Markha valley is a beautiful hike passing through wilderness & Ladakhi villages giving you an experience of hiking through deserted and remote mountains and valleys. This experience is way different and secluded than the other busy tourist destinations of Ladakh. It is one of the most popular trekking routes in Ladakh which can be done solo. Villages on the route of Markha valley trek are Skyu, Sara, Markha and Hankar.

The journey began at the city of Leh at an altitude of 10,000 FT. I directly flew from Mumbai to Leh. Ladakh is basically a high altitude desert where there is limited oxygen supply. Since the oxygen levels are lower here, we need to acclimatize for at least 24 to 48 hours prior to planning any onward journey.

The Shanti Stupa is built on a hillock just outside Leh and requires one to climb the hill. It is a good way to test whether your body has acclimatized to the high altitude by visiting the Shanti stupa. I visited it on the following day after I landed.

During the acclimatization period, I was just resting and trying local cuisine. The food was simple yet delicious vegetarian food. It is advisable to have a light healthy diet prior to hiking at such altitudes.

The hike started at a village named Skyu about 1.5 hours from Leh. In order to start the hike early, I started at 6 am from Leh. The road traverses through the Zanskar river valley. After we passed the Chilling, the tar road was replaced by a dirt road. My cab managed to drop a just after Skyu and I had to begin hiking from here. It was a flat walk along the banks of Markha river for couple of hours we reach Sara. Later on I did notice couple of cabs going all the way till Sara. This is the last point where cabs reach. I took some rest here in the afternoon, had food (maggie noodles with vegetables) filled up water and continued the onward journey to Markha.

I reached Markha in the evening by 6 pm. Markha is the biggest village in the valley with close to 25 houses nestled at 10,700 FT. It had lush green fields surrounded by mountains. A was being constructed so in a few years I could imagine direct connectivity till Markha.

Throughout this hike I stayed in homestays where locals usually host the hikers traveling daily along the route. Each day different families take turns to host. The cost is Rs. 1200 per person which includes the overnight stay, a welcome drink, simple vegetarian dinner, next days breakfast and packed lunch. This way hikers do not need to carry any tents or food during the travel. My dinner at Markha was a simple rice & daal and the breakfast next day was Roti with mustard curry and peanut butter.

I started walking to the next destination Hankar around 8.30 am next day. This was the shortest day of the hike cross the Markha river and traveling through some interesting landscapes. It was single hiking trail so there was no way to miss the road. Also during the day we would meet locals on the way traveling between villages. I also met some other hikers who began their journey the next morning from Markha as well. Since I was traveling alone it was good to have some company along the way.

Hankar (13,200FT) was yet another beautiful villages nestled in the valley between the towering mountains. There are two smaller communities of Upper Hankar & Lower Hankar. Upper Hankar is more beautiful. Since the homestay in Upper Hankar was already full we stayed at lower Hankar. It was simple homestay with 3 rooms for the hikers and a common dining area & kitchen. We had Daal & Rice that evening. Here we were a group of 10 hikers, 8 from Israel, 1 from Singapore & I. Our host this time could only speak Ladakhi & broken Hindi. Since I was the only one who could speak Hindi I was also playing the role of a translator between the hosts & the guests. It was raining outside so we couldn’t go out. We had a lot of time socializing with other hikers.

Following day on leaving Hankar we could see snow clad peaks. From here we started climbing the mountains to reach the plains of Nimaling, our next camp. The climb is steep and the journey is tough due to lower oxygen levels. To put things into perspective, it took me 15 mins to cover a distance which I would have otherwise covered in 5 mins had it been climbing elsewhere. After climbing the huge 2000FT mountain we reached a lake. This was a good spot for lunch. Our packed lunch used to be simple rotis, peanut butter jelly, boiled potato & egg a juice and a sweet bar.

From the lake the Nimaling camp was about an hour. However by this time AMS had hit me and I was having a severe headache. My pace had slowed and I was stopping for a break every 10 steps. After a few loops around the hills I could see the Nimaling camp. The land a so flat that though I could see the camp reaching it took me more than an hour. Once at the Nimaling Camp (15,840 FT) I just dumped my backpack in the tent and rested in the warm dining room. We were given some hot mint tea which definitely helped me. I was advised to keep drinking lots of hot water. At this altitude since oxygen is scare, it is important to drink lots of water. Water has oxygen so we are actually externally supplying oxygen to our body.

Nimaling (15,840FT) is basically a base camp to Kang Yatze (20,600FT). We meet other hikers on expeditions for Kan Yatze. It was raining throughout and was extremely cold. I had 5 layers of clothes and two thick rugs on top.

Next morning we woke up early for the final accent to the Kongmarula Pass which is the highest point on the Markha Valley hike. I still had a mild headache. I was among the first to start and began the final journey slowly and steadily one step at a time. It took me close to 3 hours to reach the top from the Nimaling base camp. The atmosphere at the top was electrifying. Everyone was enjoying the summit.

Kongmarula Pass (17,350 FT)is basically a small ridge allowing travelers to transition from one side of the valley to the other side. Since these mountain ranges have presented a formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade war and human and animal migration throughout history. We took a break and began our journey down. From here it was a steep slope downhill all the way till Chokdo.

It took us around 4 hours of steep downhill walk and 20-30 stream crossing to reach Chokdo. There were some places where the road was not clearly visible but the idea was to basically follow horse shit and the stream. I could see a few hikers climbing up this route and it seemed extremely challenging. My headache disappeared as I began my downward journey and I was glad I could feel my normal self. Some of my fellow hikers had called cabs at Chokdo and I tagged along with one of them.

Overall it was a refreshing experience in the wilderness hiking through the Markha Valley, no phone, no distractions, just me, my mind, nature and silence. People were extremely friendly and helpful. Interacting with the locals helped us understand their lifestyle and helped them understand our lifestyle.

My host in Markha village had plenty of land in Markha and near by villages and a few houses as well. Farming and maintaining cattle was his main activity. He occasionally visited Leh for work but spent most of his time in the village. However the future generations were primarily growing in the bigger cities like Leh. Markha had a school until grade four, but it had five teachers and only four students. Most of the children from these villages were schooling in Leh and visited their home only during vacation. Only time will tell whether these villages would continue their charm and self sustaining lifestyle or may be lost in history as an ancient way of living.

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