where in the world: July 2010

I'm a bit slow to post, but here is the second part of my trip to Ladakh.

After three days of acclimatization, we took off on an 8-day trek through the Markha Valley. Although I battled a stomach flu the first few days, the trek was entirely a success. We traversed valleys, forded glacial rivers, and crossed two passes at 16,000 and 17,000 feet. We saw a bit of rain and snow, but mostly the sun was consistently strong and the skies an intensely beautiful blue.

Indus River Valley

Ponies taking a break

The crew at the top of Ganda La Pass (16,000ft)

Starting the descent to the valley

Day 3: Three tents at Shingo Campsite

Parachute tent selling tea and snacks.

First glimpses of Skyu - the monastery and stupa.

Huge Buddha in a 1,000 year old monastery in Skyu.

Metal smith in Skyu.

Ibex horns and other items stacked and hung to protect the valley and its travelers.

The Markha Valley.

Markha Monastery.

Ladakhi woman coming down from the high sierra and trying to sell us some "fresh" sheep meat.

Baby in a basket!

Day 5 Stars! Psyching up for a climb up near the snow in the background.

Rinchen taking in the view.

Tents at Nimaling (15,500 ft) with Kang Yatse peak (21,500ft) in the background.

Evening ritual - the sheep coming down from grazing for the night.

Hundreds of sheep and one tiny bridge!

Shephard

Last one across.

Pony men tent.

Warming up with hot chai!

The group at the top of Gongmaru La Pass (17,000ft)!

Laura, Marie, Nicole, Amy, Guide Rinchen, Me, Chris.

Triumphant!

360 view

Lunch Break at the pass.

Clouds clearing.

Reaching flat land again.

Back to the green valleys!

Tea Tent

After taking a few days of rest (and some massive cleaning), I took the train with friends Nicole, Chris, and Nicole's visiting sister to Delhi. Torrential storms delayed our train, but we eventually made it to our hotel and were greeted by WCB friend Marie who is visiting for 3 weeks. Due to excitement, anticipation, and the lateness of our arrival, we managed one hour of sleep before heading to the airport to begin our journey to Ladakh.

Ladakh is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (northern tip of India). While the western part of the state is known for violence and unrest, the region of Ladakh is very traveler-friendly and peaceful. It is sometimes referred to as "Little Tibet" because the Ladakhi culture and landscape is very similar to Tibet. The flight to Leh was short (1 hour) but full of amazing views. In essence, we flew over the width of the Great Himalayas (although there are smaller Himalayan ranges that extend farther north than Leh). Snow peaks filled the horizon and, reaching into 20,000ft, seemed very close to our plane! We arrived at 7:30am and were shuttled to our guest house.

View from the plane.

View approaching Leh. I think that is the Indus River.

Padma Guest House is HIGHLY recommended! We walked down a little alleyway to the entrance and were greeted with friendly faces, hot chai, gardens, and views of the mountains. I was delighted when I saw fireweed (a BWCA staple) growing! Our friends Kate, Laura, and Jed (Laura's visiting brother) had been there a few days already. Throughout our stay, we spent hours on the beautiful rooftop restaurant sipping hot ginger lemon honey tea, reading, and chatting - a little piece of heaven!

Entrance to Padma. Snow-caps in the background.

Fireweed growing in the garden at Padma!

In order to acclimatize, we had to spend three days in Leh before starting our trek. We slept a lot, explored the market, and took a day trip to a few monasteries outside of Leh. Acclimatization went pretty smoothly; I was the only one who had a constant headache one afternoon.

One the way to Chemrey and Thaktog Monestaries.

The whole group at high altitude!

Thaktog Monastery.

Old monk at Thaktog.

Chemrey Monestary

Punk monks at Chemrey Monestary.

After three days, we said goodbye to Leh and Padma for a bit and went on a trek (more about this in a separate post). After 8-days, we returned for an additional day and a half before heading back to Delhi. We shopped, ate, read, and explored the city a bit.