Zanskar
and Ladakkh River Trail, Lamayaru to Darcha - (25days)
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Zanskar is profoundly remote - in the winter for
months it can be snowed out of the normal access
routes, and the only way to get to it, and around it,
is over the treacherous but beautiful frozen river.
But this truly is a fairy-tale land. The bright green
and gold fields are a brilliant contrast to the
austere rocky, craggy mountains all around. Turn a
corner and suddenly you see the Zanskar River calmly
threading its way down. The mountains, which can be
from 5,000 - 7,000 m tall, look over impossibly deep
gorges. When you least expect it there will be
wildflowers and rose bushes to brighten the huge
vista. The monasteries are some of the best preserved,
with their statuary, murals, engravings and wood
carvings having suffered from little more than time,
in stark contrast to those in neighboruing Tibet. The
occasional herders with their yak, or field on a
cliffside seem of a piece with the land. This trek
offers real isolation and a great opportunity to get a
taste of high mountain spaces.
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. 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
Tentative Program
|
Day |
Program |
|
Day 01 |
Arrive at New Delhi's In dira Gandhi International
Airport, 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. |
|
Day
03 |
Look
around the Old City of Leh, with its ehoes of Lhasa,
before driving to Lamayaru.
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Day
04 |
Today
is a shortish, relatively easy walk up to a low pass (Prinkti
La, 3,750 m), and then down through traditional
villages to reach Wanla (3,250 m), where there is an
old monastery worth a look, as are the little trails
around the village.
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|
Day
05 |
Today
starts out with an easy walk to a lovely, gentle
valley. Yet before the day is out you will have made
your way to the awe-inspiring Zanskar, walking up a
narrowing valley and realising that this is for real,
the massive mountains of slate and granite, snow and
ice, and the deep deep gorge through which the Zanskar
flows. In the midst of all this to suddenly see
wildflowers, and the painstakingly cultivated farms of
the village of Hanupata (3,760 m) is humbling.
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Day
06 |
Climb
up the valley to begin the long, but not too steep,
ascent to Sirsir La, or pass, (4,850 m). The view is
brilliant, with the Zanskar mountains in clear relief,
as wll as the next pass, Snigge La. Clinging to the
mountainside is the village of Photsokar (4,200 m),
with its equally impossible fields.
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Day
07 |
Make
your way to the Bumiktse La, at the same altitude as
Photsokar to pass into the wide, green Photang valley.
As you turn the corners along the trail, the contrasts
continue - scrub and desert, streams and wildflowers,
rock formations in the distance and old villages, and
all manner of colours, light, and darkness, play with
each other. Make the final push to Snigge La (5,090
m), on a trail marked by prayer flags and markers left
by yaks, passing herders' huts, and with views of
lovely 6,000 m peaks. Descend to camp. |
|
Day
08 |
Top
reach the bustling, quite prosperous village of
Lingshed, cross a couple of more passes, make a steep
descent or to until you can settle into the gentle
trail that brings you to the Margum La (4,400 m), the
last pass before Lingshed. Here are golden fields of
barley and monks at their prayer.
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|
Day
09 |
A
steep switchbacking trail brings to you the Hanuma la
(4,950 m). Then there's another variation on the
classic Zanskar scene - deep gorges leading to wide,
easy valleys, wild roses lifting the landscape from
its austerity, yak herders who sometimes sell you
fresh milk, yogurt, and cheese. Camp near the pasture
settlement of Snertse. |
|
Day
10 |
A new
pass and a new river to walk along, the ever present
possilivty of sighting a lovely group of blue sheep,
and a general sense of well-being bring you lower down
to the pleasant hamlet of Hanumil (3,400 m). |
|
Day
11 |
Walk
along the river, passing settlements so small along
the way that they're barely villages, such as Pidmo,
where half-a-dozen families live oblivious to the
vagaries of the world. The larger village of Pishu
(3,420 m) overlooks the former fiefdom of Zangla, and
is reached by crossing one of the Zanskar's longest
suspension bridges, all of 55 m. |
|
Day
12 |
It's
a day of monasteries. An easy cling brings you to
Rinam and a further amble to look at the spectacular
Tengdo monastery. Walking along the banks of the
Zanskar, reach Karsha (3,600 m). Karsha is home to one
of the largest Gyeluk, or Yello Hat monasteries in the
country. The 10th century gomba commands a strategic
vantage point from its perch on a hillside, which
makes for a broad, sweeping view. |
|
Day
13 |
A
very short walk brings you to the bustling local
centre of Padum (3,530 m). The town, which is the
urban centre of this part of Ladakh and Zanskar,
allows us to restock all our supplies, as well as on
occasion witness a ceremony or celebration for which
people from all the outlying villages and valleys have
arrived. Always an attraction in Padum are two classic
of Ladakhi Buddhism - the Kanika chhorten, which is
the largest stupa in the region, and the Sani gomba
that houses it, which is a massive, well-preserved
monastery. |
|
Day
14 |
Follow the 4WD track passing villages and venerable
Ladakhi monasteries, see wonderful mani walls and
msasive prayer wheels along the way to the plateau
that houses Mune (3,900 m). |
|
Day
15 |
To
make up for the day spent in a Jeep, the secong half
of today is a tough walk as you keep pace with the
river, often on dusty, scrabbly barely trails to reach
Ichar (3,650 m). |
|
Day
16 |
Cling
to the sides of a massive gorge, avoiding the rockfall
and stopping my small streams to finally reach a more
easy on the eye greenness that brings you closer to
Purne (3,700 m). |
|
Day
17 |
Today
you see an incredible settlement, seemingly in the
middle of nowhere. It will come as a surprise walking
along the Tsarap river to suddenly see clinging on to
a limestone cliff an entire monastery built into the
side by using the natural caves. Some, like that which
houses the main prayer hall, are huge, while others,
which serve as monks' quarters (and are out of bounds
to women), are cell-like. Also of of interest is the
inscription in the asembly cave left behind by the
Hungarian explorer Cosmo de Körös, who is renowned for
his travels through, and meticulous documentation of,
the Buddhist Himalya.Camp again at Purne. |
|
Day
18 |
An
excellent trail and walks past chhorten, farms, amd
even a livestock breeding centre bring you to Tabley
(3,800 m). |
|
Day
19 |
Climb
to the high village of Kargyak, at 4,050 m the highest
permanent settlement in Zanskar and walk through a
rocky trail with imposing views to a lovely pasture
called Lakung (4,470 m). |
|
Day
20 |
It's
a well-trodden path up tp Snigge La (5,090 m) and down
it, marked by prayer flags and markers left by yaks,
passing herders' huts, and with views of lovely 6,000
m peaks. Camp in the meadow at Rumjak (4,300 m). |
|
Day
21 |
To
reach the last campsite of this trek, descend at first
fairly easily, and then be prepared for a scramble to
reach the river. You'll have to ford the river couple
of times and cross it on an amusing manually-operated
pulley bridge. Boulder hop to reach Pallamo (3,400 m). |
|
Day
22 |
A
quick and easy walk down the valley through the gorge
and above it brings you to Darcha at the roadhead. |
|
Day
23 |
It's
a long, but fairly scenic drive to Manali. |
|
Day
24 |
Make
the 550 km-long drive through the valleys of the large
Beas and Sutlej rivers, through parts of the Punjab
and the north Indian plains to reach Delhi. |
|
Day
25 |
Transfer to airport for your flight back 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 |
: 25
days total |
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Season |
:
Mar-May, Sep-Nov |
|
Hotel |
: 3
Star in Delhi |
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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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