Itinerary
Day 1: Rumtse – Kyamar (4,500 m)
Your boots touch earth at Rumtse, where green barley meets the mountains. A gentle climb opens the valley, threading beside wildflowers and marmot colonies. Camp near a sacred spring under stars you didn’t know existed.
Day 2: Kyamar – Tisaling via Kyamar La & Mandalchan La
Passes start early. Two today — Kyamar La (4,850 m) and Mandalchan La (4,970 m). Their crests offer views stitched from cloud and stone. The descent to Tisaling feels like entering a forgotten story.
Day 3: Tisaling – Ponganabu via Shibuk La (5,200 m)
Up again, to Shibuk La, where the winds sing secrets of the Changthang. On the descent, Tso Kar appears — a white ghost of a salt lake shimmering in the sun. Camp beside its ancient shoreline.
Day 4: Ponganabu – Nuruchan (4,630 m)
A gentler day — a long, open walk beside marshes echoing with birdcalls. Black-necked cranes, wild asses, and silence are your companions. Nuruchan, a tiny village, welcomes you with its timeless rhythm.
Day 5: Nuruchan – Rachungkaru via Horlam Kongka La
Cross Horlam Kongka La — not high by Ladakhi standards, but every pass here holds its own magic. Enter nomad lands. Changpa tents flutter in the wind. Yaks graze beside prayer flags. Camp at Rachungkaru — a meadow with soul.
Day 6: Rachungkaru – Gyamar Barma via Kyamayuri La (5,410 m)
One of the tougher days. The climb to Kyamayuri La tests breath and will. At the top: raw wind, raw joy. Descend into pure wilderness. Camp at Gyamar Barma — no village, no road, just you and the sky.
Day 7: Gyamar Barma – Gyamar via Kartse La (5,350 m)
Climb again to Kartse La, then drift down into a hidden bowl of meadows. Gyamar feels like a secret pasture kept just for the mountains.
Day 8: Gyamar – Karzok via Yalung Nyau La (5,440 m)
Your final challenge: Yalung Nyau La, the highest point of the trek. From here, the blue majesty of Tso Moriri reveals itself — like a mirror of the sky. Descend into Karzok, where the lake and monastery mark the end — or the beginning — of something deeper.