Multi Activity Ladakh

This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight to Leh (3500/11482ft).

Following your arrival in Leh, you will be met for a half-hour transfer to Stok, where you check in to your hotel, Stok Palace. The rest of the day is at leisure, as here on your day of arrival it is medically mandated to undergo minimal exertion to enable your body to acclimatize to lower oxygen levels at this high altitude. Because of this, we won’t be partaking in any strenuous activities today. In the late afternoon, perhaps take a stroll through the peaceful village of Stok and engage with the friendly local community, followed by a welcome dinner featuring Ladakhi folk dances at the Stok Palace.

Late afternoon, you may take a stroll through the peaceful village of Stok and engage with the joyous local community.

Welcome Dinner with Ladakhi Folk Dances at the Stok Palace. Overnight Stok.

Accommodation: Stok Palace
Transfer: 1.5 hrs flight / 30 mins from Leh Airport to Stok Palace

Begin today with a guided meditation with a monk and become in tune with your surroundings. Have breakfast before we depart on a hike to Stok Nala (nala means ‘stream’). The trail goes through the village and ascends gradually for an hour, past barley fields, enclosed gardens and apricot orchards, to the head of the alluvial plain where it enters the stream’s gorge. The worn trail is used for the summer movement of cattle and sheep to the higher pastures and by donkeys and zos carrying food and other supplies between camps and villages. Return to the hotel for lunch.

Later, we visit the Thiksey Monastery. This hilltop monastery houses a beautifully golden two-story statue of the Maitreya Buddha seated on a lotus and boasts a spectacular view of the valley. After lunch, continue on an orientation tour of Leh, visiting popular landmarks, including the magnificent Leh Palace. Continue on foot on a walking tour passing some enchanting old houses to the LAMO – Ladakh Arts & Media Organization. Listen to a short presentation by a Ladakhi scholar on the architectural heritage of the old city. Enjoy the views of the old city from the terrace of the Munshi House as you sip on a cup of special Ladakhi tea with light snacks. The heritage exploration continues through the old city ending in the bazaar. The tour will end at the white-domed Shanti Stupa, perched upon a great vantage point over Leh, with spectacular views of the mountains.

Accommodation: Stok Palace
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Activity: 3 hrs Hike / Cooking demonstration / 3 hrs sightseeing tour

Enjoy a delicious breakfast to start the day.

This morning you will take part in a ceremony at local monastery, where many people gather to take part. Check out from the palace hotel and depart to the entry point to raft on the Indus River. Board the raft and paddle past Ladakhi villages as we negotiate gentle low grade rapids till we reach the Indus – Zanskar confluence at Nimmu (10,300 ft), where we can witness the point where the two colors of the rivers combine. Here, we get off the raft and drive to today’s final destination of Nimmu House. In the evening, explore the tiny village of Nimmu and its peaceful surroundings, seeing its monasteries, old caravanserai, gardens and orchards.

Accommodation: Nimmu House
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Transfer: 2 hrs
Activity: 1 hrs Monastery Ceremony / 2 hrs Rafting / 1 hr Nimmu village walk

This morning we check out from Nimmu House after breakfast and hit the road to make our first stop at Alchi Monastery, also known as Alchi Gompa, located near the small village of Saspul. It is one of the oldest monasteries built in Ladakh, dating back to the 11th century. You will then be driven to the beautiful villages of Tingmosgang and Tia, then continue our drive for an hour and half to today’s end destination of Uley.

We will stay the next three nights at the Snow Leopard Lodge, located at an altitude of about 13,000 feet. The six-room lodge is simply furnished with three bathrooms, and dining and sitting rooms that look out over the valley and the surrounding hills. The setup is basic but has comfortable beds, toilets and washing facilities.

Accommodation: Snow Leopard Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, Dinner
Transfer: 2 hrs
Activity: 1 hr Alchi Monastery visit / 2 hrs village visit

Uley is located in the center of three interlocking valleys. These valleys house the villages of Saspul and the more substantial Hemis-Shukpachu. Today, after breakfast, we hike to the village of Hemis-Shukpachu (12,073 ft) which is a gradual hike up and down hills which will take four to five hours, with many opportunities to see wildlife, such as the bearded vulture, golden eagles, Tibetan hares, Himalayan marmots and Nayan sheep. We stop to enjoy a picnic lunch. Hemis-Shukpachu is a tranquil village with a small gompa, green pastures and babbling brook, making for an easy place to relax. In the village, enjoy a walk around and have tea at one of the local houses and converse with locals. We then drive back to Uley. In the evening, learn how to cook a Ladakhi meal in a traditional Ladakhi kitchen.

Accommodation: Snow Leopard Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, Dinner
Activity: 4-5 hrs hike / Cooking demonstration

Start the day with a tasty breakfast. Today we hike to Saspochey village (12,175 ft). Today’s hike is more difficult than the previous day which will take us around five hours, crossing a small stream and then hiking uphill until we reach the first ridge, where you can marvel at the amazing views of the Uley Valley. Enjoy a picnic lunch on route. We then head downhill for a small patch and later climb up the second ridge from where you will have the first view of Saspochey village. The hike from the ridge is downhill to the tiny village. Upon reaching the village, we sit in one of the local houses to relax and enjoy a cup of local tea. After a brief walk around the village we drive back to Uley.

Accommodation: Snow Leopard Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, Dinner
Activity: 5 hrs hike

After breakfast and a short safety briefing, you will be ready to cycle approximately three hours down the Ladakhi Himalayas from Uley to Likir. The road crisscrosses its way on the mountainside up to the village. On arrival to Leh we visit REWA Ability Center Ladakh, where we meet and interact with differently abled children. Children from all over the Leh Valley come for treatment here and they love a friendly visit. We then transfer to a vehicle and drive to the village of Saboo (11,627 ft) located east of Leh to our hotel.

Accommodation: Saboo Resort
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Transfer: 2 hrs
Activity: 3 hrs cycling / 1 hr REWA visit

Today after breakfast we embark on a full-day drive to Tso Moriri (14,835 ft), stopping along the way at the villages of Gya, Meru and Lhato (the place where the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate). Then we move across the very scenic and dizzying Tanglang La Pass (17,582 ft) – the world’s second highest motorable pass. Continue to the Tso Kar wetlands, comprising of twin lakes, separated by a freshwater stream which gives the place its unique characteristic of having both a brackish water lake as well as a freshwater lake naturally making this highly favorable in terms of habitat for the creatures that inhabit them. The drive takes you through some key ecosystems and protected wildlife areas.

The Tso Kar high altitude wetlands are considered to be one of the most protected biomes in the country, supporting strategic migrations and breeding grounds for some of the most endangered animals. Key species here include the Tibetan Wolf, Tibetan argali, blue sheep, red fox, sand fox, weasel, kiang (wild ass) and marmots. These lakes also host key breeding grounds for migrant avian species. Finally, drive uphill arriving to Tso Moriri. The brackish Tso Moriri is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. This unique habitat attracts many migratory waterbirds including Brahminy ducks, black-necked cranes, great crested grebes, teals, sand plovers and the rare bar-headed geese, which cross the Himalaya to breed here during the summer around the inlets of the lakes, along with the last population of Tibetan wild kiang in India, Tibetan gazelles among other amazing wildlife.

The tents are with all basic facilities, quality quilt and bedding with apt lightings and water connections. Electricity works from 6 pm to 10 pm only. Hot water bucket is provided on request and hot water bottle is also provided for the night. All meals are provided in a separate dining tent.

Accommodation: Tented Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Transfer: 8 hrs

Start the day with breakfast at the camp. Spend the day hiking around the lake showcasing a myriad of colors and unique mammal and birdlife. Visit the small but interesting Karzok Monastery and explore this fascinating high-altitude desert which is the home of the Changpa nomads. Explore their ingenious way of life attuned now to this unforgiving terrain as they abide by their millennia-old legacies and legends – from yak wool tents, shearing Pashmina goats and stories of a thousand mountain spirits.

Accommodation: Tented Camp
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Activity: Full day to hike, birding, and interacting with local nomads (Walk at leisurely pace – 3 hrs morning / 3 hrs afternoon)

After breakfast, depart on an early morning drive back to Leh (11,500 ft altitude) via Chumathang. Check into Hotel Grand Dragon in town and visit the markets for any last-minute purchases. Enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Accommodation: Grand Dragon
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, Dinner
Transfer: 8 hrs

This morning you bid farewell to the enchanting and breath-taking mountainous and rugged terrain of Ladakh as you transfer to the airport for your flight to Delhi and your international connecting flight.

Meals: Breakfast
Transfer: 1.5 hrs flight