Spiti & Ladakh trekking holidays
| country: | India |
| location: | Ladakh |
| trip type: | Moderate walking |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you between mid Jul and Sep and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From £955 (14 days) excluding flights. A discount will be offered to groups of 4 or more. Transport to and from Delhi can be organized if needed. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Trek from the beautiful Spiti valley in Himachal over high passes to the picturesque lake of Tso Moriri in Ladakh. It is one of the most beautiful trails in the Western Himalayas going over Parang La with its grand view.
We are not just run-of-the-mill tour operators who farm out the actual work to local contractors. We are based out of a small town in the Himalayas and do the end-to-end logistics of every single trip ourselves. We also don't believe in running just the popular trails but work at introducing a couple of new trails every year to enable our customers to discover farther reaches of the Himalayas. Our knowledge of the Indian Himalayas comes from living, working and experiencing the mountains first-hand, not from running once-a-year trips.
This route is now a favourite option for those who want the best of both Spiti and Ladakh. Starting at Kibber, you enter the Changthang after crossing Parang La (5600m). You will come across the nomadic Chanpgas who rear yaks and sheep and live in yak hair tents called rebos. It is also a great route to take in high altitude wildlife such as kyangs (Tibetan Wild Asses), shankus (Tibetan Wolves) and as you enter the wetlands at Tsomoriri, the highly endangered Black-Necked Cranes.
We are not just run-of-the-mill tour operators who farm out the actual work to local contractors. We are based out of a small town in the Himalayas and do the end-to-end logistics of every single trip ourselves. We also don't believe in running just the popular trails but work at introducing a couple of new trails every year to enable our customers to discover farther reaches of the Himalayas. Our knowledge of the Indian Himalayas comes from living, working and experiencing the mountains first-hand, not from running once-a-year trips.
This route is now a favourite option for those who want the best of both Spiti and Ladakh. Starting at Kibber, you enter the Changthang after crossing Parang La (5600m). You will come across the nomadic Chanpgas who rear yaks and sheep and live in yak hair tents called rebos. It is also a great route to take in high altitude wildlife such as kyangs (Tibetan Wild Asses), shankus (Tibetan Wolves) and as you enter the wetlands at Tsomoriri, the highly endangered Black-Necked Cranes.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | The participants arrive in Manali. |
| Day 2: | Manali - Kaza (3900m). Duration: 8 hours. The drive to Kaza takes one past Rohtang pass (3970m) and Kunzum La (4551m). From Rohtang, the road descends in to the Lahaul valley to Gramphu, from where the road forks towards Kunzum and Kaza. Till Batal, the road continues through the rugged Chandra river valley. On the way, are great panoramic views of the Bara Shigri glacier, one of the biggest in the Himalayas. |
| Day 3: | Acclimatize around Kaza. Soak in a bit of Spitian culture with a visit to the ancient monasteries in Dhankar and Tabo. Towards evening, drive up to Kibber, the highest motorable village in the world and the ancient monastery at Ki. Camp for the night in Kibber. |
| Day 4: | Kibber - Dhumle (4260m). Duration: 2 hours. On the first day of the trek, the trails descends through a gorge and arrives at the last village of the trek, Dhumle. You can see Parang La from here at a distance of about 500m. |
| Day 5: | Dhumle - Thaltak (4560m). Duration: 5 hours. The trail now turns into a steep climb to take you to the next camp on a meadow at Thaltak. |
| Day 6: | Thaltak - Base of Parang La (5000m). Duration: 6 hours. The trail takes you down a steep path down to the Parilungbi gorge before ascending to the campsite. The majestic Parilungbi peak stands to the South of Parang La. Look out for one of the rare sightings of bharal, marmot etc. |
| Day 7: | Base - Karsha Gonma (4930m) via Parang La. Duration: 7 hours. The Parang La at 5600m is one of the highest passes in Western Himalayas and offers some grand views. Descend from the pass to Karsha Gonma which is at the head of the Para Chu valley. |
| Day 8: | Karsha Gonma - Umna (4680m). Duration: 5 hours. It's a relaxed walk after the strenuous pass. The only challenge is a stream crossing before reaching the campsite. |
| Day 9: | Umna - Rachu Lamo (4470m). Duration: 5 hours. It's an easy walk, the trail keeping next to the Para chu river most of the way. |
| Day 10: | Rachu Lamo - Chhumik Shirde (4300m). Duration: 5 hours. The trail continues next to the Para Chu river. But the campsite is set on the far bank and the day's challenge is to cross the river. |
| Day 11: | Chhumik Shirde - Kyangdom(4350m). Duration: 5 hours. The trek continues on the flat ground of the Changthang plateau with some spectacular views along the way. |
| Day 12: | Kyangdom - Tso Moriri (4450m). Duration: 5 hours. Walking through the Para Chu valley, the valley suddenly opens up and the landscape turns greener as you approach the lake. The valley is famous for the wild life mainly comprising of Kyang (wild ass). Camp midway on the lake's banks on the way to Karzok. |
| Day 13: | Tso Moriri - Karzok (4267m). Duration: 8 hours. Walk along the lake right up to the Karzok village. The day might seem never-ending, because though Karzok looks near enough, it takes 8 hours to finally reach the campsite. But the walk is worth it with all the flora and fauna that one gets to see. |
| Day 14: | Karzok - Leh. Duration: 8 hours. A vehicle will pick you up from Korzok and drop you to the guesthouse in Leh. |
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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Spiti and Ladakh are the lands of thriving mystic Tibetan Buddhism. Monasteries, centuries-old villages and remote areas that are not accessible for most of the year have ensured that the culture has stayed intact with little outside influence.
On our trek, we take utmost care not to tilt the delicate balance between visiting and influencing the local set-up. Our guides are trained to introduce you to the local culture and lifestyle. By employing local staff – guides, cooks, camping assistants, horsemen – we ensure that we contribute to the local economy directly. The guesthouses that we use in both Kaza and Leh are owned and run by locals. Keeping in mind the extreme water and power shortage, we especially promote those that use solar lighting and water heating, CFL lighting, rain water harvesting etc. In addition, the guesthouses give a complete Spitian and Ladakhi lifestyle experience. We take extra care in how and where we set up our campsites. We follow Leave No Traces principle and ensure that the campsite is clean when we depart. We not only take extra packhorses for our own garbage but also for garbage left behind by other groups. While canned goods are bought in Manali, Spiti is famous for its potatoes and peas both of which are bought at the roadhead just before the trek. Since water in the high plateau is scarce, we advise our clients on economic use of water and preferably no use of toilet paper. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |