India 2005: August 2005

Trek Day 4: Hinju to Camp via Konze La - 15km (6 1/2 hours)

We had a 3 1/2 hour climb upto the Konze La pass. We climbed past upper Hinju and stopped for a break in the valley just before the steepest part of the climb. It took us 3 1/2 hours upto the peak of the Konze La pass (4950m / 16,200 ft) and we couldn't stop smiling at the top! The climb was incredibly difficult! We could feel every step as our bodies were affected by the altitude...I could particularly feel the lack of oxygen in my legs. It was very cold and windy at the top, but the views were breath-taking! It was a steep climb down after the pass to our campsite (4300m / 14,100 ft). We were all exhausted, and went straight to bed after another amazing dinner. I guess we were all pretty lucky not to suffer from altitude sickness sleeping at this elevation.

The wind was wicked at the top of the pass, but I needed to sit down and have a break!

We were so happy to reach the top of Konze La (4950m).

The view of the Zanskar range from the Konze La.

Taking a break before the steep trail up to Konze La.

Trek Day 3: Wanlah to Hinju - 13km (4 1/2 hours)

We started our second day of trekking on a 4x4 road, so the first hour and a half we walked quite quickly...but it was good to help us warm up in the morning! We stopped at Phanjila (3410m) for a cool drink, since it was going to be a short day we were not in a rush. We walked along water trenches, under trees and through fields to the town of Hinju (3720m). We walked past the main village to our campsite (3800m / 12,500 ft). Ian tried out the satellite phone with success while I found the perfect spot for a nap (still not feeling well). We all discussed how hard tomorrow was going to be, and headed off to bed early again.

We kept moving up the slope to stay in the sun and keep warm!

The view of Hinju from our campsite.

Steph still not feeling well found the perfect spot for a nap at our campsite.

Hiking from Wanlah to Hinju.

We hung out with the horses waiting to start the daily hike.

Trek Day 2: Lamayuru to Wanlah - 10km (3 1/2 hours)

We had a terrible sleep in Lamayuru (3430m) with dogs barking and running around our tents all night...but we still had to get up at 6:00am to start our first day of treking. For breakfast we had omelletes, toast with jam and cornflakes. We set off at 7:30, after packing up, and hiked up hill to reach the Prinkiti La (3650m/12,000 ft) at 9:00am. We then hiked down the impressive gorge to Shile (3200m) into the Shiliakong Valley, which had beautiful purples, browns, silvers, reds and yellows in the mountains. We stopped for a snack at the stumpa before walking to Wanlah (3150m) to our campsite. We washed clothes and ourselves in the freezing cold river, and Ian went up to tour the Wanlah gompa with the Frenchman from our rafting trip while I stayed behind at the campsite (as I was not feeling well). Vishwa made us tempura for a snack, and of course another amazing meal. Early to bed again.

Some of the local children of Wanlah.

The prayer wheels at the Wanlah gompa.

Our campsite just outside of Wanlah.

A short lunch break by a stumpa.

Ian waits for Steph to catch up. Zanskar Range.

Part of the Zanskar range.

Trek Day 1: Leh to Lamayuru

We all met at Yasmin Trek & Tour at 9:00am. Our trekking gang included Andrea and Katrin (the Swiss girls we had met a couple of days before), Dorjay (our guide from Tibet) and Vishwa our cook (from Goa with almost 25 years of treking experience!). The horses and ponyman were to meet us in Lamayuru. The bus ride (in our 'super delux mini cab' ) took approximately 6 hours with a short break for lunch in Khaltse. The campsite was very basic, but we spent the afternoon touring the monestary (Gompa) where a monk chanted for us and a monk in training (a 10 year-old little boy) tried to carry on some daily rituals, but had a hard time keeping his eyes open. Vishwa cooked up an amazing meal back at the campsite and then we headed to bed early in preparation for the hike the next day.

Vishwa cooks up a feast in the dining tent.

Looking down at our campsite in Lamaryuru.

One of the figures in the monestary.

The monestary in Lamaryuru.

Ian's amazing shot while on a short break on the way to Lamaryuru from Leh.

Our fellow trekers Andrea & Katrin, along with our guide Dorjay and cook Vishwa outside of our Super Delux bus on the way to Lamaryuru.

Rafting on the Zanskar River

We met the Splash Adventure guys in the main bazaar in Leh at approximately 8:45am. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Chiling, where we were to start the rafting. The road was quite narrow, with a steep drop off on one side and rock on the other. To make it even better it was still being constructed, so there were many workers on the road still building as we passed. The guys started by blowing up our raft (ofcourse Ian had to help!) and giving safety instructions...I asked what the probability of falling out of the raft was and our guide said "very high". Since the water was only about 5 degrees and we had never rafted before I was not keen to jump in to the boat. But off we went! (there were a Frenchman and an Israeli paddling with us who had both been rafting before). The route was rated at level four (five is the most difficult for rafting), but they assured me that we would be safe as we had a kayaker following us who would keep us company if we fell in the water (to talk us through the stages of hypothermia!). It turned out to actually be quite a lot of fun! No one fell out of the boat, and we only had to stop once on a rocky outcrop to pump up the leaking boat. By the time we got to Nemo (our final destination) we were frozen from the spashing of the water and the lack of sun to warm us up. We quickly changed our clothes and hopped into the Jeep waiting to drive us back to Leh. We spent the evening re-packing our bags for the trek leaving the next morning.