Trek in the Indian Himalayas and Spiti Valley: Please Help

Hi Everybody,

I'm planning to visit to the Indian Himalayas from Srinagar this Summer, and I would like to do a week-long trek. I was in Ladakh last year and explored the whole Indus Valley, Nubra Valley and Pangong Tso area, but never got to use my hiking boots. I'm planning to go overland from Jammu to Srinagar, then to Kargil and Padum. In Padum I'm planning one of the 3 long treks from there: either the Padum - Lamayuru trek, or the Padum - Leh trek, or the Padum - Darcha trek. I'm leaning toward the latter one more, because of the possibility to visit the wonderful Phuktal Gompa and because it would put me in a great position to deviate to the Spiti Valley, which I missed last year.

My questions are the followings:

1) Which of the 3 treks would you suggest? The spectacularity of the landscape and monastery position/location are my first priorities, but I'm also interested in staying with local families. I have found little information about these treks and about the difference between them. Any opinion from travelers who have done at least a couple of them is highly appreciated.

2) Would you suggest another trek (about 1 week long) in the area that I've missed? Part of the reason I want to go to Zanskar is because I visited Ladakh really well last year (but not hiked) and I wanted to get out of the crowds. Any suggestion on other treks in the area are highly appreciated.

3) I might not have enough time to go to Spiti... If I do one of these treks, will I miss something by not going to the Spiti Valley? How does it compare with Ladakh and Zanskar?

Thank you so much for your help. I deeply appreciate it.

To trek out of Zanskar and avoid high season crowds I would choose trek via Tsarap river valley. It is amazing landscape wise and remote. It means that you trek until Phuktal and continue along Tsarap instead returning to Purne to go to Darcha. You will end up on Leh - Manali road before Sarchu (just at the base of famous Gata loops).
If you want to spend some time with locals in Zanskar you can go for homestays which are supposed to be plenty in Zanskar villages. You can use them on the way to Phuktal as well.
http://www.himalayan-homestays.com/ladakpages/how-to-book.html
Culturally and in geography, Spiti resembles Ladakh. But you will miss many fine monasteries if you dont go there like Ki, Dankar and especially Tabo.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I'm not having much luck on TT4 about finding reliable information. I have a few more questions to ask you. I hope you don't mind.

1) What are the main differences in terms of landscape between the 2 variations of this trek? Which one is more spectacular and why?

2) How many days would the trek from Padum through Phuktal to Tsarap be?

3) How many days before and after Phuktal?

4) Is Tsarap on the Manali-Leh road? If not, how far of a walk? How far from Sarchu is this place?

5) Will I be able on my last day of trek to have enough time to catch some type of transportation to Keylong the same day? This way I would be able to go from Keylong to Spiti the following day...

Thank you, again.

1.) You can see pics from Tsarap river valley trek here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110028943416454184121/Zanskar2008#
Padum to Darcha trek follows Kargyak valley (with quite a few lively villages) and crosses Shingo la. After crossing you will soon get on the road (road building in Ladakh/Zanskar is abundant lately and will soon change popular trekking routes into popular jeep tours). It is popular (you can meet even cyclists) and you can get support regarding food&accomodation on the way. Landscape is far from dull but you stay in the bottom of the main valley all the time. Like all passes in Himalayas, Shingo la is spectacular.
Tsarap river valley trek is completely remote. After Phuktal you can visit a tiny settlement of Thakthak (a short detour) with 2 families and small gompa, otherwise there are no permanent settlement altough there are few places with houses. You have to be selfsuficient - either carry everything yourself (if you are good in route finding which can be a bit compplicated) or hire ponyman with horses
Even if it looks that you will be stucked in the valley for the whole trek, in fact the landscape shows lots of variety. Impassable river valley requires detours which will take you through side valleys and high in the mountains and over fascinating passes.
2.,3.) You can get from Padum to Phuktal in 2 days (by car until Reru or further - the road building is going on also here). From Phuktal you can reach Leh - Manali road in 5 days.
4.) Tsarap is a river which is a branch of Zanskar river (confluence is near Padum). Leh - Manali road between Gata loops and Sarchu follows the course of Tsarap river. It does not make sense to walk from Gata loops to Sarchu - you have to follow the road including few kilometers long bend to reach the bridge over Tsarap. It is easy to get a ride as soon as you get on the road - a truck or a public bus and continue until Keylong the same day.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Do you think I can book this trek once I'm in Padum? How easy will it be to do it there and leave the following day?

There are trekking agencies in Padum - how quick they will be able to organize the trek depends mainly on availability of ponymen at the time. I suppose you can also contact an agent in Leh by mail to prearrange it so you will not waste time.

Thank you, usever.

Phuktal Gompa is between Darcha and Padum and is probably the highlight of that section. It is certainly worth the trip although Padum to Wanla is far prettier with the passes. You'll have to walk both sections and get the satisfaction of doing a through walk in changing terrain. Padum-Leh is too hard for me to contemplate.

Thank you, Jnanamargi. Where is Wanla compared to the Padum - Phuktal - Darcha (or Tsarap) trek? I'm getting confused. I'm trying to follow on a google map, but I can't find info. Would I be able to go to Phuktal and Wanla on the same trek to the Leh - Manali road?

Ok... got your PM. Thank you.

Spitivalleytours.com has a lot of information on their home page.

thank you. I will definitely check them out!
:-)

I did the complete Zanzkar trek, from Lamayuru to Darcha, 1 1/2 years ago. One of the definite highlights is Phuktal Gompa, and they have a small guesthouse there, you should stay there at least one night. Most people rush in, take a few pictures, and leave again as quick as they came...
Apart from that I thought that the more spectacular landscape was between Lamayuru and Padum. After Phuktal Gompa, until Shingo La pass, you will walk mainly through valleys. Not bad, but not very exciting.
As was pointed out already, homestay trekking is almost entirely possible on the "main route", but still you have to camp at one or two places where there's no village or tea tent, so bring a small bicouac tent and a little bit of food even on the main trekking route.
You also find a lot of information about trekking in the Himalaya on the Indiamike-forum, www.indiamike.com , and information about independent trekking (without guide and horses) here:
http://trek.micahimages.com/
Take care
Mike

Thank you so much, Mike.

I justed had a look at the maps, and there's an option where you could combine Phuktal Gompa with the northern half of the Zanskar trek, which is, as others also pointed out, the more spectacular half...
If you start the trek in Padum (getting there from Kargil), you could go first to Phuktal Gompa. Then continue along the Tsarap river, but turn north after a few kilometers towards Trantrag and Shaded. You have then actually two possibilities, one trail leads to sTongde (a bit north of Padum), the other farther north to Zangla. From either of these villages continue on to Lamayuru.
On both trails you cross passes higher than the Shingo La, and the whole affair - Padum-Phuktal Gompa-Shaded-Zangla-Lamayuru - would take about 2 weeks, I'd say.
Just as an idea...
To get some orientation, try to find the Olizane maps, they are not cheap, but the best. Otherwise give me some time, there were some maps on the internet, pretty accurate, but I have to see whether I guarded the URL...

Ok, here's the URL, forget google maps:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/
If you scroll down the page, you find the links to each section.
Leh, for example, is NI-43-08, and it includes Lamayuru and the first kilometers of the Zanskar trek with Wanla, Phanjila, until Hanupatta.
As I mentioned, for Ladakh there are also the Olizane maps which include virtually all trails and all tea tents.
If you want to go to Spiti valley, it gets more difficult, I think these AMS-maps are probably the best you can get. The major part of Spiti valley is on NI-43-16 and NI-44-13. You can print either the maps entirely or sections of these maps, which will give you a very good idea about the region...

Just read this post on Spiti Vallley and Zanskar, so I would like to share my experience here. No doubt both valleys are incredible but the difference is Zanskar is more wild, small and narrow valleys, while Spiti is big and wide valley. There are more options of trekking in Zanskar than Spiti and Darcha Lamayuru is one of the best. Spiti could be nice destination to explore Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist learnings. Still there is one more reason to go Pukhtal is its superb location,,, The only trek that connects Spiti to Zanskar is

Chandertaal - Baralacha La (Kailang Sarai) - Phirtse La - Purni - Pukhtal - Thongde La (5400 Mts.) - Thongde - Zangla. Fro Zangla you can carry on your trek to Lamayuru or you can finish in Padum and further drive to Leh via Kargil.
This is the best option, where you visit Spiti Valley and after start your trek from Chandertaal, the most beautiful and fresh water lake of Western Himalaya. Also you will explore the inner parts of Zanskar Himalaya...ask for detailed program, will be happy to help my fellow travelers.

Thank you so much guys. The info you provide is terrific!

I'm puzzled. Unfortunately, I don't have two full weeks available just for Zanskar. I do have 2 weeks, but I was hoping to visit both Zanskar and Spiti during that time. I could start from Lamayuru going south, but I will need to be back in Delhi within 2 weeks, as my flight out of Delhi has already been booked.

How many days would that trek from Lamayuru to Spiti take? If I do decide to go for the variation sirius described (which sounds awesome), I might not have enough time to visit Spiti...

I will arrive in Kargil on July 15th. Then I have the freedom to plan whatever I wish until August 1st... my flight back home. All I want is to spend some time trekking in a very scenic area of Zanskar and visit Spiti as well, but spending less time there. I thought that the most efficient way to link these 2 locations would be going from Padum to Darcha, then to Spiti, then back to Delhi. But now that it seems that this area is much less scenic than the northern area, I really don't know how to organize these 2 weeks getting a glimpse of both areas, and be back in Delhi in time for my flight. I have been to the Indus valley from Leh to Lamayuru, so I was trying to avoid retracing myself for this time.

I really appreciate all suggestions you may have.

Thank you, again. I'm kinda confused now.

Ok, this sounds complicated...

I think you have to forget Spiti valley, if that's definite being the 15th in Kargil and flying out of Delhi 17 days later. It's simply impossible if your main goal is to do a lot of trekking, and not spending endless days on winding roads. In fact, the only possibility to get to Spiti would be to go by bus or jeep from Kargil to Leh, from there to Darcha, from there to Spiti valley. Altogether 4 - 5 days of driving... Is that what you are looking for?

Other points to have in mind:
Spiti has only two access roads and as far as I know requires 2 days minimum to/from Delhi. The more common route is through Manali. You will be there in summer and with a good probability there won't be rain or snow. But don't rely on it to get back to Delhi on the last moment, because when I was there (late summer, although in 2010, the year with the terrible weather conditions) it was raining and snowing and rumours went that they would close the two access roads. I had problems finding a jeep out (was not totally urgent, but my flight out from Delhi... )
This is the Himalaya, where you cannot rely for sure on perfect weather!

I think that leaves you only with the option of trekking in Zanskar, which isn't really a bad option.

First of all, don't forget that you have to acclimatize. You cannot just start trekking upon arrival. I think the rule is to spend at least three nights at an altitude of 3500 or 4000 mts before starting to do some serious trekking. Kargil would be the first night... (for exact info check Wikipedia, "AMS" = acute mountain syndrom).

The Zanskar trek can be divided in two parts, each of one takes about 1 1/2 weeks, Lamayuru to Padum and Padum to Darcha.
If choosing the first part, think about starting the 17th or 18th (3 nights after arriving in Kargil). This means to arrive in Padum around the 27/28th. The only way out would then to take a bus or jeep back to Kargil. There would be no time to go to Phuktal Gompa.
Second option could be to drive from Kargil to Padum. Then there are again two alternatives. Padum to Darcha, including Phuktal Gompa, counting again about 10 days. From Darcha returning to Delhi via Keylong and Manali.
Or making a round trip Padum - Phuktal Gompa, continuing from there as I described, including maybe some other detours, because you will have enough time, and returning to Padum from sTongde or Zangla. From there as described above, back to Kargil.

I don't see other possibilities.
Ok, there could be one other option... I assume you have to be back for work, right? You should do everything to talk your boss into granting you one or two weeks of unpaid leave. You don't know when you will get back to the Himalaya and it's the only life you got... Even if it costs a few bucks to change the flight: this would be only money, but what you see and experience there is simply priceless... GIVE IT A TRY !!!!!

Then we could talk about a lot of other possibilities to spend the time up there...
Mike

One more thing...
I flew out of Delhi at 1 o'clock in the morning. If you have a similar departure time (which country are you from?) then you have to be back at the latest in the afternoon of july 31st... which means one day less to count with...

From Darcha it would be rather quick going to Spiti without having to go to Leh, because I would find quick transportation to Keylong and then directly to Spiti without having to descend to Manali. But this option would not allow me to trek the most scenic area in Zanskar... so I guess I will have to forget about Spiti. It's a pity, because I was in the area last year and missed it...

Is the trek from Padum to Darcha (or through the Tsarap river) really underwhelming as compared with Padum - Lamayuru?

I will try to find more trip reports on the 2 different parts of the trek, hopefully along with photos that can help me make my mind.

Thank you, again, sirius. Huge help!

Cresti, don't torture yourself...

Just accept that you cannot get easily from Kargil to Darcha, take a look at Google Maps. Only way would be through Leh. From Darcha to Spiti Valley it takes 2 days, partly on scenic and good, partly on scenic and terrible roads. I stayed one night at the turn-off from the Leh-Manali-road to Spiti valley, it was not too exciting, a few huts, restaurants, tyre repair service. When the bus came next morning, it took a full day to get to... I even forgot the name of the village, but it was somewhere in Spiti valley, with all the backpacker hostels etc.
This is the Himalaya, and it takes ages to get from one place to another. You've been there before, so you know it... No high-speed trains, no motorways...

Of the 3-week Zanskar trek the better part is undoubly the first half, to Padum, starting in Lamayuru (or doing it the other way round). There are a few possibilities to avoid part of the road that has been built. I promised to email this to another person, if you're interested, pm me your email address, then I can send it also to you.

And, yes, you will be there in the main tourist season, if you want to go on your own, doing mainly homestays and camping, no problem, but if you want to look for a guide with pony to carry the luggage, you might have to count on 1 - 3 additional days, because there might be no-one available just when you get there (Lamayuru or Padum, for example)

As I wrote in the post before, try - no matter how - to get more time. 2 weeks are next to nothing up there for doing some real trekking...

thank you, sirius. it all makes sense.

Thank you so much, Sathya. Your reports are outstanding!

Lamayuru to Dacha was spectacular (refueling and getting more food in Padum; there's a campsite there). It was the coolest thing ever, especially the Lamayuru to Padum bit, on account of all the mountain passes. Beautiful views!

thank you!

opt 1) Padum to Phuktak trek 5 Days
Either you can trek from( Garashea )12km ahead of Raru village as now the road is available till this point. if you start from there then it will take 2 day to reach Phuktal on the way you have to stay either in Purney or Khangrar these places are almost the same as it is very near almost 5 minutes walking distance both provide home stay.
and then you will be needing one day to explore and see phuktal so atleas you need 4-5 days for this trek

opt 2) Darcha to Padum 9 days
You can start your trek from Darcha but now days people start their trek from Palamo which is almost one day ahead of darch because of road is all ready constructed. And from there you can trek crossing Shingo la pass and then getting into Kargak village and then to Phuktal and then to Garasheaor till Raru. this trek is very beautiful in the first phase of the trek you will be able to enjoy Nature and its beautiful Landscape and in the second phase of the trek you can enjoy the Rich Buddhist Culture and people and also land scape.
Opt 3) Padum to Sarchu 10 days
This is totally wild if you want to experiences the wilderness of the valley and Beauty of the Land Scape then you should opt for this trek as it will lead you into River Crossing, Climbing High Passes, and the Beauty of the Isolated Village like Shadey .... and some oasis too. on the way you will be visiting Phuktal Monastery also .

I hope so you find this informative

Absolutely!

Thank you so much for your input.