| Day 01 |
Darcha - Palamo
-5 hours. Having arrived from Manali the previous
day we start our trek from Darcha and walk westwards
towards our campsite at 3700m. The trail goes steadily
along barren hillsides towards Palamo. |
| Day 02 |
Palamo - Zanskar
Sumdo - 5 hours. Toda's walk is a steady walk and
not much steep climbing is required. The path is
strewn with small boulders and rocks but is well
defined. After crossing a river we reach our next
halt the campsite at 3900m. |
| Day 03 |
Zanskar Sumdo -
Chumik Nakpo - 5 hours. Today's walk is steep initially
but later tapers off to a steady incline. Our campsite
is reached by early evening at 4500m. |
| Day 04 |
Chumik Nakpo - Shingo
la - Lakhang - 7 hours. A long tiring day but well
worth the effort. The steep climb is on scree and
moraine as we reach the top of the Shingo La pass
at 5100m. Prayer flags flutter wildly in the wind
as we get awesome views of the Zanskar valley spread
out before you. While descending we encounter a
short walk across a glacier as we reach our next
campsite at Lakhang at 4400m. |
| Day 05 |
Lakhang - Kargyak
- 5 hours. Today's walk along the Zanskar valley
is breathtaking and easy. Enroute we pass the famous
landmark of Mount Gumbarajon to Kargyak the first
village of the Zanskar region. |
| Day 06 |
Kargyak - Zamthang
- 6 hours. The walk through Zanskar is quite refreshing
as we encounter a different culture and friendly
people tending their cattle. We reach our campsite
at 3400 m by evening. |
| Day 07 |
Zamthang - Phuktal
- Zamthang - 5 hours. Today we leave the main trail
and head east towards the mysterious cave monastery
of Phuktal. The trail leads over a hillside towards
barren mountains and the crossing of a suspension
rope bridge is involved. The sudden appearance of
this ancient monastery is breathtaking. The monastery
itself is housed within a cave in a barren mountain.
Return to camp by evening. |
| Day 08 |
Zamthang - Bipul
- 4 hours. An easy day of walking through typical
Zanskar landscape while the Tsarap chu flows alongside.
Camp at Bipul 3650m. |
| Day 09 |
Bipul - Baruk - 4
hours. Today's walk involves a steep incline. While
this may leave yout ired there is a gentle descent
on the other side. Camp near a mountain lake at
3680m. |
| Day 10 |
Baruk - Padam - 5
hours. Today we walk towards the famous Bardan Gompa.
As we continue our walk towards Padum the valley
floor gets a bit more fertile with barley fields
appearing and we put up camp at 3500m. |
| Day 11 |
Leisurely day at
Padum experiencing the Zanskari way of life and
see how the local people are trying to cope with
modern civilization. |
| Day 12 |
Padam - Karsha -
4 hours. The trail leaves Padum through a dusty
plain and goes towards the River Doda. After we
cross a bridge we begin our climb towards the ancient
Karsha Gompa. This exquisite 500 year old Buddhist
monastery stands precariously perched above the
village at 3700m. |
| Day 13 |
Karsha - Pishu -
5 hours. It's almost a level walk along the Zanskar
River. All along the landscape offers you a glimpse
of some of the most unusual colours you've ever
seen ranging from rust to vermilion and gold to
yellow. Before reaching our camp we also get to
see the longest suspension bridge in Zanskar. Camp
at 3700m. |
| Day 14 |
Pishu - Hanumill
- 5 hours. Today's walk takes us on a large moraine
strewn plateau along the left bank of the River
Zanskar. Crossing the bridge just before the Pidmo
village, we have to walk another couple of hours
before reaching our camp at Hanumill 3700m. |
| Day 15 |
Hanumil - Snertse
- 7 hours. The trail goes along the riverbanks as
we approach the ascent to the 4000m high Parfi La
pass. From here the descent leads us to a bridge
before the small temporary settlement of Snertse.
A gentle ascent takes us to our campsite at 3700m.
|
| Day 16 |
Snetse - Lingshed
- 7 hours. Another interesting day and another pass
to be crossed. The trail is steep as we ascend towards
the Hanuma La 4877m high. From this wind swept pass
we get extensive views of the northern Zanskar Mountains.
The descent leads into the tiny village of Lingshed
and we camp near the village monastery at 4000m.
|
| Day 17 |
Lingshed - Singe
La Pass base. - 7 hours. The day starts off with
a steep ascent to a small pass over the mountain.
Crossing this pass we continue climbing steadily
towards the 5060 m high Singe La pass. The landscape
is awesome as we go on through the small Gongma
and Skiumpata villages and ascend the trail towards
the 4350m high Kiupa La Pass. Crossing this the
ascent continues towards the higher Singe La at
5060m. Camp is set up at its base in a small meadow
at 4300m. |
| Day 18 |
Singe La Base - Photoksar
- 7 hours. It takes a couple of hours of steep climbing
before we reach the saddle of the Singe La. A short
descent later the trail again begins to climb steeply
towards the higher Bhumikste La. Stop awhile here
to take in some of the most breathtaking views on
this trek. The descent takes us to the picturesque
Photksar village at 4000m. Camp near the village.
|
| Day 19 |
: Photoksar - Hanupatta
- 6 hours. Leaving camp early we climb towards a
large Chorten from where the ascent to our next
pass - the Sirsir La (5000m) continues. The landscape
remains distracting as always presenting us with
the many facets of an unusual hi-altitude desert.
After crossing the Sirsir La our descent takes us
over a river to a small meadow near the Hanupatta
village where we set up camp. |
| Day 20 |
Hanupatta - Wanla
- 5 hours. Today's trek involves going through some
of the spectacular gorges Zanskar is known for.
Passing these we reach the village of Phenjila from
where the next village of Wanla at 3800m is just
a little further. Reaching in time to visit the
famous Wanla monastery we camp near the village.
|
| Day 21 |
Wanla - Lamayuru
Monastery - 3-4 hours. The trail goes along the
Shilakong river and after crossing a bridge we reach
the small village of Shilla. Today we cross our
final pass on this trek the Prikiti La at 3950m.
Descending down to the riverbanks we then begin
our ascent to the dramatic Lamayuru Monastery sitting
comfortably on a rocky outcrop over the river. The
Lamayuru monastery is the oldest monastery in Ladakh
and contains an extensive library of Buddhist scriptures.
From here Leh is a mere 147 Kms and we travel there
by a Jeep. |
