Sacred Ladakh & Zanskar Kora Camping Trek
Indian Himalaya Trek
Another in our series of ‘best-of’ journeys culled from our many exploratory treks over the past few years in Ladakh and Zanskar. We consider this wild ‘kora’ route one of our best itineraries ever, an exciting and challenging trek through the sublime canyon lands, far-flung valleys of remote villages, green nomadic plateaus, high Himalayan passes and hidden valleys of mythical Ladakh & Zanskar. This is a river trek, so bring good sandals with you!
(A kora is a Tibetan Buddhist circumambulation, clockwise…)
Our journey begins in the nomadic region of Kharnak, where nomads live a traditional pastoral life in their yak-hair tents, herding their flocks of pashm goats, sheep and yaks. We’ll camp with the nomads, drink some salt-butter tea and experience their dying way of life.We trek through a wild region where kyang (wild ass) roam the wide valleys, marmots and pikas emerge from their burrows, Himalayan hare dart about and high altitude wetland birds nest. It is a truly awesome, wild landscape of wide plateaus and craggy snow-peaks, but also a gentle world of grassy meadows, delicate flowers, blue skies and meandering streams.
Next, via one of our secret and idyllic nomadic valleys, we cross the challenging Morang La to reach remote Shun Shade valley. Trekking through remote canyon-lands, we spend a few days following the turquoise Tsarap Chu river, past deserted villages, staying at beautiful campsites. Once in secluded Shade, the most set-apart in Zanskar, we have an extra day to experience traditional village life before setting off on our next adventure.
Crossing high passes, fording rivers and wandering through green pasturelands in a region of high, craggy peaks, we trek towards mythical Zanskar, a fantastic route that we doubt other Westerners ever explore. Zanskar, the land of white copper, is a timeless Himalayan region tucked away between the Himalayan and Zanskar ranges, once part of an ancient trade network with Tibet. We visit our favorite villages here, high and remote with spectacular views, before heading into Ladakh, ‘land of high passes’. Our journey takes us into beautiful ‘bear valley’ to finish the trek in Photoksar, the most photographed village in Ladakh.
The traditional villages and nomadic settlements we encounter along the way are timeless, a vision of days-past in Ladakh and Tibet, and the campsites are wonderful. There are plenty days built in for exploration, and lots of time to relax, enjoy the Himalayan break and soak in the surroundings…
Join us for this exciting journey!
Trek
Sacred Ladakh & Zanskar Kora Camping Trek – Indian Himalaya Trek
Day 1 – Meet in Leh
Day 2 – Leh
Day 3 – Leh
Day 4 – Drive Lato
Day 5 – Drive Dat
Day 6 – Trek Nomadic Winter Doksa
Day 7 – Trek Kyang Camp
Day 8 – Trek Lungmoche | Cross Yar La 4950m
Day 9 – Trek Zabuk Barma
Day 10 – Trek Canyon Camp | Cross Bong La 4670m
Day 11 – Trek Tsokmitsik | Cross Marang La 5350m
Day 12 – Trek Satak
Day 13 – Trek Hormoche
Day 14 – Trek Nialo Kontse La Camp | Cross Nialo Kontse La 4830m & Gotunda La 5150m
Day 15 – Trek Shade
Day 16 – Shade
Day 17 – Trek Lar | Cross Rotang La 4890m & Lar La 4690m
Day 18 – Trek Yangdam Chen
Day 19 – Trek Bazza Camp | Cross Pandang La 5175m
Day 20 – Trek Tzazar Doksa Sumdo
Day 21 – Trek Zangla Doksa River Camp
Day 22 – Zangla Doksa River Camp
Day 23 – Trek Karmafu (Over Namtse La 4,495m)
Day 24 – Trek Bear Valley Camp
Day 25 – Trek Nyeraks | Cross Takti La 4,955m
Day 26 – Trek Yulchung
Day 27 – Trek Meadow Camp | Cross Singge La 4970m
Day 28 – Trek Photoskar | Cross Bumiktse La 4430m
Day 29 – Drive Leh
Day 30 – Leh
Day 31 – Trip Ends
Kim Bannister Photo Gallery | Trip & Trek Photos
Kim Bannister Photography
Kamzang Journeys Ladakh Trek Videos
Kamzang Journeys | Kharnak Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Markha Valley | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Changthang Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Rupshu Nomads | MrMennoBen
Leh + Indus Valley | MrMennoBen
India Travel Notes
Our Ladakh and Zanskar treks start and finish in Leh, from where there are daily flights to and from Delhi. If you have successive international flights that are not all part of the same ticket or following domestic flights we suggest planning more cautiously and leaving an extra day in Leh after the trip.
We’re happy to help arrange excursions to Nubra, the nomadic Salt Lake region, Kashmir and Srinagar, or sightseeing in the Indus Valley if you have extra time!
Travel Advice
+ Travel medical insurance required for the trek.
+ We recommend purchasing trip cancellation and travel insurance!
Short Trek
Sacred Ladakh & Zanskar Kora Camping Trek – Indian Himalaya Trek (Short Trek)
Day 1 – Meet in Leh
Day 2 – Leh
Day 3 – Leh
Day 4 – Drive Lato
Day 5 – Drive Dat
Day 6 – Trek Nomadic Winter Doksa
Day 7 – Trek Kyang Camp
Day 8 – Trek Lungmoche (Over Yar La 4,950m)
Day 9 – Trek Zabuk Barma
Day 10 – Trek Canyon Camp (Over Bong La 4,670m)
Day 11 – Trek Tsokmitsik (Over Marang La 5,350m)
Day 12 – Trek Satak
Day 13 – Trek Hormoche
Day 14 – Trek Nialo Kontse La Camp | Cross Nialo Kontse La 4830m + Gotunda La 5150m
Day 15 – Trek Shade
Day 16 – Shade
Day 17 – Trek Lar | Cross Rotang La 4890m + Lar La 4690m
Day 18 – Trek Yangdam Chen
Day 19 – Trek Bazza Camp | Cross Pandang La 5175m
Day 20 – Trek Tzazar Doksa Sumdo
Day 21 – Trek Zangla Doksa River Camp
Day 22 – Drive Rangdum
Day 23 – Drive Lamayuru
Day 24 – Drive Leh
Day 25 – Leh
Day 26 – Trip Ends
Kim Bannister Photo Gallery | Trip & Trek Photos
Kim Bannister Photography
Kamzang Journeys Ladakh Trek Videos
Kamzang Journeys | Kharnak Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Markha Valley | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Changthang Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Rupshu Nomads | MrMennoBen
Leh + Indus Valley | MrMennoBen
India Travel Notes
Our Ladakh and Zanskar treks start and finish in Leh, from where there are daily flights to and from Delhi. If you have successive international flights that are not all part of the same ticket or following domestic flights we suggest planning more cautiously and leaving an extra day in Leh after the trip.
We’re happy to help arrange excursions to Nubra, the nomadic Salt Lake region, Kashmir and Srinagar, or sightseeing in the Indus Valley if you have extra time!
Travel Advice
+ Travel medical insurance required for the trek.
+ We recommend purchasing trip cancellation and travel insurance!
Itinerary
Sacred Ladakh & Zanskar Kora Camping Trek – Indian Himalaya Trek
Day 1 – Meet in Leh 3500m
Welcome to Leh, the capital of predominantly Buddhist Ladakh, in Jammu and Kashmir, tucked away amidst the Ladakh mountains, part of the great Trans Himalayan range. If you arrive by air you’ll feel the big jump in altitude and it will take your body a few days to adjust. If you arrive by road from Manali or Srinagar you’ll have had some extra acclimatization en route, but will still need time to adjust to the 3500 meter altitude. Hydrate with plenty of water, stay away from beer for a few days, rest and don’t over-exert yourself. Even walking up the stairs of the guest house, let alone the Leh Fort, will make you breathless for the first day or two. Diamox is a good way to help your body acclimatize naturally; Kim will discuss.
We stay at the family-run Shaynam Hotel, more of a family-run guest house with a lovely garden in the center courtyard, located just a few minutes south of the Main Bazaar in old Leh town. Your rooms will be booked for you, you’ll just need to advise Kim of your arrival time, whether by air or by road. Once everyone has arrived and checked into rooms, Kim will show you around town: the bakeries, cafes, tandoori restaurants, email cafes, banks and wonderful markets. We’ll meet for dinner in the evening at the Ibex or Summer Harvest, a few of our favorite restaurants.
Days 2, 3 – Leh
We’ve scheduled two free days in Leh to acclimatize and to enjoy the peaceful, willow-lined streets and bustling bazaar life of Singge Namgyal’s 17th century capital of Ladakh, once an integral part of Western Tibet and a major trading post along the southern Silk Route. There is lots to explore in this wonderful Central Asian town; the newly-restored ruins of the 17th century Leh Palace, the ancient 16th century Leh Fort and the attached Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, other historic Tibetan Buddhist gompas, the Sunni Muslim mosques, narrow back alleys with steaming Muslim bread, tiny antique shops tucked away amidst the many ancient stupas and architectural remnants, the exotic Main Bazaar (c. 1840s) which once accommodated trade caravans, and even a polo field. Caravans of merchants from far-flung destinations such as Yarkand, Tibet, Kashgar and North India passed through Leh during ancient trade missions, trading salt, wool, Pashmina, tea and semi-precious stones, lending to the city its exotic allure. Pilgrims flocked to the monasteries of Leh and the Indus valley, explorers of old stopped in Leh to re-stock and weather out the harsh Himalayan winter and soldiers en route to plunder and conquer desirous destinations passed through Leh, all leaving their mark on this unique capital.
Kim will take you for a walk up the bustling Fort Road, lined with shops owned by Kashmiri, Tibetan and Kashmiri shop-keepers, to 15th century Leh Fort and the red, MaitreiyaTsemo Gompa, perched high on a craggy and crumbling hilltop overlooking the bazaars of old Leh. You can stop at 16th century nine-story Leh Palace, of a similar architectural design to the Tibetan Potala Palace, on the way down if you have the energy. Visit the museum, a worthwhile endeavor, as well as the nearby gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) – Soma Gompa, Chamba Lakhang and Chensrig Lakhang. There is a great cultural show around sunset at Soma Gompa.
We might wander the willow-lines streets of Changspa to reach the many steps leading to the Japanese-built Shanti Stupa for a view over the green fields and white-washed Ladakhi houses of the villages surrounding Leh. The precariously perched Leh Fort guards the eastern edges of the fertile valley. Sankar Gompa (17th – 18th century), reached through shady lanes to the east of Changspa, lies in the midst of Chubi’s groves of poplar and willow and is another wonderful morning or afternoon walk. The back route to Leh Fort starts in Chubi and passes through a desert-like Buddhist cremation ground before climbing to the fortress.
OPTIONAL GOMPA-TRIP: Arrange (through Kim, our Tibetan jeep-driver Wang Chuk or the Shaynam Hotel) a ‘jeep safari’ through the fertile Indus Valley to visit a few of the living Tibetan Buddhist gompas, the crumbling ruins of ancient fortresses and palaces and the traditional villages that dot the banks of the region, the ‘cradle of civilization’ of much of the ancient world. Kim can help arrange jeeps and/or a guide for a day’s excursion.
To the East:Shey, Thikse, Hemis, Chemde, Thagthok, Stakna, Matho & Stok.
To the West: Spiyok, Phyang, Basgo, Likir, Alchi, Rizdong & Lamayuru.
OPTIONAL RAFTING-TRIP: You can arrange a day rafting trip on the Indus (easier) or the Zanskar River, approximately $35-$40.
Day 4 – Drive Lato 4020m
After breakfast, we jump into our jeeps and head for the start of the trek at our acclimatization destination, Lato. We following the Leh Srinagar highway east, past the ancient, 14th century Spitok Gompa, spectacularly perched on a craggy hillock above the cultivated fields of Spitok village. We continue past the old palace and gompa at Shey, surrounded by hundreds of whitewashed chortens, and continue past more chortens built by the kings of Ladakh towards colorful Thikse Gompa on the left. The renown Hemis Gompa is built high up on a hillside to our right, down a connecting lane. Soon after passing this landmark we turn right at Upshi, following the Leh Manali highway south as it snakes its way over the high passes of the Zanskar and Himalayan ranges heading to Manali. Following the Gya Chu along a spectacular section of highway, we soon reach our campsite at the hamlet of Lato where the staff has set up camp for the night. We’ll set you up in your tents, show you around our ‘Kamzang’ style dining tent and settle in with a mug of chai. Beers are available at a small tea-house nearby.
Day 5 – Drive Dat 4310m
Another spectacular and short day of driving as we head south, crossing the 5300 meter Tanglang La and descending through a wide, green nomadic region peppered with nomad tents. At the bottom of the long pass we turn right, heading west through the nomadic region of Zara over the 4960 meter Yar La and descend on a serious of switchbacks to the valley below. At the end of this small valley our jeeps will turn right and drive for half an hour through a wild plateau of nomads, kyang and marmots to our idyllic campsite at Dat.
Our campsite for the night is lovely, high pastureland next to the now-deserted village of Shemen. Dat, which houses approximately forty families (although many have now moved to Choglamsar) in the Spring and late Autumn, is actually composed of the two villages of Dango (upper) and Shemen (lower). The nomadic villagers move to the Sangtha and Lungmoche valleys with their flocks in the summer months, and to the valley behind Dat few a couple of months in the wintertime. Marmots share the campsite with us and Kyang might check us out from the ridge above Dat. Sunsets and sunrises are glorious from camp so it’s worth a visit to the small, monk-run teahouse to pick up a beer for ‘sundowner’ …
The perfect, grassy campsite for an afternoon of relaxation and acclimatization. Warm streams meander through the valley, providing luke-warm washing water, and the sun usually shines brightly. If you feel like a wander, head up the side valley in back of Shemen village for an afternoon of wildlife spotting. Spend some time in the deserted villages and Dat Gompa, where the local god Ka La Bu Skyong, the protector and ‘giver of sons’, reins supreme. (Interestingly, this god is only recognized in Kharnak). The semi-permanent village of Shemen is fascinating, and the gompa worth a visit if we can find the resident key-keeper, a young monk from Hemis, who also collects the camp charges. Wander through the empty passageways between the stone houses; the discarded rubbish gives a picture of what life is like during the inhabited periods.
Another option is a (slightly difficult) hike up the plateau and prayer-flag topped peak above Dat at 4710 meters for totally amazing birds-eye views down on the valley, but be ready for some scrambling.
Day 6 – Trek Nomadic Winter Doksa 4505m
The next few weeks are mind-bogglingly beautiful, almost always with no other trekkers in sight, and we will take time to enjoy each day as we trek through these magical valleys, visit remote nomadic settlements and explore remote Himalayan villages …
Our trekking begins! We’re keeping the details of the next few days quiet as no trekking groups know about this route. Trust us to lead you to one of the most beautiful and green valleys in Ladakh where we will set up camp in what we call our ‘snow leopard valley’ …
Day 7 – Trek Kyang Camp
Another secret day with an easy pass at 4815m to reach our campsite in a green valley full of kyang, and perhaps snow leopard …
Day 8 – Trek Lungmoche 4710m (over Yar La 4950m)
We have a small pass to crest, with views of the Zanskar Range, during which we often spot herd of kyang that reside in the nearby valleys (kyang translates as ‘wander’ in Ladakhi). The male often comes out to the main valley to scout for the herd of females and younger males, all of which will snort, paw the ground and arrange an impressive maneuver for us if their territory is threatened. Himalayan hares also reside in the valley and dart in and out of site. We crest one last ridge from camp before contouring towards the ascent of the 4950 meter Yar La, a relatively easy climb of just over an hour from the end of the valley following the winter snow wall built for winter sheep crossings. The chorten on the pass has some beautiful carvings including the Kharnak mountain deity, a lovely mountain goddess called Tsering Ma (Ched Inga), the eldest of five sisters, also recognized in Tibet. Most of these nomadic mountain dieties are Bon deities which have been subdued by Guru Rimpoche as protectors of the Buddhist faith. We can see our old campsite just five minutes down the pass, and it will only take us half an hour (or a bit more if we camp further down the valley) to reach the turnoff to that camp at Lungmoche, another lovely pastureland. We’re still Kyang territory still, so keep your cameras ready. We’ll continue down the lovely, green Lungmoche valley for another half an hour or so from here, setting up camp somewhere green …
Day 9 – Trek Zabuk Barma 4350m
Today we head into well-loved nomadic territory, hiking down the green valley on the right side of the valley (there is a road being built on the opposite side, sadly). We’ll pass a large doksa soon after leaving camp, and then a mani wall and large chorten. An hour from this last chorten after a short, traversing climb brings us to a small pass where we’ll have a short rest in front of the mountain home of the three sister goddesses. Look back across the Zara Chu to see the ‘Five Sisters’ peaks, the dwelling of the five mountain goddesses that live in the distinctly shaped range. From here we descend gradually to the right, contour up and down several arid hillsides and reach a short but dramatic canyon through which we descend. Turning left we soon reach a broad plateau with chortens marking routes on all three sides and a cluster of eight magnificent, white-washed chortens across the river. Fifteen minutes later we drop into the seasonal nomadic settlement of Sangtha, built of rounded, white river rocks and littered with goat and sheep droppings. Cross the river to the complex of mani stones and chortens for wonderful photos and great views back to Sangtha, which marks the intersection of Kharnak and Rupshu.
We follow the magnificent, clear Zara Chu on the chorten-side to a grassy lunch spot at the first river intersection. We continue for another hour or so on the same side (left) past more sparkling river intersections, nomadic settlements (doksas), and a wolf trap and then drop down to the grassy riverside. Near camp on our side of the river is a marmot colony, with small trails leading to their tunnel shelters.
One more river bend and we spot out campsite across the river at Zhabuk Barma, a spectacularly-situated seasonal settlement of the Karnak-pa. To the east (below our camp) the Tozay Chu leads to Pang on the Leh-Manali highway and the Ladakhi nomadic region of Kharnak, and is bordered by a fantastic canyon of sculpted rocks leads. The campsite is wonderful and green with perfect swimming holes along the river and a cold, fresh spring in back. There are three tri-colored chortens in a shallow cave above the stone doksas, worth a steep climb up for views over the campsite and down the valley. And just to the left of these, a steep valley leading up to a fantastic plateau with vast vistas, a must-do in the afternoon with the perfect light. Keep your eyes on the hilltops next to camp for kyang, Himalayan hare and blue sheep, all of which are common in this area. We’ll have a yak-dung fire in the evening, a huge blaze …
Day 10 – Trek Canyon Camp 4535m (over Bong La 4670m)
Today we leave Kharnak, skirting just below Rupshu, another nomadic territory of Tibetan and Ladakhi nomads, and head toward the Shun Shade valley. We trek along the clear Zara Chu on a relatively flat, grassy trail, past sparkling river intersections and nomadic doksas, sometimes having to cross the river. Have your sandals with you! We soon pass Zabuk Yogma, another green, idyllic settlement of the Kharnak nomads, followed by Yakbu. To the east, on our left as we hike down valley, the Tozay Chu leads to Pang on the Leh-Manali highway and Kharnak and is bordered by a fantastic canyon of sculpted rocks and hoodoos. Continuing to follow the flat riverbed, we cross the large doksa of Lungo in a curve in the river, a large nomadic settlement of stone houses and sheep dung, afterwards crossing the Zara Chu again. Putting our shoes back on, we hike up an easy hill, cross a small campsite and start the ascent of the Bong La. It’s a fantastically scenic climb as we ascend high above the Zara Chu, which sweeps a hugs arc to the north across the valley from us. The steep peak across the river inside this curve is incredible, as is our trail as we sometimes hike on a stone trail, slightly exposed. In an hour or so we reach the first Bong La (4670m), from where we continue to contour towards a more westerly part of the pass.
After lunch on top we drop down just a bit to the wide valley bottom at the intersection to several valleys, and head straight ahead on flat ground. We’ve got about an hour of trekking along this wide, sandy valley; on the way look for snow leopard and blue sheep prints which we found in abundance near the watering holes in 2011. The river valley narrows as we head west, and we enter a narrow canyon, following a small stream to a blocked section which we have to climb over, dropping right down to our fantastic Canyon Camp. Our grassy camp is at the bottom of this idyllic valley at the head the narrow canyon, with a natural hole in the rock above us. Enjoy the afternoon …
Day 11 – Trek Tsokmitsik 4100m (over Marang La 5350m)
A big pass day today, with lots to look forward to as we head for one of the most scenic viewpoints in Ladakh. You might want your sandals today depending on the water level as we cross a stream for the last few hours.
We trek for a beautiful hour or so along a small valley, jumping the small stream, during which the valley widens and becomes less green and more rocky. Look for the oyster bed fossils en route. Beginning to ascend steeply on a gravely trail after the last grassy patch, we again have to jump the river a few times before ascending towards the pass. Up and over the Marang La and into the remote Shun Shade valley! From the top of the 5350 meter pass we will be treated to views of the snow-capped Himalayan range ahead of us, and the craggy Zanskar range in back. Soon we reach the rocky Morang La High Camp (4810m) and continue to descend to the right as the valley narrows and becomes greener, cliff faces soaring above us and grazing pastures on many of the surrounding hillsides. We continue to descend into the narrowing canyon, past ancient fossil beds, dropping down to the stream, the sun shimmering on the willows hanging onto existence between the high canyon walls. Passing a small, green doksa, we’ll have to jump back and forth across the small, willow-lined stream for the next half an hour as we enter the narrow section of the canyon, emerging into a soft world of willows lining the large Tsarap Chu.
The campsite is another idyllic one right on the river, and we can set up our tents river-side and jump in for a well-deserved dip! Perhaps tonight even warrants a few glasses of rum …
Day 12 – Trek Satak 4025m
Leaving our idyllic camp, we hike along the river on the right banks, passing a wolf trap (in which we’ve actually found wolves) followed by several doksas. We have a small ascent on a hot plateau which we cross, and then a descend back down to the sandy river bed. After a few hours we start our ascent of the first of several scenic ridges that we have to cross to reach Satak, the Tsarap Chu below us bordered by steep cliffs. From the top of the first ridge, actually a pass which we’ve named the Satak La (4406m), we’re treated to wonderful views in all directions. Continuing to contour, we have several more ridges to crest, each with a drop afterwards, but the trail is good, so it’s not a difficult hike. The last is Satak Ridge (4375m), a flat rock protruding over the canyon, from where we start our 350 meter descent. We contour on a slightly exposed trail far above the Tsarap Chu which snakes its way between deep canyon walls below us and soon reach a flat plateau which takes 20 minutes to cross. Descending steeply, we immediately a narrow, willow-filled canyon where we side-step the grazing yaks, jump the small stream and climb briefly to our camp at Satak village.
Satak village, with ancient chortens above it, was deserted a few years ago, the inhabitants now occupying houses built for Tibetan refugees on the Leh-Manali highway. It’s hard to imagine what prompted them to leave such a wonderful spot for their new haunts. The village is now a museum; the last time we camped there, we explored the small alleyways, peeked into the windows and even borrowed some salt. Many of the villagers belongings are still inside, and grass and wood for the winter is still piled on top of the roofs.
Day 13 – Trek Hormoche 3970m
A six-hour sandals day today. After ascending the small hill in back of Satak and passing the ancient chortens, we have a few hours of beautiful hiking along flat plateaus peppered with large rocks, with just a bit of exposure along the way. Soon we arrive at the deserted village of Munele, with a rocky spring and grassy pastures, after which we pass through several seasonal settlements, now abandoned. It’s half an hour to the scenic, small bridge on the left banks of the river leading, we imagine, to high pasturelands. We contour around several hillsides and then descend on loose scree and sandy trails to the river below. A few minutes later we reach the large Zara Chu, which intersects the Tsarap Chu, almost doubling its size. We have to cross this river, usually easy but once in a while a challenge! Across the river is our ‘Zara River Camp’ where we camped in 2011 because of unusually high waters. The Zara Chu leads to the nomadic region of Rupshu.
After our river crossing we’ll have 2 1/2 hour of scenic hiking ahead of us. We follow the eastern bank of the magnificent Tsarap Chu, heading northwest, on a high mesa which drops to the river below in dramatic hoodoos. We have to descend and ascend three times into eroded slide regions making the hike harder than it would seem, but the views make up for it. We’ll share our trail with chortling chukkars, a partridge-like bird found around much of the Himalayan ranges. The Tsarap Chu, far below, ranges in color from a striking turquoise blue to brown depending on the volume of water pulsing though it’s canyons.
Soon we spot the Hormoche ‘chomo-gompa’ or nunnery, now sadly unoccupied, its statues gazing blindly out on the empty assembly hall, and just afterwards the few small dwellings of Hormoche, which seems to be (have been) only a seasonal settlement. At the end of the plateau is our incredible campsite right along the turquoise Tsarap Chu, with a willow-patch on one side. Take a look down on the semi-abandoned houses across the valley (Marshun village) and absorb this sublime, expansive landscape.
Day 14 – Trek Nialo Kontse La Camp 4410m (over Nialo Kontse La 4830m & Gotunda La 5150m)
We’ll be up early with a good breakfast in us for our two-pass day, by any reckoning a long and hard day of Himalayan trekking, and a fantastically beautiful and diverse one. We enter the narrow canyon on the other side of camp, jumping the small stream and start to ascend steeply on a sandy, switchbacking trail to a lone doksa, partially overgrown with high grasses. To the right as we ascend are two small opaque, turquoise lakes and below us rocks hollowed out by wind, water or heat. The next section of landscape as we climb is a bizarre moonscape, starkly beautiful, resembling the remains of a volcanic upheaval. Geologists welcome!
We climb and traverse several slightly exposed ridges to a last crest, where we have breath-taking views all around us, afterwards passing a small watering hole from where the last switchback to the pass behinds. Eventually, exhausted, we reach the top of the Gotunda La, at 5150-meters. A little bit of Tibet, and classic Ladakh and Zanskar!
From the crest of the pass we look out on our second pass, the slightly lower 4830-meter Nialo Kontse La, on the neighboring ridge. We drop, traverse to a plateau from where we can look down to the fantastic little lake, the Tso Tok, below. We then switch-back up again and reach the Nialo Kontse La. From this lower pass we have a 400-meter, easy descent through green pastureland decorated with mountain flowers to our camp at Nialo Kontse high camp. We may continue down another half hour to a camp by the intersecting stream depending on time …
Day 15 – Trek Shade 4270m
If we’ve camped at the high camp we’ll start the easy 350-meter ascent on a switchbacking trail of scree down to the small stream below, turning left and hiking along the crystal clear Tok Chu for half an hour. We reach a small bridge made of willow branches which we cross (carefully) and ascend briefly to a small plateau at the intersection to several valleys, a local doksa. From this lovely viewpoint we overlook the Tsarap Chu sumdo which leads to the cliff side Phuktal Gompa, two days down the valley.
We descend and continue along a willow-lined trail following the Niri Chu. We soon reach Trantrog Gompa at 4020 meters, a little-visited 750-year-old (or 30-4o-years-old?) gompa above the small hamlet of two houses, a tree and a watering hole. Perhaps there was an ancient meditation cave at the site of this gompa, which the caretaker told us was built by a lama from Phuktal. The interesting woman who holds the key might be around to show us the village treasures. There are apparently only three people living in the village and about as many houses. Still, it’s certainly a scenic spot built up on a craggy hill overlooking this idyllic valley.
After following an easy trail high above the snaking, turquoise river we enter a narrower canyon and soon reach an impressive lhatoo, around 4000 meters, at the intersection of the Shade valley. The kata-covered lhatoo is dedicated to the god Cho Gyumjang, a female protectress of Shade and the neighboring villages. The peak on top of which she resides is to the left of Shade stream as we look up towards Shade. We’ve been lucky to happen upon local puja, performed by visiting monks from Phuktal Gompa, honoring her. From this lhatoo at the intersection of the Niri Chu and the narrow gorge leading towards isolated Shade, we follow a good trail along the stream, crossing over it once we’ve passed the deep gorge behind us. We’ll trek up 250 meters (or an hour) to Shade village; along the way, we’ll pass the villagers working in the fields, happily greeting us as we pass by.
Just before the village we’ll pass through the patchwork of fields and Shade’s entrance chorten, a little Shangri-La. Our campsite is just past Shade village, on the only flat area next to a stream, a spot perfectly situated for Shade is a village of 14 traditional Ladakhi houses with approximately 95 inhabitants. Three of the men are in the Indian Army, bringing a bit of extra wealth to the village. There are also five lamas/monks and one ‘chomo’, or nun, residing in the village, impressive for a remote village of this size. The villagers and village kids will be by in the afternoon, and Kim & Lhakpa will probably go into town to hunt for supplies. You’re welcome to join and watch the sheep and goats bring brought into the closed paddocks for milking.
Day 16 – Shade
Shade, not often visited by Westerners, is one of the high points of our trek, so we’ve scheduled an extra day to explore the village and the open grazing valleys north of our campsite. The village is a cluster of mud-brick houses, packed closely together, with corrals for the goats and sheep, grass drying on the rooftops, small vegetable gardens and an idyllic feel to it. We’ll visit some of the local houses for a glass of ‘chang’, the Tibetan barley beer, yogurt from the nearby doksa or some ‘churpi’, dried cheese. Shade is surrounded by extensive fields of barley (ne), potatoes (aloo), sag (shema) and snap peas and they also have greenhouses in which they grow radish (labo), cilantro, cabbage, cauliflower and carrots. There is a small school here which is desperately in need of supplies, so this is a good place to off-load school supplies. Some of the locals stay up in the doksas north of our campsite, sometimes returning every few days and other times staying longer. The villagers rotate grazing their flocks and protecting them from the many wolves and snow leopards in the area! Local words for some of the wildlife we might encounter: snow leopard (shen), ibex (hin), blue sheep (nabo) and wolf (shanku).
Above our campsite, past a line of chortens, a trail leads to the high pastures, a soft, open area of brick-red, mustard and green hills. The trail eventually leads to Zangla village and fort in the Zanskar valley, the spectacular route we take the day after tomorrow!
Day 17 – Trek Lar 4280m (over Rotang La 4890m & Lar La 4690m)
Leaving our Shangri-La, we head away from the village, climbing a small hill to reach an extensive collection of white-washed chortens, signs of Shade’s importance as an ancient trade route. The valley on this side of Shade is colorful in shades of yellows, oranges and reds, and we contour easily up to the Rotang La (4890m) except for one steep ridge, an ascent of three hours or less. We’ve seen snow leopard prints in this valley so keep you eyes on the trail. From the crest of the pass we look out to the craggy peaks, deep valleys and oasis of green doksas that mark our exciting and remote route to Zangla, a route rarely taken by Westerners or locals!
The descent is gradual, past Rotang Doksa (4470m) where we might find some fresh sheep-milk yogurt. From the doksa the trail switchbacks down to Mitsik Doksa (4285m), a lovely river-side camp where we stayed during our exploratory trek in 2012. The deep, willow-lined valley to our left leads to Niri Chu, which snakes through deep canyons below us.
Jumping the river, or wading across, we climb past a large doksa on the plateau just above us and then start up the 400-meters to the Lar La (4690m), a steep grazing ridge which drops right down (again steeply) to the next valley. The valleys are now a dramatic combination of soaring cliff-walls, deep canyons and willow filled river valleys, lovely. We’ll set up camp in this second valley, another grazing settlement called Lar with a small stream running down the center.
Day 18 – Trek Trek Yangdam Chen 4430m
It’s going to be a fun and beautiful, river day today. We start the morning with a short climb to a ridge named the Liyu La at 4375 meters, afterwards contouring on an easy trail, gradually losing altitude until we reach Niri Chun (4285 m), a grassy grazing plateau and our campsite on the exploratory trek. Taking a minute to absorb the views and looking out for blue sheep, we descend to the banks of the Niri Chu, where we immediately cross the small, intersecting stream. The river adventures begin as we skirt across a rock-ledge just above the river on the right bank, and as the narrow canyon widens, our river crossings begin. The rivers get high in the afternoon so we’ve scheduled a short day to avoid crossing dangerously high waters. We almost continuously cross and re-cross the Niri Chu this morning, staying mostly at river level, so keep your sandals on all day and have your poles with you.
After about three hours we’ll pass a large river valley at the large sumdo on our right that leads to the nomadic region of Kharnak that we came from earlier in the trek. We cross the river about half an hour afterwards, our last crossing of today, and continue along a flat trail to camp at Yangdam Chen, a flat, riverside doksa just ahead of us.
Day 19 – Trek Bazza Camp 4250m (cross Pandang La 5175m)
Another big pass crossing ahead of us this morning, leading into the central Zanskar valley. Zanskar translates as ‘land of white copper’, a once remote collection of Himalayan kingdoms cut off from the rest of the world by the Himalayan Range to the south, and the Zanskar Range to the north. We start the ascent with a climb to a grassy doksa about an hour away, followed by another switchbacking ascent up the hillside and finally an easy half hour contour to the crest of the 5175 meter Pandang La. The mountain panorama is breath-taking as usual, so we’ll sit and enjoy it for a while. The trail to our left at the pass as we look ahead towards Shade leads, eventually, to Ichar. A route to explore another year …
We’ve got a few hours of steep descents through green pastures, walking to the right side of the steep ravine which drops down below us. The views are still spectacular as we look over the craggy peaks ahead of us into Zanskar. Blue sheep roam the hillsides, so keep your eyes open as you walk through the green plateaus ahead, all possible campsites for small groups. After the last doksa we drop into a narrow, willow-filled valley, walk for a few minutes, cross a small stream and find our secret Bazza Camp, a stunning, green pasture by a cold and clear stream, a little piece of paradise in this remote valley. We’ve named this hidden spot Bazza Camp after Bazza, who celebrated his birthday here in 2012.
Day 20 – Trek Tzazar Doksa Sumdo 3825m
Heading out of the grove of willows which hides our campsite, we descend gradually for half an hour, flowers and oasis of trees softening the stark landscape. We descend steeply on a trail of loose scree and rocks which ends down at the Zumlung Chu (river) below. We have to cross the river, and make our way through the underbrush to join the trail to Zangla, not a well-used one. The route is known by villagers from Tsazar just south of Zangla, who use the valley as their summer pastures. Villagers from Shade also sometimes know this remote region …
Our trail undulates as we negotiate the tricky valley floor, often climbing and descending to avoid sheer rocks dropping to the river or thick groves of underbrush. At the next sumdo, or river junction, at 3950 meters the trail widens and we trek through a batch of seabuckthorne bushes, probably without the tart, orange berries just yet. Note the amazing canyon on our right and the dramatic, soaring canyons in general as we hike today. The valley is full of ‘dinosaur plants’, willows and oyster beds, a rocky, narrow valley of large scree trails. The next two hours of hiking are easy, crossing the river many times in a magical valley which narrows as we head south, still following the shimmering Zumlung Chu. Just past Tzazar doksa we reach our camp right on the small river, warm and beautiful, surrounded by willows and seabuckthorne, but which loses the sun early.
Day 21 – Trek Zangla River Camp 3430m
Our wild route through the colorful gorges and canyons leading from remote Shun Shade valley to Zangla and Zanskar continues, again a sandals day. It should take us about five hours of relatively easy walking and many river crossings to reach Zangla River Camp. Just past the large sumdo (to the left) is a trail and valley leading to the main Jumlam route and the Charchar La. We are trekking part of the Jumlam, or ‘middle road’ route, an old trade route leading into Zanskar when the rivers were low enough to trek along the riverbeds. We continue to trek west along the Zumlung Chu, crossing many times in the willow-shaded valley and passing ancient fossil-beds of oysters along the way.
Finally we reach the green doksa of the Zangla people, and we walk along the irrigation ditch for a bit while ascending to the fantastic Zangla Fort. On both sides of the valley we pass ancient look-out towers, now crumbling and in ruins, attesting to the importance of the Jumlam route in trade centuries ago. Near the fort, on the left of the trail, we pass the protector deity’s small lhakhang (god’s house) and finally, the magnificent Zangla Fort, home to the kings of Zangla of yore. Descending on a sandy trail, looking down on central Zanskar and Zangla village, we easily reach the road and wander past the dilapidated king’s house, followed ascend for 2o minutes later by the Zangla Ani Gompa (nunnery).
Below us lies the wide plain that was the once kingdom of Zangla. You really get a sense of why this remained a hidden kingdom for so many centuries, surrounded by high peaks on all sides. Past Zangla is the Himalayan barrier and the Umasi La which leads to Kashmir. The wooden beams that are the center of most Zanskari houses came from there, laboriously carried by porters. Far below, the Zanskar River curves away into the Muslim Suru valley and the Pensi La, closed for all but three months of every year and in front, behind the villages of Pidmo and Pishu, the Zanskar range cuts off approach for all but those like us, a well-equipped caravan. Welcome to mythical Zanskar!
We drop down to the river-side, trekking along the grassy embankment to our lovely riverside camp, Zangla Doksa River Camp. The grass is green, the stream warm, so go for a wash and settle in for the evening. The locals from Honya Doksa, will pass by in the evenings with their large herds of sheep, goats and donkeys, making for some classic photos of traditional life in Zanskar, and sunsets and sunrises are amazing from the tents …
Day 22 – Zangla Doksa River Camp
Finally a rest and exploration day; options are to hang at camp and relax in this sublime setting or to hike up and explore the wonderful and historic Zanskari village of Zangla.
ZANGLA OPTION: Climbing gradually out of our campsite, we hike along the plateau past a weathered rock carved with thousand-year old Mon chortens, soon reaching Zangla Chomo Gompa (nunnery) to the northern side of the village, and then follow the village road past the King of Zangla’s house, where we had tea last summer with the royal residents, including the Queen Mother. The young King of Zangla is now in his 40s, and the new house right next to the somewhat dilapidated royal residence is the house of the village carpenter! The piece de resistance of Zangla, however, is its fortress, presently being restored by an organization called ‘Cosmos Room’. The ruins of the 500 year-old Zangla Fort, the old dzong (palace fortress) of the ancient Kings of Zangla, are a breathtaking site, built precariously on top of a ledge of rock at the intersection of the Zanskar River and the small river leading out to the Jumlam, or middle route. This route was an autumn trading route to avoid the high passes of Ladakh, and must have been open to invasions, thus the fort and series of lookout towers down the Jumlam valley. The dzong houses a wonderful prayer room, which we happened upon a few years ago. In 2005, over two straight weeks of continuous rain and wind literally ‘melted’ the dzong, and it is now quite as safe as it was previously. The famous Hungarian scholar Alexander Csoma de Koros spent a winter in the 19th century studying Tibetan in order to make a dictionary in a room in the fort, now commemorated as his room. The fort is guarded over by a giant, new stupa built in 2009, while more ancient chortens with tsatsas in the niches line the trail as we descend back to the village and eventually to camp.
ZANSKAR VALLEY GOMPA OPTION: Get a group together to hire a jeep to visit the fascinating, old gompas of Zanskar from Padum. You will have time to visit the 1000 year old Sani Gompa on the Stod River, the route out to Rangdum and the Suru Valley. From Sani, you can take the back roads to Karsha Gompa, one of the largest and most scenic in Zanskar or Ladakh, built high up into the cliffs above the village of Karsha. To return, you will pass back through Padum where you can do some email or pick up supplies at the many shops. Padum is a very Central Asian feeling village, a transit point for goods coming and going from Leh to Kargil, with a large Muslim population. There are some thousand year old pre-Tibetan Buddhist Buddha carvings just below Padum, worth a look if you’re stopping in town. And pick up a plate of momos on the main drag! En route back to Stongde, make a quick stop at Pipiting Gompa on a small hill in the direction of Stongde. And that should be a full day!
Kim & Lhakpa will perhaps head to Padum to resupply …
Day 23 – Trek Karmafu 3780m (over Namtse La 4495m)
Leaving camp, we have a one-hour walk along the Zanskar plateau and through Honya Doksa to the dramatic cut in the canyons to our right that leads to ‘bear valley’. At the doksa, we ascend steeply past a wolf trap into a magical gorge of Zanskar roses and chortens high above us. After some three hours of ascending into through the narrow valley, following a small stream, with birds chirping around us and steep, green grazing pastures high above us we reach the Namtse La, a desert-like pass at 4495 meters. If the weather cooperates this is our lunch spot, a scenic one!
Descending for another few hours through a dramatic, broadening valley, with the views opening up in front of us, we trek under hoodoos backed by brilliant blue sky. Chukkars chortle and rush up the arid hillsides and grazing yaks glance up as we invade their pristine territory. Our small trail follows a willow-lined for an hour or so, and we’ll often be jumping from side to side. After hiking through the tight willows we climb a small saddle topped with a barrier of sticks and see our campsite just below us. We have now entered what we call Bear Valley, and a steep trail down brings us to the clearing on a plateau that the locals call Karmafu, and into our ‘lost valley’ of Zanskar.
Our cliff-side campsite is fantastic in the early afternoon. Enjoy the views, go for a dip in the stream, and possibly spot some blue sheep and ibex that roam the hillsides here. The hoodoos that line the riverbank opposite camp are amazing sculptures of eroded rock and mud, that hosted a show of acrobatic blue sheep several years ago. We might build a campfire in the evening, a practice first started to keep the bears away years ago!
Note: Our only actual bear spotting was in 2003, when our group did this trek for the first time. We spotted a brown bear cub right next to us, and then across the valley what we presumed to be its parents, not looking happy that a large group of trekkers were hanging out with their offspring. The next season we only spotted frozen bear scat and no prints, but in 2005 and later on we again spotted fresh bear scat so presume that the bears are back. We hope to see them again!
Day 24 – Trek Bear Valley Camp 3980m
Our short walk today is an exciting and beautiful one, starting with crossing the small stream just outside of camp and hiking on a plateau just above the willow and seabuckthorne-filled river valley below, a few times having to ascend and descend on scree trails. At the junction of a small stream about half an hour away, a bear story. In 2005, Kim set off alone to help get camp set up, heard a loud splashing very close to her that she assumed to be a bear, and came running back to the lunch spot. Joel and the boys, ever brave, came running out with the bear spray to do battle. Be on the lookout for the prints and scat of snow leopard, fox and wolf as well as bear.
Next on the list of adventures, at the next bend in the river at a small rise over a narrow canyon, is a canyon trek on crumbling trails to the left side of the river, often high. Just past this tricky section, we again climb on stone steps and then drop down to the river, fording it to reach a high, exposed trail on the right which continues to the next bend in the river. Relieved at making it this far, we have one last exposed drop back down to the willow-lined stream, where we’ll be jumping back and forth often. One more climb and we reach an ice bridge (usually) through a narrow canyon with ankle deep water for which you’ll need sandals. From here it’s an hour’s walk through more willows, still jumping the stream, to our green camp in the midst of bear valley. Camp is surrounded by hoodoos on the left, and the stream on the right is great for a private afternoon’s walk. The horses are taken up to the high pastures above the hoodoos, an interesting afternoon’s excursion. The crew will light a fire tonight to keep the bears at bay (although the rumors are that the villagers of Zangla shot them after the bears raided their sheep paddocks). We’ve since seen tracks, happily …
Day 25 – Trek Nyeraks 3710m (over Takti La 4960m)
We’ll be up early for our steep, 1100 meter climb to the Takti La, which separates Zanskar from Ladakh. Making our way on the small, overgrown trail through the green valley of willows and flowers, crossing the stream a few times, we turn right into a narrow valley with a slate bottom and a small stream after an hour and begin our real ascent. We walk about half an hour up this valley and reach a steep, switchbacking trail through a green meadow, peppered with boulders. Soon we reach the top of the first, smaller pass (named Oh Shit La, at 4580m, after the view upon reaching this pass for the first time), from where we get our first view of the Takti La looming ominously ahead of us. Take a break and climb to the top of the rock outcropping on the right for amazing views of the Himalayan range.
We drop down to a small, glacial stream and then start a very steep, switchbacking ascent to the Takti La (4960m). By lunchtime we should be looking back across the massive valley to the Singge La and the serrated ridges that we will cross over the next few days, the Himalayan range to our south and the Zanskar range to our north. After lunch on the prayer-festooned pass, we begin our 1300 meter descent to Nyeraks. As we descend on good trail, cresting several cairn-topped ridges en route, notice the colorful glacier flower blooming on all around us. Walking along an old irrigation wall, descend steeply on switchbacking trails for a few hours. Take time to breath and look ahead of you towards lovely Nyeraks, a patchwork of greens, browns and tans far below us. We reach a grassy irrigation ditch and pass through a wire fence, passing to the left of a set of white-washed chortens and past the village threshing circles. Below us, mid-village, is our campsite, another spectacular one with great sunset views over the village, its ancient gompa and surrounding peaks. The quality of light in this part of the Himalaya is breathtaking, so be sure to have an evening stroll through the village, visit the gompa and take some shots of village life.
Kim’s grandmother’s daughter, Thinle Angmo, lives in Nyeraks and will be by for a visit with her adorable kids. One of the large houses near the gompa, perhaps formerly a royal dwelling, has an exquisite house-gompa inside which we can try to visit also.
Day 26 – Trek Yulchung 3900m
A fantastically scenic Himalayan day, one of my favorites as we trek between two remote villages, crossing the great Zanskar River. We descend along a winding trail, to the left of old mani walls and past a unique version of a ‘lhatoo’ (a shrine to the mountain deities the locals believe live on local peaks), a sculpture made from ibex horns, to the village of Nyeraks, perched on a plateau high above the Zanskar. From here it’s a quick descent to the wooden, cantilevered bridge that spans the Zanskar gorge (and has definitely seen better days), from where we climb to a flat plateau and a jumble of large, river rocks and mani walls.
We start up a steep, dusty switchback, past Zanskar roses and a small spring, to the sharp top of the Chocho Khuri La at 3865 meters. We have a short descent to a plateau, and then contour around several hillsides with an increasingly deep drop into the canyon below to our right. Keep an eye out for the red fox that lives in the vicinity, and for blue sheep grazing along the hillsides. The last contour leads to a small ridge from where we finally see Yulchung across the valley, across the extensive fields of barley and vegetables. The isolated village of Yulchung, meaning ‘small kingdom’, is a remote, traditional village with a five-hundred year old gompa on the upper reaches of the village and another smaller ‘lhakhang’ perched on a precarious rock-ledge to our right, in front of the crescent-shaped village. We stay to the left and contour around the village, reaching our idyllic camp at the far end of the village half an hour later.
The staff has set up our camp behind the ancient chortens, in the threshing fields on the top edge of the village, right next to some wonderful old Ladakhi dwellings. The views from this village win Kim’s vote for ‘the-best-of-the-trek’, and the villagers, not used to many trekkers, are welcoming and open. Tomorrow’s pass is visible in the distance, as is the pass leading to ‘bear valley’, high up in the peaks in front of us, past the powerful Zanskar River. You begin to understand the harshness of life in such a setting, between pass and river gorge, a seemingly impossible place, with its own beautiful monastery, and even an old, sacred tree. The small village gompa is wonderful, a real relic of times past …
We’ll have many local visitors during the course of the afternoon and evening, including Kim’s wonderful Zanskari grandmother Sonam Yanskit, and will hope to have a chance to visit a traditional Ladakhi house and the gompa in the afternoon. Sonam Yanskit’s husband Nyawang Jigmet has a parachute teahouse on the other side of the Singge La and is often in Yulchung. One of the large houses near the gompa, perhaps formerly a royal dwelling, has an exquisite house-gompa inside which we can try to visit also.
Day 27 – Trek Meadow Camp (over Singge La 4970m)
This morning we head for the well-known Singge La, or ‘lion’s pass’, 1000-meter climb above Yulchung. The valley heats up as we follow the small trail that leads north out of the village, ascending through pastures of wildflowers, lichen-covered rocks and grasses. The massive, ochre-colored canyon walls to our right as we ascend have been smoothed and textured by millenniums of wind and water erosion which have left strange caves throughout. We climb steeply into the dramatic canyon on slightly exposed trails, contouring along old trails lined with Zanskar rose bushes. There are often blue sheep and ibex in this region, so have cameras ready and eyes open for falling rocks.
We’ll have to cross the newly-built road a few times as we switchback steeply up to the Singge La, an hour’s climb from the stark high camp. After a break to hang five-colored Tibetan prayer flags on the chortens at the crest of the pass and admire the views across Ladakh and Zanskar, we descend into a green valley filled with wildflowers, first steeply, to a small parachute tent run by Nyawang Jigmet from Yulchung. Another 1 1/2 hours of gentle descent through low brush, crossing the stream on small rocks and staying on the right bank brings us to our campsite.
Singge Meadow Camp is set in a wide valley with plenty of space, lots of bird-life, many marmots, but no other trekkers in site, right on the banks of the clean but chilly stream. Grab a camp-chair, pick up a book, take a wash and enjoy the late afternoon sun (the morning sun is also late, unfortunately). We share the campsite with grazing yaks so don’t be startled by grunts first think in the morning …
Day 28 – Trek Photoksar (cross Bumiktse La 4430m)
We’re trekking through the valley that is the high pasture of the Photoksar villagers, so we pass their herds of sheep, goats and yaks all day en route to Photoksar. Bring sandals, as there are two rivers to cross during the day. We descend gradually past summer doksas, and climb a small hill, descending to reach our first river crossing at a parachute tent and chorten, contouring again for an hour to reach the second crossing at a line of ancient, whitewashed Tibetan Buddhist chortens. We soon reach the Bumiktse La (4430m) with its long mani wall about three hours from camp. The deep gorge leading directly to Panjilla rises dramatically to our right as we climb. We are rewarded with great views of Photoksar and the fertile valley from the pass, as well as the Singge La valley, the Utah-like bulk of the Singge (lion) Peak and the Singge La (4970m) behind us.
As we descend, contouring, we have wonderful views of the incredibly scenic village of Photoksar, perched precariously on a hillside. If the wild flowers are in bloom it is one of the most beautiful spots in Ladakh, and certainly one of the most photographed. We cross a small stream and pass another green grazing plateau, soon afterwards dropping towards the village. Hiking on the left banks of the river above the billowing fields of ripening barley, we pass a kane (entrance) chorten and Ladakhi women with flowers tucked into their brown balaclava hats, dropping to the small bridge over the river.
Our campsite perfectly situated, with amazing views downriver to Photoksar, and the villagers, herding their flocks of sheep and goats, will stop by our campsite en route back to Photoksar with their herd of sheep and goats coming down from the high grazing hills. Take a walk along the river to the interesting village in the afternoon, well worth a bit of time, and spend the early evening watching the sun-rays filter through the village haze and the villagers heading back from the barley fields.
Day 29 – Drive Leh
Unfortunately there is now a new road from Photoksar (and further) to Leh, so we drive the rest of the way out of the Panjilla valley to Leh with Ang Chuk and friends. Leaving Photoskar, well make a quick stop at the amazing complex of a white-washed kane (entrance) chorten, a mani wall and a lama’s seat. Don’t miss the view of Photoskar between the chorten door. We drive up the 4820 meter Sirsir La, passing yellow poppy-like flowers, ‘bee balm’ (bees love this flower) or monarda from which earl grey tea is made and marmots popping their heads out of their burrows. From the pass we are treated to views of the Nigutse La valley, its impressive rock-spires in hues of ochre and tans glowing gently in the morning rays. Dropping down the pass, we cross the Spong Togpa river on a new Bailey’s bridge. The valley narrows as we descend into the massive Panjilla gorge on a dramatic road cut into the cliff-side. We pass Panjilla and Wanla, with its ancient fort, and drive up the pretty valley to meet the Srinagar-Leh highway.
We’ll relax in our jeeps and enjoy the spectacular four-five hour drive, a continuation of our wonderful journey. En route we pass the western Indus valley gompas, amongst them the 1000-year old Alchi, Hemis, Rizdong, Likir, Thikse and Shey. Back at the Shaynam Guest House in Leh, hot showers and a clean change of clothes await, and tandoori food and cold beers are not far away at the Ibex …
Day 30 – Leh
We’ve scheduled one last day in Leh, our favorite Central Asian capital, in case of delays during the trek. We’ll also have time to do some more shopping and exploring, and to wind down after our journey through the high, nomadic regions of ‘old Tibet’.
Itinerary Short
Short Itinerary
Day 31 – Thursday, 26 September – Trip Ends
Our wonderful Himalayan journey ends today, sadly. But we’re sure you’ll be back someday! You have several options after the trip: a flight back to Delhi, an epic ‘jeep safari’ back to Manali or elsewhere in the Indian Himalaya, or spending more time in Leh. We’re happy to assist on all fronts, but no flights are included in our India treks.
Day 1 – Meet in Leh 3500m
Welcome to Leh, the capital of predominantly Buddhist Ladakh, in Jammu and Kashmir, tucked away amidst the Ladakh mountains, part of the great Trans Himalayan range. If you arrive by air you’ll feel the big jump in altitude and it will take your body a few days to adjust. If you arrive by road from Manali or Srinagar you’ll have had some extra acclimatization en route, but will still need time to adjust to the 3500 meter altitude. Hydrate with plenty of water, stay away from beer for a few days, rest and don’t over-exert yourself. Even walking up the stairs of the guest house, let alone the Leh Fort, will make you breathless for the first day or two. Diamox is a good way to help your body acclimatize naturally; Kim will discuss.
We stay at the family-run Shaynam Hotel, more of a family-run guest house with a lovely garden in the center courtyard, located just a few minutes south of the Main Bazaar in old Leh town. Your rooms will be booked for you, you’ll just need to advise Kim of your arrival time, whether by air or by road. Once everyone has arrived and checked into rooms, Kim will show you around town: the bakeries, cafes, tandoori restaurants, email cafes, banks and wonderful markets. We’ll meet for dinner in the evening at the Ibex or Summer Harvest, a few of our favorite restaurants.
Days 2, 3 – Leh
We’ve scheduled two free days in Leh to acclimatize and to enjoy the peaceful, willow-lined streets and bustling bazaar life of Singge Namgyal’s 17th century capital of Ladakh, once an integral part of Western Tibet and a major trading post along the southern Silk Route. There is lots to explore in this wonderful Central Asian town; the newly-restored ruins of the 17th century Leh Palace, the ancient 16th century Leh Fort and the attached Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, other historic Tibetan Buddhist gompas, the Sunni Muslim mosques, narrow back alleys with steaming Muslim bread, tiny antique shops tucked away amidst the many ancient stupas and architectural remnants, the exotic Main Bazaar (c. 1840s) which once accommodated trade caravans, and even a polo field. Caravans of merchants from far-flung destinations such as Yarkand, Tibet, Kashgar and North India passed through Leh during ancient trade missions, trading salt, wool, Pashmina, tea and semi-precious stones, lending to the city its exotic allure. Pilgrims flocked to the monasteries of Leh and the Indus valley, explorers of old stopped in Leh to re-stock and weather out the harsh Himalayan winter and soldiers en route to plunder and conquer desirous destinations passed through Leh, all leaving their mark on this unique capital.
Kim will take you for a walk up the bustling Fort Road, lined with shops owned by Kashmiri, Tibetan and Kashmiri shop-keepers, to 15th century Leh Fort and the red, MaitreiyaTsemo Gompa, perched high on a craggy and crumbling hilltop overlooking the bazaars of old Leh. You can stop at 16th century nine-story Leh Palace, of a similar architectural design to the Tibetan Potala Palace, on the way down if you have the energy. Visit the museum, a worthwhile endeavor, as well as the nearby gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) – Soma Gompa, Chamba Lakhang and Chensrig Lakhang. There is a great cultural show around sunset at Soma Gompa.
We might wander the willow-lines streets of Changspa to reach the many steps leading to the Japanese-built Shanti Stupa for a view over the green fields and white-washed Ladakhi houses of the villages surrounding Leh. The precariously perched Leh Fort guards the eastern edges of the fertile valley. Sankar Gompa (17th – 18th century), reached through shady lanes to the east of Changspa, lies in the midst of Chubi’s groves of poplar and willow and is another wonderful morning or afternoon walk. The back route to Leh Fort starts in Chubi and passes through a desert-like Buddhist cremation ground before climbing to the fortress.
OPTIONAL GOMPA-TRIP: Arrange (through Kim, our Tibetan jeep-driver Wang Chuk or the Shaynam Hotel) a ‘jeep safari’ through the fertile Indus Valley to visit a few of the living Tibetan Buddhist gompas, the crumbling ruins of ancient fortresses and palaces and the traditional villages that dot the banks of the region, the ‘cradle of civilization’ of much of the ancient world. Kim can help arrange jeeps and/or a guide for a day’s excursion.
To the East: Shey, Thikse, Hemis, Chemde, Thagthok, Stakna, Matho & Stok.
To the West: Spitok, Phyang, Basgo, Likir, Alchi, Rizdong & Lamayuru.
OPTIONAL RAFTING-TRIP: You can arrange a day rafting trip on the Indus (easier) or the Zanskar River, approximately $35-40.
Day 4 – Drive Lato 4020m
After breakfast, we jump into our jeeps and head for the start of the trek at our acclimatization destination, Lato. We following the Leh Srinagar highway east, past the ancient, 14th century Spitok Gompa, spectacularly perched on a craggy hillock above the cultivated fields of Spitok village. We continue past the old palace and gompa at Shey, surrounded by hundreds of whitewashed chortens, and continue past more chortens built by the kings of Ladakh towards colorful Thikse Gompa on the left. The renown Hemis Gompa is built high up on a hillside to our right, down a connecting lane. Soon after passing this landmark we turn right at Upshi, following the Leh Manali highway south as it snakes its way over the high passes of the Zanskar and Himalayan ranges heading to Manali. Following the Gya Chu along a spectacular section of highway, we soon reach our campsite at the hamlet of Lato where the staff has set up camp for the night. We’ll set you up in your tents, show you around our ‘Kamzang’ style dining tent and settle in with a mug of chai. Beers are available at a small tea-house nearby …
Day 5 – Drive Dat 4310m
Another spectacular and short day of driving as we head south, crossing the 5300 meter Tanglang La and descending through a wide, green nomadic region peppered with nomad tents. At the bottom of the long pass we turn right, heading west through the nomadic region of Zara over the 4960 meter Yar La and descend on a serious of switchbacks to the valley below. At the end of this small valley our jeeps will turn right and drive for half an hour through a wild plateau of nomads, kyang and marmots to our idyllic campsite at Dat.
Our campsite for the night is lovely, high pastureland next to the now-deserted village of Shemen. Dat, which houses approximately forty families (although many have now moved to Choglamsar) in the Spring and late Autumn, is actually composed of the two villages of Dango (upper) and Shemen (lower). The nomadic villagers move to the Sangtha and Lungmoche valleys with their flocks in the summer months, and to the valley behind Dat few a couple of months in the wintertime. Marmots share the campsite with us and Kyang might check us out from the ridge above Dat. Sunsets and sunrises are glorious from camp so it’s worth a visit to the small, monk-run teahouse to pick up a beer for ‘sundowner’ …
The perfect, grassy campsite for an afternoon of relaxation and acclimatization. Warm streams meander through the valley, providing luke-warm washing water, and the sun usually shines brightly. If you feel like a wander, head up the side valley in back of Shemen village for an afternoon of wildlife spotting. Spend some time in the deserted villages and Dat Gompa, where the local god Ka La Bu Skyong, the protector and ‘giver of sons’, reins supreme. (Interestingly, this god is only recognized in Kharnak). The semi-permanent village of Shemen is fascinating, and the gompa worth a visit if we can find the resident key-keeper, a young monk from Hemis, who also collects the camp charges. Wander through the empty passageways between the stone houses; the discarded rubbish gives a picture of what life is like during the inhabited periods.
Another option is a (slightly difficult) hike up the plateau and prayer-flag topped peak above Dat at 4710 meters for totally amazing birds-eye views down on the valley, but be ready for some scrambling.
Day 6 – Trek Nomadic Winter Doksa 4505m
We’re keeping the details of the next few days quiet as no trekking groups know about this route. Trust us to lead you to one of the most beautiful and green valleys in Ladakh where we will set up camp in what we call our ‘snow leopard valley’. I’ll not write much about this to keep it as protected as possible, but will note that we found a wonderful shrine at the top of the winter doksa with unique stone carvings of the god Rahula. From the blog BlueStarBlackSnake – An Appalachian witches daily musings and interests:
‘Rahu became Rahula after being subdued by Padmasambhava from originally being an asura or rakshasa to being a Protector of the Dharma, thus the La at the end, meaning god. Rahu’s father was a Rakshasa and his mother was a Nagini … Rahula is the chief Nagaraja or Naga King of the race of Nagas and Naginis. He is blazing ultraviolet blue/black in colour. Rahula is a wrathful manifestation of Vajrapani. In the ancient Bon shamanism gZa is Zaw, or the 9 planets, with Rahula as Rahu the eclipse demon. His form is a 9-headed Nagaraja crowned with a black crow head, his coils covered with eyes. In one form he has three heads – one black, one white, and one red. His six arms hold to the right a sword, vajra, and wheel, and to the left a threatening mudra, snare, and hatchet. In another form he has nine heads, wrathful ones below and peaceful above. In his four armed form he holds a Makara staff to the right, snake left, and the two at centre pull a serpentine bow and arrow. And below the waist he is a twisting serpent surrounded by flames within a fiery quadrangle … His lower body is like that of a snake, while his upper body is covered with eyes, which, together with the further eyes in his nine heads symbolize his ability to see in all directions. His bow and arrow are ready to strike at enemies, and his many mouths are ready to devour their ignorance. He is shown surrounded by flames of high energy, as are all Guardians, but Rahula’s power is so intense that the practitioner has already developed considerable mastery. He can be a dangerous ally of potentially overwhelming power if not approached in the right way … He can be approached for assistance with relatively mundane matters. ‘
Day 7 – Trek Kyang Camp
Another secret day with an easy pass at 4815m to reach our campsite in a green valley full of kyang, and perhaps snow leopard …
Day 8 – Trek Lungmoche 4710m (over Yar La 4950m)
We have a small pass to crest, with views of the Zanskar Range, during which we often spot herd of kyang that reside in the nearby valleys (kyang translates as ‘wander’ in Ladakhi). The male often comes out to the main valley to scout for the herd of females and younger males, all of which will snort, paw the ground and arrange an impressive maneuver for us if their territory is threatened. Himalayan hares also reside in the valley and dart in and out of site. We crest one last ridge from camp before contouring towards the ascent of the 4950 meter Yar La, a relatively easy climb of just over an hour from the end of the valley following the winter snow wall built for winter sheep crossings. The chorten on the pass has some beautiful carvings including the Kharnak mountain deity, a lovely mountain goddess called Tsering Ma (Ched Inga), the eldest of five sisters, also recognized in Tibet. Most of these nomadic mountain deities are Bon deities which have been subdued by Guru Rimpoche as protectors of the Buddhist faith. We can see our old campsite just five minutes down the pass, and it will only take us half an hour (or a bit more if we camp further down the valley) to reach the turnoff to that camp at Lungmoche, another lovely pastureland. We’re still Kyang territory still, so keep your cameras ready. We’ll continue down the lovely, green Lungmoche valley for another half an hour or so from here, setting up camp somewhere green …
Day 9 – Trek Zabuk Barma 4350m
Today we head into well-loved nomadic territory, hiking down the green valley on the right side of the valley (there is a road being built on the opposite side, sadly). We’ll pass a large doksa soon after leaving camp, and then a mani wall and large chorten. An hour from this last chorten after a short, traversing climb brings us to a small pass where we’ll have a short rest in front of the mountain home of the three sister goddesses. Look back across the Zara Chu to see the ‘Five Sisters’ peaks, the dwelling of the five mountain goddesses that live in the distinctly shaped range. From here we descend gradually to the right, contour up and down several arid hillsides and reach a short but dramatic canyon through which we descend. Turning left we soon reach a broad plateau with chortens marking routes on all three sides and a cluster of eight magnificent, white-washed chortens across the river. Fifteen minutes later we drop into the seasonal nomadic settlement of Sangtha, built of rounded, white river rocks and littered with goat and sheep droppings. Cross the river to the complex of mani stones and chortens for wonderful photos and great views back to Sangtha, which marks the intersection of the Ladakhi and Tibetan nomadic regions.
We follow the magnificent, clear Zara Chu on the chorten-side to a grassy lunch spot at the first river intersection. We continue for another hour or so on the same side (left) past more sparkling river intersections, nomadic settlements (doksas), and a wolf trap and then drop down to the grassy riverside. Near camp on our side of the river is a marmot colony, with small trails leading to their tunnel shelters.
One more river bend and we spot out campsite across the river at Zhabuk Barma, a spectacularly-situated seasonal settlement of the Karnak-pa. To the east (below our camp) the Tozay Chu leads to Pang on the Leh-Manali highway and the Ladakhi nomadic region of Kharnak, and is bordered by a fantastic canyon of sculpted rocks leads. The campsite is wonderful and green with perfect swimming holes along the river and a cold, fresh spring in back. There are three tri-colored chortens in a shallow cave above the stone doksas, worth a steep climb up for views over the campsite and down the valley. And just to the left of these, a steep valley leading up to a fantastic plateau with vast vistas, a must-do in the afternoon with the perfect light. Keep your eyes on the hilltops next to camp for kyang, Himalayan hare and blue sheep, all of which are common in this area.
We’ll have a yak-dung fire in the evening …
Day 10 – Trek Narbus 4820m (over Narbus La 4850m)
We have a wonderfully dramatic hike today as we re-cross the Zara Chu right out of camp and climb to a high plateau just above us. Heading slightly around the hilltop to our right we cross the plateau on a sort of natural bridge and reach the fantastic canyons above the Tozay Chu to reach the sculpted canyons. The multi-hued spires of rock sculpted by centuries of wind and water erosion make for amazing photos. The river valley below our camp leads to the small settlement of Pang, which is off the Leh Manali highway from Narbus. We hike along this plateau, a feast of textures and colors high above the valley below, eventually contouring left towards the Narbus La.
It will take us four or five hours from camp to crest the 4850-meter pass. From the wide crest, marked by a small cairn, we can spot the canvas and yak-hair tents of the Tibetan nomadic settlement of Narbus where we set up camp for the night. Our nomadic Tibetan friends camp here for about four months every summer, and we can take a look at the inside of a nomad tent or two in the afternoon. Be ready, as we will be offered treats such as salt butter tea and fresh curd (yogurt) from their flocks of goats and sheep. Narbus is a good place to donate your supplies or extra clothes; years ago we had a meeting of the women from each tent and distributed evenly much needed school supplies and extras. Another year we bargained for yak and sheep-hair blankets and nomadic knives with binoculars, a Leatherman and some cash.
The evenings are a wonderful time of the day as the orange orb of sun begins to set, the nomads returning to camp herding their hundreds of sheep and goats, and the yaks wandering back to the tents followed by the haunting yells of the Tibetans.
Day 11 – Trek Numa River Camp 4610m
We start on our six hour day to the beautiful Numa Valley Camp. We cut across the Narbus valley for two hours to reach the Leh – Manali highway (unless we hitch a ride), and then continue right across the tussocked plateau towards the spectacular canyon that extends from Pang, four hours from Narbus. There are several nomadic settlements peppering the plateau in front of us and to our left, and we often spot Kyang along the way, even a weasel last year. It can be hot and there is no shade along the way so it’s a good day for an umbrella. Look up and down valley as the views are spectacular, the Himalayan rising impressively in front of us behind Pang. When we reach the edge of the plateau leading to Pang we are on yet another dramatic plateau overlooking sculpted rock outcroppings and ‘hoodoos’, with the river snaking through the flood plain valley below us.
We hike along the canyon rim for another hour to the turnoff to camp, the second large valley descending to our right. We’ll have lunch somewhere just before we hit this valley. After lunch, we’ll drop and contour around two small hill-sides and then descend extremely steeply to the river, following in the tracks of our horses (in case you can’t believe this is really a trail). We see our campsite being set up far below us as we descend.
Dropping steeply down a scree-filled gully, we slip our way down to the riverbed far below. Our campsite is right on the river at the intersection of a lovely stream, under the pillars of eroded sand which have formed themselves into Himalayan cathedrals called hoodoos. We’ll have time in the afternoon for a wash in the river, or a wander up the stream bed to the left of camp …
Day 12 – Trek Shemra High Camp 5100m
Yet another wonderful Himalayan trekking day ahead of us and another sandals day. The trek takes on a completely different character as we follow the wide Sumkhar Togpo river valley for a few hours along the flood plain, jumping over and splashing through the river many times and passing a large valley leading to the high Barma La to the left side of the river. Crumbling hoodoos line the trail on either side, backed by vivid blue skies and fluffy Himalayan clouds. We reach the second large valley junction, the Shemra Chu, which leads to Shemra, a grazing settlement, and the base of the Gyama La (5830m) which we will cross tomorrow. We’ll camp at a high, grassy camp site a few hours up the narrowing, stunningly beautiful valley.
Day 13 – Trek Kyagar (over Gyama La 5830m)
A big pass day ahead of us as we leave our high camp heading east and ascend on a switchbacking trail of scree to the top of the formidable Gyama La, our highest pass at 5830 meters. It should take us three or so hours to reach the top of the pass, where we’re treated to a great Himalayan panorama. The green valley widens as we descend, soon reaching the Gyarmasharma Chu which we follow to the bottom of the valley. We may have a bit of snow at the upper reaches of the valley, which narrows as we near the next sumdo. We’ve reached familiar nomadic territory at the bottom of the valley, a wide, green and stunningly beautiful Tibetan vignette where kyang graze freely, yaks roam the plateau and pikas and marmots stick their heads out of their burrows. This valley is pure Tibet; open, grassy plateaus, wild, amazing views, big sky and nomads on horseback herding their sheep. We’ll set up camp at the nomadic settlement of Kyagar, at the base of tomorrow’s small pass and enjoy the rest of the afternoon in our idyllic campsite.
Day 14 – Trek Rajung Karu 4880m
We have a truly beautiful ‘Changthang’ day with the nomads ahead of us, a relatively easy one after yesterday. We leave the winding, crystal clear stream which snakes its way down valley from our camp and head up the the Kyamayuri La (5430 meters), an easy ascent. From the prayer flags at the top of the pass we finally get a view of the turquoise Tso Kar Lake below us, a breathtaking site backed by Himalayan peaks. The descent to camp will take us about two hours of riverside walking along the Spanglung Chu. En route we’ll pass by many nomadic encampments with their Tibetan mastiffs chained to a stick in the ground, hopefully tightly. More Kyang in this green valley. Again, we follow the river to our camp at Rajung Karu although the easiest way is to stay a bit higher on the left side. The grassy riversides are home to marmot, pikas, Himalayan mice and numerous varieties of birds which build their nests in the uneven tussocks. Camp is on the right side of the river, another beautiful and green spot with good washing in the river next to us. We’ll watch the daily migration of the flocks of sheep and goats heading back to camp at upper Rajung Karu in the evening …
Day 15 – Trek Tso Kar Camp 4560m (over Horlam Kongka La 4950m)
Continuing along the right of the river on the green riverside, past several mani walls, it will take us an hour to reach the wide Horlam Kongka La (4950 meters). From the rounded top we look down onto Tso Kar Lake and several stone nomadic dwellings. We have an easy descent to the river and a small river crossing at Nuruchan, another nomadic seasonal settlement. We continue to hike along a dirt track towards Tso Kar, glimmering like an oasis in the distance. Kyang will be watching us from a distance as we trek past the stone settlement of Riyul and the wetlands surrounding the lake. Bubbles of salt are visible at the shores, which are very boggy, and shorebirds are plentiful.
Tso Kar Lake is the ‘salt lake’ of Rupshu, previously the site of large salt excavations by the Rupshu-pa nomads, a section of the lake given to each group each year when the salt trade between Tibet and the lower hills was thriving (after the border with China was closed in 1959). Today, Tso Kar Lake is not as salty as it previously was, and the salt trade has diminished in importance because if the introduction of iodized and subsidized Indian salt. There is a small Tibetan village to the north of the lake called Tukje with an old gompa; most of the people of Tso Kar lake are Tibet semi-nomadic people who spend the winters in their villages at the lake.
After stopping for lunch on the grass we’ll continue to round the western side of the lake, either on the dirt track or right next to the lake, a bit longer. We also have the option to climb the small Kongka Seru La (4850m) and descend easily to camp that way. It will take us a few hours to reach the tented camp of Pongunagu at the northwestern corner of the lake where we camp for the night.
Day 16 – Drive Leh
Back in the jeeps, we drive back along the southern shores of Pangong Lake and after a few hours, following a branch of the large Shyog River, turn south and drive over the Chang La (5300m) to Karu, where the road intersects the Indus and the Leh-Manali highway.En route we pass the western Indus valley gompas, amongst them the 1000-year old Alchi, Hemis, Rizdong, Likir, Thikse and Shey. Back at the Shaynam Guest House in Leh, hot showers and a clean change of clothes await, and tandoori food and cold beers are not far away at the Ibex.
Day 17 – Leh
We’ve scheduled one last day in Leh, our favorite Central Asian capital, in case of delays during the trek. We’ll also have time to do some more shopping and exploring, and to wind down after our journey through the high, nomadic regions of ‘old Tibet’.
Day 18 – Thursday, 8 August – Trip Ends
Our wonderful Himalayan journey ends today, sadly. You have several options after the trip: a flight back to Delhi, an epic ‘jeep safari’ back to Manali or elsewhere in the Indian Himalaya, or spending more time in Leh. We’re happy to assist on all fronts, but Leh flights are not included in our India treks.
Highlights & Reviews
Trip Advisor Reviews
Client’s Highlights
Outstanding trekking adventure, first class guides and personal attention – this is why Kamzang has so many repeat clients! We trekked with Kim Bannister and Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa for 22 days through remote Zanskar in Aug 2014. It was the adventure of a lifetime. Kim has many years experience and a loyal team of support staff and horsemen. Food and camping were very well organized; Kim and Lhakpa lead us through stunning scenery into remote Zanskari villages. Their detailed local knowledge and ability to speak with villagers made for a memorable rich experience. Over high passes and crossing rivers we always were in good hands. Thoroughly recommended if you really want to trek off the map.
– David R. & Kathy F (Canada), Wild Ladakh & Zanskar Trek 2014
This was the third time I’ve trekked with Kamzang Journeys and Kim and her crew it was lovely to be back amongst friends. Ladakh is a fabulous destination and a real step back in time to ‘real’ travelling. Trekking with Kim and her crew is authentic but also luxurious; a single tent as standard, the ‘Festival Tent’ for relaxation and meals, hot water for tea/coffee on ‘tap’, and great standards of cooking! No fears of food poisoning as hygiene is excellent. If you’re stuck with June – September for your long Himalayan trekking Ladakh is the place to go and Kim and Kamzang Journeys are the people to go with!
– Sally L (UK), Nomads, Lakes & High Passes Trek, Wild Ladakh & Zanskar Trek + more
A bucket list must, and an expeditionary style adventure in a pristine environment. All at the good hands of Kim Bannister, the organizational wizard, and her extraordinary staff. Kim and her guide partner Lhakpa Dorji led us on an idyllic route through the remote and beautiful Ladakh & Zanskar region of northern India. My initial apprehensions, as a first time trekker, were quickly extinguished by the friendly and professional manner of the competent staff. It was the experience of a life time, certainly one that I will never forget. This trekking company deserves a “5 star rating”! You need only bring a good set of lungs, a strong pair of legs, a zest for adventure and a sense of humor. I will return!
– Tom B (USA), Ladakh & Zanskar Kora Trek 2013
Magnificent treks and highly professional! I have trekked with Kim four times, three in Ladakh in Northern India and one in Nepal. On all four occasions the treks were very well organised and run in a very professional manner. Kim’s crew are all enthusiastic and are very happy to provide assistance where necessary. As trekkers you are very well looked after with individual tents and a large tent for socializing and dining. Kim and Lhakpa plan their treks so they are interesting and that they go off the beaten track and you are not walking in procession with other trekking groups, Kim is aware of the different needs and capabilities of her trekkers and her daily itineraries cater for all. On the more challenging parts of her treks Kim and her crew are always there to support. I hope to do more trekking with Kim and Kamzang Journeys and highly recommend them.
– Dennis B (Australia), Nomads, Lakes & High Passes Trek 2015, Wild Ladakh & Zanskar Trek 2013 + more
Thank you very much for a wonderful trek. I felt so very well looked after, from great food to river crossings to much needed breaks and always someone to see that we did not feel lost or alone. Your attention to detail, from the shopping expeditions both in Leh and along the way, from the variety and quality of food to making sure that everything we needed was provided and easy to access, is amazing. Also your energy and generosity of time and spirit in those extra expeditions to nomad tents, the fort etc. when many leaders would have signed off for the day.
– Leslie S (Australia), Nomads, Lakes & High Passes Trek 2012
I have done a number of treks with a variety of companies. One of these treks was to Ladakh, India with Kamzang. I found the trek’s organization and quality of food to be excellent. Equally important was Kim’s knowledge of the cultures that we trekked through, so that we, as relative outsiders, could gain some insight into their lives. However, two things stand out. Kim’s infectious enthusiasm: not just for the landscapes and cultures we passed through but for dad-to-day life on the trek. Secondly, the shared ‘mess-tent’, a haven of comfort and conversation. Very highly recommended.
– Roger E (UK), Nomads, Lakes & High Passes Trek 2011
What a trip! Thanks for all your hard work and imagination. Truly a spectacular journey and the clientele you attracted was a magnificent bonus.
– Chris R (USA), Wild Ladakh & Rupshu Trek
Wow! What an unforgettable experience you have given me. I was constantly amazed at your patience with the individual needs and concerns of the group and of the heartfelt care and connection you have with your staff and horses. You are a great leadership team and a joy to wake up to each morning! The landscape, the interactions with the villagers, nuns and monks along the way, the exhileration of the more risky bits of the trip and your smiling faces will not be forgotten. Thank you & Jullay!
– Annie K, Wild Zanskar 2010
I think about you and Lhakpa and everybody a lot; and I miss the trek, the beautiful mountains, the amazing sceneries and rich culture there. Every time when I go through my trekking photos, the memories of those great moments come back to me, speaking to me and asking me why I haven’t packed my gears and signed up for my next Himalaya trip?!
– Summer T (China), Wild Ladakh Zanskar Traverse
I have been on treks with Kim four times. All her trips are superbly well organized and smoothly run. Everything is take care of. The food is great and accommodation good. The only thing you have to do is the walking. It’s a five star service and great value!
– Peter H (UK), Ladakh & Zanskar Treks + more
Client Highlights
Trekkers’ Comments
Trek Highlights
- Exotic Leh & the historic Indus Valley
- Nomadic region of Kharnak
- Wild Shade – Zangla Route
- Marang La pass
- Remote Shun Shade valley
- Bear Valley
- Zangla Fort
- Canyons, river crossings & far-flung villages
- Tibetan Buddhist gompas of the Zanskar valley
- Challenging trekking & high passes
- Sublime Himalayan scenery
- Central Asian wildlife
- Few other trekkers & our secret routes!
- Extra days for exploration
Photo Gallery | Trip + Trek Photos
Kim Bannister Photography
Travel Reading
Travel Books
Articles + Documentaries | Ladakh + Zanskar, Indian Himalaya
Stunning Time Lapse of Ladakh in 4K | Reels & Frames
Becoming a Woman in Zanskar | Jean-Michel Corillion
Ladakh Diaries: Postcard from Paradise | India Today – Features Kamzang Journeys
Nomads in Ladakh: Hard Living at Altitude | Blog by France LeClerc
On Snow Leopard Mountain | BBC Planet Earth
Child Monks of the Himalayas | BBC – In Pictures
Chang Tang Pa | Cat Vinton Photo Essay
Silent Roar, The Snow Leopard | National Geographic Documentary
Shepherdess of the Glaciers | Trailer YouTube
Ladakh, Mountains & Men | Le Figaro
Blog Article | Za Rahula Local Nomadic God
Street Food in India | India Mike Blog
Ladakh, the Last Shangri La | National Geographic
A Journey to Little Tibet | National Geographic
India: Extreme Biking in Beautiful Ladakh | The Telegraph UK
The Grey Ghosts of the Mountains | Vimeo
Kashmir, the Inheritance of Loss | New York Times
Gandhi | BBC Documentary (3 Parts)
The Making of the Mahatma – Part 1
The Rise to Fame – Part 2
The Road to Freedom – Part 3
In Search of Gandhi | BBC Documentary
GoPro + Ladakh Cycling Videos!
These great YouTube videos were put together by friend and cyclist David Koelle. Although they’re not exactly our routes, they give you an idea of the roads, the beauty and the challenges of cycling in the Indian Himalaya!
Nubra – Wari La Cycle | David Koelle
Lamayuru, Leh, Nubra + Khardung La Cycle – | David Koelle
Pangong Lake + Chang La Cycle | David Koelle
Srinagar – Lamayuru Cycle | David Koell
Leh – Manali Cycle | David Koelle
Kamzang Journeys Ladakh Trek Videos
Kamzang Journeys | Kharnak Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Markha Valley | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Changthang Nomads | MrMennoBen
Kamzang Journeys | Rupshu Nomads | MrMennoBen
Leh + Indus Valley | MrMennoBen
Date & Price
Dates
tba
2013 Trek
25 Days:
31 Days:
Flights NOT included (meet in Leh)
Hotel Single Supplement $100
Includes
- Airport transfers in Leh
- Hotel in Leh
- Group transportation by private vehicle
- ‘Kamzang’ expedition-style trekking: Delicious meals, fresh coffee & gourmet teas, horse portering, Western & Sherpa guides, local staff, single, roomy Marmot & Big Agnes tents (double for couples) & our famous ‘Tibetan Festival Tent’ as a dining tent
Excludes
- Domestic flights
- Meals in Leh (while not on trek)
- Travel or travel health insurance
- India visa
- International flights
- Equipment rental
- Alcohol and bottled drinks
- Gompa donations
- Laundry
- Tipping and other items of a personal nature
Tips & Extra Cash
Allow approx $300 for meals (while not on trek), drinks (on trek) and tips. We recommend $200 per trekker thrown into the tips pool for the crew.
Contact & Details
Kamzang Journeys
https://kamzangjourneys.com/
kim@kamzang.com, kamzangkim@gmail.com
info@kamzang.com
Kim Bannister, Chez Kim, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal
Kamzang Journeys LLC, USA
India Contacts
Kim Mobile: +(91) 9419 981715, 9103 666078
Lhakpa Mobile: +(91) 9419 977569, 70067 70368
Kim’s WhatsApp: +(977) 9803 414745
Lhakpa’s WhatsApp +(977) 9841 235461 (WhatsApp)
Khumbu Adventures (Nepal)
Lhakpa, Doma & Nuru Sherpa
Lhakpa Mobile: +(977) 9841 235461 (WhatsApp), 9823 905461
Doma Mobile: +(977) 9841 510833, 9803 675361
Nuru Wangdi Mobile: +(977) 9803633783 (WhatsApp)
www.khumbuadventures.com
hiking.guide@gmail.com, nuruwangdi@gmail.com
Srinagar & Kashmir Contact
Shangaloo Travels
Mehraj Deen (GM & Ladakh Operations)
mehraj@shanglootravels.com
Mehraj Mobile: +(91) 9419013874, 9858986512
Office: +(91) 0194 2502083
Shangaloo Travels Tel : +(91) 0194 2502082-90, +(91) 9596 787001-20
On-Trek Contact
We are not able to use our satellite phone in India or Ladakh because of security restrictions. In case of emergency, a few numbers are listed below, or contact Doma or Nuru Sherpa of Khumbu Adventures in Nepal. We sometimes have access to landlines during the trek, and will try to use our Garmin InReach for text messaging.
Padma Deachen Mobile (Shaynam Hotel): +(91) 70510 49977 (WhatsApp)
Jigme Mobile (Shaynam Hotel): +(91) 96229 96242 (WhatsApp)
Jigmet Punchok (Driver & Leh Company – Adventures La): +(91) 99062 49085 (WhatsApp)
Ang Chuk Mobile (Driver & Friend): +(91) 94193 44641 (WhatsApp)
Tenzin Wanga Email (Ang Chuk’s Son): tenzinw5@gmail.com
Communications on Trek | Garmin InReach Messaging Service
Kamzang Journeys has a Garmin MapShare page for sending + receiving messages to our Garmin InReach satellite messaging device. Give this link to friends + family who want to follow our progress on the trek, have them send us a message so we have their email in the system. We can message them back directly, email works better than texts. Messages are free, enjoy.
https://share.garmin.com/KimBannister
Kim will post InReach updates to the Kamzang Journeys Facebook page.
Satellite Phones & Drones in India
Satellite phone, Garmin InReach, SPOT or satellite communications of any sort are STRICTLY PROHIBITED in India! Serious consequences, please leave yours at home! Drones are also illegal in Jammu & Kashmir unless registered with the appropriate government office in Delhi.
Kamzang Journeys FaceBook
https://www.facebook.com/kamzangjourneys/
Posts from Leh before + after the trek.
Kamzang Journeys | Kim Bannister Photography
https://kimbannisterphotography.smugmug.com/
Kamzang Journeys Blog
https://www.kamzangjourneys.com/kamzang-journeys-blog/
Shop Kamzang Journeys Products
https://www.kamzangjourneys.com/store/
Shop Kamzang Design
https://www.etsy.com/shop/KamzangDesign
The Kamzang Fund
Sponsoring Children, Medical Issues and Giving Back to Himalayan regions.
https://www.kamzangjourneys.com/kamzang-fund/
Travel Books
https://www.kamzangjourneys.com/kamzang-journeys-travel-books/
Arrival Hotels Leh
Hotel Shaynam
Hotel Omasila
Padma Guest House
Hotels in Leh | Alternative & Luxury Hotels
We use Hotel Shaynam, Padma Guest House or Hotel Omasila as our arrival hotel, depending on availability and your preference. Our standard hotel is the Hotel Shaynam where Kim and the Kamzang Journeys staff stay, a lovely family-run guest house with a blooming garden, deck chairs, tables + umbrellas. We don’t charge a single supplement at Hotel Shayman. We charge a single supplement for Omasila and Padma, and a double upgrade for Omasila. We will book all hotels for you regardless of where you stay. Please specify your preference when booking a trek. Breakfast included in all of the hotels.
Leh Alternative & Luxury Hotels
We will confirm current prices yearly, please inquire …
Alternative Hotels
We’re happy to book other hotels of your choice. Some recommended hotels below.
Hotel Royal Ladakh
Single Supplement – $225
Extra Nights – Single $80, Double $90, Suite $115
Breakfast Included
Dragon Hotel
Single Supplement – $200
Extra Nights – Single $70, Double $80, Suite $120
Breakfast Included
Luxury Hotels
Spash out on one of Leh’s most luxurious hotels! We will be happy to make any bookings needed. Enjoy!
The Grande Dragon Ladakh
Single Deluxe $220, Single Suite $210
Breakfast Included
The Zen Ladakh
Single/Double Premium $155/$180
Zen Cottage – $250
Executive Suite – $310
Presidential Suite – $340
Nimmu House
Nimmu Village (45 Minutes from Leh)
4 Rooms + 5 Tents
Single/Double Rooms – $170/$190
Single/Double Luxury Tents – $185/$205
Pangong Serai
Single Supplement – $50 Per Night
Extra Nights – $50
Breakfast Included
Lunch + Dinner – $20 Per Meal
Travel Medical Insurance
Required for your own safely. We carry a copy of your insurance with all contact, personal and policy information with us on the trek and our office in Kathmandu keeps a copy. Note that we almost always trek over 4000 meters (13,000+ feet) and that we don’t do any technical climbing with ropes, ice axes or crampons.
Note that private helicopter insurance generally not available in India!
Travel Medical & Travel Insurance
TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE is required to travel with us. We strongly recommend TRAVEL INSURANCE as well in case of international or domestic flight cancellation or unexpected costs on the trip such as helicopters when flights are cancelled or passes are impassible. Your insurance must include HELICOPTER EVACUATION and travel over 4000 meters (over 13,000 feet). In INDIA and TIBET helicopter evacuation is more difficult, although we still recommend including this option in your policy. Please do your own research, check with your local insurance provider for the company best for your country, age and trip requirements.
INSURANCE NOTE | Please bring us a PRINTED PAGE with your name, address, personal emergency contact, insurance policy name and number and the overseas contact number to call in case of emergency for us to give to our local agents (we don’t need the particulars, just a one-page copy of the policy).
Global Rescue Services
Safety is our top priority, but unforeseen emergencies can occur on any trek, cycling trip or journey. A Global Rescue membership will provide you with 24 hour advisory services, field rescue (evacuation from your point of injury or illness to the nearest appropriate medical facility), and also evacuation to your home hospital of choice for continuing care all at no cost to you. You can purchase the coverage directly from Kamzang Journeys, with or without the IMG travel medical insurance coverage.
Global Rescue Services
Global Rescue & IMG Travel Medical Insurance
https://globalrescue.com/kamzang/
Travel Medical Insurance Suggestions
Travel Guard & AIG Travel Insurance
http://www.travelguard.com/
HTH Travel Insurance
https://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/
Allianz Care Travel Insurance
https://www.allianzcare.com/en/personal-international-health-insurance/travel-insurance.html
Adventure Sports Cover 360
https://asc360.com/
TravelEx Insurance
https://www.travelexinsurance.com/
AXA Travel Insurance
https://www.axatravelinsurance.com/
CoverMore Travel Insurance
https://www.covermore.com/
World Nomads Travel Insurance
http://www.worldnomads.com/
Seven Corners Travel Insurance
https://www.sevencorners.com/insurance/HW35TW3
Generali Global Insurance
https://us.generaliglobalassistance.com/
World Trips Atlas Travel Insurance
https://www.worldtrips.com/travel/insurance/Atlas-International-Insurance/
Ripcord Travel Insurance
http://www.ripcordrescuetravelinsurance.com/
International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) – FREE Membership
www.iamat.org
Helicopter Service & Rescues Leh, Ladakh
Please pass on this information to your travel medical insurance provider …
HeliService Ladakh (Government Agency)
https://heliservice.ladakh.gov.in/
+91 01982-255567, contact@heliservice.ladakh.gov.in
Ladakh Rescue Center
Mr. Nasir Mohd
+91 96229 98919, 94194 41333, nasiradvo786@gmail.com
Working together with:
Pawan Hans Helicopter Service (Government Regulated))
https://www.pawanhans.co.in/english/index.aspx
Medical
We have a full medical kit with us including Diamox (for acclimatizing), antibiotics, inhalers, bandages, re-hydration, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs etc. but please bring a supply of all prescription and personal medications. Kim has First Aid, CPR and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certifications as well as many years of experience with altitude in the Himalaya but is NOT a qualified medic or doctor, so please have a check-up before leaving home, and inform us of any medical issues. This is for YOUR OWN safety.
DO bring all prescription medications and good rehydration/electrolytes. We advise bringing your own Diamox, Ciprofloxin, Azithromyacin & Augmentin. We have all of these with us but the Western versions are always better than the Indian equivalents.
PAC Bag & Oxygen
We carry a Portable Oxygen Chamber, or Gammow Bag, with us on many treks. There is no charge for use of the PAC bag but oxygen is $300 per canister (cost price, pass on to insurance company).
Health Information
India Health Information
CDC
We also recommend bringing probiotics with you to help prevent infections while on trek. Doctor’s recommendation!
Arrival India
Arrival in India
ARRIVAL NOTE | Flights to/from Leh are NOT included in the price or itinerary. Everyone will need to arrange their own flight or overland trip to Leh. You can book your international flights all the way to Leh, Ladakh (IXL) which will ensure that your flight provider is responsible for hotels if your flight is delayed or cancelled. You might also want to come overland from Manali, breath-taking jeep safari, or from Srinagar, both some of the planet’s most spectacular drives.
Email us your flight arrival details and have our contact details with you when you arrive in Delhi in case you need assistance. Kim will have her mobile with her, as will our agents from Dhruv Travels, so don’t hesitate to call. We can help with hotels, flights, airport pick-ups and drops, sightseeing in Delhi or travels further to Rajasthan or Agra & the Taj Mahal (see Dhruv Travels).
GET YOUR INDIAN VISA
You can get your Indian e-Visas (visa-on-arrival) online, either at the Indian government website or at the easier, and slightly more expensive iVisa website. Extensions are possible but very difficult. You must have your visa BEFORE arriving in India!
INDIAN GOVERNMENT SITE
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/Registrationi
VISA
https://www.ivisa.com/india-visa-application
INDIAN VISA REFERENCE & ADDRESSES
Hotel Leh: Shaynam Hotel, 20 Old Leh Road, Leh, Ladakh, 194101
+(91) 70510 49977
Contact: Jigmet Singay Dadul &/or Padma Deachen
Mobile: +91 70510 49977 (Padma)
Mobile: +91 96229 96242 (Jigmet)
EXAMPLE:
Reference Name: Padma Deachen
Address: 20 Old Leh Road
Line 2: Ladakh
State: Jammu & Kashmir (or Ladakh, when the system is updated)
District: Leh
Phone: 70510 49977 (don’t need +91)
NOTE: Don’t add spaces or +country code when adding your phone or mobile numbers.
Travel Agent Delhi: Dhruv Travels, 2464, Nalwa St, Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, New Delhi, 110055 (Tel: +91 11 2358 2715)
Kim’s Mobile: +(91) 9419 981715
Satellite Phones & Drones
Satellite phones are ILLEGAL in all of India, including Jammu & Kashmir. If you are caught with a satellite phone, SPOT, Garmin InReach or another satellite device it will be confiscated, you will be fined and the owner might go to jail or be restricted from re-entering India. This is serious!
Drones are also illegal in Jammu & Kashmir unless registered with the government in Delhi.
Delhi Hotels
Some suggestions for extra nights + layovers in Delhi, near the airport
Marriott Aero City
The Muse Sarovar
Red Fox
Holiday Inn (Airport)
Andaz Delhi
Architectural Digest Article on Andaz
Delhi Restaurants & Bars
Zomato Restaurant Reviews
Notes on Itinerary
Although we try to follow the itinerary below, it is ONLY a guideline based on years of experience trekking in the Himalaya. At times local trail, river or weather conditions may make a deviation necessary; rivers may be impassible, snow blocks passes, and landslides wipe out trails. The trekking itinerary and campsites may also vary slightly depending on the group’s acclimatization rate or sickness.
The Himalaya are our passion, and we take trekking seriously. Although everyone is here on vacation, please come with a dollop of patience and compassion added to your sense of adventure …
Temperatures & Clothing
Dress conservatively in Leh and on the trail as a rule. Shorts are okay if they aren’t too short, mini skirts aren’t recommended. Sleeveless t-shirts are absolutely fine, but perhaps avoid tank-tops on the trail. Super tight doesn’t go over so well with the village elders. Many of the younger generation in Nepal wear modern Indian or Western-influenced clothes, but remember that you haven’t signed up for a beach or surf vacation. Use your good judgment, be an ambassador for western tourists! Please ask Kim or your guide if unsure about appropriate clothing.
Leh is generally very hot during the day (t-shirt weather) and cool at night (long sleeve shirt, fleece or synthetic jacket weather depending on month in the summer). A sun hat is essential during the day, sandals like Keens perfect for both a wander around town and trekking. Ladakh is very casual, a pair of jeans and shirt fine for evenings.
Trekking temperatures vary considerably, and you will need a wide range of trekking gear during the trek. Gear will range from sandals to boots, from t-shirts to down jackets. We suggest packing a warm sleeping bag, and bring layers. A full discussion of gear on ‘Gear’ tab.
Cultural Issues
Ladakhis are very open and welcoming, but there are a few issues you should be aware of to make your stay in Ladakh more fulfilling. Use your right hand to pass things, shake hands or do most anything. Left hands are somewhat taboo. Best not to pat kids on heads, or point feet ahead of you at monasteries. Don’t walk over someone’s legs or feet, but put your hand down in front of you to signal them to pull their legs to the side. Take off shoes and hats when going into Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples, don’t use flashes inside monasteries or temples in general, be respectful of a puja (prayer ceremony) if attending one. You can talk, all religious are very tolerant, but be aware of your level of voice.
Ladakhis don’t anger quickly, so try not to raise your voice if exasperated or angry as it only will make a situation worse. Do bargain at shops, with taxis and rickshaws, but don’t fleece them. They are poor and making a living, generally.
Give small donations on the streets if you choose, but try not to encourage begging too much. Be aware of who you are giving money to, and please only give small amounts. If you do want to donate to a cause, ask about our Kamzang Fund or other responsible organizations.
Note that Leh and Ladakh are melting pots of different religions: Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim, as well as a few Christians. Tolerance and acceptance of all religions tolerated!
Pampering Yourself in Leh
Inquire if you’re interested in staying in one of Leh’s high end hotels. A few suggestions …
Stok Palace
‘Built entirely by the Ladakhi craftsmen in 1820, the Stok Palace still continues to be a snug abode for the Namgyal dynasty. The Namgyal dynasty traces its origin to its founder –Lhachen Palgygon as early as 10th century. You are entering a historical property and the Palace stands 195 years old. The Stok Palace was opened to public in 1980 with blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and since it’s been over a decade and visitors continues to pour from all over the World. It encapsulates and reflects the lifestyle and history of Royalties set in the midst of the valley of Singey Sangpo which is known more popularly as Indus River.
Preserved from urbanity, this pristine natural landscape allows you to relax in serene atmosphere, pregnant with the delicious aroma of the country side and amazing views all around and takes the visitors through the imagery experience, detailing the softness of Snow, the brilliance of sunlight, billowing clouds, wandering pathways, and picturesque local architecture. As with anything embracing the grandeur and beauty of nature, the landscapes achieve a sense of timelessness; they envelop the echoes and silence of eons gone by. So come and enjoy the fine dining experience prepared from the family kitchen products coming from the local market and village. You can enjoy the pleasures of healthy and natural Ladakhi, Tibetan and Indian food.’
Nimmu House
‘Nimmu House Ladakh is a sustainable Hotel in Ladakh, 30 km from Leh, in the village of Nimmoo. A noble house belonging to the cousin of the king of Ladakh, from the early 90s, surrounded by an orchard. Nimmu House includes five spacious tents scattered across the orchard and a room located in the house. Activities include Hiking, trekking, rafting, cooking classes, visits to the village of Nimmu and the monasteries of the Indus Valley’
The Ultimate Traveling Camp
‘The first truly mobile luxury camps in India covering a calendar of destinations and festivals. This nomadic super luxury camp introduces the discerning traveller to different adventures in Carefully selected exceptional locations in the mountains, deserts, jungles and unexplored Countryside. Experience the many moods of exotic India with its dramatic landscapes, rustic and unexplored rural surroundings. Rediscover yourself…meet gurus from the far reaches of the Himalayas, raft down the River Indus, watch a game of Polo, a sport of the Royals, picnic in picturesque spots, celebrate tribal hues at the Hornbill Festival, explore quaint tribal Naga villages, or simply curl up in your ‘tent with a view’!
Tips for Staff
We recommend at least $200 per person to go into the tip pool for the staff. Please bring IC with you on the trek for the tips. It’s nice to buy the staff drinks on the last night. Or any other night that you feel like getting them a bottle of run!
Tips in General
Tips are always appreciated but they don’t need to be extravagant. 50 IC to carry bags to/from your room is fine. 100 IC for drivers to/from the airport. Round up taxi fares. A larger tip would be expected for a day trip in a car, perhaps 500 IC. 10% is included in some restaurant and hotel bills in India, and if it’s not included it’s still expected. Check your bills, and still round up at restaurants. Feel free to give out small change to the beggars in the streets (5, 10, 20 IC).
Cash & ATMs
You’ll want some cash with you on the trek for drinks, snacks, beer, sodas, etc. There are often chances to during the trek, and usually local crafts to buy en route. (You’ll want your tip money IC as well). There are ATMs in Leh but they don’t dispense large amounts of cash so you’ll be best with currency to change. Traveler’s checks not recommended in India.
Extra Days in India | Customize Your Journey
We are happy to book extra nights at the hotel, or a hotel of your choice, if you want to stay in Leh for a few extra days to explore our favorite Central Asian capital, or just to relax and soak in the mountain scenery. We are also happy to book trips to Nubra, sightseeing jeep safaris along the Indus Valley, rafting, bicycling down the Kardung La or any other activity you would like.
See our Extensions Tab for trip ideas!
Gear
Kamzang Journeys Products
Kamzang Journeys duffel bags, t-shirts, camp towels and buffs. Handcrafted leather passport wallets, totes and bags, unique Himalayan textile pillow covers, cashmere stoles and more!
Kamzang Journeys Products
Gear List
A guideline, not a bible, for the gear you will (probably) need on the trek. Do ask (or send gear links) if you have questions! Everyone has their own method of gearing-ups for the mountain, so although these suggestions are based on 20+ years in the Himalayan regions, they may not be exactly what you bring on a trek. Layers are essential for trekking, and quality is more important than quantity. It’s worth investing in some new, warm, lightweight trekking gear! Kim will check your gear before the trek, if needed.
One duffel bag per person. The airline regulations in Nepal (not applicable to India) allow 15 kg per person for mountain flights (including your daypack). We find ways to adjust, but be aware of this limitation and try to limit your duffel bag and daypack to 20 kg (50 lbs) total. 20 kg (50 lbs) is also the weight limit for our treks, although we’re a bit flexible.
- Duffel Bag
- Day Pack (30-40 L)
- Sleeping Bag (-20 to 0F/-30C to -20 Recommended)
- Air Mattress
- Trekking Boots, Trekking Shoes &/or Running Shoes
- Hiking Sandals, Water or Running Shoes (REQUIRED for River Crossings. Inquire for Your Trek)
- Crocs (Evenings & Washing)
- Down Jacket(s) &/or Vests (Can be Lightweight Down Jackets. Layering Recommended)
- Wind/Rain Jacket & Pants (Inquire for Your Trek)
- Trekking Pants (2-3)
- T-Shirts (3-4)
- Long-Sleeve Shirts (3-4)
- Technical Jacket (Depending on Other Jackets)
- Thermal Top & Bottom
- Thermal (Lightweight) Top & Bottom
- Evening Thermal Top & Bottom (Synthetic &/or Down Pants Optional)
- Socks (5-6)
- Down Booties (Optional, Recommended)
- Gloves (Lighter Pair & Heavier Pair for Passes)
- Thermal Hat
- Baseball Cap &/or Wide-Brimmed Hat
- Camp Towel
- Inflatable Camp Pillow (Optional)
- Trekking Poles (Recommended &/or Required. Inquire for Your Trek)
- Sunglasses (Extra Recommended)
- Reading Glasses (Extra Recommended)
- Head Lamp (Extra Recommended)
- Water Bottles | Nalgenes (2-3)
- Water Bladder (Optional, Recommended)
- Travel Umbrella (Optional, Recommended)
- Watch (or Alarm)
- Battery Chargers & Extra Batteries
- USB Adapter with Multiple Ports (Recommended)
- Camera or Smart Phone (Optional)
- Small Water Filter, SteriPen +/or Squeeze Filter Bottle Umbrella (Optional, Recommended)
- Camp Washing Bowl (Optional, Collapsible for Clothes)
- Laundry Detergent or Bio-degradable Clothes Soap
- Small Solar Panel (Optional, Recommended for iPods, Phones, Camera Batteries, e-Readers – We Often Have Solar Charging Capacity)
- Book(s) or Kindle &/or Audiobooks
- Zip-Lock | Plastic Bags
- Soft Toilet Paper | Tissues (Optional)
- Toiletries
- SPF Sunscreen & Lip Balm
- Personal Medical Supplies
- Hand Sanitizers (Small)
- Reusable Wipes (Recommended, Not Single Use)
- Rehydration | Electrolytes (Required)
- Snacks (Required)
Dining Tent Note
We have a ‘dress code’ for the evenings in the tent, which essentially means you’ll be changing out of your trekking clothes and into clean, warm evening clothes (which works well for getting into your sleeping bag after dinner). This is to keep the dining tent as clean as possible, as we eat and sit on the ground in Crazy Creek (style) camp chairs …
Suggested Medical Supplies
We have a full medical kit with us including Diamox (for acclimatizing), antibiotics, inhalers, bandages, re-hydration, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs etc. but please bring a supply of all prescription and personal medications. Kim has First Aid, CPR and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certifications as well as many years of experience with altitude in the Himalaya but is NOT a qualified medic or doctor, so please have a check-up before leaving home, and inform us of any medical issues. This is for YOUR OWN safety!
SUGGESTED MEDS | Dexamethasone, Nifedipine & Diamox (altitude), Azithromycin, Ciprofloxacin & Augmentin (antibiotics), blister bandages, Tegaderm &/or bandages, knee & ankle supports/braces (if required), ACE bandage for sprains & strains, cough drops.
Bring whatever pain meds you generally use (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol/Tylenol, Diclofenac), meds for diarrhea (Loperamide/Imodium) and nausea (Ondansetron), antihistamines (non-drowsy & Benadryl is good for a drowsy antihistamine that might help with sleep), as well as any medications that you take regularly or that your doctor prescribes. We recommend picking up a combination Salmeterol & Fluticasone inhaler locally, good for (from a doctor trekking friend) “high altitude cough due to reactive airways, which is kind of like temporary asthma. The ingredients in the inhaler relax the bronchial passages and calm inflammation in the airways.”Stay away from sleeping medications, drugs in the codeine-opiate-narcotic family and other drugs that suppress your breathing (not a good at altitude). And don’t forget electrolytes! Have some with you in your pack (as well as snacks) daily …
We’re happy to take excess medical supplies off your hands when you leave if you won’t need them. We use lots of the large amount we have with us to treat locals, our staff and our trekkers…
Kim’s Gear Suggestions
I generally wear a trekking t-shirt, trekking pants, a mid-weight long-sleeve shirt, a lightweight synthetic jacket (sometimes paired with a vest), often starting the morning in a lightweight pair of long underwear. I carry a lightweight wind-rain jacket and pants, an extra pair of socks, gloves, a baseball cap and hat in my daypack, and on colder days also have a lightweight down jacket with me.
I use a 35 L Osprey daypack with a bladder, and an extra Nalgene to refill water on the trail, and often use trekking poles. I generally trek in running shoes, although I use boots on very cold days and over passes, and sometimes on hot days I also trek in Keen or Chaco sandalas. I often carry Crocs with me in case of river crossings and to give my feet a break at lunch (Tevas, Chacos and Keen sandals take a long time to dry and are relatively heavy), and I carry micro-spikes on pass days. I always have snacks, electrolytes, my camera or iPhone, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and some toilet paper, a small medical kit and a SteriPen.
Good trekking boots or running shoes that you’ve hiked in before the trek are essential. You don’t ever need climbing or plastic boots (for mini-crampons or micro-spikes). Trekking poles are not required but strongly recommended, especially for going down passes which are often steep and icy, and for treks with river crossings and rocky trails. Bring gators if you tend to use them but they’re not required if you don’t own a pair. Micro-spikes (mini-crampons) or YakTrax are useful (or essential) for pass crossings (inquire before the trek). We have an ice ax and rope with us during some treks for pass crossing days, for extra safety.
Good, polarized sunglasses are essential. Do bring an extra pair in case you lose or break them. Don’t forget a sun hat and/or a baseball cap, perhaps an extra headlamp, and have plenty of sunscreen and lip balm with SPF! Don’t get caught with blistered lips that don’t heal at altitude!
Nights are chilly to very cold, so a down jacket(s) and a WARM sleeping bag are essentials. We recommend a down sleeping bag of -10 to -20 F (-18 to -28 C). Mine is -20 F. At lower altitudes I open it and sleep under it like a quilt, and up higher am toasty warm during cold nights. NOTE sleeping bag ratings don’t correspond to how warm they need to be at altitude. Campsites at higher altitudes can be freezing at night and in the morning. The dining tent is a Tibetan style ‘yurt’ with cotton rugs (dhurries), tables and camp chairs on the ground. It warms up in the evenings when everyone is inside having soup, but it is still important to have warm clothes for the evenings. I change into thermals for the evening at camp and to sleep in when we get to camp; stretchy yoga pants over thermal underwear, light down vest and/or jacket over thermal layers. I love my down (or synthetic) booties at night in the tent! We have blankets for everyone if needed, and we even have a small propane heater on some treks …
Bring XL plastic bags or stuff sacks in your daypack in case of rain. The weather is changeable in the Himalaya, so we recommend that everyone has a strong, waterproof duffel bag for the trek. We supply covers that go over the duffel bags to protect them from rain, dirt + rips.
Day Pack
We recommend a 30-45 liter day pack. Better to have it too large than too small as on pass days you’ll need to carry more warm gear, and you can always cinch daypacks down. Many packs come with internal water bladders, or you can purchase them separately; very good for ensuring that you stay hydrated. Make sure your pack fits comfortably when loaded before bringing it trekking!!
In your day pack, you’ll carry your camera or phone, approx 2 liters of water, a jacket, lightweight wind and/or rain pants (often), a thermal hat, a baseball cap or sun hat, a buff (optional, but great to have on dusty trails), gloves, sunscreen, snacks, electrolytes, maybe something to purify water, hand sanitizer, a small bit of medical supplies, a pack-cover and often a lightweight down jacket. I slip my Crocs in for lunchtime stops or unexpected river crossings, and almost always carry a lightweight down jacket!
Tents
Everyone gets their own North Face style dome tent (3-person, large) without paying a single supplement. Couples share the same sized tent.
Drinking Water
We bring KATADYN (or equivalent) expedition-sized water filters along on the trek for fresh drinking water, ecologically the best way to get water in the Himalaya’s fragile trekking regions. Bring your own SteriPen or Sawyer squeeze filter for a back-up filtered water system during the day if you already have one. We bring ours as well, so this is optional. Please bring at least 2 Nalgene or other water bottles in addition to your water bladder.
WATER NOTE | We do not provide boiled water for filling water bottles on our camping treks although there is endless hot water for herbal, black or green teas, hot chocolate, hot lemon as well as delicious Indian chai and Kashmiri tea.
Snacks
You will NEED snacks hiking at altitude, even if you’re not a big snacker. Bring your favorite energy bars, gels, chocolate bars, dried fruit and nuts, jerky or whatever else gives you quick energy. Emergen-C and/or other electrolyte mixes are important in water bottles or before or after the trekking day; it is ESSENTIAL to bring electrolytes with you in your day packs in case you cramp up, get diarrhea or otherwise need them.
You might want to bring something to share in the dining tent. Any sort of cheese (especially from your hometown) is great as a treat on a cheese board before dinner, and something sweet is always appreciated!
Rentals
We have (approximately) 0F super-down sleeping bags to rent for $2.50 per day on our Nepal & Tibet treks. You might want a warmer sleeping bag (I use a -20F); if so, please do bring your own, as we want you to be warm while sleeping at night!
Packing & Extra Gear Storage
It’s easy to pack and unpack from a duffel bag, especially when the temperature drops. It’s a good idea to invest in a strong, waterproof duffel such as a North Face or one of our Kamzang Journeys duffels. You can store extra gear and computers at the hotel while we’re trekking.
Shopping & Snacks in Nepal (& Tibet)
Almost all gear is now available in Kathmandu, from real (North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Sherpa Gear, Marmot or at some shops in Thamel) to inexpensive knock-offs or good Nepali brands. The real gear shops take credit cards. There are many camera and mobile shops, and you can pick up good quality chocolate, snack bars (including gluten free, organic and vegan) and lots of other varieties dried fruits, nuts and snacks in Kathmandu. And, of course, you can shop for pashminas (or cashmere, or fakes, please ask if unsure), good quality silver, handicrafts and locally produced specialty products. We also have a large variety of good quality, unique handicrafts at Café Caravan in Boudhanath.
Our trips to Tibet always start in Kathmandu, so the above advice applies, and you can also pick up interesting Chinese snacks and dried fruits in all of the markets in Lhasa.
Shopping & Snacks in India
You can pick up some trekking gear in Leh, such as trekking poles, sleeping bags (about 0F), lightweight down jackets, duffel bags, some good Western and Chinese or Asian gear, but not shoes or boots. Top up your gear in Leh if you need to, but best not to rely on doing major shopping here although the second hand markets can be a treasure chest of trekking and cycling gear! There is a large variety of good quality dried fruit and nuts available in Leh at the outdoor markets and indoor supermarkets, and you can also pick up good chocolates, snack bars, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, and herbal teas in Leh at Chospa Supermarket.
Ladakh, Nubra & Kashmir Extensions
Srinagar, Water Worlds & the Jewels of Kashmir Journey
Kashmir, Srinagar & Indus Jeep Safari
A great extension to any of our Kamzang Journeys treks in Ladakh & Zanskar, or a wonderful trip on its own. Kashmir and Srinagar are some of the jewels of the Indian Himalaya, often described by local Kashmiris as ‘heaven on earth’. We are offering a wonderful nine-day itinerary, flying from Delhi to Srinagar and finishing in Leh via the overland route. There are many ways to customize this trip, please get in touch to make this trip exactly what you are looking for!
Some of the highlights: old historic Srinagar & the Mughal Gardens, touring Dal & Nageen Lakes by shikara (local boat), the atmospheric morning floating market, a visit to Dacigram National Park, an excursion Manasbal & Wular Lake, the largest lake in Asia, a tour of Yousmarg and a visit to Naranag Temple, the oldest in Kashmir. En route to Leh you’ll have the option to drive the stunningly beautiful Indus highway via the Koji La, with a chance to visit idyllic Sonmarg and stop at several Tibetan Buddhist monasteries along the road to Leh. Or you can take a one-hour flight directly to Leh. Enjoy the world renown beauty and hospitality of Kashmir!
Nubra, the Indus Valley & the Nomadic Salt Lake Regions Journey
Leh, Indus Valley Monasteries & Salt Lakes
A nearly perfect extension and a great trip on its own! Tour Central Asian Nubra, Leh, the Indus Valley monasteries (gompas, in Tibetan or Ladakhi) and the breathtakingly beautiful and culturally interesting salt lake region of northern Ladakh, bordering Tibet (China). Visit the nomadic communities at Tso Moriri, the traditional villages at Pangong Lake and explore the bustling Tibetan Buddhist monasteries en route to these lakes via a newly opened route! A wonderful jeep safari though the Indian Himalaya. There is lots to explore in historic Leh and the historic Indus Valley, tucked away amongst the shady villages and intriguing alleyways of this Central Asian capital.
Ladakh & Zanskar
Ladakh & Zanskar Information
“The center of Leh is a wide bazaar where much polo is played in the afternoons; and above this the many irregular flat-roofed, many-balconied houses cluster around the palace and a gigantic chorten alongside it. The rugged crest of the rock on a spur of which the palace stands is crowned by the fantastic buildings of an ancient gonpa … a very mixed population in which the Moslem element is always increasing … partly due to the marriage of Moslem traders with Ladakhi women who embrace the faith of their husbands.
Great caravans en route for Khotan, Yarkand and even Chinese Tibet arrived daily from Kashmir, the Punjab and Afganistan, and stacked their bales of goods in the place. The Lhasa traders opened shops in which the specialties were brick tea and instruments of worship. Merchants from Amritsar, Kabul, Bokhara and Yarkand … thronged the bazaar and opened bales of costly goods in tantalizing fashion. Mules, asses, horses and yaks kicked, squealed and bellowed; the dissonance of bargaining tongues rose high. There were mendicant monks, Indian fakirs, Moslem dervished, Mecca pilgrims, itinerant musicians, and Buddhist ballad howlers. Broad-faced women with creels on their backs brought in lucerne, Ladakhis, Baltis and Lahaulis tended the beasts
… Lhasa traders in heavy winter clothing exchange their expensive teas for Nubra and Baltistan dried apricots, Kashmir saffron and rich stuffs from India. Merchants from Yarkand on big Turkestan horses offer hemp, which is smoked as opium, and Russian triffles and dress goods, under cloudless skies. With the huge Kailas (Karakorum) range as a background, this great rendezvous of Central Asian traffic has a great fascination, even though moral shadows of the darkest kind abound.” (Leh 1894)
– Excerpts from ‘Among the Tibetans’ – Isabella Bird Bishop
History of Ladakh & Zanskar
“Ladakh (the ‘land of high passes’) is a region in Indian state of Ladakh that currently extends from the Kunlun Mountains to the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and its culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture. The Tibetan name La-dvags means ‘land of high passes’ It connected India with the Silk Road. Ladakh is its pronunciation in several Tibetan districts, and a transliteration of the Persian spelling.
Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys (now mostly in Pakistan), the entire upper Indus Valley, the remote Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti to the south, much of Ngari including the Rudok region and Guge in the east, Aksai Chin in the northeast (extending to the Kun Lun Mountains), and the Nubra Valley to the north over Khardong La in the Ladakh Range. Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti regions to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north.
Aksai Chin is one of the disputed border areas between China and India. It is administered by China as part of Hotan County but is also claimed by India as a part of the Ladakh region of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1962, China and India fought a brief war over Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, but in 1993 and 1996 the two countries signed agreements to respect the Line of Actual Control.
In the past Ladakh gained importance from its strategic location at the crossroads of important trade routes, but since the Chinese authorities closed the borders with Tibet and Central Asia in the 1960s, international trade has dwindled except for tourism. Since 1974, the Government of India has successfully encouraged tourism in Ladakh. Since Ladakh is a part of strategically important Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian military maintains a strong presence in the region.The largest town in Ladakh is Leh, followed by Kargil. Almost half of Ladakhis are Shia Muslims and the rest are mostly Tibetan Buddhists. Some Ladakhi activists have in recent times called for Ladakh to be constituted as a union territory because of perceived unfair treatment by Kashmir and Ladakh’s cultural differences with predominantly Muslim Kashmir.”
History of Ladakh & Zanskar
“Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh indicate that the area has been inhabited from Neolithic times. Ladakh’s earliest inhabitants consisted of a mixed Indo-Aryan population of Mons and Dards, who find mention in the works of Herodotus, Nearchus, Megasthenes, Pliny, Ptolemy, and the geographical lists of the Puranas. Around the 1st century, Ladakh was a part of the Kushana empire. Buddhism spread into western Ladakh from Kashmir in the 2nd century when much of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet was still practicing the Bon religion. The 7th century Buddhist traveler Xuanzang describes the region in his accounts.
In the 8th century, Ladakh was involved in the clash between Tibetan expansion pressing from the East and Chinese influence exerted from Central Asia through the passes. Suzerainty over Ladakh frequently changed hands between China and Tibet. In 842 Nyima-Gon, a Tibetan royal prince annexed Ladakh for himself after the break-up of the Tibetan empire, and founded a separate Ladakhi dynasty. During this period, Ladakh acquired a predominantly Tibetan population. The dynasty spearheaded the second spreading of Buddhism, importing religious ideas from north-west India, particularly from Kashmir. The first spreading of Buddhism was the one in Tibet proper.
According to Rolf Alfred Stein, author of Tibetan Civilization, the area of Zhangzhung was not historically a part of Tibet and was a distinctly foreign territory to the Tibetans. According to Rolf Alfred Stein, “The Tibetans encountered a distinctly foreign nation—Shangshung, with its capital at Khyunglung. Mt. Kailāśa (Tise) and Lake Manasarovar formed part of this country, whose language has come down to us through early documents. Though still unidentified, it seems to be Indo-European. Geographically the country was certainly open to India, both through Nepal and by way of Kashmir and Ladakh. Kailāśa is a holy place for the Indians, who make pilgrimages to it. No one knows how long they have done so, but the cult may well go back to the times when Shangshung was still independent of Tibet. How far Zhangzhung stretched to the north, east and west is a mystery. We have already had an occasion to remark that Shangshung, embracing Kailāśa sacred Mount of the Hindus, may once have had a religion largely borrowed from Hinduism. The situation may even have lasted for quite a long time. In fact, about 950, the Hindu King of Kabul had a statue of Vişņu, of the Kashmiri type (with three heads), which he claimed had been given him by the king of the Bhota (Tibetans) who, in turn had obtained it from Kailāśa.”
A chronicle of Ladakh compiled in the 17th century called the La dvags royal rabs, meaning the Royal Chronicle of the Kings of Ladakh recorded that this boundary was traditional and well-known. The first part of the Chronicle was written in the years 1610–1640 and the second half towards the end of the 17th century. The work has been translated into English by AH Francke and published in 1926 in Calcutta titled “The Antiquities of Indian Tibet”. In volume 2, the Ladakhi Chronicle describes the partition by King Skyid-lde-ngima-gon of his kingdom between his three sons, and then the chronicle described the extent of territory secured by that son. The following quotation is from page 94 of this book: “He gave to each of his sons a separate kingdom: to the eldest Dpal-gyi-gon, Maryul of Mngah-ris, the inhabitants using black bows; Ru-thogs of the east and the goldmine of Hgog; nearer this way Lde-mchog-dkar-po; at the frontier Ra-ba-dmar-po; Wam-le, to the top of the pass of the Yi-mig rock.” It is evident that Rudok was an integral part of Ladakh. Even after the family partition, Rudok continued to be part of Ladakh. Maryul meaning lowlands was a name given to a part of Ladakh. Even at that time(in the 10th century), Rudok was an integral part of Ladakh and Lde-mchog-dkar-po (Demchok) was an integral part of Ladakh.
Faced with the Islamic conquest of South Asia in the 13th century, Ladakh chose to seek and accept guidance in religious matters from Tibet. For nearly two centuries until about 1600, Ladakh was subject to raids and invasions from neighboring Muslim states. Some of the Ladakhis converted to Islam during this period. Between the 1380s and early 1510s, many Islamic missionaries propagated Islam and proselytized the Ladakhi people. Important Sufi missionaries propagated Islam to the locals; Mir Sayyid Ali was the first one to make Muslim converts in Ladakh and is often described as the founder of Islam in Ladakh. Several mosques were built in Ladakh during this period, including in Mulbhe, Padum and Shey, the capital of Ladakh. His principal disciple, Sayyid Muhammad Nur Baksh also propagated Islam to Ladakhis and the Balti people rapidly converted to Islam. Noorbakshia Islam is named after him and his followers are only found in Baltistan and Ladakh. During his youth, Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin expelled the mystic Sheikh Zain Shahwalli for showing disrespect to him. The sheikh then went to Ladakh and proselytized many people to Islam. In 1505, Shamsuddin Iraqi, a noted Shia scholar, visited Kashmir and Baltistan. He helped in spreading Shia Islam in Kashmir and converted the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Baltistan to his school of thought. It is unclear what happened to Islam after this period and it seems to have received a setback. Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat who invaded and briefly conquered Ladakh in 1532, 1545 and 1548, does not record any presence of Islam in Leh during his invasion although Shia Islam and Noorbakshia Islam continued to flourish in other regions of Ladakh.”
Thikse Monastery, Ladakh
“King Bhagan reunited and strengthened Ladakh and founded the Namgyal dynasty (Namgyal means “victorious” in several Tibetan languages) which survives to today. The Namgyals repelled most Central Asian raiders and temporarily extended the kingdom as far as Nepal. During the Balti invasion led by Raja Ali Sher Khan Anchan, many Buddhist temples and artifacts were damaged. According to some accounts after the Namgyals were defeated, Jamyang gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to the victorious Ali. Ali took the king and his soldiers as captives. Jamyang was later restored to the throne by Ali and was then given the hand of a Muslim princess in marriage whose name was Gyal Khatun or Argyal Khatoom upon the condition that she would be the first queen and her son will become the next ruler. Historical accounts differ upon who her father was. Some identify Ali’s ally and Raja of Khaplu Yabgo Shey Gilazi as her father, while others identify Ali himself as the father. In the early 17th century efforts were made to restore destroyed artifacts and gonpas by Sengge Namgyal, the son of Jamyang and Gyal and the kingdom expanded into Zangskar and Spiti. However, despite a defeat of Ladakh by the Mughals, who had already annexed Kashmir and Baltistan, it retained its independence.
It appears that the Balti conquest of Ladakh took place in about 1594 AD which was the era of Namgyal dynasty by Balti king Ali Sher Khan Anchan. Legends show that the Balti army, obsessed with success, advanced as far as Purang, in the valley of Mansarwar Lake, and won the admiration of their enemies and friends. The Raja of Ladakh sued for peace and, since Ali Sher Khan’s intention was not to annex Ladakh, he agreed subject to the condition that the village of Ganokh and Gagra Nullah should be ceded to Skardu and he (the Ladakhi Raja) should pay annual tribute. This tribute was paid through the Gonpa (monastery) of Lama Yuru till the Dogra conquest of Ladakh. Hashmatullah records that the Head Lama of the said Gonpa had admitted before him the payment of yearly tribute to Skardu Darbar till the Dogra conquest of Ladakh.
Islam begin to take root in the Leh area in the beginning of the 17th century after the Balti invasion and the marriage of Gyal to Jamyang. A large group of Muslim servants and musicians were sent along with Gyal to Ladakh and private mosques were built where they could pray. The Muslim musicians later settled in Leh. Several hundred Baltis migrated to the kingdom and according to oral tradition many Muslim traders were granted land to settle. Many other Muslims were invited over the following years for various purposes.
In the late 17th century, Ladakh sided with Bhutan in its dispute with Tibet which, among other reasons, resulted in its invasion by the Tibetan Central Government. This event is known as the Tibet-Ladakh-Mughal war of 1679-1684. Kashmiri historians assert that the king converted to Islam in return for the assistance by Mughal Empire after this, however Ladakhi chronicles do not mention such a thing. The king agreed to pay tribute to the Mughals in return for defending the kingdom. The Mughals however withdrew after being paid off by the 5th Dalai Lama. With the help of reinforcements from Galdan Boshugtu Khan, Khan of the Zungar Empire, the Tibetans attacked again in 1684. The Tibetans were victorious and concluded a treaty with Ladakh, and then retreated back to Lhasa in December 1684. The Treaty of Tingmosgang in 1684 settled the dispute between Tibet and Ladakh but severely restricted Ladakh’s independence. In 1834, the Dogra Zorawar Singh, a general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, invaded and annexed Ladakh to the Sikh Empire. After the defeat of the Sikhs in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the province of Jammu & Kashmir was transferred to Gulab Singh, to be ruled under British suzerainty as a princely state. A Ladakhi rebellion in 1842 was crushed and Ladakh was incorporated into the Dogra state of Jammu & Kashmir. The Namgyal family was given the jagir of Stok, which it nominally retains to this day. European influence began in Ladakh in the 1850s and increased. Geologists, sportsmen and tourists began exploring Ladakh. In 1885, Leh became the headquarters of a mission of the Moravian Church.
Ladakh was claimed as part of Tibet by Phuntsok Wangyal, a Tibetan Communist leader. At the time of the partition of India in 1947, the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India. Pakistani raiders had reached Ladakh and military operations were initiated to evict them. The wartime conversion of the pony trail from Sonamarg to Zoji La by army engineers permitted tanks to move up and successfully capture the pass. The advance continued. Dras, Kargil and Leh were liberated and Ladakh cleared of the infiltrators.
In 1949, China closed the border between Nubra and Xinjiang, blocking old trade routes. In 1955 China began to build roads connecting Xinjiang and Tibet through this area. It also built the Karakoram highway jointly with Pakistan. India built the Srinagar-Leh Highway during this period, cutting the journey time between Srinagar and Leh from 16 days to 2. The route, however, remains closed during the winter months due to heavy snowfall. Construction of a 6.5km tunnel across Zoji La pass (was recently constructed) to make the route functional throughout the year. The entire state of Jammu & Kashmir continues to be the subject of a territorial dispute between India, Pakistan and China. The Kargil War of 1999, codenamed “Operation Vijay” by the Indian Army, saw infiltration by Pakistani troops into parts of Western Ladakh, namely Kargil, Dras, Mushkoh, Batalik and Chorbatla, overlooking key locations on the Srinagar-Leh highway. Extensive operations were launched in high altitudes by the Indian Army with considerable artillery and air force support. Pakistani troops were evicted from the Indian side of the Line of Control which the Indian government ordered was to be respected and which was not crossed by Indian troops. The Indian government was criticized by the Indian public because India respected geographical co-ordinates more than India’s opponents: Pakistan and China.
In 1984 the Siachen Glacier area in the northernmost corner of Ladakh became the venue of a continuing military standoff between India and Pakistan in the highest battleground in the world. The boundary here was not demarcated in the 1972 Simla Agreement beyond a point named NJ9842. In 1984 India occupied the entire Siachen Glacier and by 1987 the heights of the Saltoro Ridge which borders the glacier to the west, with Pakistan troops in the glacial valleys and on the ridges just west of the Saltoro Ridge crest. This status has remained much the same since, and a ceasefire was established in 2003.
The Ladakh region was bifurcated into the Kargil and Leh districts in 1979. In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims. Following demands for autonomy from the Kashmiri dominated state government, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council was created in the 1990s. Leh and Kargil Districts now each have their own locally elected Hill Councils with some control over local policy and development funds. In 1991, a Peace Pagoda was erected in Leh by Nipponzan Myohoji.
There is a heavy presence of Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police forces in Ladakh. These forces and People’s Liberation Army forces from China have, since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, had frequent stand-offs along the Lakakh portion of the Line of Actual Control. The stand-off involving the most troops was in September 2014 in the disputed Chumar region when 800 to 1000 Indian troops and 1500 Chinese troops came into close proximity to each other.”
Geography of Ladakh
“Ladakh is the highest plateau in the state of Jammu & Kashmir with much of it being over 3000m (9800′). It extends from the Himalayan to the Kunlun Ranges and includes the upper Indus River valley. Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys (now mostly in Pakistani administered part of Kashmir), the entire upper Indus Valley, the remote Zanskar, Lahaul and Spiti to the south, much of Ngari including the Rudok region and Guge in the east, Aksai Chin in the northeast, and the Nubra Valley to the north over Khardong La in the Ladakh Range. Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti regions to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the southwest corner of Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north. The historic but imprecise divide between Ladakh and the Tibetan Plateau commences in the north in the intricate maze of ridges east of Rudok including Aling Kangri and Mavang Kangri, and continues southeastward toward northwestern Nepal. Before partition, Baltistan, now under Pakistani control, was a district in Ladakh. Skardu was the winter capital of Ladakh, while Leh was the summer capital.
The mountain ranges in this region were formed over 45 million years by the folding of the Indian plate into the more stationary Eurasian Plate. The drift continues, causing frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan region. The peaks in the Ladakh Range are at a medium altitude close to the Zoji La (5000–5500m or 16,000–18,050′) and increase toward southeast, culminating in the twin summits of Nun & Kun (7000m or 23,000′).
The Suru and Zanskar valleys form a great trough enclosed by the Himalayas and the Zanskar Range. Rangdum is the highest inhabited region in the Suru valley, after which the valley rises to 4400m (14,400′) at Pensi La, the gateway to Zanskar. Kargil, the only town in the Suru valley, is the second most important town in Ladakh. It was an important staging post on the routes of the trade caravans before 1947, being more or less equidistant, at about 230 km from Srinagar, Leh, Skardu and Padum. The Zanskar valley lies in the troughs of the Stod and the Lungnak Rivers. The region experiences heavy snowfall; the Pensi La is open only between June and mid-October. Dras and the Mushkoh Valley form the western extremity of Ladakh.
The Indus River is the backbone of Ladakh. Most major historical and current towns – Shey, Leh, Basgo and Tingmosgang (but not Kargil) – are close to the Indus River. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the stretch of the Indus flowing through Ladakh became the only part of this river, which is greatly venerated in the Hindu religion and culture, that still flows through India.
The Siachen Glacier is in the eastern Karakoram Range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan border. The Karakoram Range forms a great watershed that separates China from the Indian subcontinent and is sometimes called the “Third Pole.” The glacier lies between the Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram Range to the east. At 76km long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas. It falls from an altitude of 5753m (18,875′) above sea level at its source at Indira Col on the China border down to 3620m (11,880′) at its snout. Saser Kangri is the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh, the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram Range in India, Saser Kangri I having an altitude of 7672m (25,171′).”
Monthly Average Temperature in Leh
“The Ladakh Range has no major peaks; its average height is a little less than 6000m (20,000′), and few of its passes are less than 5000m (16,000′). The Pangong Range runs parallel to the Ladakh Range for about 100 km northwest from Chushul along the southern shore of the Pangong Lake. Its highest point is about 6,700m (22,000 ft) and the northern slopes are heavily glaciated. The region comprising the valley of the Shayok and Nubra rivers is known as Nubra. The Karakoram Range in Ladakh is not as mighty as in Baltistan. The massifs to the north and east of the Nubra–Siachen line include the Apsarasas Group (highest point 7245m; 23,770′) the Rimo Muztagh (highest point 7385m; 24,229′) and the Teram Kangri Group (highest point 7464m; 24,488′) together with Mamostong Kangri (7526m; 24,692′) and Singhi Kangri (7202m; 23,629′). North of the Karakoram lies the Kunlun. Thus, between Leh and eastern Central Asia there is a triple barrier — the Ladakh Range, Karakoram Range, and Kunlun. Nevertheless, a major trade route was established between Leh and Yarkand.
Ladakh is a high-altitude desert as the Himalayas create a rain shadow, generally denying entry to monsoon clouds. The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains. Recent flooding in the region (e.g., the 2010 floods) has been attributed to abnormal rain patterns and retreating glaciers, both of which have been found to be linked to global climate change. The Leh Nutrition Project, headed by Chewang Norphel, also known as the “Glacier Man”, creates artificial glaciers as one solution for retreating glaciers.
The regions on the north flank of the Himalayas – Dras, the Suru Valley and Zanskar – experience heavy snowfall and remain cut off from the rest of the region for several months in the year, as the whole region remains cut off by road from the rest of the country. Summers are short, though they are long enough to grow crops. The summer weather is dry and pleasant. Temperature ranges are from 3 to 35 °C in summer and minimums range from -20 to -35 °C in winter.
The Zanskar River is the main river of the region along with its tributaries. The Zanskar River becomes frozen during the winter, and the famous Chadar trek takes place on this magnificent frozen river.”
Fauna & Flora of Ladakh
“Vegetation is extremely sparse in Ladakh except along streambeds and wetlands, on high slopes, and in irrigated places. The first European to study the wildlife of this region was Ferdinand Stoliczka, an Austrian-Czech paleontologist who carried out a massive expedition there in the 1870s.
The fauna of Ladakh has much in common with that of Central Asia in general and that of the Tibetan Plateau in particular. Exceptions to this are the birds, many of which migrate from the warmer parts of India to spend the summer in Ladakh. For such an arid area, Ladakh has a great diversity of birds — a total of 225 species have been recorded. Many species of finches, robins, redstarts (like the black redstart), and the hoopoe are common in summer. The brown-headed gull is seen in summer on the Indus and on some lakes of the Changthang. Resident water-birds include the brahminy duck, also known as the ruddy sheldrake, and the bar-headed goose. The black-necked crane, a rare species found scattered in the Tibetan plateau, is also found in parts of Ladakh. Other birds include the raven, Eurasian magpie, red-billed chough, Tibetan snowcock, and chukar. The lammergeier, Himalayan griffin and the golden eagle are common raptors here, especially in Changthang region.
The endangered black-necked crane, Grus nigricollis, breeds in Ladakh. It is the state bird of Jammu & Kashmir. The bharal or blue sheep is the most abundant mountain ungulate in the Ladakh region, although it is not found in some parts of Zangskar and Sham areas. The Asiatic ibex is a very elegant mountain goat that is distributed in the western part of Ladakh. It is the second most abundant mountain ungulate in the region with a population of about 6000 individuals. It is adapted to rugged areas where it easily climbs when threatened. The Ladakhi Urial is another unique mountain sheep that inhabits the mountains of Ladakh. The population is declining, however, and there are not more than 3000 individuals left in Ladakh. The urial is endemic to Ladakh, where it is distributed only along two major river valleys: the Indus and Shayok. The animal is often persecuted by farmers whose crops are allegedly damaged by it. Its population declined precipitously in the last century due to indiscriminate shooting by hunters along the Leh-Srinagar highway. The Tibetan argali or nyan is the largest wild sheep in the world, standing 3.5 to 4 feet at the shoulder with the horn measuring 90–100 cm. It is distributed on the Tibetan plateau and its marginal mountains encompassing a total area of 2.5 million km2. There is only a small population of about 400 animals in Ladakh. The argali prefers open and rolling terrain as it runs, unlike wild goats that climb into steep cliffs, to escape from predators. The endangered Tibetan antelope, known as chiru in Indian English, or Ladakhi tsos, has traditionally been hunted for its wool (shahtoosh) which is a natural fiber of the finest quality and thus valued for its light weight and warmth and as a status symbol. The wool of chiru must be pulled out by hand, a process done after the animal is killed. The fiber is smuggled into Kashmir and woven into exquisite shawls by Kashmiri workers. Ladakh is also home to the Tibetan gazelle, which inhabits the vast rangelands in eastern Ladakh bordering Tibet.”
Kiang (Tibetan Wild Ass)
“The kiang, or Tibetan wild ass, is common in the grasslands of Changthang, numbering about 2,500 individuals. These animals are in conflict with the nomadic people of Changthang who hold the kiang responsible for pasture degradation. There are about 200 snow leopards in Ladakh of an estimated 7,000 worldwide. The Hemis High Altitude National Park in central Ladakh is an especially good habitat for this predator as it has abundant prey populations. The Eurasian lynx, is another rare cat that preys on smaller herbivores in Ladakh. It is mostly found in Nubra, Changthang and Zanskar. The Pallas’s cat, which looks somewhat like a house cat, is very rare in Ladakh and not much is known about the species. The Tibetan wolf, which sometimes preys on the livestock of the Ladakhis, is the most persecuted amongst the predators. There are also a few brown bears in the Suru valley and the area around Dras. The Tibetan sand fox has been discovered in this region. Among smaller animals, marmots, hares, and several types of pika and vole are common.
Scant precipitation makes Ladakh a high-altitude desert with extremely scarce vegetation over most of its area. Natural vegetation mainly occurs along water courses and on high altitude areas that receive more snow and cooler summer temperatures. Human settlements, however, are richly vegetated due to irrigation. Natural vegetation commonly seen along water courses includes seabuckthorn, wild roses of pink or yellow varieties, tamarisk, caraway, stinging nettles, mint, Physochlaina praealta, and various grasses. Natural vegetation in unirrigated desert around Leh includes capers (Capparis spinosa), Nepeta floccosa, globe thistle (Echinops cornigerus), Ephedra gerardiana, rhubarb, Tanacetum spp., several artemisias, Peganum harmala, and several other succulents. Juniper trees grow wild in some locations and are usually considered sacred by Buddhists.
Human settlements are marked by lush fields and trees, all irrigated with water from glacial streams, springs, and rivers. Higher altitude villages grow barley, peas, and vegetables, and have one species of willow (called drokchang in Ladakhi). Lower villages also grow wheat, alfalfa, mustard for oil, grapes, and a greater variety of vegetables. Cultivated trees in lower villages include apricots, apples, mulberries, walnuts, balsam poplars, Afghan poplars, oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia), and several species of willow (difficult to identify, and local names vary). Elms and white poplars are found in the Nubra Valley, and one legendary specimen of white poplar grows in Alchi in the Indus Valley. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), Himalayan cypress and horse chestnut have been introduced since the 1990s.”
Government & Politics of Ladakh
“Ladakh district was a district of the Jammu & Kashmir state of India until 1 July 1979 when it was divided into Leh district and Kargil district. Each of these districts is governed by a Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, which is based on the pattern of the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council. These councils were created as a compromise solution to the demands of Ladakhi people to make Leh a union territory.
In October 1993, the Indian government and the State government agreed to grant each district of Ladakh the status of Autonomous Hill Council. This agreement was given effect by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Act, 1995. The council came into being with the holding of elections in Leh District on 28 August 1995. The inaugural meeting of the council was held at Leh on 3 September 1995. Kargil, later, adopted the Hill council in July 2003, when the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council — Kargil was established. The council works with village panchayats to take decisions on economic development, healthcare, education, land use, taxation, and local governance which are further reviewed at the block headquarters in the presence of the chief executive councilor and executive councilors. The government of Jammu and Kashmir looks after law and order, the judicial system, communications and the higher education in the region.”
Economy of Ladakh
“The land is irrigated by a system of channels which funnel water from the ice and snow of the mountains. The principal crops are barley and wheat. Rice was previously a luxury in the Ladakhi diet, but, subsidized by the government, has now become a cheap staple. Naked barley (Ladakhi: nas, Urdu: grim) was traditionally a staple crop all over Ladakh. Growing times vary considerably with altitude. The extreme limit of cultivation is at Korzok, on Tsomoriri Lake, at 4,600m (15,100 ft), widely considered to be the highest fields in the world.
A minority of Ladakhi people were also employed as merchants and caravan traders, facilitating trade in textiles, carpets, dyestuffs and narcotics between Punjab and Xinjiang. However, since the Chinese Government closed the borders with Tibet and Central Asia, this international trade has completely dried up. Since 1974, the Indian Government has encouraged a shift in trekking and other tourist activities from the troubled Kashmir region to the relatively unaffected areas of Ladakh. Although tourism employs only 4% of Ladakh’s working population, it now accounts for 50% of the region’s GNP.”
Transport in Ladakh
“Ladakh was the connection point between Central Asia and South Asia when the Silk Road was in use. The 60-day journey on the Ladakh route connecting Amritsar and Yarkand through 11 passes was frequently undertaken by traders till the third quarter of the 19th century. Another common route in regular use was the Kalimpong route between Leh and Lhasa via Gartok, the administrative center of western Tibet. Gartok could be reached either straight up the Indus in winter or through either the Taglang La or the Chang La. Beyond Gartok, the Cherko La brought travelers to the Manasarovar and Rakshastal Lakes, and then to Barka, which is connected to the main Lhasa road. These traditional routes have been closed since the Ladakh-Tibet border was sealed by the Chinese government. Other routes connected Ladakh to Hunza and Chitral but, as in the previous case, there is no border crossing between Ladakh and Pakistan.
In present times, the only two land routes to Ladakh in use are from Srinagar and Manali. Travelers from Srinagar start their journey from Sonamarg, over the Zoji La pass (3,450m; 11,320 ft) via Dras and Kargil (2,750m; 9,020 ft) passing through Namika La (3,700m; 12,100 ft) and Fatu la (4,100m; 13,500 ft). This has been the main traditional gateway to Ladakh since historical times and is now open to traffic from April or May until November or December every year. The newer route is the high altitude Manali-Leh Highway from Himachal Pradesh. The highway crosses 4 passes (Rohtang la (3,978m; 13,051 ft), Baralacha La (4,892m; 16,050 ft), Lungalacha La (5,059m; 16,598 ft) and Taglang La (5325m, 17,470′) and the More Plains, and is open only between May and November when snow is cleared from the road.”
Demographics of Ladakh
“People of Dard descent predominate in Dras and Dha-Hanu areas. The residents of the Dha-Hanu area, known as Brokpa, are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and have preserved much of their original Dardic traditions and customs. The Dards of Dras, however, have converted to Islam and have been strongly influenced by their Kashmiri neighbors. The Mons are believed to be descendants of earlier Indian settlers in Ladakh, and traditionally worked as musicians, blacksmiths and carpenters. The region’s population is split roughly in half between the districts of Leh and Kargil. 76.87% population of Kargil is Muslim, with a total population of 140,802, while that of Leh is 66.40% Buddhist, with a total population of 133,487, as per the 2011 census.
The principal language of Ladakh is Ladakhi, a Tibetan language. Educated Ladakhis usually know Hindi, Urdu and often English. Within Ladakh, there is a range of dialects, so that the language of the Chang-pa people may differ markedly from that of the Purig-pa in Kargil, or the Zanskaris, but they are all mutually comprehensible. Due to its position on important trade routes, the language of Leh is enriched with foreign words. Traditionally, Ladakhi had no written form distinct from classical Tibetan, but a number of Ladakhi writers have started using the Tibetan script to write the colloquial tongue. Administrative work and education are carried out in English; although Urdu was used to a great extent in the past, now only land records and some police records are kept in Urdu.”
Cuisine of Ladakh
“Ladakhi food has much in common with Tibetan food, the most prominent foods being thukpa (noodle soup) and tsampa, known in Ladakhi as ngampe (roasted barley flour). Edible without cooking, tsampa makes useful trekking food. A dish that is strictly Ladakhi is skyu, a heavy pasta dish with root vegetables. As Ladakh moves toward a cash-based economy, foods from the plains of India are becoming more common. As in other parts of Central Asia, tea in Ladakh is traditionally made with strong green tea, butter, and salt. It is mixed in a large churn and known as gurgur cha, after the sound it makes when mixed. Sweet tea (cha ngarmo) is common now, made in the Indian style with milk and sugar. Most of the surplus barley that is produced is fermented into chang, an alcoholic beverage drunk especially on festive occasions.”
Music & Dance of Ladakh
“Traditional music includes the instruments surna and daman (shenai and drum). The music of Ladakhi Buddhist monastic festivals, like Tibetan music, often involves religious chanting in Tibetan as an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Religious mask dances are an important part of Ladakh’s cultural life. Hemis Monastery, a leading center of the Drukpa tradition of Buddhism, holds an annual masked dance festival, as do all major Ladakhi monasteries. The dances typically narrate a story of the fight between good and evil, ending with the eventual victory of the former. Weaving is an important part of traditional life in eastern Ladakh. Both women and men weave, on different looms. Typical costumes include gonchas of velvet, elaborately embroidered waistcoats and boots and hats.”
Sports of Ladakh
“The most popular sport in Ladakh is ice hockey, which is played only on natural ice generally mid-December through mid-February. Cricket is very popular. Archery is a traditional sport in Ladakh, and many villages hold archery festivals, which are as much about traditional dancing, drinking and gambling as about the sport. The sport is conducted with strict etiquette, to the accompaniment of the music of surna and daman (shehnai and drum). Polo, the other traditional sport of Ladakh is indigenous to Baltistan and Gilgit, and was probably introduced into Ladakh in the mid-17th century by King Singge Namgyal, whose mother was a Balti princess. Polo, popular among the Baltis with some support from financial heavyweights, is an annual affair in Drass region of District Kargil.”
Social Status of Women in Ladakh
“A feature of Ladakhi society that distinguishes it from the rest of the state is the high status and relative emancipation enjoyed by women compared to other rural parts of India. Fraternal polyandry and inheritance by primogeniture were common in Ladakh until the early 1940s when these were made illegal by the government of Jammu & Kashmir. However, the practice remained in existence into the 1990s especially among the elderly and the more isolated rural populations (and still exists with the nomads). Another custom is known as khang-bu, or ‘little house’, in which the elders of a family, as soon as the eldest son has sufficiently matured, retire from participation in affairs, yielding the headship of the family to him and taking only enough of the property for their own sustenance. The society is also both maternal and paternal, the tradition of where the groom comes to stay with the bride’s family is not considered a taboo unlike the rest of India. Women enjoy a very high status in society, however, female participation in the politics of the region remains limited.”
Traditional Medicine of Ladakh
“Tibetan medicine has been the traditional health system of Ladakh for over a thousand years. This school of traditional healing contains elements of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, combined with the philosophy and cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism. For centuries, the only medical system accessible to the people have been the amchi — traditional doctors following the Tibetan medical tradition. Amchi medicine is an important component of public health to this day, especially in remote areas.
Programs by the government, local and international organizations are working to develop and rejuvenate this traditional system of healing. Efforts are underway to preserve the intellectual property rights of amchi medicine for the people of Ladakh. The government has also been trying to promote the sea buckthorn in the form of juice and jam, as it is believed to possess many medicinal properties. This is seen as a means of providing employment to self-help groups in rural Ladakh.”
Education in Ladakh
“Traditionally there was little or nothing by way of formal education except in the monasteries. According to the 2001 census, the overall literacy rate in Leh District is 62% (72% for males and 50% for females), and in Kargil District 58% (74% for males and 41% for females). Traditionally there was little or nothing by way of formal education except in the monasteries. Usually, one son from every family was obliged to master the Tibetan script in order to read the holy books.
The Moravian Mission opened a school in Leh in October 1889, and the Wazir-i Wazarat (ex officio Joint Commissioner with a British officer) of Baltistan and Ladakh ordered that every family with more than one child should send one of them to school. This order met with great resistance from the local people who feared that the children would be forced to convert to Christianity. The school taught Tibetan, Urdu, English, Geography, Sciences, Nature study, Arithmetic, Geometry and Bible study. It is still in existence today. The first local school to provide western education was opened by a local Society called Lamdon Social Welfare Society in 1973. Later, with support from HH Dalai Lama and some international organizations, the school has grown to accommodate approximately two thousand pupils in several branches. It prides itself on preserving Ladakhi tradition and culture.
Schools are well distributed throughout Ladakh but 75% of them provide only primary education. 65% of children attend school, but absenteeism of both students and teachers remains high. In both districts the failure rate at school-leaving level (class X) has for many years been around 50%. Before 1993, students were taught in Urdu until they were 14, after which the medium of instruction shifted to English.
In 1994 the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) launched Operation New Hope (ONH), a campaign to provide “culturally appropriate and locally relevant education” and make government schools more functional and effective. Eliezer Joldan Memorial College, a government degree college enables students to pursue higher education without having to leave Ladakh.”
– All Excerpts from Wikipedia
Zanskar
“Zanskar appears as ‘Zangskar’ mostly in academic studies in social sciences (anthropology, gender studies), reflecting the Ladakhi pronunciation, although the Zanskari pronunciation is Zãhar. Older geographical accounts and maps may use the alternate spelling “Zaskar”. An etymological study of the name reveals that its origin might refer to the natural occurrence of copper in this region, the Tibetan word for which is “Zangs”. The second syllable however seems to be more challenging as it has various meanings: “Zangs-dkar” (white copper), “Zangs-mkhar” (copper palace), or “Zangs-skar” (copper star). Others claim it derives from zan = copper + skar = valley … the origin of this name might also be “Zan-mKhar” (food palace), because the staple food crops are so abundant in an otherwise rather arid region. The locally accepted spelling of the name in Tibetan script is zangs-dkar.
Some of the religious scholars of the district, also cited by Snellgrove and Skorupsky (1980) and Crook (1994), hold that it was originally “bzang-dkar”, meaning good (or beautiful) and white. “Good” would refer to the triangular shape of the Padum plain, the triangle being the symbol of Dharma and religion; “white” would refer to the simplicity, goodness, and religious inclinations of the Zanskaris. Thus, even if etymologically it would be more correct to use “Zangskar”, the most frequently found spelling for this region is undoubtedly “Zanskar”.”
History of Zanskar
“The first traces of human activity in Zanskar seem to go back as far as the Bronze Age. Petroglyphs attributed to that period suggest that their creators were hunters on the steppes of central Asia, living between Kazakhstan and China. It is suspected that an Indo-European population known as the Mon might then have lived in this region, before mixing with or being replaced by the next settlers, the Dards. Early Buddhism coming from Kashmir spread its influence in Zanskar, possibly as early as 200 BC. The earliest monuments date from the Kushan period. After this eastward propagation of Buddhism, Zanskar and large parts of the Western Himalaya were overrun in the 7th century by the Tibetans, who imposed their then animistic Bön religion.
The Zanskar Range is a mountain range in the union territory of Ladakh that separates Zanskar from Ladakh itself. Geologically, the Zanskar Range is part of the Tethys Himalaya, an approximately 100-km-wide synclinorium formed by strongly folded and imbricated, weakly metamorphosed sedimentary series. The average height of the Zanskar Range is about 6,000m.”
Phugtal Monastery (South East Zanskar)
“Buddhism regained its influence over Zanskar in the 8th century when Tibet was also converted to this religion. Between the 10th and 11th centuries, two royal houses were founded in Zanskar, and the monasteries of Karsha and Phugtal were built. Until the 15th century Zanskar existed as a more or less independent Buddhist Kingdom ruled by between two and four related royal families. Since the 15th century, Zanskar has been subordinate to Ladakh, sharing its fortunes and misfortunes. In 1822 a coalition of Kulu, Lahoul, and Kinnaur invaded Zanskar, plundering the country and destroying the Royal palace at Padum.
In the mid-20th century, border conflicts between India, Pakistan and China caused Ladakh and Zanskar to be closed to foreigners. During these wars Ladakh lost two thirds of its original territory, losing Baltistan to Pakistan and the Aksai Chin to China. Ladakh and Zanskar, despite a tumultuous history of internal wars and external aggressions, have never lost their cultural and religious heritage since the 8th century. Thanks to its adherence to the Indian Union, this is also one of the rare regions in the Himalaya where traditional Tibetan culture, society, and buildings survived the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In the last twenty years, the opening of a road and the massive influx of tourists and researchers have brought many changes to the traditional social organization of Zanskar. In 2007 the valley suffered its third year of a desert locust infestation with many villages losing their crops. The response of the monasteries was to carry out a puja (prayer ceremony) to get rid of them while the government was advocating the use of insecticides which the Buddhists were reluctant to use, but in some cases were forced to try with as yet undocumented success. In 2008 it was reported that the Locusts had left the central Zanskar plains.”
Geography of Zanskar & Zanskar Mountain Range
“The Zanskar Range is spread over a vast area from southeastern boundaries of the state of Kashmir and extends in the northwest direction to the eastern limits of Baltistan. It separates Ladakh from the valleys of Kashmir and the Chenab River. In other words, it serves as a boundary line between Ladakh region of Kashmir and the remaining two regions of the state (Jammu and the Vale of Kashmir). The 23,000′ (7000m) high peaks Nun & Kun are within this range. Marbal Pass and many other passes which connect Ladakh with Kashmir are in this area, and the 13,000 feet (4000m) high Zoji La pass is in the extreme northwest of Zanskar range. This range, in fact is a branch of the Great Himalayan Range. Many rivers start in different branches of this range flow northward, and join the great Indus River. These rivers include Hanle River, Khurna River, Zanskar River, Suru River (Indus), and the Shingo River. It also separates Kinnaur from Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. The highest peaks of Himachal are in Zanskar range.
Zanskar covers an area of some 7000 square km at an elevation of 3500-7135m. It consists of the country lying along the two main branches of the Zanskar River. The first, the Doda River, has its source near the Pensi La at 4400m, and then flows south-eastwards along the main valley leading towards Padum, the capital of Zanskar.”
Nun & Kun Peaks
“Early exploration of the massif included a visit in 1898 and three visits by Arthur Neve, in 1902, 1904, and 1910. In 1903, Dutch mountaineer Dr. H. Sillem investigated the massif and discovered the high plateau between the peaks; he reached an altitude of 6,400 m (21,000 ft) on Nun. In 1906, noted explorer couple Fanny Bullock Workman and her husband William Hunter Workman, claimed an ascent of Pinnacle Peak. They also toured extensively through the massif and produced a map; however, controversy surrounded the Workmans’ claims, and few trigonometrical points were given for the region, so that the map they produced was not usable.
After unsuccessful attempts to climb the mountain in 1934, 1937, and 1946 the first ascent of Nun was in 1953 by a French-Swiss-Indian-Sherpateam led by Bernard Pierre and Pierre Vittoz, via the west ridge. The summit pair comprised Vittoz, a Moravian missionary to the Tibetans and an experienced alpinist, and Claude Kogan, a pioneering female mountaineer. Since then, other routes have been pioneered.The north-west face was first ascended on October 27. and 28., 1976 by seven climbers from a Czech expedition, led by F. Čejka. The first British ascent was made by Steve Berry and friends via the east ridge in 1981 (his father had attempted Nun in 1946).
Italian mountaineer Mario Piacenza made the first ascent of Kun in 1913, via the north-east ridge. Fifty-eight years passed before the second recorded attempt on the peak, which resulted in a successful ascent by an expedition from the Indian Army.”
Shingo La Pass (Zanskar)
“The second branch is formed by two main tributaries known as Kargiak River, with its source near the Shingo La (5091m) and the Tsarap Chu (River), with its source near the Baralacha La. These two rivers unite below the village of Purne to form the Lungnak River (also known as the Lingti or Tsarap river). The Lungnak river then flows north-westwards along a narrow gorge towards Zanskar’s central valley (known locally as jung-khor), where it unites with the Doda river to form the Zanskar River.”
Zanskar River & the Indus
“The Zanskar River then takes a north-eastern course until it joins the Indus in Ladakh. High mountain ridges lie on both sides of the Doda and Lingti–Kargiak valleys, which run north-west to south-east. To the south-west is the Great Himalayan Range which separates Zanskar from the Kisthwar and Chamba basins. To the north-east lies the Zanskar Range, which separates Zanskar from Ladakh. The only outlet for the whole Zanskar hydrographic system is thus the Zanskar river, which cuts the deep and narrow Zanskar Gorge through the Zanskar range. The Zanskar range spans 640km from the Karcha (Suru) River to the upper Karnali River. Kamet Peak 7756m is the highest point in the range.
These topographical features explain why access to Zanskar is difficult from all sides. Communication with the neighboring Himalayan areas is maintained across mountain passes or along the Zanskar river when frozen. The easiest approach leads from Kargil through the Suru Valley and over the Pensi La. It is along this track that in 1979 the only road in Zanskar was built to connect Padum with the main road from Srinagar into Ladakh. One of the first Tibetologists to spend an extended period in the region was Hungarian scholar Sándor Csoma de Kőrös who spent over a year living in the region in 1823. After being integrated into the newly formed state of India in 1947, Zanskar and the neighboring region of Ladakh were both declared restricted areas and only opened to foreigners in 1974.”
Climate Condition of Zanskar
“Zanskar is a high altitude semi-desert lying on the northern flank of the Himalayan Range. This mountain range acts as a barrier protecting Ladakh and Zanskar from most of the monsoon, resulting in a pleasantly warm and dry climate in the summer. Rain and snowfall during this period are scarce, although recent decades have shown a trend towards increasing precipitation. Several water-driven mills were built during ancient periods of drought at a great distance from the villages, but have been abandoned because running water is now available nearer to the settlements. Zanskari houses, though otherwise well built, are not adapted to the recently increasing rainfall, as their roofs leak, catching their surprised inhabitants unprepared. Most of the precipitation occurs as snowfall during the harsh and extremely long winter period. These winter snowfalls are of vital importance, since they feed the glaciers which melt in the summer and provide most of the irrigation water. Parts of Zanskar valley are considered some of the coldest continually inhabited places in the world.”
Demography of Zanskar
“Zanskar’s population is small, the April 2006 medical census records a population of 13,849 people. Roughly 95% of the inhabitants practice Tibetan Buddhism, while the remainder are Sunni Muslims, whose ancestors settled in Padum and its environs in the 19th century. The majority of Zanskaris are of mixed Tibetan and Indo-European origins; notably Changpa, Dard and Mon. The latter are in fact ethnically Dard, but “Mon” is used in order to distinguish them from later Dard settlers.
The population lives mainly in scattered small villages, the largest being the capital Padum, with nearly 700 inhabitants. Most of the villages are located in the valleys of the Zanskar River and its two main tributaries. Given the isolation of this region, the inhabitants tend towards self-sufficiency, and until recently lived in almost complete autarky. External trade has, however, always been necessary for the acquisition of goods such as tools, jewelery, or religious artifacts.
The Zanskaris’ main occupations are cattle-rearing and farming of land that they almost always own. Cultivable land is scarce, and restricted to alluvial fans and terraces, cultivated fields being rarely found above an altitude of 4000m. The Zanskaris have developed a system of intensive arable agriculture and complex irrigation to produce enough food in these conditions. The scarcity of cultivable land has also resulted in a tendency towards a stable, zero-growth population. An efficient birth-control system in Zanskar has historically been achieved by the common practice of polyandrous marriage, in which several brothers are married to the same wife, and the widespread adoption of a celibate religious life. A high infant mortality rate also contributes to population stability.
In the summer, the women and children stay far away from the villages to tend to the livestock. This system, known as transhumance, is similar to the one found in the Alps where the animals are sent during the summer higher up in the mountains (the alpine meadows) and were kept by the children and women.”
– All Excerpts from Wikipedia
Nubra
Nubra Valley
The Nubra Valley is defined by the Shyok River, a tributary of the Indus, and the Nubra (or Siachen) River, the valley delineating the Ladakh and Karakoram ranges. The northern reaches of the Nubra Valley border Pakistan and the Siachan Glacier, both sensitive military regions often restricted to tourists. Nubra locals speak Balti (as well as Hindi), as do their neighbors in Baltistan, across the border in Pakistan. The Siachen Glacier is the second longest glacier in the world (with the exception of the polar regions), often referred to as the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, with battles over 6000 meters (which ceased after 2003).
Nubra was once an integral part of the fabled trans-Himalayan trade plied along the Silk Road for millenium, bringing great prosperity to this seemingly remote region. Caravans of camel, horse and yaks transported wool, cloth, opium, animal skins, exotic spices, dies such as indigo, and valuable stones such as turquoise, coral and of course gold. The route was treacherous, crossing high Himalayan passes connecting Leh and Yarkand until 1950 when the borders between China (Tibet) and India were sealed. The remnants of this once-important trade are the Bactrian camels, now used as vehicles to give tourists a taste of Central Asia with rides through the sand dunes between Diskit and Hunder. Nubra’s verdant groves of populars and apricots, and fields of billowing barley, all fed by the Shyok and Nubra Rivers, are an oasis in an otherwise stark environment, coloring the timeless Buddhist monasteries of Deskit, Chamba (Hunder), and Samstannling (Sumur) and Ensa, where the chanting, cymbals and horns of Buddhist monks during their morning pujas reverberate through the valley.
The people of Nubra are an interesting mix of the ethnically Tibetan Ladakhis, and Central Asian inhabitants, with blue or green eyes, fairer skin, sometimes freckles, lighter hair and more sculpted features. There are even rumors of a Greek tribe searching for the tomb of Jesus Christ in this region centuries ago, and eventually settled down in what is now known as Nubra. The locals also raise sheep and goats, as well as keeping the Bactrian camels.
Kashmir & Srinagar
Kashmir & Srinagar
The Vale of Kashmir is one of the most prized jewels of the Indian Himalaya, described by Kashmiris as ‘heaven on earth’, famed for its floating gardens and markets on Dal & Nageen Lakes, the fascinating historic Srinagar, the pashmina weaving and other Kashmiri crafts, its heavenly Mughal Gardens, the Shankaracharya Temple and its wonderful houseboat stays.
Around Srinagar there are some of the most beautiful valleys and villages in the Indian Himalaya, as well as some of the world’s most idyllic alpine scenery. Highlights are Dacigram National Park, Manasbal & Wular Lake (the largest lake in Asia), Yousmarg, Naranag Temple (the oldest in Kashmir), Sonmarg and Pahalgam.
We’ve put together several options to tour Srinagar, Kashmir, the famous lakes with their colorful floating markets and shikaras (long-tail boats), either flying in and out of Srinagar or opting for a stunningly beautiful jeep safari over the renown Koji La pass to Leh and Ladakh for a tour of the Indus Valley and its many Buddhist monasteries. We base our tours in Srinagar, where you stay in style on traditional houseboats on the lake, visit the floating market, old Srinagar and its many mosques and markets and the famous Mughal gardens.
See our Travel Books list for recommendations of books to read on this idyllic, but politically complicated, region of Muslims and Hindu Pandits, a region which wants to be free to choose its own destiny.
Great Stays
LADAKH | GREAT STAYS
We use Hotel Shaynam, Hotel Chospa, Hotel Padma Ladakh and Hotel Omasila as our arrival hotels, depending on availability, your budget and room preferences. We can also book any of the ‘Great Stays’ hotels for you if you’d like to treat yourself to a unique stay in Leh, or elsewhere in Ladakh. Our standard hotel is the Hotel Shaynam where Kim, Lhakpa and the Kamzang Journeys staff stay, a lovely family-run guest house with a blooming garden, deck chairs, tables and umbrellas. We don’t charge a single supplement at Hotel Shaynam, but we do charge single and upgrade supplements for Chospa, Omasila, Hotel Padma Ladakh (see Date & Price tab). Please specify your room preference when booking a trek. Breakfast included in all of the hotels.
Great Stays & Boutique-Luxury in Ladakh
We’re happy to book other hotels of your choice. Splash out on one of Leh’s most luxurious hotels! We will be happy to make any bookings needed …
Hotel Chospa
Hotel Chospa
“Hotel Chospa is a stunning retreat nestled in the heart of the vibrant city centre of Leh, located on the Old Leh Road. This enchanting abode has been curated to cater to the discerning explorer and those who appreciate the finer things in life. Chospa is the union of contemporary hospitality with the scenic and material biome of Ladakh. The architecture mirrors the traditional Ladakhi construction and materiality, rendering an ambience familiar to locals and unique for visitors.”
The Grand Dragon Ladakh
Grand Dragon Ladakh
“Established in 2007, The Grand Dragon Ladakh, one of the first 5 star hotels in Leh Ladakh, is owned and operated by the Abdu family from Leh, who have more than 40 years of experience welcoming visitors to the beautiful region. It is decorated magnificently with handmade paintings by Gulam Mustafa (the first modern artist of Ladakh) around every corner are reminiscent of royalty.”
Stok Palace Heritage Hotel
Stok Palace
“Occupying a high altar of reverence amongst the people of Ladakh, the Namgyal dynasty has resided in the Stok Palace for centuries now. Opened to the public in 1980 with the blessings of the Dalai Lama, Stok Palace today is a boutique and heritage hotel in Ladakh that encapsulates all that this mysterious and beautiful land is.”
Ladakh Sarai
Ladakh Sarai
“Ladakh Sarai started with an erstwhile adventure travel company, Tiger Tops in Stok which lies below the mighty Stok Kangri Range next to the Stok Palace.”
Chamba Camp
Chamba Camp
“Overlooking snow-capped mountains and Thiksey monastery, The Chamba Camp’s tents are superlative. With four poster beds, power showers, bespoke writing desks & private verandahs this is ‘glamping’ to the nth degree. The food is astounding: haute cuisine in high places.”
The Indus River Camp
Indus River Camp
“By day, explore the grounds, go on local hikes, visit surrounding monasteries and palaces, take in local culture or go rafting, trekking, cycling or motorbiking. Or pick a book from our well-curated library and read to the sound of flowing water. In the evening, we take guests for a riverside sunset walk, after which the milky way becomes visible with the naked eye. Sit out under the open sky by the warmth of an open fire and look out at the moon and its craters through our camp telescope.”
The Apricot Tree
The Apricot Tree
“In the most outstanding location, overlooking the flowing River Indus, Apricot Tree is a true escape. With intricate woodwork and ornate, colorful Buddhist paintings there is even a traditional Ladakhi kitchen where meals can be enjoyed. Rooms are large and bright and feature private balconies.”
Nimmu (45 minutes from Leh)
Nimmu House
Nimmu House
“Housed in a traditional Ladakhi stately home this property provides a choice between tented accommodation or rooms in the house. All are effortlessly chic combining modern muted palettes and traditional Ladakhi fabrics and textiles. The food is superb, both French and Ladakhi and all included.”
45 minutes from Leh
Saboo Resorts
Saboo Resorts
“Comprised of 15 traditional yet modern Ladakhi cottages, all with stunning mountain views. There is a restaurant serving Indian, Ladakhi and Tibetan dishes. Dining under the stars, next to the bonfire proves very popular. A perfect location for exploring the Ladakh valley”
Saboo, 30 minutes from Leh
The Unalome Resort (Diskit, Nubra)
The Unalome Resort
“The Unalome Resort is a tranquil and enchanting retreat nestled amidst the majestic landscapes of Diskit, Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Our resort offers a serene escape, allowing you to immerse yourself in the natural splendour and cultural richness of this captivating region.”
Lchang Nang Retreat (Sumur, Nubra)
Lchang Nang
“Lchang Nang retreat – The House of Trees is an eco-conscious luxury hotel and resort in Nubra Valley that celebrates local experiences, people, and culture. Located in the fabled Nubra Valley of Ladakh, on the banks of the Nubra River and on the last stop of the ancient Silk Route. The resort is the very example of a successful and sustainable eco-resort.”
Organic Boutique Hotel (Sumur, Nubra)
Organic Boutique Hotel
A beautiful hotel with large organic gardens, rooms with wooden decks or boutique tents in the willow-shaded alleys of lovely Hunder, in Nubra …
Nubra Eco Lodge (Sumur, Nubra)
Nubra Eco Lodge
“A family run ecotourism venture, located near Sumur sand dunes in the Nubra Valley. The landscape facing the confluence of Shyok and Nubra rivers is the natural habitat for seabuckthorn, wild flowers and desert wildlife. The 11 acre farm with our family home, has been planted with poplar, willow, apricot and apple trees, along with vegetable gardens. It commands a 360 degree view of the Karakoram mountains, the sand dunes and the nubra river.
A large open deck facing the valley near the vegetable garden is used as a lounge or for dining in fair weather. Ideal location to go for long walks along the Sumur sand dunes and the Nubra River. We recommend a minimum two days stay to enjoy the Nubra experience.”
Lotus Eco Resort (Sumur, Nubra)
Lotus Eco Resort
“Situated in the heart of Nubra Valley at a walking distance from the famous sand dunes. Lotus Eco Resort – The Mud House is spread in a sprawling green area of about 4 acres amidst Apricot, willow and poplar trees. Lotus Eco Resort – The Mud House has a well furnished 12 suites embedded with all the modern facilities and yet traditional in all ways, each of the suites is equipped with a beautiful fireplace and couches to sit around.”
Organic Boutique Resort (Hunder, Nubra)
Organic Boutique Resort
“A luxurious hotel which offers peaceful stay at a very attractive location near to nature”. And wonderful organic gardens, with a choice of rooms or semi-luxury tents …
Yourdum Guest House (Hundur, Nubra)
Yourdum Guest House
Pangong Sarai (Pangong Lake, Maan)
Pangong Sarai
“Just like the firefly looks for the undisturbed nature for its environment, Pangong Sarai turns into the home to the migrants in the disconnection. Pangong Tso lake is a surprising marvel in the mountains. The camps give a brave ordeal to the explorers. Climbing around the mountains, trekking and investigating the untouched land are the essentials of being here. We serve you with the flavors of Ladakh in the Pangong style to enrich you in the extreme.”
Spinney Cottage (Pangong Lake, Merak)
Spinney Cottage
“Nestled amidst the stunning landscape of Pangong Lake, our resort boasts 12 cozy wooden cottages, each offering a breathtaking view of the tranquil waters and majestic mountains.”
Ralpa Homestay (Pangong Lake, Merak)
Ralpa Homestay
“A serene retreat on the tranquil shores of Pangong Lake in Merak, Ladakh. Nestled amidst the breathtaking landscapes of the Himalayas, this cozy homestay provides guests with a blend of traditional Ladakhi hospitality and modern comforts. Visitors can enjoy stunning lake views, relish homemade Ladakhi cuisine, and experience the warmth of local culture in a peaceful and picturesque setting, making it an ideal escape for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike.”
Sakti Villa (Sakti, Wari La Chemrey Valley)
Sakti Villa
Solpon Homestay (Sakti, Wari La Chemrey Valley)
Solpon Homestay
Holiday Inn (Hanle)
Holiday Inn Hanley
“Hotel Holiday Inn Hanley is located in historic Hanle village. It is the site of the 17th century Hanle Monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Kagyu branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Hanle is located in the Hanle River valley on an old branch of the ancient Ladakh –Tibet trade route. More recently, Hanle is the home of Hanle observatory, one of the world’s highest sites for astronomical observation.”
Tsering Angmo (Leh): 6899581464
DELHI & RAJASTHAN | GREAT STAYS
There are many great stays in Delhi and Rajasthan; we’ve listed just a few …
Delhi & Rajasthan | 5-Star Hotels
If you want to treat yourself at a five-star hotel, book a room at The Imperial Hotel, the Taj Mahal or the Aman Resort before or after the trek. It’s a great way to wind down from travels or after a trek! All have spas, pools, gardens and many world-class cafes, restaurants and bars within the air conditioned complexes. Room rates vary considerably depending on the season.
The Imperial ($$$)
The Imperial
Taj Mahal Hotel ($$$$)
Taj Mahal
Aman Resorts ($$$$)
Aman Resorts
Delhi | Stylish Hotels
Easy choices …
Bloom Rooms ($$-$$$)
Bloom Rooms
Colonel’s Retreat ($$-$$$)
Colonel’s Retreat
Ahuja Residences ($$$)
Ahuja Residences
Lutyens Bungalow ($$)
Lutyens Bungalow
Delhi | Homestays
Homestays are increasingly becoming popular in Delhi. Search on-line for a good one; they usually provide breakfast, and dinner if requested.
Photos
KIM BANNISTER PHOTOGRAPHY | HIMALAYAN TREKS, CYCLE TRIPS & TRAVELS
Kim Bannister Photography
CYCLE THE HIMALAYA PHOTOS
Guided Cycling Trips
KAMZANG JOURNEYS | ALL ABOUT US IN PHOTOS
Explore Kamzang Journeys
KAMZANG JOURNEYS | YELLOW TENT PHOTOS
The Yellow Tent of Eternal Happiness
HIMALAYAN WILDLIFE, BIRDS & FLOWERS PHOTOS
Himalayan Wildlife, Birds & Plants
HIMALAYAN DESIGN & CULTURAL PHOTOS
Himalayan Design & Cultural Photos
KAMZANG JOURNEYS GROUP PHOTOS
Kamzang Journeys Groups
KAMZANG JOURNEYS STAFF PHOTOS
Kamzang Journeys Staff
THE KAMZANG FUND & KAMZANG KIDS PHOTOS
The Kamzang Fund
NEPAL JOURNEYS PHOTOS
Nepal Journey
INDIA JOURNEY PHOTOS
India Journeys
TIBET JOURNEYS PHOTOS
Tibet Journeys
BHUTAN JOURNEYS PHOTOS
Bhutan Journeys
MYANMAR (BURMA) JOURNEYS PHOTOS
Myanmar (Burma) Photos
MONGOLIA JOURNEYS PHOTOS
Mongolia Journeys
SOUTHEAST ASIA PHOTOS
South East Asia Photos