Parang La to Spiti

Leh to Spiti; Caravan In The Sky

22nd June - Arrive Delhi
Joel or one of our drivers will be at the airport to meet you; look for the sign with your name on. A short drive takes us to our hotel in Karol Bagh, a quiet Delhi suburb. Over dinner we will discuss your gear; and our adventure!

23 June - Fly Leh 3500m
Did you get any sleep? We are up early to board the spectacular flight to Leh, crossing the main Himalayan Barrier to the capital of Ladakh, Tashi Namgyal's 15th century Himalayan capital at 3500m. The clear high air will catch at the throat when we arrive, and now we start the serious business of acclimatization; and eating, as after we settle into our hotel we have a long leisurely breakfast. It will take your body a few days to adjust to this high altitude. It is important to drink plenty of (non-alcoholic) liquids, and do not attempt to rush around. Even walking up the stairs of the guest house will make you breathless at first! We will discuss this in detail. Note that we have planned plenty of acclimatization time into our itinerary.

24 - Leh 3500m
We have a day for relaxing and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of this little bit of old Tibet. Joel is virtually an honorary resident, and he will be your guide to shopping, gompas, and more. There is lots to explore in this wonderful Central Asian town; the fort and palace, colorful gompas, the mosque, a museum, back alleys with steaming Muslim bread and tiny antique shops tucked away, colorful bazaars and even polo fields...

25 - drive Tsokar

We drive to camp at the incredible salt lake where locals still harvest salt annually.

26 - drive Korzok

Another (incredible) jeep day to the tiny settlement of korzok huddled on the shores of the 26 KM long turquoise lake Tso Moriri

27 - to Kyangdom (Tso Moriri) 4530m
An 8 hour, flat, magical walk along the lake to Kyangdom, 'The Kingdom of the asses'.

28 - Kyangdom 4530m
Tso Moriri is a magic place, a huge lake. Watch the wading birds, yaks and wild ponies around the lake and its grasslands, or the storms that seasonally move up and down the lake, which creates its own weather.

29 - Dungri 4460m
An easy two hour walk across the lake end to the nomad settlement here, followed by a post lunch acclimtisation walk.

30 - Norbu Sumdo 4400m
Distant Kyang, nomad herds, and lake Tsomoriri drops slowly behind as we walk across classic central Asian grassland to the river junction with the Parang Chu.

1 - Umlung (rock camp) 4700m
A valley the size of Nepals' Kali Gandaki, but empty...a cold river crossing to kick off before 5 hours walking brings us to a camp we have named after the boulders that hem it in. The fit can try their hand at climbing them!

2 - End in sight camp 4850m
Why the name? Because from here you can just make out the ice ridge that marks our last pass, the Parang la at 5700m.

3 - Parang La high camp 4955m
Situated among rocks at the foot of the glacier, a good meal and an early night are in order, we have a long day tomorrow.

4 - chicken run camp
Away at 6am and on to the ice that curves up to the pass; soon we are among sasturgi with the pass a seemingly impossible climb; by 12 noon we are on top, and by one we are lunching at the bottom, then a long hot gorge and a final climb to the pleasant meadow named after our 2000 chicken dinner! Seriously, this is probably one of the best days trekking in Northern India, probably the planet.

5 - Kibber 4700m
An easy mornings walk to our delightful hotel in the quiet village of Kibber, where we can shower and slowly ease back into civilisation. We arrive at lunchtime, and spend our last day in the hills in mellow surroundings.

6 - Spare trek day

7 - drive to Manali.
An early start for a spectacular jeep ride to Manali via the Kunzum and Rohtang Passes. We arrive in Manali about 6 PM after a long dusty day on the road.

8 - Manali
Washing, shopping, eating, relaxing, this is your day of rest.

9 - drive Delhi
We have most of the day in Manali then around 5pm take the luxurious Himachal Pradesh night bus, arriving in Delhi early the next day.

10 - Depart
You arrive in Delhi sometime between 8am and 11am, so you could fly out sometime after midday. Most flights are at night so either you can spend time in town or we can arrange a hotel room for the day.
We hope you had a great trek!

Welcome!

December 2006

Welcome...

This goes up on my blog at regular intervals, but welcome anyway to my collection of images and writing. I am in the Everest region currently, and moving on in quick succession to Nanda Devi and Sikkim, part of what our trekking organisation (Project-Himalaya.com) being about is exploring new regions of the Himalaya, our home.
Enjoy!
Joel
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Birthday Planes, Jeeps and trains....

The journey from the end of our Sikkim trek to Darjeeling and Bagdogra has to be the loveliest in the Himalaya; forested hillsides, tea plantations, and views of Kanchenjunga seemingly suspended in the sky; afternoon tea at the Windermere and strolling along the mall in Darjeeling, a night introducing my friends to the momo and Chang bars of the Tibetan quarter (and no headache for me!!) then the Windermere for breakfast before the Himalayan Mountaineering institute, and another beautiful drive to our flight. My birthday did not officially begin until we boarded our first class train..how we got the reservations, I do not know!! But I was treated to fresh bread, great Cheese (wine for the others) and breakfast in an exotic destination. And presents wrapped in pink? ooh. Pics soon. And now Kathmandu and work.

Kanchenjunga Sikkim

Within 24 hours of a pre dawn arrival at Delhi with our Nanda Devi group,
Alison and I were flying the length of the Himalayas to Sikkim, the tiny
Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between Nepal and Bhutan. Despite a previous visit
20 years ago, nothing prepared me for the forested beauty of the hillsides,
even through the pouring rain as we slogged up muddy trails,and nothing
prepared us for the sheer etheral beauty of the peaks, shyly greeting us
through low mist and cloud at first, then in full, stunning, awe inspiring
beauty as we took a torch lit 3 AM start for the Goecha La and sat and
marvelled at the huge south face of Kanchenjunga.

Sikkim is incredible, with
the loveliest middle hills, well maintained trails and a strict campsite policy
that keep the upper pastures that lead to the high places pristine as all
sacred places should be. Along with our other recent Indian delight, Nanda
Devi, a place to return to soon.
Thanks to our new friends in Sikkim, Bikash, Purna, Sagar, Bhim, Sanjay and the
team, and all the many Gods living on the Sikkimese heights, for being so good
to Alison and I.