This is possibly the finest
trek in Ladakh, it follows trails away from the popular routes, passing
through quiet villages, monasteries, offering an extensive range of flora &
fauna.
Duration : 17 Days.
Best
Time: Mid June to September.
Highest
Point: Shang La (4945 mts).
Focus: Mammals,
birds, flowers, villages, people & monasteries.
Highlights:
Bear headed goose, great crested grebe, brahmini duck, brown headed gull.
Red
Tape: Need innerline permission
Physical
Challenge: Moderate overall, climb over Shangla and Matho La can be
exhausting.
Area : Shang Valley & Tso
Moriri Lake
Detailed
Programme: Day 1: Arrive New Delhi International Airport. Assistance
on arrival and transfer to the Pre-booked hotel. Morning free to re-charge.
Afternoon visit to. Old Delhi Tour: Shah Jahan founded the city of
Shahjanabad, now referred to as Old Delhi, in 1648. The famous Red Fort in
the heart of Old Delhi was once the most opulent fort of the Mughal Empire
and it boasts the Diwan-I-Am, Hall of Public Audience. Opposite the fort is
the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in the world, built by Shah
Jahan to dominate his city. Evening return back to Hotel for overnight.
Day 2, Delhi - Leh : Early morning transfer to
airport for spectacular mountain flight to Leh (3505 m). Arrive Leh &
transfer to hotel. A day free to acclimatize. Evening walk to the Ladakhi
bazaar.
Day 3, Leh-Alchi-Leh : Today we drive 3 hrs
to Alchi monastery situated in willow, popular and apricot Grows, home to
birds like wagtail, bisbills. We will also take a stroll along the river,
seeing, edelweiss, gentians and wild roses. After visiting this spectacular
monastery we drive back to Leh. Overnight in hotel.
Day 4,
Leh - Stok (drive) : Today drive about an hour to Stok via
Choglamsar Tibetian village, situated on the mighty Indus river, here we are
likely to see birds like Wagtail, Bisbills. Continue short drive over a
bridge to Stok. Afternoon visit Stok Museum, which has unique display of
rare ornaments from the royal family, thangkas, traditional clothing and
jewellery. We will camp for overnight beyond the museum and meet our
trekking crew. O/n tents.
Day 5, Stok-Mankyurmo (4,240m/6
hrs). Start Trek From the roadhead at Stok, the well-worn trail
goes through the village and is used for the summer movement of cattle and
sheep to the higher pastures. About three hours into the day’s walk , a
spur forces the river to take a sharp turn, passing the jagged ruins of the
Staklang Khar fort this fort supposedly dating back to the 13th or 14th
century, dominates the upper part of the gorge. From here the trail climbs
steeply for a short distance to a saddle called TonTon, with its ritual
cairn of rocks, decked with prayer flags and topped with the skulls and
horns of Bharal (blue sheep), common in this area. From here the path drops
down to the stony river bed and then continues upstream, past the summer
camp or ‘doksa’ of Chatang to another ‘doksa’ at
Mankyurmo, where camp is set for the night.
Day 6, Mankyurmo to Gyangpoche : Today trek from Mankyurmo to
Gyangpoche (4080m over Matho Pass (4878m) 5 hrs : Leaving Mankyurmo, the
stone huts along the way are piled high with piled drying caragana, linicera
and acantholimon bushes, used for fuel. In mid summer, even the driest parts
of this area have tiny flowers and flowering bushes in the meadows. Where
water is close to the surface, bright patterns of yellow, pink and blue can
be seen. The climb up to Matho La is strenuous and at the top, travellers
are often greeted by the high pitched , wild cry of the Snowcock, a giant
partridge common in these parts. The initial descent to the plain of the
Upper Matho valley is steep. At the end, the trail crosses a couple of
streams and camp is set near Gyangpoche Doksa. The pastur of the Upper Matho
is a huge area bisected by streams, dotted with doskas, many hidden amongst
the dips and rises of the sharply uneven plain. To the south it extends to
the foot of the ice - clad bastion formed by Matho Kangri peak. The plain is
full of life; white -tailed hares are abundant and whole colonies of
Himalayan marmots can be seen sunning themselves outside their burrows,
whistling sharply in alarm as they catch sight of a golden eagle circling
above. The lucky may catch a glimpse of a wolf or the track of a snow
leopard imprinted in wet ground. O/n in camp.
Day 7,
Gyanpoche to Base of Shang La (4,300m / 6 hrs) the first part of
the day’s walk goes Eastwards across the plain, to the edge of the
pastures. In this area, a large numbers of streams, Rising in the snowfields
of the StokMatho range, have deep valleys as they flow north and converge to
form the Matho river. A 2 hour walk along a trail, descending to the bottom
of one such valley brings us to a stream which has to be forded, a long
torturous climb of 2 to 3 hrs to the top leading us through dry terrain with
very little vegetation in this barren wilderness of shale, rock and sand.
Camp is set on the bank of another stream which eventually meets the main
Matho Nala. The descent is fairly steep, though not long. O/n in camp.
Day 8, Shang La Base to Shang Phu (4174 m / 8 hrs) over Shang La (4945
m) Crossing the stream, the trail climbs up the opposite hill. Three to
four hours of steady walking through relatively barren country, leads to
Shang La which, links the Matho Valley with the Shang Valley. From here, the
view to the south is spectacular. A gradual descent leads to a small stream
and the trail from the head of the valley down it’s the hand right
river bank, through dense scrub vegetation, is one of the loveliest parts of
this trek. The spring -fed stream forms clear deep pools along its course
and flows into the main Shang stream in valley away to the right. Camp is
set next to river.
Day 9, Near Shang Phu to Martselang (3400m
/ 7 hrs) Some two hours after leaving camp, the trail goes through
the lovely small village of Shang preached high above to the left of the
trail , the old gompa with its stone fences & complex braided irrigation
system, dominates the valley. From here, the trail continues to the
confluence of the Shang and the larger Martselang Nala, where there is a one
- house settlement called Sumdo. From Sumdo, the trail follows the
Martselang Nala, crossing back and forth from one bank to the other, fording
it numerous times, untill it opens into the wide valley of the Indus.
Vechiles wait here for the 1 hour drive to Stok and on to Leh. O/n in hotel.
Day 10, Leh - Chumthang : Today we drive towards the forbidden
Rupshu Valley, only recently opened to foreign tourists, and camp near the
village of Chumthang near the hot water spring.
Day 11,
Chumthang - Tso Moriri : We drive along the Pugga stream and cross
over bridge at Mahe and drive about 02 hrs more to the spectacular lake of
Tsomoriri. Here the Zanskar range is transformed into bare rolling hills. We
camp here for 02 nights.
