LAMAYURU - ALCHI TREK

Season: June to September
Duration: 5 days trek
Grade: Moderate

This trek distills the very essence of Ladakh and in a short span of time, provides intensive experience of the land, its people and culture. Linking two of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh at its either end, the trail passes through dramatic desert mountainscape with vivid verdant villages tucked away into the hillsides. Highlights include the gompas at Lamayuru, Wanla, the Sumdochoon valley, inhabited by descendants of Nepalese craftsmen brought by the king of Ladakh in the 18th century renowned for their metalwrok in copper, tin and silver, and Alchi and ancient wood carvings at Sumdah Chenmo, all made in the 11th century by Rigzing Zangpo.
This is a beautiful and interesting trek where we will come across some of the oldest and most famous monasteries in ladakh, founded around 11th century by lotsawa rinchen sangpo. Lamayuru, wanla, and alchi are too important to be missed because of their historical values. This trek is unique in that it offers an opportunity to see not only the many natural beauties of Ladakh, but also some of its most famous monasteries.

Day 01: Arrive Leh and transfer to the Hotel
Day at leisure. Overnight at HoteTravel from Delhi to Leh by air. The early morning flight from Delhi gets to Leh in less than two hours. From the airport guests would be transferred to a three star city hotel where they would be housed on full board. Leh is at an altitude of 3500 mts. And all guests are advised to rest for the entire day. A successful trek in Ladakh requires you to acclimatize well.

Day 02: Sight Seeing of Indus Valley
This day is meant to provide an opportunity to get a feel of the place. Guests will be driven to the Leh Palace, which houses old relies that belong to the sixteenth century ruler of Ladak. Later in the day a trip to the monasteries at Shey. Thiksey and Hemis will also be arranged. Overnght at Hotel.

Day 03: Drive to Lamayuru from Leh
Overnight at Camp.

Day 04: Leh - Lamayuru - Wanla 3250 m (3-4 hrs)
we drive from leh in the morning towards lamayuru (3 hrs) along the indus river through sham valley. After visiting the lamayuru monastery, we pack our backpacks, watch the horses get ready and set off for our first day's trek. After following the stream for sometime, we will gradually move up to the small pass of prinkti la (3750m). We will then walk down a narrow gorge to the small village of shilla, and the last 3 km will take us to wanla (3250m).

Day 05: Wanla - Base of Tarla 4200 m (8 hrs)
today we will follow the dusty road along the river's left bank and arrive at the small village of phenjilla (3410 m). From phenjilla, we will follow the left side of the valley along a small stream for around an hour and arrive at the scattered ursi village. We will walk a little further to arrive at our campsite.

Day 06: Base of Tarla - Tar (6-7 hrs)
the trail from the camp is clear but challenging as we will have to trek up and down a few times before reaching the tarla (5250 m). Our hard labor will be rewarded with the splendid view of the mountains around. Climbing down is difficult due to a mass of fallen rocks strewn about. It takes 3-4 hrs for us to reach our campsite at the village of tar.

Day 07: Tar - Manggyu (4-5 hrs)
from tar, the path heads up along the mountainside to a small pass. We will have an easy descent to man gyu village, where there are traditional ladakhi houses and an ancient monastery worth visiting. It is believed that the monasteries of the mang gyu and alchi were built on the same day.

Day 08: Manggyu - Alchi, drive to Leh
we will end our last day by walking down a very beautiful narrow valley covered with rosebushes all along the path. We will reach the village of gera, where we'll find our vehicle waiting to take us back to leh. But before that we will visit the beautiful and famous monasteries of alchi and likir

Day 08: AT LEH
Free day in Leh to explore in and around on your own. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 09: DEPARTURE LEH TO DELHI
Intime departure transfer to airport for flight.