When it comes to trekking in Ladakh region for experienced trekkers, they pick up the best one. The Markha Valley Trek along with Stok Kangri is one of the most beautiful, strenuous treks in the Ladakh belt. It takes approximately couple of weeks to cover an entire stretch from Chilling to Leh via Stok Village. The Markha Valley and Stok Khangri trail also climbs up from an altitude of 3500 meters to 6150 meters. It is the highest trekable summit in India, the Stok Kangri summit, and requires proper acclimatization.
Passing through the fertile, rich green Markha Valley secluded by the Kang Yatse at 6400mts from east. Zanskar range from the south west. The trail winds to Stok Kangri en route steep climbs, narrow and rocky tracks, glaciers and changing climatic conditions. The Markha Valley along with Stok Kangri Trek further delves into the indigenous culture of the Indo-Tibetans. It dwells in the remote villages tucked at the lofty and steep ridges.
The major attractions on the Markha Valley along with Stok Khangri Trek are also the Hemis National Park. Houses some of the rare species of Himalayan wildlife like the Snow leopard, lynx, Ladakhi Urial (a type of goat), Arghali (great Tibetan sheep), Blue sheep, Red fox, Tibetan wolf, Dhole (wild dog), Marmot and Mountain hare; Rumbuk Village; Ganda La wherefrom one can enchant the breathtaking view of the Stok Kangri summit and Zanskar ranges; and shrines like Lhatos and Mani towards Markha village. Further it continues the trail onto a steep climb towards the Kongmaru La.
Thereby steep descent to a steep gorge. The journey dilates the changing landscape from rich to barren valleys. They are from a bright sunny day to a bizarre climate. The backpackers hit several obstacles to reach the Stok Kangri summit. One can get a 360° view of the farfetch snow capped peaks. Mt. K2, which is the second highest peak of the world. It is visible from the summit on a clear blue sky. Nonetheless one can also enchant the peaks of Sasser Group and Zanskar range.
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After an early morning breakfast you will be transferred from the hotel to the airport, for the sweeping panoramic flight (included in your tour cost) to Leh (1hr). The flight takes you over the Greater Himalaya and lands at one of the highest airports in the world. You can hope to get excellent views of Stok Kangri as you fly-in. Once in Leh you will have gained an altitude of almost 3,200m and so can expect to feel the effects of the rarefied atmosphere. The expedition is tailored in a way that you have the first few days in your programme to relax and acclimatise. Flying straight up to 3,200m from sea level is not something you will do often in your lifetime! Today, you can take it easy & relax in the hotel and surrounding area. Ladakh’s landscape, Leh’s friendly people, and the laid back atmosphere of Leh town make it a quite place to visit. The region’s landscape is rugged, situated amidst multiple-hued mountains on the fringe of the lifegiving Indus River. After lunch, depending on how you feel, you can take a slow walk around the local bazaar in order to get used to the area, altitude and climate. A memorable sight, the bazaar hosts traditionally attired women selling fruit & vegetables and spinning & knitting, whilst exchanging gentle banter between themselves and with passers-by. Overnight in Leh hotel
Drive to Hemis – 45 kms from Leh. Hemis is the largest monastery in Ladakh and home to about 500 monks. The various temples are open to visitors and the imposing giant statue of Buddha in one of the old temples is worth visiting. Recently , a museum has been built and most of the monastery artifacts are displayed here. We then continue to architecturally dominating Thiksey monastery which resembles the Potala palace in Tibet and covers a hillside. The huge 3-storied Maitreya Buddha is housed in one of the temples. The library with its old scriptures is also visited and the rooftop of the monastery offers one of the most beautiful views of the Indus valley and the Stok range of mountains. After visiting the monastery, one can visit the “Amchi” ( Tibetan medicine man) who sits in the monastery complex with his array of Tibetan herbal medicines. We have lunch at the monastery restaurant in Thiksey and then go on to Shey which is 5 km away and return to Leh.
After returning we recommend the guided hike to visit Leh Palace, the Old Fort & Tsemo Gompa. A miniature version of the Potala in Lhasa, Leh Palace is one of the major attractions in Ladakh. The palace was built in the 17th century and had nine storeys, but it is now dilapidated and deserted. It was the home of the royal family until they were exiled to Stok in the 1830s. The palace built for King Singge Namgyal, now houses the Ladakhi branch of the Indian Government’s archaeological conservation organisation. After this you will go on to visit Tsemo Gompa. The Namgyal Tsemo Gompa was built in 1430 by King Tashi Namgyal on Namgyal Tsemo Peak overlooking the town. The monastery contains a threestory high solid gold idol of Maitrieya Buddha (future Buddha also called laughing Buddha) and a one-storied statue of Avaloketesvara and Manjushri along with ancient manuscripts and frescoes. The fort above this gompa is in ruins, but the views of Leh from here are breathtakingly beautiful. If you are feeling capable after this, you can continue on to Sankar monastery and to the Japanese Peace Pagoda. Overnight in a hotel in Leh.
This morning, after an early breakfast, you will take jeeps (39kms / 1.5-2hrs) to Khardungla, the highest motorable road in the world where you will spend some time on the top for acclimatisation purposes (NB: cold winds blast across this point so please take warm clothes). Khardung La, La meaning pass in Tibetan (the local language), is the route between Leh and the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Khardung La can be termed the gateway to the Karakoram or the land of black gravel. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988. Maintained by the Indian Army’s 14 Corps, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen. Khardung La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia. Return to Leh for lunch. After lunch , drive towards Nimo from where we follow a rough jeep track up to the village of Chilling (3200m) . Spend the afternoon visiting the village which is the only one of its kind in Ladakh specialising in metalwork. An excursion can be made to the village of Sumdo also. Just below the camp site the broad Zanskar River flows by at great speed. Overnight camping
This morning rise early from your first night’s camping and begin your main trek. You will cross over the Zanskar River and trek to Skiu. The frigid Zanskar River originates from the high altitude plateau of Sarchu on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Originally known as the Tsarap the river gorges a path out of the rocky mountains of the western Himalayas, dropping in a continuous torrent of class 5 rapids. The river then eases into the forbidden Kingdom of Zanskar and slowly flows past the capital at Padum. Here it joins with the Stok River which flows down from the Pensi La pass on the road from Kargil to Padum. It is from this confluence of the Tsarap and Stok rivers that the mighty Zanskar takes birth. You will cross the Zanskar River by way of a box and cable bridge and rejoin your trekking team on the opposite riverbank for the trek to Skiu in the Marka Valley. The days trek is on undulating ground with no very high passes. As you approach the villages you will see the willow trees used for housebuilding and crafts; and the apricot trees, which produce their cash crop each summer. In the fields, which are watered by ancient irrigation channels, a rich barley is grown and cattle and sheep graze. It is an almost idyllic scene. From the camping place at Skiu you should make a point of visiting the nearby monastery and going onto the roof for the splendid views. Elevation at Skiu is 3344m. Overnight Camping.
Crossing and re-crossing the Markha watercourse, we mark a long day’s walk of about 7 hours to the 30 or 40 houses belonging to Markha Village (3800meters). The track passes through fairly sumptuous vegetation at the riverside, as the upper valley-gradients are unvaryingly brown and dry. We will come across bridges at many of the more challenging crossing places. On the way route we pass several more dilapidated monasteries, which are every so often quite demanding to pick out, elevated on the valley sides. We will also witness a number of well-maintained chortens and prayer walls and at least one good illustration of wolf trap. Throughout the winter, snow leopards and wolves are a nuisance in these lofty valleys, which become bold on account of their hunger drop away to the hamlets and prey on domestic animals. The indigenous form of wolf trap is a stone insertion with pendulous sides, into which is positioned live or dead animals baits. I case a wolf jumps into the insertion to eat the bait, is incapable to escape and is stone to decease by the native folks. We also pass a pair of isolated house, one of which headdress acknowledged as a peraq. Right on a hill to the north of Markha there is a small Gompa. The local monk will be contented to show you the prehistoric wall paintings and festival masks which are enclosed within this exquisite old monastery – supposedly one of the primogenital in Ladakh. This trek from Skiu to Markha is as worthy a day’s trekking as any of the treks in the Himalayas.
We will keep continue moving above Markha Village and trekking eastwards, deep into the Markha valley, to Hangkar, which is a good camping spot. All through today’s 4 to 5 hour walk we will cross more remarkable monasteries, some abandoned and some unharmed, a testimony to the fact that this valley was formerly more heavily populated than it is at present. Concealed away between the two hamlets which form Hangkar Village, at high on a rock-strewn spur is another note worthy derelict monastery. This high valley makes tourists see small herds of blue sheep (Bharal), which often come right down to the stream to graze.
After leaving Hangkar, there is a good view of a splendid snow peak at the head of the valley. This peak is Kang Yatze, a 6400-meter tall mountain having a subsidiary peak at about 6100 meter which is very up-front and often scaled as a trekking crest its own right. Crossing another well-maintained wolf pit we pass through the Markha watercourse on the last bridge that we will witness and start sheer ascend on the way to the high plains well-known as Nimaling, This day we will ascend from about 4000 meters to a camp positioned at 4600 meters and we will sense the effects of elevation. The backdrop opens out as we navigate around to the north of Kang Yatze and quest out for the pass which we will have to cross in order to return to the Indus Valley.
We transverse up to the Kongmaru la (5100 meters) on a well-marked trail, which crisscrosses across rock for the final 250-meter to reach the pass. It is a 2 hours ascent. From the pass, we will come across the vistas of Eastern Karakoram Range. The southern landscape is made exquisite by Kang Yatze presenting pleasingly knotted rock formations, buttresses and pillars, some of them having remarkable colors. The first camping place is at Chuskirma, where there are a couple of stone-huts and few rough pastures
We will continue our decline trail, crossing a couple of imposing house, the utmost in the valley. Then we will pass another section of rock-strewn gorge. The gorge opens out a little as we reach close to the scenic settlement of Sumdo and soon afterward we reach a jeep road that is in the course of being constructed into the valley. Afterwards, we will follow this for an hour until we can view the houses and foliage of Martselang, which is positioned on the main Indus valley road. We opt to skirt above the valley on a train from here, which will take us after about an hour, through scores of striking chortens, to the tributary valley below the Hemis Monastery, At this place, there is a good camping spot in a field of large vegetation. If you are not tired of Gompas then you can re-visit Hemis.
We transfer by jeep to Stok village in the morning. This village lies immediately at the south of Leh. We will find is a royal palace in Stok Village, where the recently crowned young Ladakhi Ruler lives. Moreover, there is also small museum containing religious artifacts and traditional clothing belonging to the regal clan. There is time to scout the palace and monastery at Stok before the lunchtime. After lunch, we will begin our walk-in to Stok Kangri with an easy trek of 2 hours. At very close to the Indus valley, we are in a high and wild area visited only by hiking groups and by the indigenous people who spend some of the summer months in quaint villages of stone-huts. From these villages they tend their flocks of sheep and goats.
On this day, we will carry out a trek taking few hours up to the base camp area of Stok Kangri. It is a very congenial campsite on a grassy area beside lots of Mel-water streams. We can enjoy the view above the camp in the afternoon. The area above the camp offers breathtaking views of contiguous peaks like Gulap Kangri, Stok Kangri, Parcha Kangri and many more.
It is the day for taking rest and acclimatization to make certain that the group is feeling all set to carry out the climb of Stok Kangri. It takes the half-four ascent up to the pass at 5000 meters above our campsite, perhaps taking the climbing hardware that can be accumulated at the pass in preparation for the following day’s ascent.
This is the day for ascending up to the peak. We will start only after ensuring that they is no contingency like poor weather, etc. According to the fitness of the team, we will either go for a one-day scaling from our base camp, or decide on to institute a high camp, from where we can make the climb on the next day. Much of the ascent encompasses walking transversely through scree and rocky gradients, which are likely to be unadorned of snow by the time of our excursion; if not there has been unseasonal snowfall. The ultimate part of the ascent will comprise the use of crampons and ice-axe on the snow-slopes up to approximately 35 degrees. However, this is not a technically challenging ascent, at an elevation of over 6000 meters displaying peaks in Tibet at the north-east and a bird’s eye view of the Indus valley, there is certain demand of good physical fitness. If we accomplish to hike the peak on the first day itself, there may be a chance to go for one of the other easy peaks above the base camp.
Finishing our 130km trek we descend to Stok Village at 3610m. The trek down hill to Stok village will take nearly 5hrs. The walk has good views of the valley and you will following a path beside the stream with plenty of chances to see blue sheep, ibex & marmots. After reaching the summit of Stok Kangri walking down hill to Stok village will be child’s play and having been more than around ten day above 3,500m you will have become very fit and should feel as if you can walk for hours as your trek ends. Your vehicles will meet you at the end of the trail and will drive you to Leh (45mins). Once back in Leh you can check into your hotel and have a well deserved hot shower and relax. Overnight in a hotel in Leh.
This morning you will fly back to Delhi for overnight hotel or onward flight connections. Reach the airport for the pleasant flight across the spectacular chain of Himalayas in order to reach Delhi