The Markha Valley Trek
India, Trek & Walk, 14 days - from $1,795 (land only)
Holiday Itinerary
Day 1: Rendezvous at the group hotel. Complimentary airport transfers are provided. KE Land Only package services begin with lunch after which there is an optional sightseeing tour of the city.
Day 2: Transfer to the domestic airport. We take the 1-hour flight northwards, across the Himalaya to Leh, where we transfer to the group hotel. Afternoon free.
Day 3: A full day's sightseeing tour. We visit some of the area's most important monasteries at Shey and Thikse, for example.
Day 4: Today, we drive up to the Khardung La (5380m / 17,650ft), one of the world's highest road passes. Great views of the Karakoram peaks, then return to the hotel in Leh.
Day 5: It is just a short drive via Spituk Monastery and the start of our trek at Lato. We have an easy first day via the Jingchan Gorge to our camp at Rumbak (3800m / 12,467ft).
Day 6: Another short day of trekking as we pass through the village of Yurutse to a camp at the foot of the Ganda La (4380m / 14,370ft).
Day 7: Today, we make the steep hike up to the Ganda La (4900m / 16,076ft) and a long descent to the village of Skiu in the Markha Valley.
Day 8: A long day of trekking beside the Markha River leads through several isolated hamlets to Markha Village (3800m / 12,476ft).
Day 9: Still following the river and crossing it on a couple of occasions, we trek to the highest village in the valley at Hangkar.
Day 10: We leave the last of the settlement behind today and trek up onto the Nimaling Plain, to a camp (4600m / 15,100ft) beneath the peak of Kang Yatze.
Day 11: Trekking on a zig-zag trail, we cross the Kongmaru La (5100m / 16,732ft) and descend through a rocky gorge to Chogdo.
Day 12: Descending the steep, rocky valley to Hemis, there is time to explore this important monastery before driving back to the hotel in Leh.
Day 13: A morning flight to Delhi, where we transfer to our hotel and some well earned relaxation.
Day 14: KE Land Only package services end after breakfast at the hotel. Complimentary airport transfers are provided on this day.
Altitude
This holiday involves going to very high altitude. During the course of your trip you will be spending at least one night above 4000 metres and/or trekking to 5000 metres or above. This is not something that you should worry about; the human body is quite capable of adapting to a very wide range of altitudes, but it is important that we follow some simple rules in order to acclimatise successfully. Before coming on this holiday you should read the advice on trekking at high altitude.
