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Ladakh (Homestay Treks, Camping Treks, Trekking Peaks)

Ladakh is one of the best places to trek independently in India.  There is very little regulation except near the border areas, it is easy to find places to stay in villages, the people are friendly and the scenery is spectacular.  Yet the vast majority of people go through travel agencies to book their treks despite the fact it is relatively simple to trek here on your own.  The main problem here is maps.  The maps are, in general, adequate at best yet still its a lot better than other areas of India.  It is possible to get foreign good quality and expensive (1300 INR) maps at the Ladakh Book Shop above the SBI ATM in Leh.  The trailblazer guide "Trekking in Ladakh" is a good resource for independent trekking despite being dated, and is what I've used in the past.  Unfortunately it has a limited number of trails, and the information on homestays is woefully out of date.  It is now out of print but can be found it book stores in Leh although its much cheaper to buy it online in the US.  An new and much more up to date guide book is Cicerone's "Trekking in Ladakh" published in 2012.  There is also a convenient ebook vision to save weight.  It covers a good variety of trails between Ladakh and Zanskar, including the popular Markah Valley, Hidden Valley, and Across Zanskar treks.  It does not cover any of the Rupshu (Tso Moriri region) area treks or the Nubra Valley.  It is written with the independent trekker in mind and gives vital information such as shelters and water sources.  There are also cheaper locally produced books that cover popular trails like Across Zanskar and the Markha Valley, these are adequate but not nearly as good as the trailblazer guide which has more detailed information about water sources and stone shelters for those trekking on there own.  There is independent trekking opportunities in Ladakh to suite any type of trekker, whether you are just hopping between homestays or heading off in to the barren landscape on your own with just a tent and sense of adventure to guide you.  It is also probably the easiest place in the world to hike above 6000 m.  There are numerous trekking peaks which require no technical climbing.  The arid climate of Ladakh means that high peaks which would be engulfed in thick glaciers elsewhere in the Himalayas merely have a few snow fields and small glaciers clinging to their sides in Ladakh.

Ladakh Guidebooks from Amazon.com

Ladakh Trekking Practicalities

If your are trekking into the areas around Tso Moriri, or the Nubra Valley you will need an interline permit available for a 100 to 200 INR from any travel agent in Leh, although you are unlikely to have it checked unless you are driving out or in to the area.  To climb Stok Kangri you need a permit from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) which you can get for 2000 INR, the office is near the beginning of Chanspa Road in Leh.  Technically you need approval for other peaks as well but Stok Kangri is the only one you are likely to get checked.  Other than that Ladakh remains blissfully free of the infamous Indian red tape.

Homestay treks of Ladakh

Trekking Routes  It is generally possible to stay in just about any permanently inhabited village in Ladakh.  In heavily trekked areas like the Markha Valley these homestays are more formalized with fixed fees of 350 INR per person in 2009 (this includes sleeping, dinner, breakfast, and a packed lunch), elsewhere you will just have to ask around for a place to sleep and negotiate a reasonable fee usually between 150 to 250 INR per person for food and a place to sleep.

The Markha Valley:  This trek has the reputation of being one of the most popular treks in Ladakh and the travel agents tend to discourage it to their customers staying its too crowded and full of trekkers, yet both times I've done it (once in late June and once in late July) I saw hardly anyone on the trail and was almost always the only one in the homestays.  Its a really beautiful trek and very diverse passing through beautiful valleys, picturesque villages, colorful canyons, and high alpine grasslands.  If you have a short time in Ladakh and only have time for one trek I would recommend the Markha valley.  For detailed information on how to do this trek as a homestay trek click here.

Lamayuru to Chilling "Hidden Valley Trek" :  The tour agencies seem to push this trek over the Markha valley now but I still would not call it crowded by any means.  There is a road that goes all the way up to Hinju now and a bus as far as Phanjila which can cut out a day if you like, but Lamayuru is a nice monastery and worth seeing if you are not planning on going there another time.

Spituk to Stok:  If you really have a short time and want to get into the mountains you can do this trek. Its possible to do in 2 days one night spending the night at a homestay in Rumbak.  The trek passes over the Stok La (4800 m), actually the view from the false pass (closer to Stok) is better than from the true top.  If you make it to Stok by 6:00 pm you can catch a bus back to Leh.

Liker to Tingmosgam (Sham Valley or "Baby Trek"):  I have not done this trek but it is supposed to be a very easy homestay trek.  There are no high passes and plenty of accommodation and food is available along the way.  No high mountain scenery, more of a cultural trek passing monasteries and villages.

Across Zanskar (Lamayuru to Darcha) Trek  This is a fabulous trek and most people don't realize it can be done predominately by homestays.  It is also possible to do either half as there is transportation from Padum (administrative center of Zanskar) and Leh.  The Lamayuru Padum half which has several steep passes is a much more strenuous trek than the Padum Darcha half which has one high pass.  There are two nights you will have to sleep in your own shelter or in a tea tent on the Lamayuru Padum half and one or two nights on the Padum Darcha half.  For detailed information on how to do this trek as a homestay trek click here.

Children at a homestay in Umlung, in the Markha Valley, Ladakh, India

Child turns a prayer wheel in Hinju along the "Hidden Valley" Trek, Ladakh, India

View from Photoksar, along the Across  Zanskar Trek, Ladakh, India

Rusi La with my tent marking the pass (small grey tent in the center), Ladakh, India

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Camping Treks

Trekking Routes  If you've got your own gear then there is not limit to the routes you can explore.  These treks can also be done with basic shelters and dried food as well as none are particularly long.

Tso Moriri (Korzok) to Spiti Valley (Kibber):  This is a nice way to exit Ladakh.  The trek is high but not particularly hard from the Korzok to Kibber direction.  Its much harder from Kibber to Korzok, there is very little water on this side of the pass and the ascent is steep.  The trek passes though a very remote region with no villages at all so you will need to carry everything with you for the entire trek.  As I was also going one way I needed to bring all my stuff with me so I hired donkeys along with an English couple I met.  For detailed information about the trek and route click here.

Rumste to Tso Moriri:  From a purely scenic point of view this is one of the most beautiful treks in Ladakh.  While it is a very high trek (so prior acclimatization is essential) the terrain is relatively gentle and most of the passes are not very steep.  There is ample opportunities along the way to climb relatively easy but very high peaks for even more amazing views.

Leh to the Nubra Valley via the Digar La:  I actually did this trek as a homestay trek going from Sabu to Digar in one day but I don't recommend it.  I started at dawn and reached Digar just as night was falling its better to cross the pass in two days.  This is a nice way to enter the Nubra Valley and Digar is a beautiful unspoiled village.  The trek itself is nice but the whole way up the Digar La it is essentially the same view of the Stok range that you get from Leh.  The other side of the pass down to Digar is the best part of this trek.  The trail descends through a series of beautiful meadows open at one end to the distant white peaks of the Karakorum.  From Digar it is about two hours down a new road (not marked on most maps).  It is best to hitch from there although there is not a lot of traffic so you may have to walk a ways, but the walk along the road is hot, there is not much water at all, and the view doesn't change much because the valley is so wide, so getting a ride is definitely the preferred way to exit.

Suru Valley Panikhar-Parkachik Circuit and Nun Base Camp :  I put this as a camping trek because that is the way I did it but it would also be possible to do as a series of day hikes from the villages in the valley.  This is a tough trek the way I did it since there is no trail for parts of it and the terrain is tough but the views of Nun and Kun are unparallel.  The area around the huge U-shaped bend in the Suru river from Panikhar to Prakachik is among the most scenic areas in Ladakh yet most people breeze through it on there way to and from Zanskar.  To really appreciate the region you need to get off the road and out of the valley climbing some of the surrounding ridges.  I started in Panikhar and spent the first night on top of the ridge that goes down the center of the U-bend in the Suru river.  The same ridge which the Parkachik La passes over.  It only takes 2-3 hours to climb to the pass from Panikhar but it is worth staying up top for the view but there is no water source.   Hike down to the end of the ridge towards the bend in the Suru for a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains including Nun and Kun as well as the Suru Valley.  Its about an hour or less decent to Parkachik.  From Parkachik its possible to follow some of the herders' trails up the ridge on the opposite (south) side of the valley.  You will eventually reach a few herder's campsites one with a small spring (fill up your water here) on the Suru Valley side of the ridge.  Continue past these herders areas traversing along the Suru Valley side of the ridge until you reach a steep grassy slope.   Head up the slope to reach the top of the ridge its a very tough climb especially if you are carrying a big pack.  At the top of ridge you are rewarded with a brilliant view of Nun with the Parkachik glacier stretching beneath you up to the ice falls flowing from the north face of Nun.  You can camp in the grassy area at the top of this ridge but again there is no water.  You can descend to the glacier and walk up the valley to get a closer look at Nun and the ice falls.  The train is tough and requires walking on the debris covered edge of the glacier.  There are crevasses as well.  Unless you are equipped for ice and rock climbing you will have to return back the same way to the grassy ridge.  It is a steep hike down the Suru valley side of the ridge to traverse around some cliffs and continue along to the valley that contains the traditional base camp for Nun.  Continuing to traverse towards Tongol you run it to a gorge and uncrossable cascading river.  Hike up the very steep grassy slope to the meadow at the mouth of the valley that leads to the base camp.  This meadow is a great place to camp with a good spring and nice soft grassy campsites or you can continue up the valley about 2 hours to the base camp over difficult rocky terrain for better views but harder rocky ground.  There is not much of a tail to the base camp and its easy to lose at times, but just head up the valley at the end you will have to climb steep glacial moraine on the east side of the valley  From the base camp you can hike further up to the left (east) to a higher camp but then progress is stopped by either venturing out on to a crevassed glacier or climbing a 50 m cliff.  But there are great view from there over the icefall to Nun and down at the valley and glacier below. To get back to the main trail leading down to Tongol you will have to ford the river to the west bank of the valley.  If you are camping at base camp do it near where it comes out of the glacier, if camping in the meadow then cross at a point where it divides into two channels or look for the widest and shallowest crossing at the time.  Its about an hour down to Tongol and the road from the small pass at the entry to the upper valley on a fairly good trail.

View from above the Parang La on the trek to Spiti Valley.

Kiang (wild ass) along the Rumtse to Tso Moriri Trek, Ladakh, India.

Nun from Parkachik Glacier, Ladakh, India.

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Trekking Peaks

Peaks  There are many high (6000 m +) easy to climb peaks throughout Ladakh, especially in the Rupshu.  The ones listed below are just the ones that I've climbed.  Ladakh is definitely the easiest cheapest place in the world to climb above 6000 m, climbing a 6000 m trekking peak in Nepal will set you back at least $300.

Stok Kangri:  This is the most climbed 6000 m peak in Ladakh at 6153 m (20,180 ft).  The view from the top, weather permitting of course, is spectacular.  While all the trekking agencies do this as a four day trek if you are already acclimatized it can be done easily in 2 days one night from Leh.  I would highly recommend doing an acclimatization trek before then doing Stok Kangri.  It is best to do a trek where you will sleep very high, close to or above 5000 m.  The Markha Valley is  good trek for this as you can stay at Nimaling which is 4800 m (and you don't even need your own tent) even better would be to stay for two nights there and do a high day hike during the day.  Another good hike would be the Rumtse to Tso Morrri but make sure you've spent some time in Ladakh, at least 4 days, before doing that one due to the high altitude from the start .

Chhamser Kangri:  At 6622 m (21,725 ft) Chhamser Kangri is the third highest peak in Ladakh (excluding Zanskar and the Karakorum) and a remarkably easy climb.  The only issue is the altitude so one must be well acclimatized before attempting it preferably having already climbed one or two 6000 m peaks in the previous weeks.  The base camp is at nearly 6000 m so you must have slept at or above 5000 m at least a few times before with no altitude issues. For detailed information about the climb click here.

Peak 6098 m Northwest Tso Moriri:  This peak is marked at 6098 m (20,000 ft) on the Leomann Indian Himalaya Map sheet 9.  It can be done in a long day hike from Korzok.  Follow the ridge North of Korzok until you get to the top.  There is a steep section where the ridge extends from some rolling hills where I found it easier to traverse to the back side (away from the lake and climb back up to the ridge from behind, but other than that it is a straight ridge walk.  The ridge is covered in semi-loose large rocks so it is not real easy hiking.  The views from the ridge along the way up compensate for the hard walking and the view from the top must  be one of the best views of Tso Moriri there is.  It is possible to descend down the backside loose scree from the peak and follow the stream back to Korzok if you do not want to re-walk the ridge.

Peak 5999 m South of Tso Kar:  This peak is marked at 5999 m on the Leomann Indian Himalaya Map sheet 9.  I climbed it en route between Nurchan and Rajung Karu along the Rumtse to Tso Moriri Trek.  After descending the Horlam La (Rang La) take the side valley to the right (southwest) to reach the base.  Climb up along the stream that decends from the summit and eventually traverse over to the left (southern) side of the mountain and climb the steep loose scree.  Its tough going, pretty much like climbing a 6000 m sand dune.  At the summit the views including back at Tso Kar are well worth the effort to get there.  It took about 3 hours from the trail to the summit and it took about 2 hours from the summit back down the same way to Rajung Karu.  Another possibility would be to follow the ridge to the peak 6000 m and descend down that valley to Rajung Karu ariving from the valley due south.

~6000 m peak opposite Kang Yaze:  This unnamed peak appears to be at or close to 6000 m based on the contour maps I've seen of the region.  Climb the ridge to the south of Nimaling and opposite Kang Yatze, initially the ridge is very broad as you get higher it narrows.  You may have to climb down and around some steep snow/ice fields to reach the peak.  The last bit to the peak is a steep climb up boulder sized scree to the summit.

Stok Kangri (6153 m, 20,180 ft)

Chhamser Kangri (6622 m, 21,725 ft)

Peak northwest of Tso Moriri (6098 m, 20,000 ft)

Peak south of Tso Kar (5999 m, 19,677 ft)

Peak near Kang Yaze (~6000 m, ~19,680 ft)