The Responsible Travellers www.theresponsibletravellers.com Ladakh: Hemis Circuit Trek Trip Notes Highlights: ¾ Red Fort, Delhi Grade C 16 days ¾ 2 days Sightseeing in Leh This is graded “C” as it includes: ¾ 10 Days fully catered tented camp trek ¾ Well defined trails ¾ 5 Nights B&B Hotel ¾ Good underfoot conditions ¾ Average daily walking: 5-6 hours ¾ Sustained high altitude – Max 5100m ¾ Camp facilities ¾Rtn flight Delhi - Leh Introduction This complete circuit of the Hemis National Park is a fabulous route which includes not only the famous Markha Valley with pretty Ladakhi villages, but also a traverse across the Stok Range over high passes & herder’s pastures. This last part of the trek going off the beaten trail gives a great finale and is rewarded with the most fabulous views. Arriving in Delhi, we have a tour of the RedFort and the following day fly to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. Here we spend 3 nights and two days acclimatising to the altitude of this high plateau. After exploring the area around Leh, including a jeep safari to the highest motorable point in the world at Khadong La (5602m), and a visit to Thikse Monastery & Shey Palace we start our trek. The Hemis national park is home to the elusive Snow Leopard, and you should see much of the wildlife here whilst on trek, such as Marmot, Blue Sheep, Argali, as well as Golden Eagles, lammergeyers and Vultures. The mountains are a myriad of colours with stunning formations which are fabulous to view and most rewarding to trek through. This is an all round adventure in the beautiful Ladakh region with great mountain views across the Ladakh, Stok and Zanskar Ranges. It is a serious “Must Do” for all walking enthusiasts. Day 1: Arrival in Delhi Arrive in Delhi and transfer to the hotel. The morning can be spent resting, then in the afternoon we have a tour of the great Red Fort. Situated in Old Delhi, the fort was built in the 17th century by Shah Jehan the Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal. Built in red sandstones it therefore has the resemblance to Agra Fort, his original capital. We will retire early this evening in preparation for the early start tomorrow. Accommodation: City Hotel Bed & Breakfast Day 2: Transfer to Leh The flight to Leh is early in the morning, arriving at the destination by approximately 08:00 am. Weather permitting it is a fantastic flight over the Himalaya and the Stok ranges with great views of this mountainous region. At times you are flying what seems to be very close to the mountain tops and can get great views of the glaciers and mountain features. Coming into Leh you descend over the mountain tops into the arid desert landscape of the basin in which the capital of Ladakh is situated. This is quite a spectacular landing. As you descend the aeroplane there is a definite feel of being in a remote outpost with the sparse facilities at the airstrip terminal. You will then be transferred to our hotel, a family run Ladaki home in a quiet part of Leh. Today we concentrate on acclimatising, the day should be spent resting and enjoying the mountain views and maybe a walk to the market in the afternoon. Leh is a small quiet town with traditional Tibetan style buildings. It is very chilled and slow pace with restaurants, shops selling Ladakhi, Tibetan and Kashmiri products. Accommodation: Hotel Bed & Breakfast © The Responsible Travellers Ltd 2008 Day 3: Leh Sightseeing Today we visit two of the great sites in Ladakh. Firstly we will go to Shey Palace, a beautiful monastery sitting majestically on a spur looking out on the plains of the Indus valley. This is the old palace of the Kings of Ladakh before the more recent palace was built in Leh. The main temple contains a large Buddha which is said to be carved by Nepali craftsmen. In the courtyard there is a gold topped stupa, which we will view from above as we walk around the complex. Here we have views not only of the Indus valley, but also of the Stok Range and Spituk Valley. We then visit Tikse Monastery, a large monastery complex on top of a small hill with the village sprawled around below the Main Gompa buildings. Although, it was founded in the 15th century it is extremely well kept and maintained. Day 4: Acclimatisation Day Accommodation: Hotel Bed & Breakfast Today is chance for us to further acclimatise before heading out to the mountains. We will do so with a walk up Namgyal Hill to Leh Palace, then to Tsermo Monastery for a magnificent vista across of the valley and snowcapped mountains. There will also be a chance to visit the World Peace Pagoda on the way down. For further acclimatization there will be a drive up to Khadung La at 5602m, the highest motorable road in the world! Accommodation: Hotel Bed & Breakfast Day 5: Drive to Jingchen, onto Rumbak We drive South out of Leh, past the airport and then after Spithuk Monastery, we drive through the village and cross a bridge over the Singhe Kheabab ( Indus). We now head west across very barren landscape with views of the Phyang valley to the north bank of the river. As we pass the Secmol school Day 6: Ganda La Base Camp located on the other side of the river we enter an amazing Today we head south west and steadily climb through these gorge. The Canyon features caused by water and wind erosion amazing mountains which are ablaze with many shades of reveal a variety of colours. We then leave the Indus and follow colour. We pass the single housed village of Yurutse and a a smaller river to Zingchen. From here we start our trek up the small Mani wall before arriving at lower Gandala base camp. canyon following the zingchen Tokpo. We cross and re-cross the The upper camp is about a hundred meters higher river a few times as we gradually ascent to lower Rumbak. supposedly at 4480m. There is a good chance of sighting There is usually a check post and tented teahouse here. The chukar partridges all through the day and marmots valley widens a bit from here with a broader riverbed which we approaching the higher camp. Down in the valley some of follow until Rumbak proper where we shall camp for the night. the flowers you will see are geranium, iris and aquilegia. On Drive time: 2 hrs Walking Time: 3 ½ hrs approach to the camp we also have a great view of Stock Altitude: 3800m Kangri We shall decide on either the upper or lower camp Accommodation: Fully catered tented camp depending on how the group is feeling. Walking time – 3-4 hrs Approx. altitude – 4380m Accommodation: Fully catered tented camp Day 7: Ganda La Base to Skiu The Pass is close to the camp with a short zigzag climb to begin with. As you head up the hill you will find many excuses to stop and admire the marmots, hares, weasels who inhabit the area. It is fun to watch these curious creatures as you catch your breath. As we climb to our left Stock Kangri dominates the skyline with Ladakh range behind us and the Zanskar range ahead. The pass greets us with a flurry of prayer flags fluttering in the wind. There is a small hill to climb at the pass up to a chorten which provides even more splendid views. After some time enjoying the rewards of our climb, we descend into the Shingo valley. From the pass you see a small green oasis, where there is usually a tented teashop. It takes approx 1.5 hours to descend to this point in Shingo Village. After tea, we head on down the valley which from this point tapers down to a narrow gorge. The landscape is stunning with rocks varying in colours from turquoise to brown to purple. The path is lined with dog rose and willow trees as we descend further to Skiu Village which greets us with rows of chortens and a small monastery. From here we take the left valley heading up the Markha River. A short walk along this rich green valley with tall red jagged peaks takes us to our campsite. Walking time – 5½ hrs, Approx. altitude – 3500m Accommodation: Fully catered tented camp © The Responsible Travellers Ltd 2008 Day 8: Skiu to Markha Today is a long day, in fact the longest of the trek. However the gradient is not demanding as we will be walking along the valley. The trail crosses the river several times, although there are bridges in some places there will be some river crossings to be negotiated. The valley floor along the river is lushly vegetated with willow, dog rose and various other thorny bushes whilst the slopes are bare and dry carved into all sorts of shapes revealing different shades of color. After the final river crossing we walk alongside a bogy meadow and arrive at the Village of Markha. We camp just before the main village. There will be time in the afternoon to visit the monastery and village that is tucked behind the ruins of the mediaeval fort that sits on a small hill. Walking time – 8hrs Approx. altitude – 3700m Accommodation: Camp Day 9: Markha to Thuchungche We leave camp and climb up a short hill to the main village and monastery. From this vantage point, we have superb views looking both up the valley and back down over the path that we have already trodden where the Zansker range is still in sight.