Ladakh Nubra Valley Trek

On the Trail and in Town

After visiting the capital city of Leh and surroundings, we begin our trek as our trail follows an old trade route from Phyang village over Lasermola pass , (5400m) to the Nubra Valley. Our trip offers a 6 day trek and visits the famed monasteries of Ladakh. This is a perfect blend of a short trekking trip and the opportunity o visit the famed sites of Shey, Thikse and Hemis monasteries and surrounding communities.

Trekking is moderate to strenuous with 6 days on the trail. This trip takes trekkers above 5,000 meters and is located below an array of 20,000 foot peaks. Ponies will be used to carry our gear and while daily distances are relatively short, the high alitudue brings a challenge to the journey.

About Nubra Valley

Nubra is a tri-junction – located to the northeast of Ladakh valley. The region contains both the Nubra and Shyok valleys. These valleys and rivers of the same name, originate from the remote and heavily glaciated peaks of the edge of the Karakoram Range.

In ancient times, this route was part of the caravan silk route. The famed Siachen Glacier lies to the north of the valley and the Sasser Pass and the famous Karakoram Pass lie to the northwest of the valley. These passes connect the Nubra and Xingjian region of China.  Most of the caravan trade in this area was based on wool and cloth, opium, spices , coral , turquoise, gold and with many trails and over passes mainly between Leh and Yarkand (in China).

Ladakh Region

Covering an area of about 60,000 square kilometers and ranging in elevation from 2,600 meters to 7,670 meters, Ladakh is sandwiched between two huge mountain systems: the Karakoram’s to the north and the Himalayas to the south. Ladakh is the Trans-Himalayan region, the region of impact when the Indian subcontinent collided with the rest of Asia 50 million years ago.

The capital Leh is the central market and primary town, not only offering a staging point for treks and nearby monasteries, but a fascinating destination in its own right, sporting palaces, Buddhist gompa’s and curio shops that hearken back to its past as a main trading post and caravanserai. Each of our programs will have visits to the major monastery with outstanding guides, as they share their knowledge of Buddhism, local history and the daily life that has existed for centuries.

The Monasteries (Gompa) of Ladakh

Shey Gompa: In 1655, in memory of his father, a king built the two-story Shey gompa adjacent to the palace. Hundreds of chortens ( Buddhist monuments) of all shapes and sizes stand below the palace and gompa. These chortens demonstrate the interest taken in Shey by the Ladakhi kings and queens who succeeded Shey’s original builder.

Located on the second story of the gompa is a large Buddha statue made in 1655 by a Nepalese sculptor who was assisted by three Ladakhi craftsmen. The seated Buddha is 12 meters high and worked of copper sheets gilded with gold. This Buddha was the biggest metal statue in the region and was the largest Buddha statue of any type in Ladakh until Thiksey gompa installed a 15-meter tall Buddha made of clay in 1970. The castings of the statue were made in Leh while the statue’s copper was collected in Zanskar and hammered into plates on large rocks. More than five kilos of gold were then used to plate the copper. The statue was built in parts in the Zanstil Palace (Zans means copper and til means to hammer) in Leh and then transported to Shey where it was assembled and installed.

Sacrificial offerings such as grain or jewels, holy signs and mantras are contained inside the figure. In front of the Buddha is a large bowl of wax with a central flame that burns for one year before being replaced. This flame represents divinity and purity and is present in front of all Buddha statues in Ladakh.

Thiksey Gompa: Thiksey Gompa is the most picturesquely situated monastery in Ladakh, perched high on a hill above the Indus. Its buildings are arranged at various levels, leading up to the private apartments of the incarnate lamas on the summit. From here one commands a magnificent view of the valley. The gompa possesses a rich and beautiful collection of hundreds of hand-written or painted prayer books.

A new temple contains a 15-meter tall Buddha statue, constructed in 1970 to commemorate a visit to Thiksey by the Dalai Lama. The statue, made of clay and covered with gold paint, is the largest Buddha figure in Ladakh and took four years to construct. Inside, the statue is filled with the Kandshur and the Tandshur – volumes of Buddhist canonical texts. The statue was made entirely by local craftsmen and represents Maitreya, (“compassion” in Sanskrit) the Buddha of the Future. The prophecy made of the Future Buddha is that the world will be undergoing such chaos that He will teach compassion to the people.

Hemis Gompa: Hemis Gompa is one of the most important monasteries in Ladakh, it is also the largest and wealthiest. The king-architect Singe Namgyal, a great patron of Buddhism, built it in 1620. He filled Hemis with golden statues, stupas set with precious stones and thangkas brought from many places, including Tibet.

The lamas of Hemis were associated with the Ladakhi royal family and became quite prosperous, owning much land and supervising many smaller, scattered monasteries. Although only about a dozen lamas actually live here, Hemis has several hundred lamas attached to its subsidiary monasteries.

The Rinpoche or spiritual head of Hemis is a reincarnation of the monastery’s founder Stagtshang Phpa. The last Rinpoche was a reincarnation who, as a five-year old child, was being taught in Tibet when the Chinese invaded. There has been no communication with the Rinpoche since the 1960s. During the 1975 festival, Drukpa Rinpoche, a 12-year old youth, became the new Rinpoche as a new incarnation.

Hemis is the location for numerous religious festivals throughout the year, although the most important one is in summer, when a huge thangka, one of the largest in the world, is hung in the courtyard. It takes about 50 monks to carry the thangka to its place and unfold it. The thangka is made of fine heavy silk and embroidered with pictures of various gods as well as of the founder of Hemis. The dances in front of this thangka represent the forces of good, symbolized by legendary heroes and saints, overcoming demons. Eventually, the violence of the demons is overcome by the superiority of virtue resting on wisdom and the demons are driven from the courtyard. Spectators watch these dances from the upper story verandahs around the courtyard.

Hemis also has a thangka, reputed to be the largest in the world, which is displayed once every eleven years. It was last shown in July 1992. The hands of the artist who painted this thangka are preserved at Hemis as holy relics, though they are not shown to the public.

The Alpine Ascents Way

Each departure is led by an Alpine Ascents guide with a strong background in Himalayan culture. Our local staff is handpicked and city and cultural guide Yatish Bahuguna is famed for his encyclopedic knowledge of India. The itinerary for this expedition was created by Gordon Janow, who first visited Ladakh in 1987 and has returned to the region regularly for the last 40 years.