Ladakh – is a largely celebrated winter wonderland and adventure paradise for every kind of traveler. The incandescent beauty of this union territory is alone enough to provide various range of scenic views, a heavily snowed environment, a great reach of Himalayan landscapes, a snow-adorned walk through an alpine forest area, deep Buddhist traditional festivities, a gorgeous look into the wildlife culture. Ladakh is not just a scenic ride for millennials instead, it evokes a certain kind of emotion – an emotion that is filled with a feeling of freedom and liberation among the millennials and that may be the reason why the people of today’s generation seek a vacation or adventure journey in Ladakh.
Apart from harboring various lengths of scenic travel sites, Ladakh is more recently being honored as a base point that heartily opens several trekking destinations for any kind of traveler i.e., a seasoned or an adventure traveler. From letting you experience a swift walk on a Zanskar River to letting walk to the arms of Mount Nun, Ladakh has been blessed with every kind of adventure that a traveler seeks.
So, following is the list of 10 famous adventure journeys a traveler can enjoy in Ladakh –
- Chadar Trek (8 Days)
Chadar Trek or also popularly called a Zanskar Gorge Trek is a 106-km long trekking journey and is famously traversed as a winter trail by adventure travelers. The trek is famous for giving its visitor an inexplicable experience of walking on the frozen river of Zanskar and feeling mesmerized after realizing the surreal beauty of this place.
The trek is very much related to testing one’s determination and survival instinct in walking down a journey that gives you immense pleasure after winning it.
2) Markha Valley Trek (9 days)
Markha Valley is a 9-day long trekking journey that is usually attempted from the month of May to September and is walked to witness the natural green beauty filled with thousands of watering streams. One needs to walk about 75 km of leveled path crossing through the waist-deep river of Markha to finally reach a gorgeous Buddhist village situated in the middle of towering mountain ranges.
Many of you who undertake this easy-level trekking journey get to witness the spellbinding peaks of the Zanskar Ranges, Kang Yatse, Stok Kangri, etc.
3) Nubra Valley Trek (6-10 Days)
Nubra Valley – famously enjoyed by the millennials for being the one-time gateway to the ancient Silk Route of India where one can easily witness the heavily perched purple mountains, double-humped camels, and cold breeze swirling upon the white sand dunes. This is a 6-10 days long walking journey where the traveler gets to traverse through lush green meadows and anciently built Buddhist shrines.
Upon reaching the mountaintop of Nubra Valley, you also get a chance to witness the mesmerizing ranges of Karakoram, K2, etc.
4) Stok Kangri Trek (9-10 Days)
A snowy, razor-cut peak perched atop the rough mountains of Ladakh – Stok Kangri is like a journey for experienced trekkers who climb up to this mountain to test their limit and also to define the walk towards a tough ascent to themselves. By heartily starting their journey from Stok Village, the travelers make a walk for about 9-10 days through a steep path and a carefully led walk on frozen water.
The distance to be covered during the Stok Kangri journey is about 240 km to finally reach a top perched at an altitude of 20,180 ft above sea level. And thus, by making its difficulty level in your mind, the journey to its top will only keep rolling in your mind.
5) Nun Peak Climbing Expedition (21-22 Days)
Almost always traversed by the experienced traveler or by the travelers who have some basic technical mountaineering knowledge – the Nun peak climbing expedition is one of the highest peaks of the Himalayan region lying on the Indian side of LOC in Ladakh. The desolate and uninhabited mountain stands at a staggering height of 7,135 m above sea level in the Suru region.
Every traveling group takes around 21-22 days to reach the mountain top of Nun Peak and be mesmerized by its virgin beauty. You can also witness the peaks of many different ranges like Zanskar, a panoramic view of Leh-Ladakh, etc.
6) Kun Peak Expedition (22-23 Days)
Believing in a similar journey to its twin peak – Mount Nun, Mount Kun is the second-highest peak of the massif and is generally traversed by aspiring mountaineers or sometimes by ordinary travelers who seek brief supervision from travel companies. The snow-covered, green fog-enshrouded mountain stands at a towering height of 7,077m above the ground near Suru Valley.
The trek to the top of this massive peak usually takes around 22-23 days while walking on rough terrain towards a tough ascent, hugely covered in snow. The peak offers an unprecedented view of Mount Kun, Mount Barmal, White Needle, etc.
7) Sham Valley Trek (3-5 Days)
Also widely pronounced as ‘Baby Trek’, by the locals of Ladakh is a beautiful trekking journey along with the traditional sites of the Buddhist religion. Letting you walk through the poplar-lined path and small traditional settlements; the Sham Valley trekking journey will be a great experience for the first-timers or it will work as a primer for polished travelers.
The 3-5 days trek to the Sham Valley takes its travelers through a scenic hike to the 11-century Buddhist Monastery where a towering gold statue of Lord Buddha is worshipped ardently.
8) Kang Yatse II Trek (12 Days)
Kang Yatse II Peak – a journey filled with rough terrains and tough straight-line ascent is an aspiring mountaineer’s paradise who pick up this journey to train themselves for another harder journey in the Himalayan region. The incredibly tall and slender mountain stands at a towering height of 6,400m above the ground at the end of Markha Valley which requires an extremely technical walk across various knife-cut ridges.
The travelers can traverse this massive peak in and around 12 days where they get a chance to walk through the cultural Ladakhi region.
9) Digar La Trek (8 Days)
Instead of making you walk towards a mountain top, the Digar La trek takes you through a journey to the several mesmerizing landscapes of Ladakh until it reaches the cold desert in the Nubra region. Digar La Trek also locally called ‘Leh Nubra Pangong Circuit’ connects the Indus Valley to the green fog-enshrouded Nubra Valley.
The trekking distance is about 30km and is generally traversed during the course of 8 days while taking some brief enjoyable stopover at the famous Monasteries of Ladakh.
10) 6 Passes Trek
6 Passes Trek is not about traversing a single mountain range but instead starting from Rumtse village, the traveler follows a unique journey of traversing six high-altitude passes perched atop the height of more than 5000 meters above the ground.
The 106-km long Gargantuan hardly-traveled trekking journey, makes you pass the six high-altitude regions incorporating 3 lakes in the path named Tso Kar, Tso Moriri, and Startsapuk Tso, and beautifully adorned with meandering rivers, lush green meadows, barren terrains, mesmerizing landscapes.