My friend Nerissa and I are stoked on this trek. We will be unguided but armed with a map, common sense, hiking experience and nice homestays. Lets go! Being out of the city is the most welcomed notion.
After the gorgeous monastery of Lamayuru, the end of day one found us in Hinju, a small village newly accessible by road. A wild and crazy drive let me assure you! The road has been in place for two years, lucky for us because our taxi rolls us up right in the middle of the village. We stay at the first guest house we cross, have some tea and gaze down the lovely valley.
Before dinner, I have a brief yoga practice by a stream with some cows and local kids running around. Dinner was in the kitchen with the guest house owner and his wife. The heaping helpings of rice with dal and veggies, spinach, onions, capsicum, would become my dinner for most of the next ten days. There is no shortage in being fed at the homestays throughout the trek. Our homestay in Hinju gave us salt with our egg and potato pack lunch. Yum.
The next day, we truly begin our walk. Today, we scale our first pass, 5150 m. In other words, high, very high. The Great Himalayan Range surrounds us as I creep to the top. Breath by breath and step by step the altitude and lack of oxygen presses and stresses and weakens the body. It takes almost two hours to get up the pass. maybe one km, but easily 1000m elevation gain. The arrival to the top reawakens my senses, I have made it to the top of the world; colors unseen to my eyes pop out of the towering rock, cool wind refreshes, prayer flags sing. Breathtaking.
The next destination is 8 hours walk away in Sumda Changmo. This village rests in a beautiful, quiet valley with towering crags and crevices. All I want here is a harness and a rack of trad gear. Ya'll want to go climbing? I have my heart set on coming back here to climb these rocks.
We have an interesting situation on the way up to our homestay. We seem to be rooming with the animals, donkeys and goats, but then after climbing the stairs we find our room lays rooftop and gazes into the biggest crack in the Himalaya. Stunning.
After a good yoga stretching sesh for the legs, the first day put the ole legs to work!, we set out for Sumda Choon. And to my utter happiness, this day of our walk was to be a short and delightful one. An amazing trek as we followed a river the entire way. The mountains towered over our heads, the water was cold under the hot, high sun and we found a perfect place to chill and swim after navigating the rocks and waterfalls and colorful boulders that lay in the riverbed.After a chill day, 6 solid hours of walking, 3-4 solid hours of playing in the water, we came the the village. This is our guest house. Best cook in the village and the best food I have had yet.
And, as it turns out, this village has the oldest Monastery and Gompa in Ladakh. Not often visited because the village is off the beaten path and there is no road, we struck gold. The entire back wall is carved out of one piece of wood, painted and lacquered. This gompa has recently been declared a historical place of significance and will soon be preserved and a road will be constructed to access the site.
It is here the two of us meet a small group of electricians from France and our plans change. Our trek will be extended as we find our trip could easily be detoured to the Markha Valley.
After the gorgeous monastery of Lamayuru, the end of day one found us in Hinju, a small village newly accessible by road. A wild and crazy drive let me assure you! The road has been in place for two years, lucky for us because our taxi rolls us up right in the middle of the village. We stay at the first guest house we cross, have some tea and gaze down the lovely valley.
The next day, we truly begin our walk. Today, we scale our first pass, 5150 m. In other words, high, very high. The Great Himalayan Range surrounds us as I creep to the top. Breath by breath and step by step the altitude and lack of oxygen presses and stresses and weakens the body. It takes almost two hours to get up the pass. maybe one km, but easily 1000m elevation gain. The arrival to the top reawakens my senses, I have made it to the top of the world; colors unseen to my eyes pop out of the towering rock, cool wind refreshes, prayer flags sing. Breathtaking.
We have an interesting situation on the way up to our homestay. We seem to be rooming with the animals, donkeys and goats, but then after climbing the stairs we find our room lays rooftop and gazes into the biggest crack in the Himalaya. Stunning.
After a good yoga stretching sesh for the legs, the first day put the ole legs to work!, we set out for Sumda Choon. And to my utter happiness, this day of our walk was to be a short and delightful one. An amazing trek as we followed a river the entire way. The mountains towered over our heads, the water was cold under the hot, high sun and we found a perfect place to chill and swim after navigating the rocks and waterfalls and colorful boulders that lay in the riverbed.After a chill day, 6 solid hours of walking, 3-4 solid hours of playing in the water, we came the the village. This is our guest house. Best cook in the village and the best food I have had yet.
It is here the two of us meet a small group of electricians from France and our plans change. Our trek will be extended as we find our trip could easily be detoured to the Markha Valley.
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