Leh and Stok Kangri

Flanked by the Great Indian Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Ladakh and the Zanskar ranges, Ladakh is a high-altitude desert and one of the three geo-cultural regions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Leh is the principal town of Ladakh, also known as the 'land of high passes' having the only airport of the region. Leh is a small town and make finding your way round very easy. The town has a main street with the Leh Palace rising up right at the end of it. Centuries ago Leh was an important halt on the old caravan silk route from China. Today, besides a military base, Leh is one of the most popular tourist destinations of India. During the tourist season of June - September, Leh becomes a melting pot of cultures and nationalities and everything in the town turns touri st-centric.. Leh makes a gateway to high-altitude lakes of Ladakh, the valley of Nubra and Lower Indus valley and other surrounding areas. Apart from these, the town of Leh makes an ideal base for adventure sports of trekking and river rafting.

This Package has been designed to give maximum exposure to the tourists, of the diversified culture of Ladakh along with some high altitude adventure and Rafting on Indus. This tour takes the tourist from the highest motorable pass of the world to a absolute high altitude trek at 6120 Mts. and then meeting the rapids with rafting and also seeing the culture and lives and the religion of the people of Ladakh.

Shey monastery

King Deldon Namgyal got the two-story Shey Gompa constructed in the year 1655, in the memory of his father. One of the highlights of the monastery is a two-story high image of the seated Buddha. The image is worked out of copper sheets, gilded with gold, and is the biggest metal statue and the second largest Buddha statue in Ladakh. It also contains sacrificial offerings such as grain, jewels, holy signs and mantras inside it. The upper story of the Shey Gompa is adorned with a number of beautiful wall paintings.
The walls on both the sides of Buddha display the 16 Arhats (Worthy Ones who have achieved Nirvana), 8 on each side. And the wall behind the statue has the images of Buddha's two chief disciples, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. Like this, almost every wall around the Buddha statue is painted with some image or the other. In the front of the Buddha is a large bowl of wax with a central flame, symbolic of divinity and purity, which burns for one year before being replaced. The lower story of the Shey Monastery of Leh Ladakh has a large library and is decked with murals of Buddha figures with hand gestures of various types.

Thiksey Monastery

Situated at an altitude of 3600 m above sea level, the monastery of Tiksey is situated about 20 km far from the town of Leh and ranks among the most important monasteries in Ladakh. It is the seat of Tiksey Rinpoche, the main leader of the Gelug School in Ladakh and is the main and leading monastery for more than ten other famous Ladakhi monasteries such as Diskit, Spituk, Likir, and Stok. It is believed that in the early 15th century, Tsongkhapa, the founder of the reformed Gelug School, sent six of his disciples to remote regions of Tibet to spread the teachings of the new school. One of these six was known as Sherab Sangpo. He went to Ladakh and was the founder of a small monastery at the end of a valley in the village called Stagmo. Palden Sangpo, Sherab's disciple carried on with the work of his teacher and he was the one who founded the Thiksey monastery a few mile s away from Stagmo near the River Indus on a sacred hill above a village of the same name.

Hemis Monastery

The Hemis Monastery at Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 47 km from Leh, on the west bank of the Indus River. The monastery stands concealed inside a gorge and belongs to the Dugpa Order. The biggest and the wealthiest monastery of Ladakh, Hemis Monastery was founded by the first incarnation of Stagsang Raspa Nawang Gyatso. One of the major attractions of Hemis Gompa of Leh Ladakh is the annual Hemis festival, commemorating the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhav.
On this day, in certain years, the Thanka (the sacred appliqué-work tapestry wrought with pearls depicting Padmasambhava) is displayed to the general public. Also, on 9th and 10th day of the Tibetan 5th month, sacred musk dance is performed at this monastery. Hemis houses a copper-gilt statue of the Lord Buddha, various gold and silver stupas, sacred thankas and numerous other objects. There is also a sacred hermitage above the Ladakh Hemis Monastery. Founded by Gyalwa Kotsang, this hermitage still houses his meditation cave and bears his footprint and handprint on the rock and sacred shrines.

Khardungla pass

Khardung La (la means pass in Tibetan) (elevation 5359 m) is a high mountain pass located in the Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The international spelling is used here, but it is locally spelled "Khardong La".
The pass on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the Shyok and Nubra valleys. The Siachen Glacier lies partway up the latter valley. Built in 1976, it was opened to motor vehicles in 1988 and has since seen many automobile, motorbike and mountain biking expeditions. Maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the pass is strategically important to India as it is used to carry essential supplies to the Siachen. Khardong La is historically important as it lies on the major caravan route from Leh to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia.. About 10,000 horses and camels used to take the route annually, and a small population of Bactrian camels can still be seen in the area north of the pass, mute witnesses to history. During World War II there was a futile attempt to transfer war material to China through this route.

Nubra

Nubra Valley is situated about 150 km north of Leh, the capital town of Ladakh, India. Its name is derived from Ldumra (the valley of flowers). The average altitude of the valley is about 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The common way to access this valley is to travel over the Khardung La from Leh where one will first encounter the Shyok Valley. To enter the Nubra valley, one must cross over the Shyok River via a small bridge and pass through a military checkpoint. The Sasser Pass and the famous Karakoram Pass lie to the northwest of the valley which connect Nubra with Xinjiang. Previously there was much trade passing through the area with East Turkestan and Central Asia.

Panamik

Panamik is an incredibly beautiful place blessed by sheer beauty, rugged mountains and hot springs. The village by itself in 1987 used to comprise of 25-30 families living off subsistence farming. The incredible thing about the village is the superb irrigation system built over decades, the system though rudimentary provided an effective means to channel precious water during summer to the homes as well as the fields.

Shanti Stupa

Shanti Stupa of Ladakh is located on the hilltop at Changspa. It can be reached quite easily from the Fort Road. The Stupa was constructed by a Japanese Buddhist organization, known as 'The Japanese for World Peace'. The aim behind the construction of the stupa was to commemorate 2500 years of Buddhism and to promote World Peace. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama inaugurated the Shanti Stupa in the year 1985.
A magnificent white-domed structure, the Shanti Stupa of Leh Ladakh offers spectacular views of the sunrise and sunset. The stupa looks best at night, when it is beautifully illuminated with glittering lights. A large number of tourists come to Ladakh every year to visit this amazing stupa.

Tour Itinerary

Day 01 - Arrival Delhi: Arrive Delhi. Upon arrival in Delhi transfer to the your hotel.

Day 02 - Delhi - Leh: Early morning departure transfer to the domestic airport to board flight to Leh. Upon arrival in Leh, our friendly staff will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel. Altitude - 3500 Meters. Rest of the day at rest to acclimatize.

Day 03 - Leh: Visit the Shey, Thiksey and Hemis Monasteries

Day 04 - Leh- Khardungla - Nubra: Visit the Highest Motorable Pass Khardungla La today in Jeeps at 5610 Metres and than continue north to the Mystical Nubra Valley.

Day 05 - Nubra: In Nubra explore Hunder and Panamik. Overnight

Day 06 - Nubra to Leh: Go over Khardungla and on the way back to Leh visit Shanti Stupa.
Stok Kangri 6150m
Stok Kangri is one of the most beautiful peaks in Ladakh By Ladakhis it is called "Kanglachan", meaning " view of all mountains". The climb is technically not difficult and requires no special mountaineering skills. This is a great chance climbing a 6150m mountain in less than a week, not possible in any other part of Asia. The summit provides spectacular views of the Karakoram Range including K2 and the Saser peaks.

Day 07 - Leh-Mancarmo (4-5 hrs): In the early morning hours we leaves for Stok by jeep. Upon arrival our big backpacks will be loaded on the horses and with our small daypacks we head off for Mancarmo. On our first day we will walk by fascinating rock formations, and it is a good chance spotting Bharal (blue sheep) along the way. In wintertime and early spring snow leopards also come down to hunt in the valley. In the afternoon we will arrive in Mancarmo, a pasture ground for animals belonging to villagers from Stok. Mancarmo is one of the highest grassing grounds in the world at 4300m. Here we will pitch our tents for the night and the cook will serve us a nice meal.

Day 08 - Mancarmo-Base Camp (3-4 hrs): Gradually we go higher into a desolate area. At an altitude of 5000m we will acclimatize before our summit push early the next morning. Surrounded by high mountains we will prepare mentally and physically for the big day.

Day 09 - Restday at mancarmo or at Base Camp

Day 10 - Base Camp – Summit – Base Camp Depending on weather and snow conditions, we leave in the middle of night, around 1:00 am. Usually the sky is more clear and the snow harder and easier to walk upon in night/morning when it is colder. Waking up, we just have a cup of tea, bring our lunch bags, and head off into the night, hopefully clear with stars and a moon that will guide us in its silver glow.
It is a strenuous walk, and in the last part we will most likely use ice axes, crampons and maybe a rope, depending upon snow conditions. However, by the time we come close to the top, which usually takes 7-8 hrs, you will forget about the hardship as you are surrounded by one of the most beautiful sights in the Himalayas. In good weather, the early morning sun will bring its golden rays over the Saser group in the Great Karakoram Range, where K2 lies. To bring good fortune, we leave our Khatag-a religious scarf on the peak, which is covered in prayer flags. Leaving the peak, we go down to Base Camp in about 3-4 hrs. By the time we arrive, the only thing running in our mind is diving into our sleeping bags for a welcomed rest.

Day 11 - Base Camp – Stok (4hrs) This morning we will not hurry and by the time you open your eyes, you realize that you have scaled a peak higher than any mountain in Europe or North America! After breakfast we walk down to Stok where a taxi is waiting to take us back to Leh.

Day 12 - After breakfast transfer to Choglamsar Bridge for Rafting on Indus Raft till Nemo (Confluence of Zanskar and Indus River) and after lunch return back to Leh.

Day 13 - Leh Delhi. Flight.

Book the Tour with us. Contact Now