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You must make a trip here
to come across with experiences that excite, romanticize and chill
at the same time.
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Stok Kangri Camp Tour
Duration - 10 Nights / 11 Days
Destination - Stok - Mankyurmo - Gyangpoche - Matho La
- Shang La - Shang Phu - Martselang
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Day 01 : Stok to Mankyurmo - 5 to 6 hours
A 30-minute drive gets you to roadhead at Stok, from where the trek
begins. The trail goes through the village and, keeping to the true left
bank of the Stok Nala, climbs gradually for an hour past fields of barley,
enclosed gardens and 
a
few apricot orchards, to the head of the alluvial plain where it enters
the gorge of the stream. The trail is well worn, used for the summer
movement of cattle and sheep to the higher pastures and by donkey and dzo
columns carrying food and other supplies between the camps and the
villages.
About three hours into the day's walk, where a spur forces the river to
take a sharp turn, pass the jagged ruins of the Staklang Khar fort,
supposedly dating back to the 13th or 14th century, which dominates the
upper part of the gorge.
At its base is a thick grove of willow which serves as a pleasant spot for
lunch. From here the trail climbs steeply for a short distance to a saddle
called Ton Ton, with its ritual cairn of rocks, decked with prayer flags
and topped with the skulls and horns of Bharal (blue sheep), common in
this area. From here it drops down to the stony bed of the river and
continues upstream, past the summer camp or doksa of Chortenthang to below
another doksa at Mankyurmo, where camp is set for the night.
Day 02 : Mankyurmo to Gyangpoche over Matho La - 4 to 5 hours
Leaving Mankyurmo, the trail crosses a stream to the doksa of Jurles, the
stone huts piled high with drying Caragana, Linicera and Acantholimon
bushes, used for fuel. In mid summer even the driest parts of this area
have tiny flowers and flowering bushes and in the meadows where water is
close to the surface, bright patterns of yellow, pink and blue can be
seen.
The climb up to Matho La is extremely strenuous and at the
top, The initial descent to the plain of the Upper Matho valley is steep.
At the end the trail crosses a couple of streams and camp is set near
Gyangpoche doksa. The pasturage of the Upper Matho is a huge area bisected
by streams.Overnight camping.
Day 03 : Gyangpoche to Base Of Shang La - 6 hours
The
first part of the day's walk goes eastwards across the plain, to the edge
of the pastures. In this area a large number of streams, rising in the
snowfields of the Stok Matho range, have gouged deep valleys as they flow
north and converge to form the Matho river.
The trail descends to the bottom of one such valley and it takes over two
hours to reach the stream which has to be forded. Camp is set on the bank
of another stream. Overnight camping.
Day 04 : Shangla Base to Shang Phu over Shang La - 7 to 8 hours
Crossing the stream, the trail climbs up the opposite hill past a number
of small doksas. Three to four hours of steady walking through relatively
barren country leads to Shang La which links the Matho valley with the
Shang valley. From here the view to the south is spectacular. Camp is set
on the tongue of land formed at the confluence or, after crossing the
small stream, on its true left bank
Day 05 : Near Shang Phu to Martselang - 6 to 7 hours
The trail goes through the lovely small village of Shang some two hours
after leaving camp. Perched high above to the left of the trail is the old
gompa dominating this valley with its stone fences and complex braided
irrigation system. Reach at Sumdo means 'confluence' and is therefore a
very common name for villages. Trek until it opens onto the wide valley of
the Indus. Vehicles await here for the one-hour drive to the Ladakh Sarai.
The Himalayas are not mere rocks and snows
but an ubfailing storehouse of adventure and beauty.
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You may not be a pilgrim at first hand but
you'll soon become one as you arrive here!
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Accommodations that come coupled with
galvanising environs for a stay of its kind...
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