Trekking in the Land of Nomads - Caravan 6,000
Just a short preview of what to expect in my LADAKH photo gallery (Flash slide presentation). Also, you can browse it on Flickr too: LADAKH
The pictures here document a 33-day trekking/climbing exploration of the northern part of India in Ladakh, a.k.a. ‘Little Tibet’. During a few days of acclimatizing to altitude in Leh we visited local monasteries and Dalai Lama’s public meditations in Choklamsar. Our trek through Kharnak, Korzok and Rupshu started in Shang Sumdo. Initially, we followed the popular ‘Markha Valley‘ route, over Gongmaru La pass to a high pasture plateau in Nyimaling. There, our caravan departed from the regular trekking route and traversed over Kongka Ngonpo La pass into Langthang Chu river valley, which connects Stok Range with Kharnak.
After a couple of days of valley trekking among unbelievable rock formations of Zangskar Mountains we reached Dat, the main winter village of local nomads. Once we crossed over Yar La and Spangmur La passes, the mountains opened up and we met many Changpas, nomads of Tibetan origins, with herds of yaks and sheep in their summer grazing camps. One short jeep ride away we re-grouped in Pang and started the second leg of our trip. After a few more days of walking among Korzok mountains, Jamie, Nicola and I said farewell to the rest of the group and climbed five 6,000m (and higher) peaks between us, including the highest peak in the Rupshu: Lungser Kangri (6,666m high) just on the other side of Tso Moriri Lake. With our mission completed, we jumped on a jeep and two long days ride later via the Leh-Manali Highway, one of the most visually stunning highways in the world (and one of the highest too), albeit rugged and adventurous, we reached the end of the trip in Manali.
