The Markha Valley Trek takes you through a stunning part of the Ladakh region, close to Chinese border with India. The trek crosses over from the eastern to the western part of Ladakh and is a great introduction to this exclusive region, both in terms of the landscape and the ethnicity.

The Markha Valley is flourishing with flora and the local people have done a fair amount of work to keep it green. One crosses several Ladakhi villages and monasteries during this trek.

Ladakh is one of the more far-flung regions of India, a landscape that is very different from other parts of the country. Since it was opened to tourists in 1974, Ladakh has been known as Little Tibet.

The primary religion in Ladakh is Buddhism. Ladakh was first inhabited by the Nomadic Khampas, who used to graze their Yaks on the high pastures. In the 11th century the Buddhist scholar, Ringchan Zanypo established 108 Buddhist Gompas, throughout western Tibet and Ladakh.

In the late 14th century the famous Tibetan pilgrim Song Khampa, visited Ladakh and popularized a new Buddhist teaching, which was passed on by the first Dalai Lama.

Festivals are an integral part of Ladakhi culture and traditions. Ladakhis usually celebrate their main festival at the end of the harvest period. However, in an effort to prolong the tourist season this annual festival has been extended and is now held during the first two weeks of September.

Suggested Program:

Day 01: Fly in to Leh (3,665 meters). Flights arrive relatively early in the morning so one has the entire day to acclimatize and relax, perhaps do some sight seeing. It is very important to acclimatize as you have to get use to the low oxygen level in the atmosphere at such an altitude. Over night stay at hotel.

Day 02: Acclimatize and sight seeing in and around Leh. Over night stay at hotel.

Day 03: Leave hotel after an early breakfast. A three hour drive gets you to the starting point of the trek. Today is a fairly relaxed trek for around three hours before camp is set up.

Day 04: Continue the trek to Yourupse (4,700 meters). Climb the Yourupse Pass (4,900 meters) and camp just below the pass. The trek today usually takes about six hours.

Day 05: Trek from Yourupse to Skiu, which is an eight hour trek. The views that you will encounter throughout this trek are simply breathtaking!

Day 06: We leave Skiu for Markha and walk along the Markha River. You traverse the river several times during the course of the day as you make your way to the Markha valley. This trek today takes around seven hours.

Day 07: From Markha we trek to Umlung which takes about six hours.

Day 08: We start the day early for an eight-hour trek that will take us from Umlung to Nimaling.

Day 09: Today is a day of rest. We spend the day at our camp site in Nimaling and recuperate from the many hours of walking we’ve done in the past few days. There are some magnificent views from here, especially of the Kianzee peak (6,400 meters).

Day 10: We set off from Nimaling climbing up to the Kongmaru La Pass. We cross the Kongmaru La Pass (5,300 meters) and camp at its base at Chirkrimo. The trek today will take us about five hours

Day 11: From Chinkrimo the expedition moves on to Sang, which is a four-hour trek.

Day 12: Today is the final day of our trek; a three hour trek will get us to the point where The Himalayan Outback vehicles will meet us and take us to the hotel at Leh. On route we stop over at the famous Hemis monastery. Over night stay at the hotel in Leh.

Day 13: Fly back to Delhi.