Trekking Routes in Ladak
The Pangong Lake Circuit
The beautiful high altitude Pangong Lake is also another popular destination with trekkers. It is a picturesque route that covers Shey and Thikse with their interesting monasteries, before turning off into the side valley of Chemrey. It goes over the Chang - la , the pass over the Ladakh range which despite it height is not too difficult to tackle. At the base of the pass, tangse has an ancient temple. The trek ends at spangmik, which is the furthest point to which foreigners are permitted - about 7 km along the southern bank of the lake.
Kargil
Located in an ideal location within the centre of the Himalayan region, Kargil is one destination of Ladakh with tremendous potentials for adventure activities. Kargil serves as an important base for adventure tours in the heart of Himalayas. It is also the take off station for visitors to the heaven of exotic Himalayan locales, Zanskar Valley. Tourists travelling between Srinagar and Leh have to make a night halt at Kargil before starting off the second leg of their trekking journey.
The Korakoram Range
The range of mountains north of Ladakh, and thus north of the Himalayas, has 10 peaks over 7,000m including at 8,611m, the world's second highest peak, Mt. Godwin Austen, also known as K2. It stands in the Pakistani held part of Kashmir. Because the mountains in the Karakoram rise from a base altitude averaging close to 3,000m they do not look as impressive as the Himalayas. Trekkers should note that this region is outside the permitted zone.
Nubra Valley
Along the eastern ridge of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh is the Nubra valley comprising of the upper Shayok and Nubra river valleys. The trekking route to this area is demanding and traverses the Kardung-la pass along the ancient trade route from Leh to Central Asia. It is the highest motorable road in the world! The breathtaking view from the pass surveys an entire length of the Indus valley in the south and a magnificent panorama of snow clad peaks. The route follows the valley past attractive villages to Deskit, the largest village in the valley. Onwards to Hundar down the Shayok valley, the trail wanders past rolling sand dunes. There is a small population of double humped Bactrian camels here and visitors can avail of a marvelous moonlight camel safari on the dunes.
The Tso Moriri Lake
The Leh-Manali road goes through the upland desert plateau of Rupshu inhabited only by the nomadic chang-pa herdsmen and their flocks of Pashmina goats. Its bare rolling hills interspersed with dusty valleys are the setting for the spectacular Tso Moriri Lake and other lakes in the area.
One trek wends its way to Korzok located just 5 km along the lake's 23 km length. This route takes off along the Leh-Manali road over the Taglang -la, proceeds to the twin lakes of Startsapuk Tso (a fresh water lake) and Tso-Kar (a salt water lake) and then on to Korzok
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