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Shang - La Trek (12 Days)

Season : June to September Grade: TM 3

DELHI-LEH-STOK-MANKYURMO-GYANGPOCHE-SHANGLA-SHANG-PHGU-MARTSELANG-STOK-LEH-DELHI

Day 01:Abroad / Delhi
Arrive late night at New Delhi International airport. On arrival the guest will be met by our representative and transferred to hotel. Upon arrival at hotel the guests will be provided with the traditional Indian welcome. Indian welcome consisting of aarti-tikka and garlands with non-alcoholic welcome drink.
Overnight at hotel

Day 02:DELHI
This morning you will be taken to visit Old Delhi - Former centre of Moghul Power, Old Delhi offers ancient monuments, narrow streets and bustling bazaars. Visit the vast Red Fort, built in 1648, the Jama Masjid, the greatest mosque in India and completed in 1658 by Shah Jahan who also built the Taj Mahal, and the Raj Ghat, the simple memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. Afternoon sightseeing tour of New Delhi. New Delhi - drive past the stately government buildings of the British Era designed by Lutyens, including the India Gate & the Presidential Palace. Continue onto the beautiful Humayuns tomb of the Mughal era & predecessor of the world famous Taj Mahal. End the tour at the towering minaret of Qutab Minar. Overnight at hotel.

Day 03 Delhi - Leh (3500 mtrs )
Transfer to the airport for flight to Leh ( 0620/0735 hrs.)
The flight from Delhi to Leh is one of the few spectacular air journeys to come across. The highlight of the flight is that it takes you over the Himalayan ranges. For well over half an hour down below us is a carpet of mountains ranging from 5000 mtrs to 7000 mtrs in altitude. Within couple of hours we are transported to endless stretch of high altitude desert with green cultivated pockets next to river Indus and its tributaries.
Upon arrival in Leh - the guest will be met & transferred to the hotel.
Leh is the administrative capital of Ladakh which is an autonomous region of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Strategically this region is very important as it is bordered by Pakistan, Sinkiang province of China and Chinese occupied Tibet.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 04 Leh
At one time Leh was an important stopping point on the Asian "Silk route" and a commerical capital of Ladakh. Ladakh as a region is referred as "little Tibet" due to its similar Landscape and clear Tibetan influence in Ladakhi customs and religion. Buddhism is the mainstay of Ladkhi lifestyle and Ladakh is said to be one of the few places where one can witness Tibetan buddhism still being practiced. We visit two Monasteries and one palaces in the vicinity of Leh town. Spituk Gompa (monastery) is approximately 10 kms. from Leh bazaar and is the most important of the gelugpa monasteries in Ladakh. Also visit Phyang Monastery belonging to Kagyu-pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Across the river Indus is stok village which houses the royal palace which is presently occupied by erstwhile queen of Ladakh.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 05 Leh
Visit Shey Palace and monastery, Thiksey Gompa and Hemis Monastery which is regarding as most important of Drukpa - Kagyupa Monastery in Ladakh. Overnight at hotel.

Day 06 Leh - Stok - Mankyurmo (4240 mtrs.) - 1 hour drive and 5 to 6 hours trek
Drive to the roadhead at stok and start the trek. The trail goes through the village and, keeping to the true left bank of the Stok Nala, climbs gradually for an hour past fields of barley, enclosed gardens and a few apricot orchards, to the head of the alluvial plain where it enters the gorge of the stream. The trail is well worn, used for the summer movement of cattle and sheep to the higher pastures and by donkey and dzo columns carrying food and other supplies between the camps and the village. About 3 hours into the day's walk where a spur forces the river to take a sharp turn, pass the jagged ruins of the staklang Khar fort, supposedly dating back to the 13th or 14th century, which dominates the upper part of the gorge. At its base is a thick grove of willow which serves as a plesant spot for lunch. From here the trail climbs steeply for a short distance to a saddle called Ton Ton, with its ritual cairn of rocks, decked with prayer flags and topped with the skulls and horns of Bharal (blue sheep), common in this area. From here it drops down to the stony bed of the river and continues upstream, past the summer camp or Doksa of Chortenthang to camp below another doksa called Mankyurmo. Overnight at camp.

Day 07 Mankyurmo - Gyangpoche (4080 mtrs.) - Overs Matho La 4 to 5 hours trek
Leaving Mankyurmo, the trail crosses a stream to the Doksa of Jurles, the stone huts piled high with drying Caragana, Linicera and Acantholimon bushes, used for fuel. In mid summer even the driest parts of this area have tiny flowers and flowering bushes and in the meadows where water is close to the surface, bright patterns of yellow, pink and blue can be seen. The climb up to Matho La (4878 mtrs.) is extremely strenuous and at the top, travellers are often greeted by the high wild cry of the snowcock, a giant partridge common in these parts but difficult to see. The initial descent to the plain of the upper Matho valley is steep. At the end the trail cross a couple of streams and camp is set near Gyangpoche Doksa. The pasturage of the Upper Matho is a huge area bisected by streams, dotted with doksa, many hidden amongst the dips and rises of the ice-clad bastion formed by Matho Kangri and its consorts.

The plain is full of life; white tailed hares abound and whole colonies of Himalayan marmots can be seen running outside their burrows.The lucky may catch a glimpse of a wolf or the track of a snow leopard imprinted in wet ground, providing evidence of the presence of this most elusive of cats.
Overnight at camp.

Day 08 Gyangpoche - Base of Shang La (4300 mtrs.) - 6 hours

The first part of the day's walk goes eastwards across the plain, to the edge of the pastures. In this area a large number of streams, rising in the snowfields of the stok Matho range, have gorged deep valleys as they flow north and converge to form the Matho river. The trail descends to the bottom of one such valley and it takes over two hours to reach the stream. The trail then winds up the opposite hill, a long torturous climb of 2 to 3 hours to the top through dry terrain with very little vegetation in this maroon-hued wilderness of shale, rock and sand. Camp is set on the bank of another stream which eventually meets the main Matho Nala and the descent is fairly steep, though not long.
Overnight in Camp.

Day 09 Shang La Base / Shang Phgu (4174 mtrs.) ( 7 - 8 hours)
Crossing the stream, the trail climbs up the opposite hill past a number of small doksas. Three to four hours of steady walking through relatively barren country leads to Shang La (4945 mtrs.) which links the matho valley with the Shang valley. From here the view to the south is spectacular. A gradual descent leads to a small stream and the trail from the head of the valley down its right bank, through dense scrub vegetation, is one of the loveliest parts of this trek. The spring-fed stream forms clear deep pools along its course and flows into the main Shang stream, a valley away to the right. Camp is set either on the tongue of land formed at the confluenece, or, after crossing the small stream, on its true left bank. Overnight at camp.

Day 10 Near Shang Phu / Martselang / Stok (3400 mtrs.) - 6 to 7 hours
The trail goes through the lovely small village of Shang some two hours after leaving camp. Perched high above to the left of the trail is the old gompa dominating this valley with its stone fences and complex braided irrigation system. The new monastery of Shang where most of the monks live is an hour and a half away and with its extensive grove of poplars is an ideal lunch spot. From here the trail continues to the confluence of the Shang and the larger Martselang Nala, where there is a one-house settlement called Sumdo. This simply means "confluence" and is therefore a very common name for villages; individual identity is extablished by some distinguishing prefix such as Shang-sumdo. From Sumdo the trail follows the Martselang Nala, crossing back and forth from one bank to the other and fording it numerous times, until it opens onto the wide valley of the Indus. Transport will be waiting here for the one-hour drive back to stok. Overnight at Camp.

Day 11 Stok / Leh / Delhi
Drive to Leh to connect for flight to Delhi (1120/1225 hrs.).Upon arrival met and transferred to hotel.Later transfer to the international airport for flight back home.

Day 12 Delhi / Abroad
Depart Delhi.