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Organized by Namaste Tours.

Trekking in Ladakh known as "little Tibet" or "Moonland" offers a unique experience which takes you amid an incredibly beautiful landscape of desolate smooth rolling hills, jagged mountain peaks and high altitude desert plains.

The Markha valley trek is the most popular trekking route in the Indus valley. The trek entails going across two or three passes of above 4800 m.,depending on whether the trek starts from Stok or Jingchen. Trekking days alternate from strenuous to easy walk. The trek can be done in eight to twelve days depending on the fitness and experience of the participants.

Min 4 persons.

English speaking guides.

This trek is best for May onwards and upto Oct 15

Day 1 - Arrive in Leh. It’s a spectacular flight to Leh and after equally breathtaking landing you are met in Leh by local agents and transferred to Hotel where room has been booked for your ready occupancy. Rest of the day for rest to get acclimatized to the much higher altitude and the rarefied air.

Day 2 - Free day for acclimitization.

Day 3 - Thikse/Shey/Hemis/Leh Visit Thikse Monastery, the largest gompa in Ladakh that is situated on top of a craggy hill. Here you will find an important collection of Tibetan books and some excellent artwork. Afterwards, visit the palace at Shey, which sits in a strategic position on a ridge overhang out into the Indus Valley. You may also visit Hemis Gompa, the richest and most powerful monastery in Ladakh. Return to your hotel in Leh for your overnight.

Day 4 - Begin Trek at Stok. 4 hrs gradual walk into the Stok Nallah with beautiful rock formation. We will camp at base of Stok la(Pass).

Day 5 - Cross Stok La after you walk up a spectacular high barren valley of ever-changing color and in every direction there is a stunning panorama. Giant fingers of granite hundreds of feet long and massive dunes of purple scree contrast with the deep blue skies of the Tibetan Plateau. The path then steepens and the air thins as you climb towards Stok La (14,200’). Stopping for breath you can see right back across the Indus Valley into the Karakoram Mountains. From the top of the pass, the path leads steeply down for about an hour to your camp near Rumbak village.

Day 6 - Rumbak to Shingo
Your horsemen come from various villages along the route of the trek, so you may be able to stop in their homes for chang and other refreshments. This gives you a unique opportunity to take part in traditional village life. Moreover, all other villagers you meet are particularly friendly and welcoming because you are with their friends and relatives. It is a 90-minute walk to the next settlement, Urutse and the mountain views from here are excellent. After lunch, you set off for the Gandha La (16,500’) Pass, which is higher than the Stok La, but the trail ascends more gently. From the top, there are magnificent views across the Markha Valley into Zanskar. You camp just over the pass at Shingo.

Day 7 - Shingo to Skiu.
This is a much easier day’s walking, but no less spectacular. From the tiny hamlet of Shingo you enter a narrow gorge with almost sheer, 1000-foot sides. This part of the trek can be extremely hot, even though for most of the day you are walking in the shade of thick scrub, something very unusual for Ladakh. Luckily, you cross and re-cross a gently flowing stream all day, so there is always a chance to take a cooling bath. The valley walls become increasingly steeper and higher, until eventually you come out at the junction of the Markha River. A ruined fort dominates one side of the valley and a huge wall of scree on the other.

Down the Markha River you see the silhouettes of some of the big peaks of Zanskar. A five-minute walk takes you to the village of Skiu where you camp for the night. There will be ample time to explore the area. Walk to Kaya village known to Ladakhis for its coppersmiths and see one at work. There may be a chance to buy some items he has made including drinking bowls, spoons, chang pots and plates. There are also two simple, but beautiful temples here almost unknown to tourists. Those who want to do a little more walking can head northwest along a precarious path high above the valley to the very impressive confluence of the Markha and Zanskar Rivers. Otherwise, you could take a swim in the river or just lie in the sun where you camp beside the river.

Day 8 - Markha Valley
You set off up the Markha Valley, an easy walk that is gently uphill. Although the mountainsides are stark and barren, as they are throughout Ladakh, parts of the valley itself are a blaze of brilliant greens and yellows. Wherever melt water from the glaciers provides irrigation for the land, there are oases of dazzling color. The path zigzags across the river, sometimes taking you high up across the steeply-banked scree. You pass an ancient ritual site - a mass of red-painted shrines and yak horns probably dating back to the pre-Buddhist Bon period. After lunch beside the river near the small village of Chalak, you continue up the valley towards Markha. Markha is just a cluster of houses in a crescent shape above the river. You camp in a beautiful flat meadow beside the river.

Day 9 - Markha/Thachungchy
Markha is at about 11,800’, so the morning walk is relatively easy going. Passing old water mills, you come into a wide open valley where again you ford the river (or be prepared to take the perilously slippery route on the scree slope above). After an hour a little monastery appears above you, perched 500 feet up on a needle of rock. It is usually closed, though worth the climb just for the magnificent view. You stop for lunch in Hankar, the last year-round settlement in the Markha Valley. A ruined fort dominates the village from one side and on the other side the horizon is filled by the 21,000’ Kang Yase, which is where you are heading. The path gets steeper above Hankar and you walk for only about two hours before setting camp at Thachungchy (14,100’). (B,L,D)

Day 10 - Nyimaling
Spend the day at Nyimaling where life here follows the rhythms of nature and nothing is hurried. Little children sit in the sun while their mothers beside them make cheese and butter, yaks play on the mountainside and flocks of sheep and goats sweep across the valley on their way to distant grazing lands. There are carpets of wild flowers, alpine and desert species side by side, and a great profusion of birds - from the high altitude finches to great soaring eagles.

Day 11 - Gongmaru Pass
Leaving Nyimaling in the early morning and crossing the Markha River for the last time, you head up towards the Gongmaru La Pass. This is the highest point of the trek at 17,052’ but you are acclimatized by now and if anyone does have problems it will be possible to ride a horse over the pass. More likely, your conditioning will make this pass seem easier than the previous lower ones. The path on the other side drops steeply and you descend awhile before stopping for lunch. You pass through the village of Chogdo, a group houses high above the valley floor. Again, you cross the river a number of times as the banks of the valley are too steep for a path. There are still few signs of human habitation beyond simple houses and an occasional farmer with his stock. By mid-afternoon you have come down about 4,500’ to the village of Sumdo where you set camp (12,150’).

Day 12 - Trek to Martselang.
You will have an easy two hour walk back to the Indus Valley where your trek ends. Car waiting for you take you to the hotel in Leh.

Day 13 - It’s a rest day , you could visit the market or relax.

Day 14 - Fly to Delhi .

The cost includes: Complete arrangement on trek,guide, wild and camping fees, accommodation on twin share in Leh at A class hotel on full board basis, arrival / departure transfers, sightseeing and guide services.

Price does not include : Hotel arrangements in Delhi, airfare or any other not mentioned above.

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Utstyrsliste - ID 184

The Markha Valley Trek