Shakti Ladakh Village Walk

 A 10 day holiday that allows a luxurious exploration of the Leh region of the Indian Himalayas. Accommodation is in superbly renovated village houses complete with attentive staff and hosted by village elders to give an insight into local village life. Explore mountian monastries, walk through local villages and raft gently down meandering rivers. 

Day

Activity

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Depart London for Chennai

Overnight Flight

You will be met and transferred to the airport in time to check in for your flight to Leh where you will be met and transferred to Stok.

The charming village of Stok (3650m) lies at the foot of Stok Kangri which at 6120m is not Ladakh’s highest mountain, but one of its most beautiful. The village is home to Ladakh’s royal family and their Tibetan style palace watches over the village’s unspoilt vernacular architecture, apricot orchards and barley fields.

 
Staying in a recently renovated Tibetan style house on the edge of the village and we recommend that you do very little on your first day whilst you get used to the altitude. After a delicious lunch prepared by the chef, we would recommend that you spend the afternoon reading on the roof terrace whilst soaking up the gorgeous rural Ladakhi scenery or taking a stroll around the village.

Today we would again advise a fairly leisurely pace as you will still be acclimatising. This morning your guide will take you on a gentle walk to explore Stok village, further to a one hour walk to Stok Palace, you will visit the Palace and Museum before continuing for forty-five minutes to the picnic lunch site. A further ten minute walk takes you to the Heritage House which you will visit before walking for forty-five minutes back to the village house. Cars will be on stand-by so that any of the walks can be done by vehicle, depending on how you are feeling and acclimatising.

For those who are prepared to get up at around five am, we would recommend starting early and driving for one hour to Thiksey monastery to experience the early morning Buddhist prayers (you would need to leave at five thirty).

Built around 600 years ago, Thiksey monastery is one of the finest examples of Ladakhi religious architecture. The monastery consists of twelve levels ascending the hillside crowned by the current lama’s private residence. Below the monastery proper are chapels and houses stretching down the hillside where one hundred monks of the Yellow Hat Buddhist sect reside. As part of the visit, we have arranged a private audience with the Rinpoche (head priest) of Thiksey.

After the monastery visit, drive to Sakti for a picnic breakfast around twenty five minutes away. After breakfast, either relax under the poplar trees or go on a one to two hour walk in the surrounding area, before continuing to Hemis. 

Belonging to the Red Hat sect, Hemis was built in 1630 and is Ladakh’s largest monastery is an impressive and intriguing experience. Your guide will show you around providing you with an insight into Buddhism and a glimpse into the monks’ way of life. If you are lucky enough to be there during the annual festival (in June or July each year) you will experience dancing, a colourful pageant and an annual bazaar where people come from all over Ladakh to buy and sell wares.

After you have visited the monastery and the museum, you will drive back to Sakti for a picnic lunch. After lunch drive back to Stok with the option to visit Leh bazaar on route.

After breakfast you will be driven for forty-five minutes to the rafting point on the Indus river at Karu for a two hour raft to Choglamsar. We have deliberately not used the term white water here as the rapids here are no more than grade two making this is more of a float than anything else. Please note that this trip will only be available from early July to late September due to the water levels of the Indus.

On arrival at Phey, you will be driven for thirty minutes to Phyang monastery in the village of the same name. The monastery belonging to the Dingung order sits in the middle of the valley floor with the village surrounding it, with many of the houses clinging to the steep sides of the valley.

Continue by road for twenty-five minutes to the picturesque village of Taru which is at an altitude of 3770m situated at the top of a narrow valley. Our village house in Taru is another traditional Tibetan style building, though it is a little more modern than the one at Stok. The house sits at the edge of the village with stunning views over the mountains, traditional buildings, fields and orchards. You will have the rest of the afternoon at leisure to explore the village with a member of the family and your guide or to simply relax at the house.

After breakfast, you will drive to the start point of your walk on the Umla road around twenty-five minutes away. The walk is through quite a barren valley which the guide will bring to life for you. Around two and a half hours after you start, you will descend into the village of Nimoo.

Nimoo is a large village situated 36km west of Leh along the Indus valley at the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers. The village is characterised by impressive mountain scenery, and is considered exceptionally fertile in Ladakhi terms - lush green fields and apricot, apple, and walnut orchards abound.

Spend the rest of the day at leisure enjoying lunch served in one of the orchards that surround the house or for the more active, you may like to take a walk up the valley to Nimoo monastery accompanied by your guide and a picnic hamper.

Either spend a day at leisure at Nimoo house or go on a walk in the surrounding area with a picnic hamper. For those who are feeling more active, we can arrange a day trip to the famous monasteries at Alchi and/or Lekir, rafting one way (directly from Nimoo to Alchi – July, August and September only, grade 4 rapid) and returning by car.

Situated 69kms from Leh and around one and a half hours drive from Nimoo, Alchi is the only monastery in Ladakh to be built on flat ground. The temple was founded in the 11th century and is particularly interesting for its Indian and Kashmiri influences.

Founded in 14th century by Lama Dhwang Chosje, a great champion of meditation, Lekir monastery belongs to the Yellow Hat sect. After visiting the monastery you will drive back to Nimoo, one and half hours away.