Markha valley trek

Leh arrive and transfer to hotel

Arrival Leh, Our representative will meet, greet, assist and transfer you to Hotel in Leh. Rest of the day free to acclimatize to the high altitude of Ladakh. In the evening take a walk to the local bazaar in Leh. 

 

Leh – Alchi monastery – Lamayuru – Leh (240 km) : Day tour

Early morning drive to Lamayuru. Lamayuru is famous for its ancient monastery and the surrounding landscape, which closely resembles the surface of moon. This is where Ladakh gets its name ‘The Moonland’. Conflence Of The Zanskar & Indus: On way to Sham Valley before Nimu village one can have this magnificent view of two rivers in wed-lock! In seasons they have different colors and flow and wildness. MAGNETIC HILL: Defying the Law of gravity. This place is close to the Gurdwara Shri Patthar Sahib. It has been noticed that when a vehicle is parked on neutral gear on this metallic road the vehicle slides up-hill that’s the Believe it or not of Ladakh! Alchi monastery: Alchi Monastery or Alchi Gompa is a Buddhist monastery, known more as a monastic complex (chos-'khor) of temples in Alchi village Traditionally, the creation of the Alchi complex is attributed to the famous scholar-translator Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055) in the 10th century Lamayuru monastery: The Drikung history states that the Indian scholar Naropa (956-1041 CE) allegedly caused a lake which filled the valley to dry up and founded Lamayuru Monastery, the oldest surviving building at Lamayuru is a temple called Seng-ge-sgang, at the southern end of the Lamayuru rock, which is attributed to the famous builder-monk Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055 CE). Rinchen Zangpo was charged by the king of Ladakh to build 108 gompas, and certainly many gompas in Ladakh, Spiti Valley and the surrounding regions

Drive to Chilling and trek to Skiu (3.400m) 8 hrs

Today we start in Chilling. The bridge to cross the river is broken by the recent flood and hence you get to cross the river in an interesting rope trolley. All your trek stuffs and equipment will be transfered in the similar fashion. Once you cross the river, the horses are loaded and then we are set to start our trek to Markha Valley. Today, we camp at Skiu – A three hour easy trek on mostly flat trail with occasional short ascends and descend.The trek route is very interesting and the landscape is very fascinating and unique. Sudden appearance of few green patches on the otherwise barren, creamy mountain adds a unique contrast to the scenery. Sightings of few wild animals and locals enhances the day. Our campsite is defined and we after some 3- 4 hours, we reach our campsite.

Trek Skiu to Markha (3.700m) 7 hrs

 Waking up to a wonderful morning in Skiu, today we trek to the village of Markha. An easy trek with almost a flat walks on most part of the trail, with occasional short ascents and descends like yesterday's.

The views throughout are breathtaking. Watch out for the different and unique rockscapes and structures of the mountains formed by wind and water erosion. With our previous experiences, we tried to tickle our imagination with the illusions created by these unique structures and strongly supported our conclusions of what they looked like -  ‘trunks of elephant’, ‘doorway to a very old tomb’, 'dinosaurs', etc. Its an interesting game to play which keeps us engaged with the mountains continuously and it goes unrealized when we reach our campsite.

Markha is a very beautiful campsite. The campsite is designated on a flat meadow with the a stream flowing by. Do take time out in the evening to visit an old monastery nearby.

Trek Markha to Thachungtse (4.150m) 8 hrs

The trek to Thochungtse goes via Hankar from Markha. It is a beautiful trek and takes about 4 - 5 hours. The route to Hankar is mostly flat with occasional ups and downs. Soon, we get a glimpse of Kang Yatse which fills us with excitement. After about 3 hours of  trek we reach the beautiful village of Hankar with few houses, lots of greens and the massif of Kang Yatse looks over it. It’s a perfect picturesque setting. It’s a good idea to spend some time here and have our lunch here.After leaving Hankar behind, the terrain changes immediately with no mentionable greens to be seen further. The route is jaw-dropping with unique structures of the mountains and the rocks. Here it’s very easy to spot blue sheep and ibex, snow leopards too! A walk of some 2 - 3 hours brings us to a small grassy plains which is the designated campsite of Thochungtse. 

Trek Thachungtse to Nimaling (4.720 m) 6-7 hrs

Starting the trek from Thochungtse to Nimaling , we climb a mountain hump straight ahead of us. At that altitude, it does take some time, but once done, enjoy up-close views of Kang Yatse. A huge massif, overwhelming us with its presence. Also, the very thought that we will be approaching the to the base of it further adds to our spirit.

Trek to Chuskirmo ( 6 Hrs)

From Nimaling, we start climbing the switch back to the top of Kongmaru La (Gongmaru La) – 5.130m, a high pass with wonderful views all round. Climbing through multiple switch backs takes us to the summit of Kongmaru La in an hour or a little more, marked with lots of prayer flags furling with the wind. Spend some good time here to relish the views all round. After crossing the pass, it’s a steep descend down the beautiful Markha gorge. The views and the trail passes down following the narrow Markha gorge and is unbelievable unless you trek it. A sharp descend from the pass top gets us to Lartsa. From there, a trek of some 3 - 4 hours will bring you to the campsite of Chuskirmo.

Trek to Shang Sumdo & drive to Leh

We pack camp and proceed to the grazing grounds of Nimaling. From there it is a gradual ascent to Kongmaru La pass at 5260m with prayer flags fluttering. Beautiful views all round from the pass. We descend steeply at first before it becomes gradually as we reach the stream. A little ahead from there is Chuskirmo with chortens and a small shop. We walk a little further down and get get into vehicles to drive to Leh.

Airport drop

Leh JK – Delhi

Airport drop

Leh JK – Delhi