Ladakh Zanskar Valley Trek

Padum · India

Extreme16 daysAsia~£900 est.

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Overview

Zanskar is the Indian Himalaya with the volume turned down: a high-desert kingdom of barley fields and cliff-hung monasteries, cut off by snow for more than half the year. The classic traverse walks out of the valley from Padum towards Lamayuru and Leh, roughly 170 kilometres through gorges of folded purple and ochre rock, over a ladder of passes that culminates in the Singi La at around 5,050 metres. Karsha Gompa's whitewashed tiers above Padum and the improbable monastery villages of Lingshed and Photoksar punctuate the days; nights alternate village homestays with meadow camps, and the silence in between is total. Go from July to September, when the passes are clear while Zanskar's rain-shadow position keeps the monsoon at bay, and acclimatise in Leh first - the altitude and the long 800-to-1,000-metre pass days are what make this trek hard rather than technical ground. Be aware that new roads are eating the old trail stage by stage, so routings adjust every year; a local guide and horseman team keeps you on the walking line and safe at river crossings. Sixteen days from Leh with guide, ponies and homestays runs about £900.