Marvel Adventure–feel the excitation

MARKHA VALLEY TREK ---
THE FINEST TREK IN LADAKH

Trek Cost :

₹ 20,000 + 5% GST (Leh to Leh)

ABOUT THIS TREK

Grade : Difficult

Region : Ladakh

Altitude : 5200 m

Trek Distance : 65 Km

Trek Days : 8 Days

Best Season : April to June & September to October

Nearest Railway : Jammu Tawi

Nearest Airport : Leh

The name of this trek is after a the river MARKHA in Ladakh, it is a tributary of Zanskar river. The river and this trek falls inside HEMIS NATIONAL PARK. Markh valley is the largest valley of this region, dry and barren land of the Himalayas. The less footed Markha Valley is Ladakhi hidden beauty, one can discover lush green to yellow-brown barren dry lands. This undisturbed trail is full of adventure actrivities like river crossing at waist deep, crossing high altitude pass Kongmaru La (17,060 ft). There are also few rocky canyons on the trail along with the spectecular view of Khang Yatse mountains (21,300 ft) and the Stok Kangri peak (20,190 ft). The colorfull rock formations on the trail makes the way contrasting with the views of Stok kangri mountain. The two famous pass Kongmaru La and Ganda La are enroute this trek a challenging crossover opens a panoramic view of the entire Karakoram Ranges and Ladakh Ranges. On the clear sunny days you can get a distant view of Tibet region. The best part of this trek is the cute Homestays on every night. There are clam and blissfull Ladakhi villages on the way Rumbak, Shingo, Skyu, Sara, Markha and Hankar. The journey beautifies with these lovely villages with flattering prey-flags and deep to the Ladakhi culture. The viilage Markha and Hankar is a Green oasis in the dry barren lands of Ladakh. The villages with scenic landscapes will leave you spell bound and the most pleasing experience is the Tibetian culture inside the villages. Observe the kitchen of these Ladakhi people is well furnished of traditional Tibetian look and oviously prey-flags. So here is the comfortable part of this trek is that your stay accomodation on every night on this trek will be arranged in Tea-House/Homestay. Enjoy the evening inside a Ladakhi-Tibetian Homestay. If you are thinking to trek in Ladakh, this is the ideal choice. So this trek is gratifying experience without any camping logistics involved, makes it more attractive and a bit easy. The mysterious trek is 8 days long starts from the City Leh. You will ashtonished as you gain altitude with variety of the tiny hamlets decorated with small Buddhist structures. After a long day strenous hike visit the tibetian cafes hosted by those villages serving rejuvanating hot drinks and tibetian dishes. There are few ruined historic monasteries and forts and temples. Amongst them Tacha monastery is an eye catcher in the land of high passes. This trail is mostly undistrubed so that on the trail there is lots of chance to spot wild animals. The HEMIS NATIONAL PARK is globally famous for the abode of Snow Leopards. It is considered that this is the only national park in the world with highest density of them. The other faunas find in Ladakh are Ibex, Blue sheep, Golden eagle, Himalayan Marmot, Ladakh Pika, Urial, Red Fox, Tibetian Antelope, Tibetian Gazelle, Tibetian Hare etc. Over 1600 Ladakhi and nomads lives inside the national park raising their poultry, goats and sheeps. Experience the lifestyle inside a Cold-Dessert. The Markha Valley is challenging trek with river crossing, steep ascend and descend in few parts, crossing two high parts and very long day walk make this trek difficult. And it is graded as Difficult also for the the high altitude, because there are more chances to feel mild AMS on this trek. Maximum altitude gain is 5200 meters, and it matters a lot recommended for experienced trekkers who have done at least a moderate class trek. Unlike other treks this do not trace the same way for decending to get back at Leh. Therefore you can get non-repetative stunning views insight into the Ladak Himalayas. Read more below for best time to do this trek, temperature and weather.

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WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS TREK

The Amazing View of Mt. Khang Yatse

The top most attraction of the Markh Valley trek is The jaw-dropping view of Mt. Khang Yatse (6250 meters / 21,300 ft). The mighty Khang Yatse appers not easily but a three day hike, on the third day from upper valley you can get the most awited view. As you start trek from Umlung, ascend gradually, the picturesque perfect pyramid shaped peak Khang Yatse standing tall over everything else. And after that Mt. Khang Yatse will accompany you through the trail until you cross Kongmaru La.

The Ladakhi Hamlets

This trek is all through the little Ladakhi pretty hamlets. The villages on the Valley nothing but oasis inside the cold desert. The green eye pleasing hamlet in the dry barren high altitude desert is next level of experience. Markha is the largest viilage while there are small villages like Hankar is more raw natural isolated beauty.

Kongmaru La

The view from the pass Kongmaru La is considerd as the best view of this trek. On clear & sunny days make your trek memorable with the view of the entire Ladakh range and the historic Indus valley. Along with the striking contrast of the valley and snow covered mountain ranges you will find Khang Yatse and Stok Kangri is still there have a eye on you.

ITINERARY

DAY 1 | Arrival and Rest day

Fly from Delhi or reach via road to Leh. You will be recieved from airport and transfered to Homestay or tea house. No activity, rest for today as you need well acclimatization to do treks in Ladakh Leh itself is at 3500 meters above sea level. Overnight stay in Homestay at Leh.
Meals: Evening tea & snacks, Dinner.
Stay: Homestay
Altitude: Leh – 3500 meters

DAY 2 | Rest and acclimatization day at Leh

Leh is at quite high altitude. So today we will acclimatize ourselves with the weather and altitude of Leh by exploring culture and nature of the Leh city. We will visit the nearby tourist attractions Leh Palace, Santi Stupa, and Leh market for necessary shoping for trek etc. Overnight stay at Homestay.
Meals: Tea & breakfast, evening tea & snacks, Dinner.
Stay: Homestay
Altitude : Leh – 3500 meters.

DAY 3 | Leh to Chilling to Skyu village, 60kms drive (2 hrs), 7 kms trek (2/3 hrs)

We will drive from Leh to Markha valley via confluence of Zanskar and Indus river. Today we will enter the valley along with Zanskar River towards Chilling Village in other direction. We will explore Kaya and Skyu village in the very begining of this trek. Overnight stay at a cosy Homestay.
Meals: Tea & breakfast, lunch, evening tea & snacks, dinner
Stay: Homestay
Altitude : 3366 meters / 11,210 ft.

DAY 4 | Skyu to Markha Trek, 20kms (7/8 hrs)

Today walking in the valley starts. We will start after morning breakfast from Skyu to Markha. Today’s trail is not so strenous but a pleasant walk through tiny villages following a stream. We have cross the stream water few times depending on the water level to the largest village Markha. Overnight stay at Homestay.
Meals: Tea & breakfast, pack lunch, evening tea & snacks, dinner.
Stay: Homestay
Altitude : 3760 meters / 12,520 ft.

DAY 5 | Markha to Hankar Village Trek, 11kms (4/5 hrs)

Today’s trek is also very beautiful awarded with magnificent view of Khang Yatse peak. The trek from Markha to the lonliest village Hankar will leave you speechless. Today also the stream accompanies us. There is a great chance to spot Blue Ship nearby.
Meals: tea & breakfast, lunch, evening tea & snacks, dinner.
Stay: Homestay
Altitude : 4150 meters / 13,815 ft.

DAY 6 | Hankar to Nimaling Trek, 10kms (5/6 hrs)

After morning breakfast start trek towards Nimaling by passing Mani Walls (rock walls with Tibetan inscription) on the way. Today’s route is reach with flora of Hemis National Park. And after a point a uphill way arraives with loose rocks from where the view of Khang Yatse base camp opens up. Overnight stay at Homestay.
Altitude : 5100 meters / 16,732 ft.

DAY 7 | Nimaling to Chokdo and drive to Leh, 16kms (7/8 hrs), drive 2 hrs

The last day of trek, we will start a bit early morning and proceeds towards Kongmaru La (5200 meters) through awesome pasture land of Nimaling. It is quite steep uphill to climb the Pass. After crossing the pass it’s downhill to Chokdo village. From the Chokdo village we will drive back tyo Leh. Overnight stay at Homestay in Leh.
Meals: tea & breakfast, pack lunch, evening tea & snacks, dinner.
Stay: Homestay
Altitude : 3500 meters / 11,600 ft.

DAY 8 | End day of trip, drop to the Airport

After a breakfast at Homestay a cab will drop you to Airport.

HOW TO REACH THE TREK BASE

Leh is the trek base for this trek. And the name itself is enough famous that anybody knows how to reach Leh. Still in our opinion the best way to reach Leh is to take flight from Delhi. The best comfortable and time saving option. And also there are other options via road journey. Those who enjoyes road journey can book a cab from Chandigarh to Manali or Delhi to Manali. after a night spent at Manali book another cab from Manali to Leh, it is almost 14 hrs journey from Manali to Leh. A bus operates from Delhi to Leh, it will take two days to reach Leh. Otherwise you can break journey via Manali-Keylong-Leh by bus or cab. Manali to Leh cab booking fare is around 15,000 for 4-seater and 18,000 for 6/7 seater. Shared cab is available from Manali will charge you around 2000. The other route is via Srinagar. Reach Jammu by bus or train, take bus or shared cab to Srinagar. Night stay at Srinagar and on next day don’t miss the bus for Leh via Kargil leaves 5 AM from Srinagar Bus stand. Or you can book a cab from Srinagar to Leh cost around 14,000 for 4-seater and 16,000 for 6/7 seater.

FINEST TIME TO EXPERIENCE

Ladakh opens up for a very short period of time. In winter because of heavy amount of snow and extream cold weather trek routes are unaccessible. And all of us know that Ladakh is a cold desert, so it doesn’t precipitate in Indian rainy season. That is why best time to visit Ladakh is from June to October. As when peak summer ends all the snow melted down and opens all the route making it trekkable. And till late October there is very less amount of rain and snowfall arrives that don’t bother you. or your trek. In our experts opinion the weather reamins at its best in the month of July, August and September. The temperature remains under control in this three months weather remains mostly clear and sunny. But still you might experience a shower for a while, so be prepare with rain jackets. This time Ladakh’s flora blossomed goes green makes mesmerising unforgottable views of hamlets and terrains. The temperature scale in June-July ranges from 15 to 30 degree while August-October feels like 3 to 17 degree. As like desert Ladakh feels hot at day time and suddenly cold after sunset and at night.

HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS TREK

The Markha Valley trek, nestled in the remote and breathtaking landscape of the Indian Himalayas, offers adventurers a challenging yet immensely rewarding experience. With its high altitude, rugged terrain, and ever-changing weather conditions, this trek is classified as moderately to highly difficult, attracting seasoned trekkers and outdoor enthusiasts seeking a genuine wilderness adventure.

TREK INCLUSIONS

TREK EXCLUSIONS

WHAT TO CARRY ON GOECHA LA TREK

It is a long trek, don’t forget any trekking gears. Or you can buy it from Leh market. But the first thing you need to carry on every trek is a bit fitness and endurance. So before attempting a trek always do some Cardio and other endurance exercises to build your exercise. And oviously few hiking gears like Rucksack, Waterproof Trekking shoes, warm layers of Jackets, Thermal Inners, Woolen and sun caps, Sunscreen(SPF 40) and toiletries, good quality water bottle, multiple pair of socks, light weight rain poncho or jacket, warm gloves, a day pack Headlamps with extra cells, sunglasses etc. At last if you have any queries or its confusing what to carry for you, please feel free to contact us. Don’t overwaight your backpack, otherwise trek will seem to be very difficult.

IS THIS TREK SAFE FOR CHILDERN

This is a long trek and also takes you to the very high altitude over 5000 meters. So trekkers with less experience and less hydrated are more likely to struck by Acute Mountain Sickness. Childern below 16 years of age are not recommended for this trek. Older than 16 years are only eligible who have done prior high altitude treks. You must train your child with jogging 4 kms within 30 minute, at least for 1 month before coming on this trek. This trek is graded with moderate to difficult as it need high pass climb, river crossing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Acclimatisation is the most important part of high altitude trek. Acclimatisation is the process where your body start getting cope up with mountain weather & atmosphere that is different from your hometown. This change of environment may affect your normal performance in that environmental conditions. So you need to be well acclimatise to safely do the trek. Not every time depend on the high altitude medicines to avoid AMS, go for natural acclimatisation. Otherwise your body will depend permanently on the medicines whenever you go to the high altitude. The natural acclimatisation is more powerful than medicines. We need to accept the himalayas as it is challenging. It is not that himalayas are unbeatable, but requires to follow rules and systematic approch. How do human body actually acclimatise to the high altitude? In the high altitude the air pressure gets lower so the density. That is why the molecules spreads out in more space and get apart from each other. This affects lower oxygen consume per breath. Our body reacts with that change and starts to take more breath that is hypoxia. We often called it breathlessness in laymen term. Then body try to take more breath to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in our blood. This results increase pH of blood, making our blood more alkaline and body starts urinate more for exerting of bicarbonates. On the other side the body starts to produce more hemoglobin count which are the oxygen carriers in our blood. This thickens our bloods and now our heart need to pump more to throw the blood in the distant organs hence the blood pressure gets higher. This indicates slight high pressure and pulse rate is normal in high altitude areas. There are three golden rules to acclimatisation in the field of mountaineering is –
1. Climb high sleep low
2. Ascend slowly, take your time. And do not over exert.
3. Hydrate & hydrate yourself more & more.

Our expert justified few ways to acclimatise naturally are discussed below-
At first check your itinerary. Trekking is not a game in hurry. You need time to complete. It is not anything you achieve but enjoyed. This is a sport that is away from any competition. Any trek should not be judge by time & distance. Do not over exert yourself, don’t go beyond your limits. Fix your itinerary comfortably. Do not try to cover more distance and altitude gain in one day to minimize the trekking days and cost. On the very initial days approach slowly even you are fit enough to trek faster. Take more time to gain altitude. This allows your body enough time to adjust with the atmosphere. Always bring a well hydrated body in the Himalayas and keep hydrated yourself on the trek days. Drink 3-4 liters of water every day on trek, and consume enough tea, soup, dal and other liquid includes in your meals. Do not consume any type of alcohol drinks 2/3 days before you start the trek, and also don’t on the trek. We do not allow any trekker to consume alcohol on the trek, if found he/she will be sent back then and there. We do not also advise to consume any hard drinks, too much coffee is also not good. ORS and other energy/glucose tablets are best on the trek. After arriving on trek base, trekkers may feel cold weather. But do not cover yourself fully with all of the woolen cap, muffler, neck warmer and all. Let your body to sense the atmosphere change with the sense organs. It will help in natural acclimatisation. Allow your skin to feel the cold. your ears to sense the pressure change. Keep that open while gaining altitude, unless there is a blizzard or bad weather condition. Don’t be a show off man, don’t show unnecessary bravery. Keep your body protect from cold weather. Protect your body from cold wind, cover your head at night & bad weather, cover your neck, tonsils and body tip like fingers, toes etc. Get proper sleep at night. It doesn’t mean that you should sleep at day time or in the afternoon as soon as you reach the campsite. Sleeping is important on every trek to get refresh and rest for next day trek. If you find difficulty in sleep bring immediate notice to the trek leader or guide. As you reach the trek base try to keep yourself dry, do not loose the body heat. Do not skip your soup in the evening. The garlic soup & other helps in blood circulation, keeps your body warm. You remain active on the high altitude. After reaching campsite everybody gets tired, this is normal. But do not get into your sleeping bag & take a nap. This will not help you to get acclimatise. Have some rest for a while, then explore the nearby places, go for the acclimatisation walk. You need to follow the golden rule ‘climb high sleep low’. Climb a bit higher in acclimatisation walk and get back to the campsite. You can indulge yourself in games, or can go for photography. Eat proper meals throughout the day, but lite. Not so much spicy foods, consume easy to digest foods more.
Trekking is a adventure sports, you need to bring a sportsman sprit and fitness on any trek. There is a big worry in many trekkers that how much they need to be fit for a trek. The himalayas are full of steep uphill, rough terrain, walking in the snow all these can be very challenging for trekkers specially for beginners. We will discuss here how to get fit for any trek with a complete training guide. Trek to uphill mountain is not in our daily routine so it is simple that we will find it tough to climb uphill. And with a backpack it seems very challenging. But only a month of regular exercise can make you fit for the trek. Cardio exercise is the best for pre trek exercise. Do some cardio exercise like jogging, swimming, cycling, jumping jacks etc will help you to build your endurance. Don’t forget to do some leg exercise like squats, lunges, stair climbing etc to build stamina of your legs. Now we made a routine exercise for you –
1. Cardiovascular endurance : On your trek you will constantly gaining altitude with your backpack in low oxygen atmosphere. Your heart will do more effort in this condition. So you need to go through cardio exercise at least for one month regularly to counter this constant uphill climb comfortably, infact you will find it bit easier. Jogging for 4 kms in 30 minutes is your first target for this. Start with slower jog and continue to fill the target.
2. Leg exercise : After one week of jogging add some leg exercise like squats and lunges to your routine. This exercises will build stamina of your leg that will help you on steep uphill climb. Start with 10 squats and 10 lunges of 2 set in first week. Then increase to 3 sets. Try to fulfil your target to do 3 sets of 15 each before the trek.
3. Strengthening the core : For strengthening your core body plank and hip raise are best. Do plank for 20 seconds for first three days and then start increasing by 10 seconds till 60.
Along with that do 10 hip raises 2 sets, and increase for 3 sets of 15 each. That should be the goal. So, get ready for your next adventure, make yourself fit enough to do the adventure activities.

There are three level of fitness we categorise :
Level 1 : It is the minimal fitness with that you just able to finish the trek. You struggle a bit, but not too much to do the challenging section. We find most of the trekkers with this much of fitness.
Level 2 : This is one level up fitness you bring on the trek, that you find the trek not very difficult or moderate but easy. And you can carry your own backpack easily throughout the trek. You don’t feel exhausted at the end of every day trek. You are find yourself still not tired and active after reaching the destination. You enjoy the other activity and enjoy exploring the nearby or involving yourself in some game.
Level 3 : This is the fitness we admire most & the ultimate mountaineer like fitness. The trekkers with this fitness finds trek easy for them and they are still very active after the whole day trek even with their rucksack. Not only that these people are fit enough to tolerate bad weather conditions, contribute in some work like tent pitching & kitchen activity, bringing water from nearby water source. Give a hand if other trekkers are in trouble or in some rescue operation.
Rucksack is a most important equipment on every trek & packing your rucksack is a important task for your trek. On a typical trek you need to carry your own rucksack, and if your rucksack is not comfortable to carry you will eventually start hating your backpack and also the trek. A rucksack need to be perfectly pack that it should be comfortable to carry on your back. It should not hurt you anyhow. The mordern day designed rucksacks are very light weight and have many chambers to pack seprately. A good quality rucksack have well paded for comfortable carrying in waist and shoulder. If you are planning to buy a rucksack, please keep the things in your mind and don’t forget to check the strength of rucksack and other straps.
Before you pack your rucksack go through our basic rule. This will help you to pack easily as a beginner. You just can not do every day packing and unpacking on multiple day of trek. Imagine how irritable and time consuming that will be. The A B C D E rule to pack your rucksack—

A – Accessibility = While packing your rucksack pack in such way that every thing are easily accissible for you. Use the different parts to achieve different things easily. For an example use different chambers for toileteries, different for your dry fruits and snacks, different for clothes, different for small items like gloves, socks, woolen caps etc. Keep the items at top or side pockets that you may need on the way like rain wears, sunglass, sunscreen etc.
B – Balance = Your bag need to be packed in such way that it can stand straight when you leave your backpack alone on a flat surface. The more your backpack is balanced the less it will hurt your shoulder. The weight distribution on both shoulder should be equal in order to comfortable carry.
C – Compression & Compartments = While packing your backpack compress all the cloths and the things that can be compresed. It will give you more space inside your rucksack. But remember don’t do more compress or less, do as much as it needed. Compress till it gives you more space to adjust other things. Now use more compartments or make more compartments by using different colored plastic bags, like for socks and underwear use red color plastic bags, for inner and thermal clother use yellow bag, for woolen cap & gloves use green one. It will not only give you another layer of waterproofing but also help you recognise all the different things. This will also help you to find your stuffs quickly.
D – Dry = Always keep your backpack dry from outside and inside also. Use rain cover from outside. And from inside all of your stuffs should be kept dry, otherwaise it will be more heavier than usual. Wet rucksack is not only heavier but also prone to damage, not good for rucksack maintenance. Use rain cover to protect from get wet.
E – Environment = Make a list of your stuffs that need to be packed inside the rucksack according to the environment of the trek you are going. Keep in mind the weather in that perticular month you choose to trek. Pack your backpack with stuffs you need in that weather conditions.

EXPERT’S ADVISE:
-> Always keep the heavy things in the middle of the rucksack and closer to your back.
-> The medium weight things should be kept in the lower compartments & liteweight items should be kept in top section of your rucksack.
-> Use plastic layer from inside to keep the stuffs dry.
-> Don’t forget to put rain cover from outside in rain and snow.
-> Adjust the shoulder straps to balance weight on both shoulder. Put the waist starps also to get better support and balance.
-> You can use you rucksack as a pillow inside the tent, or can rest your leg on rucksack.
Lots of trekkers are very worried about their accomodation on trek days. Wheather it gonna be comfortable or not, safe or not. Here is the answer. We have the good quality tents and sleeping bags for high altitude treks. Our mattress are very soft and thick to provide a comfortable sleep at night. But you should keep in mind that trekking in wilderness in himalayas are not any four or five star category. This is an adventure trip, if we provide a homely/hotel feeling on your trek, then there will be no adventure left for you. But obviously we will definitely provide a safe and cozy tent for your stay. Our tents are tested in bad weather conditions also. Sleeping bags are very warm to spend nights with a good sleep. And at the trek bases we arrange the best homestay available at the village. Homestays are sanitised and clean from inside. Toilets are well maintained and hygiene.
We go to the each and every trek base we organise and choose our guides on the basis of their experience, behaviour, past record, knowledge, abilities and good personality. They knows all about the routes and reacue & evacuation plans. They know how to handle in bad weather conditions. Our guides are well trained for work in the mountains, knows about the camping gears. They have years of experience in safety methods and protocols on the trek. Our guides are very happy to help and eager to serve you better. They always maintain health and hygiene. They are very friendly and make the more enjoyable for you.