High-altitude trekking in the Himalayas
Trip Start
Jul 20, 2006
1
8
11
Trip End
Aug 13, 2006
Likir- Yangtang- Hemis Shupachen- Ang- Temisgam- Lamayuru, India
Thursday, August 3, 2006
I'm heading out to Likir to start my trek amidst all the other treks in the area that have been cancelled due to the heavy rain. So far, it has rained every night but is sunny during the day. For a high altitude desert, the city of Leh is not equipped to handle to rainfall, ie the roof leaked in the hotel, power was cut, etc. Crossing the only bridge out of Leh, we headed to Likir. We found out later that this bridge washed-out later that day, cutting our return route to Leh and the only airport in the area (Srinagar was the next closest domestic airport).
Day #1 - Likir
En route to Likir, we stoped at small monastery in Basgo. Perched on a rock outcrop, it commands an amazing view of the surrounding valley with the Himalayas as a backdrop. Continuing on to Likir, we set up camp and journeyed to the Likir monastery, whom the abbot is the brother of the current Dalai Lama.
Heading back to camp, it started to rain... it's going to be wet tonight!
Day #2 - Likir to Yangtang
An early rise to start the trek walking through a sparse and stark landscape. The rain stopped but having heard that the only bridge back to Leh had washed out and all other routes in Ladakh had been closed due to landslides and rising river levels caused by the rain, we had no choice but to continue the trek. Hoping that the conditions and the path would be propitious, we hoped for the best but tried to remain realistic. The first pass was quite easy but after the pass we encountered our first obstacle, a raging river that had overflowed its banks. It was clear that we could not cross the river and follow the path and had to find an alternate route.
Arriving in Yangtang, camp was set up on a terrace looking out onto the Zanskar range and everyone went down to relax by the river. Rain clouds gather again and we hurried back to our tents... It rained again at night.
Day #3 - Yangtang to Hemis Tskming
Again, the sun was shining during the day of this our shortest walk. The trek was cut short today as we were not able to descend into the valley to visit the Ridzong monastery as the path was flooded out, landslides along the path, and of course the river was still too high that we could not ford it. As the day wore on, storm clouds gathered and it rained through out the night.
Day #4 - Hemis Shupachen to Ang to Temisgam
The path was wet and slippery today as the path was turned to mud and mudslides threatened our ascent up the second pass at 3750m. The scenery here is so stark and barren but there is a certain beauty to it. A multitude of brown, red, and grey hues were little vegetation grows. Of course, the villages are in the valleys, which by contrast, are all green with crops as water (and the recent rain) is fed through irrigation channels.
Ang was a pleasant little village and we played cricket with the locals until the rain drove us back to our tents for the night!
Day #5 - Temisgam to Lamayuru
A narrow path led up to the final pass of the trek. After crossing the path, it was an easy gradual descent to the road where two taxis picked us up and drove us through the valley of the moon to Lamayuru. The road was spectacular and, though paved and safer, it reminded me of the World's Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia that I biked down three years before (check my South America blog).
Later that day, we ascended to the monastery which yielded great views of the surrounding moon-like landscape. The camp ground though was not the best as it was right beside the highway/main road between Srinagar and Leh. You'll never guess what happened tonight... it rained!
