Rumtse to Tso Moriri is arguably the most beautiful trek in Ladakh. Colourful mountains, two huge alpine lakes and plenty of wildlife all add to the surreal beauty of this trek. With seven pass crossings, more than ten river crossings and three campsites higher than 16,000 ft, this trek is surely an adventurer’s delight. The altitude of the trek along with all the ascents and descents involved in the seven pass crossings make this trek a challenging one.
This beautiful moderate trek focuses mainly on life of Nomadic People, Monasteries,
Wildlife and some high altitude Lakes of Changthang. The Trek starts from Rumtse (4100m) a village in Eastern part of Ladakh and ends at Tsomoriri Lake, a beautiful High altitude lake in Changthang, which is also the breeding ground to birds like the Barnecked geese and the Brahminy duck. The barren region is home to numerous species of wildlife including the wild Ass Kiang, Himalayan Marmot, Tibetan Antelope, and Himalayan Ibex. The route traverses across a number of high passes and while the scenery is spectacular the entire route is through vast wilderness and high altitude, which requires good acclimatization
Rumtse is well connected with Leh by a road and can be reached by car. It is around 70kms from Leh and is 4100m above sea level. The drive to Rumste is gorgeous as you drive through the beautiful landscape on both sides of the road. We will camp at Rumtse for the night.
After breakfast we will start the first day of trekking. Meanwhile our team will put our trekking stuff on the horses and then we will start the fiesta day walk. From there take the trail on the right side into the valley passing through some abandoned army huts. The trail leads you to a river flowing in from the right side, crossing it and then walking towards left takes you to a stream flowing from right side, which also has to be crossed. After several widening and narrowing of the valley there comes a point where it turns to the north leading to the campsite close to a local nomadic settlement in their traditional tents. Overnight camping.
After a few minutes’ walk from the Campsite, an easy but long ascent of Kyumur La begins. Colourful wild flowers on the way are visually pleasant in the exhausting climb to the top, where the trail divides into two; one going to the left leading towards Tsokar lake and one on the right takes you to a stream, crossing which you have to ascend towards another pass. It is a little hard to trace the path for some distance from where the clear trail leads to the top of Mandalchan La (4996m). The trail goes further up and then steep down to a beautiful valley called Tisaling, which is the campsite for the day. Overnight in a tented Camp.
A gradual and easy ascend will lead you to Shibuk La. From the top you can have the first glimpse of Tsokar. It is a long descent from the top to Pangungu. There are many wild Asses (kyang) around this area. Pangunagu also has a nice camping site. Overnight camp.
Today’s trek is an easy walk along the Tsokar Lake for about 2 hours and then there is a long plain sandy trail. After some distance you catch the sight of the agricultural fields, where the campsite is located next to a stream. Overnight in a tented camp.
Today will be a short day trek. Cross the river early in the morning and the trek will follow a gradual ascend to Horlam kongka-la (4712m) and then again slowly descend till the stream. Cross the stream and follow the trail on the right side of the stream to reach Rjungkaru. Overnight camp.
Start climbing Kyamayur La (5125m) which takes around 2 hrs. The last climb is a tiring one. After the pass the trail leads north-east and at the end of the valley trail starts ascending another small pass called Gyama La (5100m), from where you can have views of different mountain peaks. Walk down towards north-east and cross the small river and the Gyama lhoma is reached after another river crossing which is also a base for Korzok pass. Overnight in a tented Camp.
Start an easy ascent to the Korzok pass along the stream. It takes around 2 hrs to reach the top from where you can have the wonderful view of the Lake, following which is the steep walk down to the Korzok village. You can also camp at Korzok Phu where nomad camps are located, around one hour before the lake if you have extra days. In the evening we will go and visit the monastery and walk along the lake. Tsomoriri is one of the most important places for migratory birds to breed. Overnight in Camping.
Visiting the Korzok Gonpa, Korzok village, can start the day and walking round Tsomoriri lake, depending upon your schedule you can plan accordingly. After that we will drive towards Leh via Puga (Sulphur Mine).
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