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Julley, julley - this is the salutation of the Ladakhi people.
It feels like being in a BBC or National Geographic movie: Expedition in the Himalaya.
And we right in the middle - adventure camping in 4000m altitude at the rim of the last villages ...
Last year, Doris, a climbing partner of mine, spent two months in Ladakh/India and she was so enthusiastic that she wanted to return immediately. So we asked again GESAR Travel for a customized trekking trip to Ladakh.
GESAR-Travel is a family company: Daniela from Lienz/Austria, married to Tashi from Ladakh/India. Both are very familiar with the country and are perfect in organizing individual trekking tours.
In the early morning of August 1st we stood at the airport of Munich - looking forward to what we will experience.
Irmi brought me to the airport, check-in and security check were quickly passed. The airplane to Delhi is on time.
Stanzin from GESAR Travel welcomed us at the Delhi International Airport and drove us to the national terminal. We had lots of time. The flight to Leh was scheduled for 5:30 in the morning.
At the approach to Leh the snow covered himalayen mountains greeted through the window. Siring from the local GESAR office picked us up at the airport and drove us to the Yartsa guesthouse.
We had momo for dinner - a kind of tibetian "Dim Sum".
Just at the beginning of our stay Doris visited the nonnery, were she had been teaching English and maths last year to the children.
This gave me the opportunity to have a closer look to Leh ...
The works in the main road for "Leh Beautification" are still going on since last year.
In the "Upper Tukcha Road" the office of GESAR travel is located.
Over the roofs of the town the "Leh Palace" is situated, the ancient residance of the monarchs of Leh, traditionally built of adobe bricks. One peak further monks are living in their hermitage.
Bad wheather and rain announces With dark clouds. Not only the roads of Leh have been watered in the night. The roofs built of loam got rain-drenched and early in the morning I woke up because Trigsit, our landlord put corrugated sheeting on the roof to prevent rain from running into the living room.
For akklimatization we started with a day trip nearby of Leh. At 8 o'clock in the morning Rigsin, our guide, picked us up at the guesthouse with a minibus. We already mounted up to 4065m.
The 6th of August we started by car to the Zanskar mountains. Rigzin, our guide and the kitchen team, Gonbo and Tinles, picked us up at the guesthouse. All luggage and provisions for two weeks trekking were fixed on the roof and the loading platform of the pickup car.
Along the Indus we drove westwards. Brown water streamed downwards ...
We just turned away from the mainroad into the direction of Wan-La, as the road got adventurous.
At a lot of spots debris and crushed stone were beeing washed down to the road by the heavy rain of the last days. After a couple of kilometers a torrent flew over the street and made a passage by car impossible. Rigzin, our guide, organized helping hands for the transport of our luggage to the other side. Everything was stored onto another car while Doris and I were invited to a cup of coffee in a camping site near the street. But even now it was just a short trip by car until the road was damaged for a longer distance. We had to go by foot to the next camping site!
An excavator was working to clear the street, but even using this heavy equipment would last some days to clear the street!
For the next day Rigzin organized another car (in the locked part of the street fortunately TWO cars existed!) During the journey some more people joined us so that in a short time 5 more persons were sitting on the loading platform. Through a narrow gorge and over the Sirsir-La-Pass (4800m) we continued to Photoksar in front of the impressive mountain massif.
With the gravel roads full of broken stones it is no wonder that a tyre got worn out. With fully loaded vehicle a wheel change became necessary. - Just a view kilometers later the street was completely blocked. All luggage was unloaded and we built up our camp at the end of the road.
The car returned without us. Drizzling rain welcomed us.
<- Photoksar with crop fields in front of the impressive mountain massif.
Next morning blue sky is back again. We awoke with peal of bells. Over night our horseman arrived with the ponies.
After breakfast everything got packed and loaded on to the ponies. Our first trek to the pass began ...
At the Singe-La-Pass we arrived at "rush hour". From both sides people met at the top of the pass - Belgians, French, Schwab ...
Our ponies arrive short afterwards. They are well trained for the hight.
On the other side of the pass, the way goes down the stony slopes. The crop fields and the village of Skyumpata can allready be seen from above.
In the village a pavilion has been built up, because the people are awaiting the belgian group. Everybody wore festive dresses ...
At a greenfield near the village we built up our camp.
From Skyumpata we continued our way over the Murgum-La-Pass (4381m) to Lingshed (3950m).
In the Monastery we met our companion from the car drive to Zanskar Lama Seppelth. He invited us to a cup of tea in his room. At the wall a poster is hanging from the famous montaineer Dieter Glogowski.
At the monastery we got invited to lunch and a buddhistian ceremony.
Today our camp was built up directly aside the house of the parents from our cook Gonbo. Two sisters of him came to Doris to play games.
We passed our first two days of trekking - two more weeks lay in front of us. We would walk through this inhospitable country, full of rocks and stones; villages with just a dozan of inhabitants, reachable only over 5000m high passes. And the rain of the last days destroyed a lot of trails.
At the yak shepherds we could see, how butter ist crafted by hand. Some river crossings were still ahead of us and we hoped, that the water level would fall so that we can pass ...
At the Kanji-La-Pass (ca. 5300m) a big snow cornice was hanging at the top, that we just could pass by. And at the highest point of our trek, at the Tsomothang with 6064m, was laying so much snow, that we decided to go on the top of an "unnamed Peak" instead just opposite with a bit less than 6000m.
In Kanji the children of the village came down to the camping site to see us.
At the last morning (on a sunday) we could join a Buddhistic ceremony ...
A minibus drove us back to Leh.
On August 25th we landed punctually at 5:30 back in Munich.
hb (at) mtsf.de