Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (Tibetan: སྤང་གོང་མཚོ;[3] Chinese: 班公错; pinyin: Bān gōng cuò; Hindi: पैंगोंग झील, romanized: Paiṅgoṅg jhīl) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of 4,225 m (13,862 ft).

A section of the lake approximately 20 km east from the LAC is controlled by China but claimed by India.

After the mid-19th century, Pangong Tso was at the southern end of Johnson Line, an early attempt at demarcation between India and China in the Aksai Chin region.

After the conference, the British government decided that Tibetans had a better case and not only Khurnak Fort but also Dokpo Karpo and Nyagzu were part of Tibet.

[19] On 20 October 1962, Pangong Tso saw military action during the Sino-Indian War, successful for the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

[23] In August 2017, Indian and Chinese forces near Pangong Tso engaged in a melee involving kicking, punching, rock throwing, and use of makeshift weapons such as sticks and rods.

[28][24][29][30] On 29–30 August 2020, Indian troops occupied many heights on the south bank of Pangong Tso.

Pangong Tso is part of the Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan initiative of the Indian Military which will boost border tourism, patriotism, local infrastructure and economy while reversing civilian outward migration from these remote locations, it entails 77 battleground war memorials in border area including the Longewala War Memorial, Sadhewala War Memorial,[47] Siachen base camp, Kargil, Galwan, Rezang La, Doklam, Bum La, Cho La, Kibithu, etc.[48].

[49][50] The past few years have seen a remarkable increase in Indian tourists flocking to Pangong Lake.

However, this surge has presented environmental challenges due to inadequate infrastructure to accommodate and manage the growing number of visitors.

Guides report that there are no fish or other aquatic life on the Indian side of the lake, except for some small crustaceans.

The lake hosts large quantities of fish, especially Schizopygopsis stoliczkai[55] and Racoma labiata.

Two streams feed the lake from the Indian side, forming marshes and wetlands at the edges.

The low biodiversity has been reported as being due to high salinity and harsh environmental conditions (Bhat et al., 2011).