2015.08.06 - D1, Trek Stok Kangri: Leh - Shang Sumdo
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 32.31 mi
- Elevation gain
- 2,356 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 1,752 ft
- Max elevation
- 12,007 ft
- TrailRank
- 48
- Min elevation
- 10,648 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 5 hours 7 minutes
- Coordinates
- 5262
- Uploaded
- August 16, 2015
- Recorded
- August 2015
near Leh, Jammu and Kashmīr (India)
Viewed 1315 times, downloaded 31 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Day 1/10 - August 6, 2015:
Leh (3,500 m) - Shang Sumdo (3,683 m)
Duration: 3:30 hours
Highlight: Shang Sumdo (3,683 m)
Distances and accumulated difference in altitude: 10 km (52 km from Leh), +275 m
Full route: 2015.08.06-15 - Trek Stok Kangri, Ladakh (10 days)
It is in this grandiose setting that we left Leh this August 6, at 9 o'clock in the morning. The previous day we had arranged an appointment with those who were to be our hosts for the next ten days and were going to pay attention and help during the duration of this trek. In total, our guide Tenzin Gombo, a cook with an assistant, a muleteer also with an assistant and the help of six horses. Five crew members and six horses to drive and handle an expedition of only two people. The idea leaves us confused for a moment, even knowing that cash is usual for a group of up to seven customers. Once the presentations are made, we prepare the strategy for the expedition and especially the route, since the heavy rains of July were the cause of innumerable damages throughout the region this year, destroying roads and displacing tons of mud and stones in the roads, making numerous hiking trails impractical. At the time for example, the very busy valley of Markha is forbidden to tourism.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Tenzin comes to pick us up with the same man who chauffeured us during these two days in the region of Leh. We climbed the 4x4 and left the city in a southeasterly direction, towards the monastery of Hemis, which we will visit before starting the trek. Located about thirty-five kilometers from Leh, Hemis is one of the most beautiful Buddhist monasteries in the entire valley. Hidden among the vertical walls of the mountain, this Cultural Heritage of Humanity houses a library with millenary archives, Buddhist prayer books and ancient parchments that, according to some, say they would pick up the supposed passage of Jesus through Ladakh and the Himalayas in a remote past. An inscrutable secret, protected by the silence of the lamas.
In the middle of the visit our guide seems impatient and without us being able to understand why, at that moment, we quickly shorten to win in 4x4 the beginning of the trek. One kilometer ahead: Martselang. In the middle of a desert slope suddenly our car stops, blocked by the sudden and violent influx of a river. There we understand it. And we just crossed this river, up the mountain, on the way to the monastery. When judging by the drought in the area we intuit that it will not stay long but as far as our car is concerned, we understand that it will not go ahead. Beside our other cars, mules and horses standing, mats on the ground: the heavy rains of recent days have swollen the rivers and is armed with our sandals that we are forced to abandon the vehicles to continue walking: the adventure begins! The horses will not follow us; they will wait for the flow to come down tonight, or later tomorrow.
The surrounding area is very arid and looking at the mountains to our right, it seems that it will cost to find some green during these days. With this setback, today's route will be much longer than expected and during the entire climb, we often have to ride sections of road taken by the river. The damage to the landscape is considerable: roads, bridges, electric pillars have been uprooted, while immense mounds of mud and stones often block the road. The village of Shang Sumdo above (3,683 m) should probably remain isolated weeks or even months before the road reopens. While walking we admire the landscape, between rugged mountains and deep gorges. In spite of the heat and the mishaps on the way, we advance happily and after a few hours, little by little, a new valley is drawn ahead. Surrounded by mountains of more than five thousand meters, the crops of Shang Sumdo leave a trail of greenery in a stony valley. The muleteers as we said will not arrive until the next day so without shops, we will spend the first night in a "guest house" of the town, the Shabo house. The inhabitants are charming with us, offering masala tea: a mixture of tea with spices and aromatic herbs (cardamom, cloves, pepper, star anise, ginger and cinnamon) and served with milk and sugar. Three kittens in the house entertain us with their games and this is where we spent our first night in a room without many amenities but dry, comfortable and with carpets and mats on the floor. Wrapped by the noise of the enraged rivers (the one just up one second, coming from the Nimaling valley equally closed to tourism) and from time to time, that of a cow in the night.
Leh (3,500 m) - Shang Sumdo (3,683 m)
Duration: 3:30 hours
Highlight: Shang Sumdo (3,683 m)
Distances and accumulated difference in altitude: 10 km (52 km from Leh), +275 m
Full route: 2015.08.06-15 - Trek Stok Kangri, Ladakh (10 days)
It is in this grandiose setting that we left Leh this August 6, at 9 o'clock in the morning. The previous day we had arranged an appointment with those who were to be our hosts for the next ten days and were going to pay attention and help during the duration of this trek. In total, our guide Tenzin Gombo, a cook with an assistant, a muleteer also with an assistant and the help of six horses. Five crew members and six horses to drive and handle an expedition of only two people. The idea leaves us confused for a moment, even knowing that cash is usual for a group of up to seven customers. Once the presentations are made, we prepare the strategy for the expedition and especially the route, since the heavy rains of July were the cause of innumerable damages throughout the region this year, destroying roads and displacing tons of mud and stones in the roads, making numerous hiking trails impractical. At the time for example, the very busy valley of Markha is forbidden to tourism.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Tenzin comes to pick us up with the same man who chauffeured us during these two days in the region of Leh. We climbed the 4x4 and left the city in a southeasterly direction, towards the monastery of Hemis, which we will visit before starting the trek. Located about thirty-five kilometers from Leh, Hemis is one of the most beautiful Buddhist monasteries in the entire valley. Hidden among the vertical walls of the mountain, this Cultural Heritage of Humanity houses a library with millenary archives, Buddhist prayer books and ancient parchments that, according to some, say they would pick up the supposed passage of Jesus through Ladakh and the Himalayas in a remote past. An inscrutable secret, protected by the silence of the lamas.
In the middle of the visit our guide seems impatient and without us being able to understand why, at that moment, we quickly shorten to win in 4x4 the beginning of the trek. One kilometer ahead: Martselang. In the middle of a desert slope suddenly our car stops, blocked by the sudden and violent influx of a river. There we understand it. And we just crossed this river, up the mountain, on the way to the monastery. When judging by the drought in the area we intuit that it will not stay long but as far as our car is concerned, we understand that it will not go ahead. Beside our other cars, mules and horses standing, mats on the ground: the heavy rains of recent days have swollen the rivers and is armed with our sandals that we are forced to abandon the vehicles to continue walking: the adventure begins! The horses will not follow us; they will wait for the flow to come down tonight, or later tomorrow.
The surrounding area is very arid and looking at the mountains to our right, it seems that it will cost to find some green during these days. With this setback, today's route will be much longer than expected and during the entire climb, we often have to ride sections of road taken by the river. The damage to the landscape is considerable: roads, bridges, electric pillars have been uprooted, while immense mounds of mud and stones often block the road. The village of Shang Sumdo above (3,683 m) should probably remain isolated weeks or even months before the road reopens. While walking we admire the landscape, between rugged mountains and deep gorges. In spite of the heat and the mishaps on the way, we advance happily and after a few hours, little by little, a new valley is drawn ahead. Surrounded by mountains of more than five thousand meters, the crops of Shang Sumdo leave a trail of greenery in a stony valley. The muleteers as we said will not arrive until the next day so without shops, we will spend the first night in a "guest house" of the town, the Shabo house. The inhabitants are charming with us, offering masala tea: a mixture of tea with spices and aromatic herbs (cardamom, cloves, pepper, star anise, ginger and cinnamon) and served with milk and sugar. Three kittens in the house entertain us with their games and this is where we spent our first night in a room without many amenities but dry, comfortable and with carpets and mats on the floor. Wrapped by the noise of the enraged rivers (the one just up one second, coming from the Nimaling valley equally closed to tourism) and from time to time, that of a cow in the night.
Waypoints
Religious site
Waypoint
Car park
11,858 ft
Leh (3.615 m)
Mountain hut
11,467 ft
Lha-ri-mo hotel (3.495 m)
Campsite
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