Description:
Talk about a natural high… Standing on the earth at 16,600 feet above sea level is high by any standard; and it’s an ecstatic experience, especially when you are on the spine of the Great Himalayan Range, the world’s highest range of mountains. Just next to you is a glacier, a sheer hundred-foot wall of ice. Water gushing from the blue ice tunnel at its base is the source of one of India’s major rivers. Up here it’s easy to understand why traditional people identify great heights with divinity, and the Himalaya has been called the abode of the gods. There are incredible views of high peaks and the grand feeling of having made it! Strings of colorful prayer flags adorn the top of the pass. Fluttering in the wind, they send out the message “Om Mane Padme Om,” the Tibetan Buddhist mantra, “The jewel is in the lotus.”
A trek through Zanskar is a challenging, high-altitude Himalayan adventure and also an experience of an archaic and still flourishing Tibetan more... Buddhist culture. Zanskar is an isolated, rugged valley where the mountains are among the world’s most picturesque and astounding. Of enormous height, they have extraordinary forms, surrealistic colors and combinations of rock, as if shaped by the hands of giants.
This is also a world of traditional villages with emerald green barley fields ringed by rainbows of wildflowers, all under a brilliant blue sky. Like the landscape in which they live, the Zanskari people are rugged too with elemental, deeply creased faces. Young children herd flocks of miniature goats. People still wear locally dyed maroon woolen robes and drink Tibetan salt tea.
There are fortress-monasteries with long walls of carved mani stones and gleaming white stupas. The first sight of Phuktal Gompa, built inside an enormous cave, takes one’s breath away.
At the foot of the Great Himalayan Range, the lush Kullu Valley is a great place to acclimatize before starting off on the trek. Here are ancient Hindu temples and traditional villages where people still live in rough-hewn wood and stone houses. Walks through cedar forests and apple orchards limber up the legs and lungs for the trek ahead.
On these treks, horses carry all luggage and supplies. What a joy walking through this incredible landscape carrying only a light day-pack! The crew sets up camp and prepares three delicious meals a day. Before dinner go for an afternoon stroll in wildflower-bedecked meadows, to a yak pasture or a nearby village or monastery.
The drive to Leh, capital of Ladakh, winds among magnificent mountains and passes close to Nun and Kun, awesome 7000-meter (23,000-foot) peaks. The Indus Valley holds some of the Tibetan world\\\\\\\'s greatest artistic creations and spiritual centers: the great monolithic statue of Maitreya at Mulbekh; 1000-year-old Alchi with its fantastic paintings and statues – one of the Buddhist world’s greatest treasures; and the monastery of Lamayuru, set amid dramatic white limestone formations.
Being part of monastery festival in Ladakh is an unforgettable experience. Masked lamas in silken brocade robes perform sacred dance-dramas. Thousands of Ladakhi and Zanskari pilgrims turn out in their most colorful dress, and lively markets spring up near the monastery attracting traders from other parts of the Indus Valley.
In Leh, Ladakh’s main town and once a major caravan halt on a branch of the famed Silk Route, stroll in traditional Central Asian bazaars and wander the streets and shady lanes of this historic place that brings the days of the Silk Route back to life.
It’s a magnificent flight over the Great Himalayan Range from Leh back to Delhi, a city with a long, colorful history and monumental buildings of the British Raj, vibrant temples, markets, museums and beautiful parks. Riding bicycle rickshaws in Old Delhi and wandering the narrow, winding lanes of its bustling bazaars is an immersion into traditional India.
Carol and Martin Noval have been living, trekking and leading cultural and adventure tours in India and the Himalayas for more than 25 years. This summer they are leading another small group into the Himalayas. For more information email them at: tripsintoindia@usa.net and visit their website: www.tripsintoindia.com
\\\\\\\\"...a perfect and powerful trip ... I feel very fortunate that I happened upon a tour being led by such knowledgeable, interesting ...and WELL ORGANIZED people - thanks again...“ Jim Tepperman
Responsible Action:
We use local guides, crews and resources, and we educate our trekkers and travelers in the local cuture and traditions.
Website:
www.tripsintoindia.com
Telephone:
+91 98163 42011
