Ladakh: Nubra Valley Trek

Our adventure begins in Delhi, a captivating city full of life and cultural intrigue. If you have time to explore this electric city, a short taxi or tuk-tuk drive from our hotel is Karol Bagh Market, where colourful stalls are packed with clothing and jewellery, and the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a magnificent Sikh temple topped with an onion-shaped gold dome.

Around 6pm, say namaste to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead.

Your tour leader then ensures a big welcome by arranging a group dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Want more time in Delhi? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

We wake early this morning for a spectacular flight over the Himalaya mountains to Leh, the largest city in the Ladakh region. Reserve a moment or two on your journey to peer out the window and over some of the tallest mountains in the world.

After touching down and arriving at our hotel, we settle into our rooms and freshen up. This afternoon, we take a gentle orientation walk around the city and bazaars. The rest of the day is free to relax and acclimatise to the altitude (11,480ft/3,500m).

Today we continue our sightseeing in and around Leh, visiting Tikse and Shey monasteries, two of the major gompas (Buddhist temples) in the area.

We first drive to Shey, once a palace of the Ladakh kings. Inside is a small temple containing a 350-year-old copper-and-gold statue of the Buddha. From Shey, we walk across the fields to Tikse, where we visit the monastery. This hilltop complex with red-and-white buildings can be seen for miles and within is a recently built temple with a magnificent image of the Future Buddha.

We return to Leh and the rest of the afternoon is free to explore and try more local dishes, such as thukpa (a noodle soup), momos (steamed dumplings) or skiu (a traditional stew).

Early evening there will be a full trek briefing.

We leave Leh today and set off in jeeps over the Khardung La, once part of the Silk Road and now one of the highest motorable roads in the world at 17,635ft (5,375m). The journey to the top of the pass takes us on a winding road high above Leh. From the top, we get great views back to the Leh Valley and the Ladakh mountains and ahead we can see the Karakorum mountain range. The road winds down and down through the North Pollu checkpost and to Khardung village, then on to Khalsar village (10,710ft/3,264m) and the Shyok River. We stop en route to visit Diskit monastery. Overlooked by a 105ft (32m) high Buddha statue, it is the oldest and largest in the Nubra Valley, dating from 1420, and belongs to the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Hundar is only about 6mi (10km) from Diskit and it is filled with dunes, an unusual sight between magnificent mountains. Stopping at the dunes in the late afternoon/early evening we see the rare Bactrian camels. These magnificent two-humped dromedaries were once vital to the traders passing through this region, but when trade decreased in the late 1950s, the animals were left in the Nubra Valley. Thankfully, a government programme has ensured these camels continue to survive and we get a chance to meet some of those still living in the area.

From the dunes it is a short drive to our hotel in Hundar (approximately six hours’ drive).

We head into the valleys this morning, driving for about 1.8mi (3km) to Hundar Gompa, where we start our trek. Leaving the main valley, we turn up into a narrow side valley. The walking today is fairly easy as we follow a wide 4x4 track into the gorge. Rocks tower above us as we gain height gradually.

After approximately 4.5mi (7km), we come to a small droksa (shepherd camp) with a few trees providing welcome shade from the sun. The valley now widens a little and we camp where the valley splits on the edge of a small village called Wachan.

Today is a half day as we begin to gain height. We start by taking the left-hand valley and climbing steadily to Dok Yokma, a small collection of houses and fields. This is the last village we see until Phyang. We can visit the small monastery and maybe stop in a local house for a cup of tea.

The trail ascends down the valley all morning until we reach our campsite opposite the Snia Valley. In the afternoon, there is time to explore the hills and take in the spectacular scenery.

We cross a small stone bridge and turn into the Snia Valley and follow it upstream. The trail climbs steadily on the left hand side of the valley. We are surrounded by unnamed peaks and passes and only shepherds inhabit this valley in the summer. Before there were roads in Ladakh, people used the passes regularly. Now, apart from the summer shepherds with their herds of yaks, the valley is inhabited by wildlife only. Keep your eyes peeled for marmots, foxes, wolves and, for the very lucky, the elusive snow leopards that hunt here.

We camp close to the river just before the next valley junction. In the afternoon there is an optional walk further up the valley towards a glacial lake.

A descending start leads us to the intersection of Snia and Thanglasgo valleys. From here, we ascend gradually on the left side of the valley. The trail crosses rocky glacial moraine and green pastures. A picturesque walk for around five to five and a half hours brings us to our beautiful camp by the river at Jingmoche (14,795ft/4,510m), a popular location among shepherds who bring their sheep, yak and dzos for grazing.

We walk to the base of our next pass, Lasermo La, today. As we leave the campsite, we follow the river upstream walking amid a valley of pretty meadows with grazing yaks and dzos. An hour and a half from Jingmoche we pass the shepherd camp at Thanglasso. Continuing up the valley we get higher and higher and we finally reach the campsite in the afternoon, set below the Lasermo Pass.

We spend the day exploring the area around camp with various optional walks available. We can take a packed lunch and ascend the valley across from our camp up to a series of lakes. It is about 1.5 hours to the first small lake. It is about another 45minutes to the second lake. We are now surrounded by unnamed and unclimbed peaks. We can either descend back to camp or there is a rocky trail which climbs to a third small glacial lake (16,700ft / 5,090m) if you’d like to explore further.

We have a challenging day as we cross the Lasermo La pass. We need to carry our Yaktrax/Microspikes for the last part of the pass which is on glacial moraine.

We aim for the highest pass on the trek. Leaving the Nubra Valley with an early start, we begin our climb ascending on an easy path up the valley. It takes about 3-4 hours to the bottom of the glacier, where we put on our microspikes for the last hour to the top of the pass. The Lasermo La is 17,715ft (5,400m) and from the prayer flags at the top the view takes in the spectacular Karakoram mountains in one direction and the Ladakh range on the other. From the top the first part of the descent is steep at first and then after an hour the descent eases off to a more gradual descent to a high camp at Morubuk, a small area of green pasture.

An easy last day after the exertions of the pass. We have an easy and wonderful walk down the valley today. We may have to cross the river several times as the trail goes from the left to the right hand side of the valley. Ahead the Stok range of mountains appears. Halfway we pass Phyang Sumdo and continue on down the valley until the large, spread out village of Phyang appears below us. Our camp tonight is on a grassy patch at the top of the village. We will reach camp by lunchtime and in the afternoon there is time to explore the village.

Our cars will drive to camp this morning and we drive to the monastery which towers above the valley.

It is a one-hour drive back to Leh, arriving late morning to the comforts of a hot shower in our hotel. The rest of the day is free for relaxing and reflecting on the last week or last-minute sightseeing or shopping in the bazaars. The energetic can walk to the Shanti Stup or to Leh palace above the town.

We fly from Leh to Delhi. The rest of the day is free for individual sightseeing in Delhi.

Your journey in India completes after check-out from the hotel. Free departure transfers are available for any flight, provided you have supplied your flight details in advance. Alternatively, speak to your sales representative about joining our five-day post-trip extension taking in the Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. This extension can also be done before the tour.