Your holiday starts at the hotel in Delhi. Transfers from Delhi Airport are provided. Lunch and an afternoon at leisure at the hotel. Your guide will take dinner with you and will provide an informal briefing about the days ahead.

After breakfast, we transfer to the airport and take an early morning flight to Leh. The short journey offers spectacular views across the Himalayas, notably the 7000 metre massifs of Nun and Kun. Leh, known as Little Tibet, lays nestled beneath an imposing old fort and palace. Overlooking the Ladakhi capital, Buddhist monasteries and stupas perch on top of cliffs and ridges. At an elevation of around 3500m, it is important to take it easy and allow for gentle acclimatisation. For those who want to stretch their legs, the colourful bazaars and roadside stalls make for a relaxed afternoon's exploration.

To aid our acclimatisation, we have a full day's sightseeing tour of the area surrounding Leh. We visit the Buddhist monasteries and palaces of Shey and Thikse. These photogenic historical monuments are still occupied by orange-clad monks and sprawl across elevated sites with remarkable views across the fertile Indus Valley. Visiting Leh's monasteries always involves climbing up and down long flights of stairs which is all good for our acclimatisation.

Starting from the hotel in Changspa, we walk across to the base of the Shanti Stupa (Peace Pagoda). We have the option to either climb up the long flight of steps leading to the stupa or we can take the more gradual approach on the jeep road. Looking back (from the steps) we can see the whole of Leh town and the Indus Valley beyond. After enjoying the views from the stupa, we follow the road downhill to the stupa gate and continue our walk to Sankar Gompa, a 16th century monastery belonging to the Gelukpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism. We then hike up to Tsemo Monastery, founded in 1430 by the King Tashi Namgyal. It has a three-storey high gold painted statue of the Maitreya (future) Buddha. Once again, the views from this place are amazing. The trail then zig-zags down to Leh Palace which is being renovated by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). Leaving the palace, we descend through Leh's old town to arrive at the main baazar.

Nearly 2000 metres above Leh is the Khardung La (5370m) one of the world's highest road passes. The exciting drive up to the pass affords us with extraordinary panoramic views across the Indus Valley to the Zanskar Range, with Stok Kangri standing prominently as one of the higher peaks in the range. Dropping down on the north side of the pass, we have views across to the Eastern Karakoram ranges. After approximately 4 hours, we find ourselves in the Nubra Valley where we will stop for lunch at a roadside restaurant before paying a visit to the serene Diskit Monastery. White-painted buildings cling to the ridge above Diskit's pretty patchwork of fields. We continue our drive to the next village of Hundar (3050m). After we've checked into our guesthouse accommodation, we can pay a visit to nearby sand dunes where we can observe shaggy, double-humped Bactrian camels which are native to the steppes of Central Asia and came here thanks to the caravan traffic on the trails on the Silk Road.

Hundar and Wacham are connected by a rough 4x4 road, but (after a short initial transfer) we will undertake this journey on foot. Useful for our acclimatisation and fitness, this is a straightforward walk, following the Thanglasgo River, a tributary of the Shyok, as it flows from the upper reaches of the Ladakh range. In clear weather, we will have good views of the snow-capped 6000 metre peaks that guard this valley. Many of these remain unnamed and unclimbed, such is the relative obscurity of this part of the Himalayas. Beyond a bridge, we enter a narrow gorge and start to gain height up to a grazing area on a plateau. Here we will find a group of abandoned shepherds' huts at the enclave of Skarchen (3600m). We carry on a little further and set up our camp at Wacham, near the confluence of two streams.

After being awoken in our tents with 'bed tea' and bowls of hot water to wash, we are served a hearty camp breakfast. We then set off along a track, following the river and crossing a wooden bridge before climbing again to the next small community of Dok Yogma, lying at the entrance to the Palzampiu Valley. Contouring the steep hillside we now follow the Palzampiu Togpo River and gain height gradually towards the cluster of peaks. The trail is pretty well defined, as it is used by shepherds taking their animals to the high pastures in the warmer summer months. Crossing pleasant pastureland, we reach an open basin, where we set up our basecamp next to a stream.

Having gained a fair bit of height yesterday, it's important that we spend a second night at the same elevation before going any higher to ensure adequate acclimatisation. Our camp is located on an open grassy area beside the Palzampiu Togpo. There are some stone shelters and walled enclosures a short distance away and we are likely to see marmots which live in burrows dug into grassy mounds all around our camp. There are plenty of options for exploration around this excellent camping place and for gentle acclimatisation walks with our guide.

Another short but spectacular day of trekking as we approach our objective peaks. We trek up above camp following the river for an hour or so before turning due south alongside a small tributary. Here, we climb more steeply across an open hillside to reach a small top beyond which the angle eases and we soon reach the site of our high camp (5150m) close to the terminal moraine of Samgyal Peak's glacier. At the head of this valley there is an impressive peak (6060m) with a clean rock face and several rocky pillars that dominate our view. Samgyal Peak, cloaked by its glacier, is situated to the north-east (to our left) of this peak. We reach high camp by lunchtime and have plenty of time to rest and to make preparation for the climb in the morning. Looking out from our camp we can see a number of nearby snow-capped peaks and, more distantly, the mountains of the Eastern Karakoram.

We will be up early, hours before dawn, before wolfing down a simple breakfast of tea and porridge and setting off, lighting our way with head-torches. There's no rush today and we will take it easy as we make our approach to the mountain, initially across rough moraine and then up to a ridge which we follow to reach the glacier after around 2 hours. Here, we put on our crampons and set out very straightforwardly across the low angle glacier. There's usually no need to rope up, although as the climb steepens a little towards the top the guide will review this decision. The climb is continuous but gradual and we should be on the top 5 hours after leaving camp. After spending some time enjoying the spectacular views in the light of early morning, we set off back down. We will be back at camp in time for lunch and plenty of tea. The rest of the afternoon is free to rest and recuperate at camp.

Today has been planned into the itinerary as a contingency day. If everything has gone to plan so far, those who are up for a second challenge can opt to climb Dawa Peak (5900m). This peak, which is not dissimilar to Samgyal Peak, lies on the right shoulder of a central 6060 metre rock peak and is clearly visible from our high camp. Once again, we will have a very early start and this time trek down to cross the stream before ascending across a scree slope for about 30 minutes. From here, it's a more gradual climb across moraine and loose rocks for about an hour to reach the glacier. The route across the glacier traverses to the right and then zig-zags across snow and rock to reach the summit. Five hours after leaving camp, we should be at the top and we will descend via the same route to high camp.

Today, we backtrack to the main valley at Dok Yogma and from there turn to head upstream beside the Thanglasgo River. After a couple of hours of very pleasant trekking up the valley floor, we reach the upper village of Dok Gogma (4020m), where there are about 20 households. We set up camp on a pleasant meadow site next to the river. The rest of the afternoon is free to relax and perhaps interact with the people of Dok Gogma. Visitors here are an extremely rare phenomenon and our arrival will cause much interest and a thoroughly warm reception.

We are spoiled with another great day of trekking through this high and wild landscape. We continue to follow the river upstream, following towards its source through scenic pastures carpeted with wild flowers. During the summer months, shepherds bring their sheep, yaks and dzos (a yak-cow cross) to these high pastures and we come across their temporary summer huts. There is a tradition that each summer only 2 or 3 families from Dok Gogma watch over all of the animals from the village. Whilst here, they busy themselves by making cheese and butter for the villagers. They stay here until late August or early September, before returning to the lower village for the upcoming harvest season. We eventually reach our camp, situated in a beautiful spot on the banks of a river at the head of the valley.

Continuing our gradual ascent beside the river, we pass more temporary huts and pens. The valley is quite wide and we can see for a good distance in both directions. Ahead of us, we can almost make out the Lasermo La on the high skyline. The trail is quite well defined as it passes through huge patches of pastureland dotted with yaks and dzos. There are snow-capped peaks on both sides of the valley, providing a stunning backdrop for our walk. The trail underfoot is mostly gentle throughout with small undulating sections in between. Nearing the pass, we come across an expansive meadow area, sometimes used as the approach camp for the pass. However, we are pretty well acclimatised now and continue across a small scree slope to reach our camp.

Leaving our camp early again (firm snow conditions make life easier for our pack-horses) we make the 2 to 3 hour ascent to the pass across scree and across the remnant snow patches which linger throughout the year on this north side of the crest. At the pass we are rewarded with excellent views of the Karakoram and (in the other direction, to the north) the Zanskar range of mountains. There is an accessible viewpoint above the pass which offers an even better perspective, including a view of Stok Kangri. From the pass we descend down into the Phyang Valley to our camping place at 4550 metres above the village of Phyang.

We enjoy a short and easy morning of trekking, accompanied by fabulous views of Stok Kangri once again, as we descend through the pastures of Morubuk to the roadhead in the Phyang Valley, at a little over 4000 metres elevation. Here, we meet our 4WD transport and drive through the village of Phyang, stopping to visit the photogenic monastery, before continuing to Leh in less than an hour's drive. We have lunch in Leh and the afternoon is free to relax and explore Leh.

We have a usually early start and go to the airport to catch our flight back to Delhi. Arriving in Delhi, we transfer to our airport-accessible hotel. In the afternoon, there is the option of independent sightseeing or you may choose to simply take it easy at the hotel.

Your holiday ends after breakfast. Transfers to Delhi Airport are provided. To extend your holiday in India, why not pre-book a visit to Dharamsala (home of the Dalai Lama), to the Taj Mahal or a longer excursion taking in the whole of India's classic Golden Triangle. Contact our office for details.