Markha valley trek is one of most attempted treks in Ladakh region. Ladakh offers a rare mix of barren landscape and beautiful as well as unique Buddhist culture. Markha valley in summers is quite a busy trek and invites a lot of foreigners as well. Markha valley trek covers high mountain passes (15000ft+) and trails. The multicolored prayer flags welcome you as you enter the small villages of Markha valley and it is about these memories that will remain with you for life. At Wanderers we believe, there is no place as beautiful and welcoming as the beautiful Markha valley winter trek.
Markha Valley can practically be done throughout the year. Wanderers offers this trek in summers as well as in winters.
Day 1 & 2: Acclimatize
Reach Leh by Noon. Check into a hotel and relax. The first 2 days for any trek in Ladakh region are extremely important. These 2 days will ensure that you trek and enjoy the Markha Valley trek to the fullest. Flying into Leh brings you to an altitude of 10000 ft+. Therefore, it is of immense importance that we get ourselves acclimatized.
On day 2, we can explore the market of Leh as well as go for some sightseeing (Thiksey Monastery, Leh Palace and the famous Shanti Stupa)
Day 3: Drive to Chilling and trek to Skiu
Drive from Leh to Chilling. Chilling is a small village along the road from here we will start our trek to Skiu. We will cross the river via a bridge to reach the other side of the river. The entire terrain will be snow covered. With a few ascends and descends, we will reach the village of Kaya first followed by Skiu. Check into the homestay and relax.
Day 4: Skiu to Sara
It is the most scenic walk today. With a completely frozen Markha river on our right, we will also experience how it is to walk on Chadar as we will get few long stretches on this frozen river. It will take us about 4 hours to reach Sara village. Sara village is a small village with about 10 or 12 homes and may be about 2 of them offering homestays but it sure is worth staying at Sara.
Day 5: Sara to Markha village
We will start our trek post breakfast. Today’s trek will comprise of short ascends and decends which will lead us to an old wooden bridge. Post crossing this bridge we will head to pass which will lead us to Markha village. Although, it is also a small village, Markha has its own ancient Monastery and a school. Spend the night at Markha in a homestay. We will also have a phone line facility here at Markha.
Day 6: Markha village to Skiu
After having explored, the Markha village, we will be retracing our steps back to reach Skiu. Everything would have changed with the continuous snow fall and our trek back will therefore not be monotonous. We reach the Skiu village and check into the homestay. It is a long walk back so after having our meals, we'll call it a day.
Day 7: Skiu to Chilling and drive to Leh
We will start at ease today and trek back to Chilling. With some gradual ascends and descends, we will reach Chilling and take the same bridge to cross the river. Our cars will pick us up from Chilling and we will drive back to Leh. We stop on the way and pay a visit to famous Gurudwara Patthar Saheb. We check into the hotel by the afternoon and relax.
Inclusions:
1) Transport - Innova (or similar) car for travel for Airport pick up/drop and for local transport.
2) Meals - All the meals from Leh to Leh.
3) Accommodation -
a. 3 nights in Leh and 6 nights in camps/homestays while on trek on twin sharing basis.
b. Camping while on trek on twin sharing basis.
c. While camping, wanderers will provide dry cleaned sleeping bags and mattresses with fresh individual fleece liner for hygiene.
d. Toilets – clean and hygienic (traditional cat pit style).
4) Trek Leader - An experienced mountaineer who is also a certified wilderness first aid responder will be provided.
5) Guide - There will be a well experienced local guide who is well versed with the local topography.
6) Camping & trekking permits and permissions from the local administrations/ authorities.
Exclusions:
1) Any meals/services not mentioned above
2) Any costs in accommodation & food arising out of unforeseen circumstances like landslides, roadblocks, bad weather, etc.
3) Insurance
4) Alcohol, soft drinks, beverages, etc.
5) Personal expenses like tips, telephone calls, laundry, etc.
6) Any charges for video cameras, still cameras, etc.
Transport:
We believe in absolute comfort wherever possible. Our transport fleet includes good quality Innova, Bolero, Xylo and Scorpio.