Anchor a WalK to RemembeR

The Markha Valley in central Ladakh is a remote high altitude desert region snugly tucked between the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges. This is one of the most diverse and picturesque treks, taking one through the Hemis National Park, remote Buddhist villages, high altitude passes and a lake—the perfect way to acquaint with the mystical kingdom of Ladakh. Words Himmat Rana Photography Himmat Rana & Kamal Rana

Snow-capped mountains in the backdrop, star-studded sky above and a river flowing right outside the camp— everything came together perfectly at this night halt site near Hanker Village 56 august 2018

DIC0818-Anchor-Markha.indd 56-57 03/08/18 3:12 pm his is a story from my bag of adventures, in order to stretch the trek to over a week, decided to tweak about two boys, or to be more precise the trekking route a little. While the conventional trekking two men, stubbornly refusing to grow up, routes start from either Chilling (three-four day trek) or trekking by themselves through the Markha Zingchen (five-six day trek) and end at Shang, ours was going Valley in Ladakh, for eight days and seven to commence from Leh city itself and boasted of an additional nights. Not sure if you choose to make a plan pass in Stok La (4,850 metres/15,910 feet), stretching the orT the plan chooses you, but whichever way it works, it worked duration of the trek to seven to eight days. With a heavy perfectly for me and Kamal as we embarked on an impromptu Ladakhi breakfast in our bellies, we commenced our little trip to Ladakh—the land of high passes, to figure out what the adventure from Leh city. hype was all about. The bus ride from Delhi to Leh (via Manali) was an DAY 1 Leh – Stok adventure in itself. Three days, three buses, two stopovers and Walking along the road with shops on either side, the sun a bus breakdown later we finally reached Leh city, bang at the burning down, 20 kg strapped apiece, and watching cars zoom stroke of midnight. Certainly not the most comfortable ride by, wasn’t quite the start we were hoping for, but it certainly but the stunning landscape on display was worth the slightly made for a fun story in retrospect. We were fresh and the initial sore backside. excitement coupled with a brief stopover at the Royal Palace We bought ourselves a trekking map of Ladakh and met Museum at Stok, prepped us to carry on for much longer than up with some local friends over coffee, discussing how best to we otherwise could have. explore the place. Staring at the map I was like a kid in a candy By later in the afternoon we had crossed the Stok village store, wanting it all, as I pointed to the longest trek in sight. and entered the countryside, where we were welcomed by It was a 30-day trek across the Zanskar Valley, from Padum to the Stok Chu river. With lights fading and a river by our side Tso Moriri, passing through numerous remote villages, high we decided to put the curtains down for the day, setting camp altitude passes, nomadic settlements, wildlife reserves, lakes, on the porch of a dilapidated house. Tents pitched, the stove monasteries and along multiple rivers. Everyone at the table came out and dinner was prepared. The body had taken a looked at one another, in a look that said, he’s lost it, but were good beating under the sun, learning first hand why it’s called courteous enough to put it across extremely politely. I was India’s most isolated region, and it was now time for some well- schooled that since it was our first trek in Ladakh, that too deserved rest. without a guide, we must start with a short acclimatisation trek and then, graduate on to a longer one. And so I reluctantly DAY 2 Stok – Stok La base camp agreed to pull the curtains on this one, as we zeroed down on Started early with a cup of coffee and some rather forgettable the five to six day-long Markha Valley trek. Five days down masala oats. We underestimated the distance shown on the from 30, well I wasn’t going to give in without a fight and so map and like the hare in the classic, decided to stop over for

Day 1 Every village along this trail welcomes you with lush green barley and mustard fields, bordered by willow groves—a sight for sore eyes in an Day 2 Leaving the Stok Chu otherwise monochrome landscape river behind, we started to gain elevation heading up to 58 AUGUST 2018 AUGUST 2018 Stok 29 La pass

DIC0818-Anchor-Markha.indd 58-59 02/08/18 6:05 pm Day 3 Drenched and tired, we decided to pitch our tent a few hours before the Stok La base camp and crashed right after

Day 4 A scarecrow at work in a barley field along the Markha River. The winters in Ladakh are extreme and long, restricting the growing season to four-five months

a quick nap, snack and a bath along the river, only to realise plucked out our ponchos. It, however, continued to pour all falling and screaming, we had soon crossed the river at least downpour, as we began to question, what we had done wrong much later in the afternoon that we still had a long way to cover through the day. So there we were, adamant not to slacken 13-14 times, beginning to realise that we in all possibility had to attract the wrath of the gods. And so I did what any Indian before we reach a respectable altitude to pitch. Sleeping at based on our learnings from the previous day while our boots lost our way. We hadn’t seen a soul, a foot mark or pony poop in in such a situation would do, I started to pray. What happened such high altitudes isn’t very comfortable to say the least, and got wet and heavy, making a squishy-squashy sound with every over five hours now. Here we were in the middle of nowhere, next still amazes me to this day. Not only did it stop raining, the steep ascent to Stok La (4,850 metres/15,910 feet) had just step. The temperatures plummeted, the winds started a story of rocks still trickling down mountains as we timed our march we were blessed with not just one but two rainbows. It was commenced. So we pressed the pedal to the metal, deciding their own as we marched on with drenched feet and muddied to avoid falling debris and forced to cross a menacingly strong the brightest and closest we had ever seen a rainbow. With the against anymore stop overs and stubbornly marched on to the shoes. Shivering, drenched and tired, we finally made it to the river over and over again, with the light fading out on us. We sudden turnaround in weather as a clear message, we picked up fading light. Soon the stars started to climb up on us as we other side of Ganda La (4,900 metres/16,070 feet), the second weren’t worried the least, to be honest, as we had rations to last speed and cruised forward. And like a cherry on the cake, we crossed over Stok La (pass) in pitch dark, with our headlights pass of the trek and quietly burrowed into our sleeping bags. us another week, if need be. But thankfully, after closely re- found the most extraordinary camping site, just as it was getting showing us the way. The descent from Stok La was a much examining the map we somehow managed to get back on track, time to pitch. It was a setting made in heaven. Green grass on needed reprieve as we used gravity to the fullest, to accelerate DAY 4 Shingo – Skyu heading to Skyu village, our next stopover point. an otherwise barren landscape, a river flowing nearby, wind- us downhill. Half-an-hour into the descent, I felt a little uneasy Woke up to the sounds of pitter-patter the next morning; Once we reached Skyu, which apparently sounds a lot carved sand mountains running on either sides and a snow-clad and so we decided to set up camp right there, around an hour the rain hadn’t stopped since the previous day. We had a late funnier at 4,000 metres than right now, all drenched and tired peak in the backdrop shining bright under a star-studded night before the recommended Stok La base camp. It was pitch dark breakfast, expectantly waiting for the rain to die down and from the river crossings, we decided to retire to a nice little sky. Some poha, Maggi and crazy night shots later, we called it a and we were too tired to cook, so we just had a light snack and sprung out from our tents at the first sight of clear weather. homestay instead of setting camp. The facilities at `1,000 per day, retiring to our comfortable little tents. fainted off to sleep. However, the nearly 24 hours of rain had already done the person were obviously very basic but to our tired and wet souls, damage, wreaking havoc on the barren, mud and stone terrain, felt super luxurious. We elaborately put all our wet clothing to DAY 6 Markha – Hanker DAY 3 Stok La base camp – Ganda La – Shingo triggering numerous landslides and washing away not just the dry and devoured the tea and biscuits served, as soon as the The trail on this day wasn’t very taxing either, as we romped We had more than learnt our lesson the previous day and foot marks but complete trails. Forced, we had to invent new lady left the room. home easy, with plenty of time to spare. It was a pleasant day weren’t going to laze around underestimating the route any trails and when out of options, cross the post rain-emboldened and the trail nearly flat, as if God’s way of trying to compensate. more. But there was another twist in the story, as rain started river, with currents so strong that they were carrying rocks along DAY 5 Skyu – Markha Looking for a suitable site to halt, we found one better than the to pour down on us, merely a few hours into our march. Well, with them. Crossing an overflowing river is a sure-shot recipe for Merely half an hour into our march the next day, rain struck previous day’s. We were in a fairy tale with dream-like settings Ladakh is supposed to be a high altitude desert we told disaster, but we had no choice. So we tied each other to the two again, almost like the clouds were chasing us. Our shoes and unfolding one after the other. Post picking the finest campsite ourselves, not expecting the rain to last long, as we reluctantly ends of a rope and started crossing the mean waters. Slipping, our spirits had barely dried from the recent river-crossings and along the Markha river, we quietly sat along its banks awe-

60 AUGUST 2018 AUGUST 2018 61

DIC0818-Anchor-Markha.indd 60-61 02/08/18 6:05 pm WILDLIFE SIGHTING The blue sheep, Himalayan Marmot, Ladakhi Pika, Wooly Hare, Shang are amongst the regular spotting on this trail, followed by the occasional sighting of the red fox, Himalayan wolf and ibex. Though the Hemis National Park is best known for having the highest density of snow leopards amongst any protected area in the world, the sighting of this shy animal is extremely rare, to say the least.

CUSTOMISE YOUR TREK One of the lesser talked about facts about this trek are the staggering levels of customisations that can be incorporated to best suit the needs and abilities of the trekker. You can choose a luxury trek, with your own guide, tent, toilets, cook, ponies, you name it or simply hire a guide and enjoy the famous Ladakhi hospitality through homestays, peppered all along the route for a very nominal charge. You can even modulate the duration and intensity of the trek by selecting the starting point of the trek. Starting from Zingchen would take you over two passes and around six-seven days to complete, while a start from Chilling would help you skip a pass and reduce the duration to just three- four days. It’s this flexibility coupled with its proximity to Leh city which is well connected via flight that makes this unique alpine trek, a must for everyone visiting Ladakh.

Day 5 After putting up with continuous rain for two days, we were blessed with two rainbows at Skyu village

struck, trying to soak up all that we could, with pasta cooking three meals, unlimited black tea and permission to pitch our in the back. tents anywhere we liked. The camping site was overflowing with tourists. We had some interesting conversations followed DAY 7 Hanker – Nimaling by a tasty three-course vegetarian dinner. The last two days of nearly flat trails were followed by the ascent taking over once again, as we headed towards the last DAY 8 Nimaling – Kongmaru La – Shang – Leh pit stop of the trek, Nimaling. We thought we had seen it Being the only two wise men to be carrying their own tent, all by now, but couldn’t be happier to be proven wrong, as sleeping bags and food, we were the last ones to leave, post the gruelling climb brought us to a pristine clear water lake, packing, with the highest pass of not just this trek but our magically placed at the top of the mountain. The whole setting whole lives still ahead of us. It was a steep and winding climb seemed pious and spiritual; unable to resist the urge we went to Kongmaru La (5,260 metres/17,250 feet). Tired, panting in for a dip. From there on the trail started to tread downhill yet ecstatic, we sat down at the top, surrounded by snow and and we spotted a few burrowing animals on the way such as prayer flags, gobbling down our packed lunch while quietly the Himalayan Marmot, Wooly Hare and Pika, before hitting saying our prayers and counting our blessings. We literally the breathtaking meadows of Nimaling. We were all smiles ended the trek on a high as we commenced the descent to witnessing a huge flat meadow equivalent to at least 50 football Shang, the terminating point of this memorable trek, gradually fields, magically crop up in the middle of the mountains, at a catching up and sharing a few laughs with the other trekkers, mindboggling altitude of around 4,700 metres (15,420 feet). along the way. There were a number of nomads camping along the edges of We knew we had left the sacred land, as soon as we sat the meadow with their countless goats and yaks, and some 20- bargaining with the taxi driver, to drive us from Shang to odd tents lined up in the centre. Just as we began to pitch our Leh. It had been eight days away from cell-phone reception, tents, we were called out and informed about the compulsory electricity, roads, toilets or any other material comfort, Day 5 The old lady at the stopover fee. Used the ‘hum bhi pahari hai’ (we are also hill folk) and none were missed. The scenes we had witnessed and homestay we took shelter in, card and got ourselves a bargain. For just `500 a person we got experienced on this trek, go way beyond description. welcomed us with hot tea, biscuits and a warm smile AUGUST 2018 63

DIC0818-Anchor-Markha.indd 62-63 02/08/18 6:06 pm Day 7 Floating clouds casting their shadows on the naked mountains bordering the meadows of Nimaling

NAVIGATOR BEST TIME TO VISIT Mid May to early September; covered in snow during other months DURATION Two-day acclimatisation is a must before this trek. This trek can be customised to meet your schedule, by merely altering the starting point. Chilling to Shang Four days Zingchen to Shang Six days Stok to Shang Seven days GETTING THERE All three starting points (mentioned above) for the trek are approachable by road from Leh City. Leh City is connected both via flight and bus to Delhi. Leh City to Zincheng 23 km (45 min) by car Leh City to Chilling 60 km (1.5 hour) by car Leh City to Stok 14 km (30 min) by car DIFFICULTY LEVEL Medium AVERAGE ALTITUDE 4,000 metres (13,120 feet) MAXIMUM ALTITUDE 5,260 metres (17,250 feet) KEEP IN MIND A) You can hire a guide at approx `1,300 per day while staying and eating at homestays. Works out well if you are a group of four or more. B) You do not have to pay for the guide’s food or accommodation. Do remember though that a guide is not a porter. C) You could go through one of the many trekking companies that take groups of five to 12 people for around `15,000 per person, a fair price and some good company. D) A solo trek is only recommended for seasoned trekkers. E) There are villages or camps every 5-6 hours, which offer both food and stay. For `1,200 per person, you get three meals (dinner, breakfast and packed lunch) and a warm bed for the night. The charges and services are standardised across all homestays.

00 AUGUST 2018 AUGUST 2018 65

DIC0818-Anchor-Markha.indd 64-65 02/08/18 6:06 pm