MARKHA VALLEY TREK AND MOUNTAINEERING

DAYS 1-2. FLIGHT TO INDIA AND ARRIVAL IN DELHI
Flight. Overnight on board. Arrival in Delhi the next day. Reception and transfer to the hotel in Delhi.

Hotel accommodation, Delhi.

DAY 3. DELHI FLIGHT – LEH
Breakfast dinner.

Transfer from hotel to Delhi airport. Flight to Leh first thing in the morning. Arrival in the capital of Ladakh. Reception and transfer to the hotel. Rest of the day free to walk and acclimatize through Leh (3500 m), visit its market and climb up to the hill where the Leh Palace is located.

Hotel accommodation, Leh.

DAY 4. LEH – SHEY MONASTERIES – THIKSAY – SPITUK – PYANG
Breakfast dinner.

In the morning you will visit the Shey monasteries (3,260 m) and the Thiksay monastery (3,320 m), two of the most iconic architectural elements in the city. The first corresponds to a 13th century fortification built by the great Dharma Raja and the second to the most famous monastery in the city, with a structure similar to the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet). We will then return to the hotel. In the afternoon we will visit the Spituk and Phang monasteries, located southwest of Leh along the Indus River. More than 100 monks live in Spituk and it contains a huge statue of Kali.

Hotel accommodation, Leh.

DAY 5. LEH – HEMIS MONASTERY – SHANG SUMDO (3,670 M)
Breakfast dinner.

We will drive 45 km down the Indus River until we reach the Hemis Monastery, the largest in Ladakh and where the famous Hemis Tses Chi festival is held every year between June and July. We will then continue driving up the mountain until we reach Shang Sumdo, where we will camp and which will be the starting point of our trekking.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 6. SHANG SUMDO – CHUSKYURMO (4,080 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

We will leave in a northwesterly direction through the main valley that gradually becomes more rugged. Halfway up we will pass by the place of Chogdo. Night in Chuskyurmo. Walking time: 5 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 7. CHUSKYURMO – LARTSE (4,400 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Today’s stage will be very short, only 2-3 hours of walking, but it is designed to perfect our acclimatization to overcome the five-thousand-meter barrier the next day. The area where Lartse is located constitutes a spectacular canyon with layers of vertical red rocks, a true jewel of Ladakh geology. In the afternoon, time to rest or explore the area with short walks around.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 8. LARTSE – KONGMARU LA (5,260 M) – NIMALING (4,740 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Progressive climb from Lartse to the highest pass of the trekking. From above we can enjoy fantastic views. To the north the mountains of the Nubra valley and the first foothills of the Karakorum, to the south the Zanskar mountain range dominated by the Kangyatse peak (6,400 m). On the other side, a rapid zig-zag descent begins that will take us to the bottom of the Nimaling Chu river valley to our camp, located in a green meadow where in summer flocks of sheep and goats of the shepherds of the Hankar ethnic group graze. Walking time: 5 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 9. NIMALING – MARKHA (3,750M).
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Long day where we will descend very progressively, first the Nimaling river and then the Markha river to the town of the same name. On the way we will pass small towns such as Hankar and Umlung, located on the slopes of Matho Kangri (5,900 m). Green meadows and small Tibetan structures will accompany us all the way to the Markha site. Walking time: 7-8 h

Tent accommodation.

DAY 10. MARKHA – SKIU (3,430 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Markha is the largest village in the valley and has a small fort and a monastery perched on top of a hill. This monastery is considered one of the oldest in Ladakh. Starting from Markha, the valley narrows more and more and forms a spectacular rocky gorge and passing through villages such as Sara or Nakdi, it reaches Skiu, where we will camp for the next day to leave the valley floor and ascend again to the upper part of the mountains. Walking time: 7 h.

Tent accommodation .

DAY 11. SKIU – SHINGO (4,120 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

In Skiu we will be able to visit the monastery and the ruins of a castle, place of accommodation of the old royal families on their way to Srinagar. Half-day walk that will take us to Shingo. Along the way we will locate small Tibetan structures and chortens. Walking time: 4 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 12. SHINGO – GANDA LA (4,960 M) – RUMBAK (3,960 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Today we will cross the second highest hill of the trek. To get there we will take about 3 hours and from its highest point we will see another beautiful panoramic view of all the mountains of Ladakh and Zanskar. We are walking through the Hemis National Park, a protected fauna area where species as special as the lynx, the Ladakh ibex, the Tibet argali, the blue sheep, the red fox, the wild dog, the Himalayan marmora and the star inhabit on everyones list, the snow leopard. Long descent from the pass through the Zingchen river valley to the Yurutse village (4,150 m) and further down to Rumbak, one of the largest villages in this sector. Walking time: 6 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 13. RUMBAK – STOK LA (4,860 M) – MANKARMO (4,480 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

We are going to face a considerable climb to the Stok pass with a drop of almost 1000 meters, where we will test our bodies for future stages at higher altitudes. The path starts from Rumbak to the east, passing through Tsogsti to face the final part of Stok La, a pass that is located south of the summit of Rumbak Kangri (5,210 m) and characterized by its red rocks. Good views of the Indus valley, the mountains of the Stok mountain range and the north of the mountain chain that borders the Nubra valley. Long descent down the opposite slope to Markarmo, where we will camp. Walking time: 5 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 14: MANKARMO – STOK KANGRI BASE CAMP (5,000 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day to go up the Stok Valley until we reach our base camp. From here, at the bottom of the valley we can already see the pyramid at the top of the Stok, our main objective of the trip. Walking time: 3-4 h.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 15: ASCENT TO STOK KANGRI (6150 M)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

We will get up around 4 and 5 in the morning to start our ascent. The height to be gained is almost 1200 m, so it is necessary to get up early to reach the top soon to ensure the best snow conditions. The ascent is technically straightforward. From the camp we will head west to climb a small hill (5,120 m) that gives us access to the wide valley below the summit of the Stok. We will skirt the tongue of the glacier through the moraines until we reach an approximate height of about 5500 meters, where we will cross the glacier at its easiest point. On the other side, we will start the direct ascent on its SE face until it flanks to reach the southern edge at about 5900 meters high. Follow the easy edge until we reach the summit, where we can enjoy an extensive panoramic view that covers all the Ladakh mountains and the southern Karakorum massifs, standing out among all the Sasar Kangri summits (7,672 m). Descent along the same route to base camp. Dinner and overnight. Walking time: 10-11 hours.

Tent accommodation.

DAY 16: BASE CAMP – LEH. (POSSIBLE SECOND ATTEMPT TO STOK KANGRI)
Breakfast dinner.

This day we will take it easy. There will be no need to get up early and the walk on foot will be short and downhill. A 4-hour walk will take us to Stok, where our vehicle will wait for us to return to Leh by road. Night in hotel. Walking time: 4 hours

Note: On this day we can arrange a second attempt to the top of the Stok Kangri if the previous day we have not managed to ascend due to bad weather or fatigue. For this we will have to leave for the summit a little earlier than normal, around 3 in the morning and see the sunrise reaching the ridge. Return before noon to the camp to go down to Stok in the afternoon. From here we will move to Leh.

Hotel accommodation, Leh.

DAY 17: FLIGHT LEH – DELHI
Breakfast.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Delhi. Arrival in Delhi and connection with the flight back home. Arrival the same day or the next day (depending on time) at our airport of origin.