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 Ladakh is one of the most unique Himalayan
experiences, combining Tibetan influences with those
from the rest of Kashmir, and highland Pakistan. The
landscape here is like a Tibet in intense miniature,
with bluer skies and lakes, starker cliffs,
sharper-edged mountains, and lusher oases. The prayer
flags keep fluttering, and the mani walls, chhorten,
monasteries and prayer wheels add a sense of calm and
composure to even the most jaded traveller. Indus
river dominates trails, and there are also pretty
little mountain flowers and silvery threads of streams
that glint in the thin, light air. The trails are
rugged and the air is some of the best in the
Himalaya. The Ladakhi people look like the descendents
of marriages between Tibetans and other Central
Asians, and Afghans and Iranians, and they speak a
centuries-old version of Tibetan. The architecture of
the old gomba displays Tibetan influence as well as a
distinctcive style of woodwork. There are ducks here,
as well as wild asses. and the usual lumbering yak.
Ladakh and the valleys around it are connected by
road, but the trails you trek feel as remote as the
middle of nowhere.
Tentative Program
|
Day |
Program |
|
Day 01 |
Arrive at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International
Airport and transfer to hotel. |
|
Day 02 |
Fly
to Leh (3,500 m), enjoying the spectacular view of
towering 5-7,000 m peaks, the high-altitude desert,
the river snaking through it, and the green, yellow,
and pink patches of cultivated land. Spend the day
acclimatising in this Lhasa-like town. |
|
Day
03 |
Drive
through splendid country under lovely, towering snow
and rock peaks to reach Shey, where lie the remains of
the palace of the kings of Ladakh, and impressive old
gardens, chhorten, and statuary. It isn't far to the
venerable, well-preserved monastery at Thikse, which
clutches a crag, resplendent in the classic colours of
monasteries in the area, ochre, black, and white.
Drive further on to the almost hidden lush green
pasture that is home to the enormous Hemis monastery,
one of the wonders of the Buddhist world. Camp at
Hemis. |
|
Day
04 |
Today
we start trekking, walking about three hours to Shang
Sumdo (3850m) up a valley and fording the glimmering
river many times. |
|
Day
05 |
Today
is a longer walk over a rocky pass, past chhorten and
through gorges under the hypnotising sky, occasionally
passing patches of pretty highland flowers, and scrub
to reach Latza Kongmaru (4,800 m).
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Day
06 |
The
terrain gets rougher today, and the going is
challenging up steep ascents that look over
breathtaking vistas of ridgess, valleys, and little
stony grottos. Walk over passes (Kongmaru La, 5,150
m), down valleys and up again, past rivers to reach
the campsite at Konga Wangpo (5,100 m) by the Langtang
river. |
|
Day
07 |
The
walk to Hankar (4,250 m) is some work, what with the
long downhill, but the feeling of being in remote,
wide-open country where life feels sublime, and you
can see your surroundings with an almost dream-like
clarity, is worth it.
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Day
08 |
Today
involves walking by the lapping Langtang chu (river)
and with occasional sight of barley and buckwheat
fields, and traversing across from one valley into
another to reach another riverside camp, by the
Langtang chu (river).
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Day
09 |
Traverse a spectacular moraine, ford the river, and
climb up the valley to reach Yakrupal (4,700 m); along
the way are chhorten and mani walls.
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Day
10 |
Passes (including the 5,200 m Karpo La), imposing
snowclad mountains, streams in the shimmering
distance, patches of green amid all shades of ochre,
slate, grey, and brown bring you to Sorra (4,450 m),
in the heart of the next valley.
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Day
11 |
Today
the starkness of the high-altitude country gives way
to a veritable emerald oasis. The gorges are wooded
and as you wend your way between the Sorra and Dat
rivers, there are fields and farms as far as the eye
can see on the way to Dat (4,200 m). |
|
Day
12 |
A
splendid fort set behind willow groves is a highlight
of today's walk, as is a massive, ornamented chhorten
at Kharnak (4,550 m). |
|
Day
13 |
Trails high above the valleys reinforce the feeling of
total freedom that the landscape of this trek creates.
Looking down on the massive Rupshu plateau where the
nomadic Changpa live is an exhilerating experience. As
you walk over Yar La (4,950 m) to Lungmo Che (4,600
m), a higher summer village, try to imagine what this
place looks like in the dead of winter; it'll give you
some sense of just how hard life is for the hardy
inhabitants of this gorgeous, but extreme terrain. |
|
Day
14 |
Riverside walks give way to truly arid country, where
you can see the bed of a river that runs dry for most
of the year. Here there seems to be one element less
than usual in nature - water. The mani walls provide
some relief on the way to Dabrang (4,200 m). |
|
Day
15 |
A
long descent brings you to the Tso Kar basin, where
you can see traces of the salt that can be panned out
from the area. The landscape is much flatter from here
on, and the interest is in the interplay of scrub and
desert, streams and wildflowers, rock formations in
the distance and old villages. The Thokje monastery is
worth a visit as much for its surroundings as for its
atmosphere. |
|
Day
16 |
Up a
small pass and then down to the Puga valley known for
its hot sulphur springs to spend the night at
Gyamasumdo.
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|
Day
17 |
The
area around Tso Moriri lake, which is where bar-headed
geese nest in the Himalaya, is classic high-altitude
country, complete with a pass, and the lake itself is
lovely, aquamarine and serene. |
|
Day
18 |
The
Karzok monastery is vibrant and well-preserved, and
between that and the lake, today might be one of the
most perfect days on this trek. |
|
Day
19 |
Today
you drive to Leh, an historic old trading town that is
replete with excellently preserved old-style buildings
and monasteries, an old mosque, as well as the first
real polo ground in the world.
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Day
20 |
Fly
to Delhi in the morning and relax after all your hard
travelling.
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Day
21-23 |
Take
advantage of your free days to go sightseeing in the
old parts of the city and the Walled City, visiting
the famous Jama Masjid mosque, the Chandni Chowk, or
Silver(smiths') Square, the classic Mughal art in the
National Museum, and the imposing neo-classical
British Raj architecture in the modern centre of the
city.
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Day
24 |
Transfer to airport for your flight home. |
Cost on your request
Cost quoted on itineraries
includes:
Accommodation in Leh in B category hotel on full
board basis (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Arrival and Departure transfer by non-a/c jeep/ car
in Leh
Full board during the trek section of the tour
English-speaking Ladakhi mountain guide for trekking
Cook, ponies (where needed), and porters
Complete kitchen gear and all supplies including
gasoline
All tents for camping
Accommodation in Delhi in budget hotel with AC
rooms.
Cost
quoted does not include:
Lunch and dinner in Delhi ($ 5-10 per day per
person)
Rescue in case of emergency
Medical and personal insurance
Tips, laundry, all drinks, telephone calls if any
Sleeping bags/ ropes/ crampon/ ice-axe/ other gear
Inner-line permit fee (US$12 per person)
Delhi-Leh-Delhi airfare (Current fare is US$164 one
way)
Please note: The airfare is subject to change without
prior notice.
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Highlights
of the Tour |
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Duration |
: 24
days total |
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Season |
:
Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
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Hotel |
: 3
Star in Delhi |
|
Price |
:
on your request |
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Discount |
: |
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Valid
till |
:
2009-12-31 |
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Spectular
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