High Trails of Ladakh: Leh to Shyok Trek

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Day 1: Arrive Leh

Fly from Delhi into Leh (you can book a return ticket through us and you can optionally book extra nights in Delhi before or after the holiday).

Although it takes only one hour, on a clear day the flight to Leh is by no doubt one of the most spectacular flights in Asia. After leaving the North-Indian plains you’ll cross a number of ranges, including the glacier-clad Pir Panjal Range, before flying over the actual Himalayan Range. Leh is situated at 3,500m above sea level. After stepping down from the aircraft you may feel the altitude, but even if you don’t, it is wise to take the rest of the day off. Stay at the hotel or at best walk around the Leh bazaar. Only if you wake up next morning without a headache you may consider yourself fit to go on not too strenuous excursions in the area.

• Accommodation: Deskit Villa Boutique Hotel & Guesthouse (room with private bathroom). Breakfast included.

Days 2 & 3: Leh

The next two days are for acclimatisation and Leh has a lot to offer.

Leh is a bustling little town. It’s small size and laid-back atmosphere belie a very prominent and historically important position. Before the closing of the border between India and China-held Tibet, Leh saw daily caravans going to and coming from Yarkand and Kashgar, Kashmir, Kullu, Baltistan and Lhasa. It was a hub where seven different important caravan routes converged. Yaks, donkeys and camels were parked outside the city waiting for new cargo and in the main bazaar, a multitude of languages could be heard, such as Turkmeni, Balti, Tibetan, Kashmiri and Chinese.

While in Leh, there are numerous things to do. Apart from short walks in and around town, you can browse the little streets and allow yourself to be lured into some of the many little shops, most of them run by Kashmiris and Tibetans, that sell beautiful Tibetan artefacts, carpets and jewellery. Leh abounds in restaurants that cater to all tastes, quite a number of them located on a rooftop or in a pleasant garden.

If you are interested in the work of the many NGO’s that try to make things better, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) and the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh are highly recommended. Both have won international acclaim for the promotion of sustainable development.

On Day 3, we advise taking a short tour in and around Leh. This could include a visit to Shanti Stupa, a large Chorten overseeing Leh and the Indus Valley built by a Japanese monk; visiting small but quaint Sankar Gompa set amidst a maze of small allies with traditional houses; and a walk up to Tsemo Gompa and the old palace, where you get even better views of Leh. Also, it is highly recommended to take a taxi and visit some of the delightful Buddhist monasteries in the Indus Valley to the southeast of Leh. Apart from the traditional trio of Shey, Thikse & Hemis, you may also consider visiting Matho and Stakna, maybe in combination with Stok Palace.

• Accommodation: Deskit Villa Boutique Hotel & Guesthouse (room with private bathroom). Breakfasts included.

Day 4: Trekking Sabu Phu – Sabu Pullu

Today the hike to Shyok begins. First, you will be taken a short distance by car to Sabu Phu (20min drive from Leh, 3,900m). The pack horses and the porters will be waiting for you. From Sabu Phu, you follow a stream up through a valley with lots of moraine material. The environment gradually becomes drier and barer while the views of the Zanskarketen and its glaciated peaks behind you are getting better and better. It is a steady climb, with only short interruptions and small pieces of ‘false flat’, which may not be easy on the first day of the trek. After a 4 hour walk, you reach a campsite at an altitude of 4,400m. In consultation with the guide, you can decide whether you stay the night here or continue to a 300m higher situated campsite.

• Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑800m
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 5: Sabu Pullu Acclimatisation

It might seem a bit strange to rest on the second day of a hike. However, this is sensible in connection with altitude acclimatisation. The next stage goes up (steeply) again and walking today might lead to altitude sickness. That’s why we take it easy today. That does not necessarily mean lying in the tent with a book (all the time). There is nothing against taking one or more short hikes around the camp without climbing too much.

• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 6: Trekking Sabu Pullu via Digar La Pass (5,380m) to Chumik Gongma

The first two hours (a bit less if you slept in the higher camp) you climb over the dams of former glaciers. Then you reach the base of the Diggar La, located at 5,100m altitude. From here the trail goes up in zigzags to the Digger La (5,300m), which is marked with prayer flags. On the top, you get the views you deserve. In the north/northeast you look out on the eastern parts of the Karakoram, with the Saser Kangri, India’s highest mountain (7,672m) being its highest peak. To the southwest, you still have a view of the Zanskar Range, even more, spectacular than yesterday. Two to three hours of descent along the stream will take you to a pleasant camping pitch called Chumik Gongma (4,630m). These are the summer meadows of the lower village Diggar. Typical of this summer pasture are the small shepherds’ houses, surrounded by piled up yak manure that is used as fuel. The shepherds are very hospitable and it may happen that you are invited to a cup of salty butter tea.

• Walking for the day: 6-7h, ↑950m ↓750m
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast & lunch included.

Days 7 & 8: Trekking Chumik Gongma to Digger

In the next two days, you can choose between two routes. Which route is chosen should be decided in consultation with the guide.

Option 1: The easiest way is via the beautiful, original village of Digger (near which you stay overnight on Day 7) and then via a dirt road to Kyema. Digger is at 3,950m, about 3h walk, and then you have time to explore this beautiful village. On Day 8 you descend over the road to Kyema (3-4h walk).

Option 2: If you are looking for a more off-the-beaten-track experience, you can take a more adventurous route. From Chumik Gongma you walk more or less directly over hardly used mountain paths to Kyema. You cross two low mountain ridges and camp is made halfway through.

Whichever route you choose, finally you reach the small village of Kyema (4,000m), situated in a bowl-shaped valley overlooking the Karakoram chain. Not many foreigners come here and that is probably noticeable by the interest of the villagers. You camp just outside the village.

• Walking per day: 5-6/6-7h, ↑1,500/1,000m ↓1,200/1,600m
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 9: Trekking Kyema – Tanggyer

You leave Kyema through the meadows to the east. Soon the path starts to climb to a clearly marked pass, the Kyema La (4,500m). Once at the top, you get fantastic views of the valley on the other side. You descend to the valley, where there is also a small asphalt road and follow it to the confluence of two rivers. Here, the camp is made.

• Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑500m ↓700m
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast and lunch included.

Day 10: Trekking Tanggyer – Jukti

In the morning we walk up through the village. We now see that the yaks and goats are collected to graze on the higher meadows together with a shepherd. We walk further up the slope on the north side of the valley. At about 4,500m we make camp. The rest of the day you can spend relaxing or searching the area for traces of wolves and snow leopards.

• Walking for the day: 3-4h, negligible elevation gain/loss
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast & lunch included.

Day 11: Trekking Jukti via Nebuk La to Rele

Steadily we climb through the valley to the base of the Nebuch La, located at about 5,000m. Take about 3h to get here. After an extended rest (if you like) it is time for the ‘final assault’. About two hours later (for some less, for others more) you are on the Nebuch La (5,400m). The last part is steep and gravelly and probably has a thick layer of snow, which is especially difficult for the pack horses.

From the pass, you look out over the wide valley of Rele and behind it the valley of Tangtse. It is about 3 more hours to the village of Rele (about 4,400m), which consists of scattered houses on either side of the marshy valley. The camp can be made in the valley or on one of the sparse flat pieces on the slope.

• Walking for the day: 8h, ↑900m ↓600m
• Accommodation: tents (spacious trekker tents; kitchen and dining tent, toilet tent). Dinner, breakfast & lunch included.

Day 12: Trekking Rele – Tangtse Chu Bridge / Drive to Shyok

You descend over an unpaved jeep track. In front of you stretches the wide valley of Tangtse. You are now walking the legendary winter route from Leh to Yarkand. Believe it or not, but once heavily packed camels walked this path at temperatures of minus twenty degrees or colder to climb further along the stiff frozen Shyok River to an altitude of 5,540m, where they crossed the equally legendary Karakoram Pass to Yarkand in Turkmenistan (now in ). Until about 10 years ago this path was also the only connection between the village of Shyok and the outside world. From Tangtse Chu Bridge, it is only a short drive to Shyok.

Shyok River Lodge where you will spend the next three nights is a community-based accommodation. The lodge is part of a traditional Ladakhi house and can not be distinguished from the neighbours on the outside. The family lives downstairs under the same conditions as most Ladakhis. Your own residence however is on the first floor, clean, with luxury mattresses and a private bathroom.

• Walking for the day: 3-4h, ↑60m ↓600m
• Car transfer: 20min
• Accommodation: Shyok River Lodge (room with a private bathroom). Lunch, dinner and breakfast included.

Day 13: Shyok

After an extensive breakfast (and sleep as much as you like!) one of our local guides will take you through the fields and to the small village gompa. On the way, the guide will tell you about the Ladakhi way of living. They grow barley and vegetables, which is a particular challenge in this desert-like environment. This is only possible thanks to sophisticated irrigation systems and social organisation.

The gompa houses the Buddha Maitreya (Buddha of the future), Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) and many bodhisattvas. When you arrive at the gompa, the monks, if present, will be happy to provide you with tea and tell you about their way of life. The monks are not always there, but the monastery can always be visited.

• Accommodation: Shyok River Lodge (room with a private bathroom). Lunch, dinner and breakfast included.

Day 14: Excursion to Pangong Tso Lake

If you thought Tsokar was a huge lake, you’ll be surprised today. Pangong Tso, located right on the border with Tibet (China) is the largest high-altitude salt lake on earth (4,400m). It is not only a spectacular lake, but the route to it is beautiful, in itself more than enough reason for the trip. It is only a 2h drive from the lodge and there is plenty of time to stop along the way for photos and the like. You can enjoy a picnic at this beautiful lake. If you are tired of all the travelling you are most welcome to take it easy today, with a book in the garden, and skip the excursion.

• Car transfer: 2+2h
• Accommodation: Shyok River Lodge (room with a private bathroom). Lunch, dinner and breakfast included.

Day 15: Drive Shyok to Leh

Today you return to Leh via the Chang La at 5,360m altitude. Free time in Leh.

• Car transfer: 150km, 5h
• Accommodation: Deskit Villa Boutique Hotel & Guesthouse (room with private bathroom). Breakfast included.

Day 16: Departure

Note that most flights from Ladakh depart in the early morning because of the high altitude. The thin air makes it especially difficult, and later in the day, it becomes even more difficult due to turbulence. You can optionally book flights and extra nights in Delhi through us. The flight takes about 1 hour but is spectacular. First, you’ll fly over the barren but colourful mountains of Ladakh and Zanskar, then the heavily glaciated Himalayan Range, the deeply forested mountains of Himachal Pradesh (Pir Panjal) and lastly the shimmering North Indian plains.

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*Hotels are subject to availability. In case a particular hotel is fully booked for your desired dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal or higher value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation. All accommodations have been carefully selected for their location, atmosphere and/or unique services.

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Delhi is the most convenient international airport. Return flights can be booked independently or we can do this for you.