pong Dam Lake.... Now our job is to come out into the muddy stretches & start walking down .... It was an awesome experience; Shoes getting stuck in sticky mud , Raincoats flying off ...chilly winds &Umbrellas finding tough to pave thru' the windy stretches, above that the rains continuing its work of constant pouring....................... But my mind was fixed on to capture the moments in my lens....

 What an amazing site.... its very difficult to keep counting their nos................... But the muds were very difficult to pave our way forward.... Many a time it so happened that ,my shoes got stuck in the mud & i could not pull my legs out....& looking a the condition of our sneakers, our heart broke....should have come in gumboots ,i felt at heart.. But those amazing birds  just stole my heart away.Soon ,my husband & his friend,spreaded the tent on these wetlands stretch....Oh , God!!!!! untill U r that crazy of Nature , U can think of this amidst mud/ water/ rain . They were planning for cooking Maggi & soup.................... Just too ,romantic a moment on Valentines Day. The Soups were a blessing gift in this chilling condition, followed by hot plate of Maggi .... Cann't ask for anything more in midst of this wilderness. Just loving it ,as i recall those moments on 14th Feb' 2014 afternoon. Now , we had few more hours to keep enjoying these birds, Before we would leave back for our homes in Jammu City.

Just had an amazing Valentines Day ; would keep cherishing this memories in the years to come....................


*******ROUTE :- JAMMU CITY- KATHUA-LAKHANPUR- PATHANKOT-HAJIPUR-TALWARA-PONG DAM.

*****NOTE:- Should alway carry atleast 2 pairs of shoes & dresses and also, raincoats and sufficient food stuffs along.

****** TOTAL DISTANCE FROM JAMMU CITY:- 207kms (one way).