|
<<
Indian Himalayas
<<
Travel in Ladakh
>> <<
Tourist Places Ladakh
>>
<<
Zanskar in Ladakh
>>
Zanskar in Ladakh
-
Traveler
Experiences about travel in Zanskar Ladakh:
When I first went
to Zanskar in 2004, most Indians had never heard of the place-in fact,
nor had we! When we hiked over the Shinkun La at over 16,000ft and first
glimpsed the land that lay before us, I was stunned. I had never seen a
land so harsh and barren and yet so beautiful. In the days to come we
were to discover so many treasures in this rain-shadow area of the Great
Himalaya. From smiling and welcoming lamas to cliff-top monasteries,
from vast landscapes that turned colour with every passing minute of the
setting sun to grazing grounds that stretched for miles, blanketed with
wheep, goats and yak. High meadows where we camped were covered with
wild anemones, buttercups, ekeweiss and host of other flowers. I fell in
love, and have returned almost every year for over 20 years.
We had started our
trip by driving from Manali to Darcha in the Lahaul valley. The peaks
of the Lahaul valley. The peaks of the Lahaul valley stretched out in
front of us. The contrast between the lush, green Kullu valley and dry,
harsh Lahaul was stark. The monsoon was in full spate and had washed
out the bridge over ‘pagal nala’, named for its vulnerability in flash
floods. After a long delay and ferrying our loads across by foot, we
moved on and reached Darcha late in the evening. Our muleteer and a
taste of the dhabas of Darcha. Three days of hard hiking along the
Barai nala brought oust to the base of the Shinkun La, which we crossed
early morning on the fourth day. It was easy going at first and then
the slum turned the snow to mush and we were up to our knees were on
top. The coming week was one I would never forget, as we hiked through
spectacular landscapes to get to Padum, the administrative capital of
Zanskar.
About Zanskar
Zanskar is a part of the
district of Lakakh and akin to it in topography, climate, social structure and
religion. Yet what distinguishes it from Ladakh is its relative
inaccessibility-and this is also its chief attraction. Only the adventure
traveler with loads of time will venture in to its recesses. The Khampa, the
nomadic shepherds who originally roamed the grazing pastures of the Tibetan
plateau, would have been familiar with the high passes into Zanskar many
centuries before the villages of the Zanskar or Indus valley were established.
From June to
September the high passes are free of snow, the weather is dry and warm during
the dayn and dry and crisp at night. The Great Himalayan Chain acts as a very
effective barrier against the monsoon, and Zanskar seldom gets rain.
Two rivers, flowing towards each other along the northern flank of the Great
Himalaya, meet in the broad plain of Padum. About 20 kms. South of Rangdum
stands the Pazila watershed across which lies Zanskar, the most isolated of all
the trans Himalayan Valleys. The Panzila Top (4401 m) is the picturesque
tableland adorned with two small alpine lakes and surrounded by snow covered
peaks. A few years later, the Dogra general
Zorawar Singh led his army over the Umasi La during the conquest of Ladakh and
the Zanskar. In 1834 he reduced the powers of the royal families in both Padum
and Zangla to a nominal status and established the fort at the village of
Pipiting just north of Padum. He is also said to have paid a small fortune to
hire a local guide to lead his army directly across the passes of the Zanskar
Range to the Indus Valley in Order to mount a surprise attack on the king of
Ladakh.
Tsarap Lingti Rivers
Two
days of bone-jarring driving, first along the Suru and then the Doda rivers, and
across the Pensi La, brings one to Padum. Cascading down to the road is the
dramatic Gangri glacier which brings down the snows of Nun and Kun peaks, which
at over 22,000 ft each are the highest in Zanskar. On the way you can camp at
the windswept plains, in the centre of which is the tiny rangsum Gompa. Padum
is located at the southern end of a large open plain formed by confluence of the
Doda and the Tsarap Lingti rivers that form the Zanskar river, which then flows
northward into the inkus. Today it’s more truck stop and probably the only
place in Zanskar that has guest houses, albeit basic. It is also the best place
to base yourself if you want to explore the surrounding plains.
Click For Continue to
this Page...!
Places
of Interest Ladakh
{
Drass
Kargil
Suru
Valley
Sankoo
Rangdum
Zanskar
Padum
Phugthal
Sani
Stongdey
Zangla
Zongkhul
}
Tours To Kashmir/Leh Ladakh
Himalayas India :-
 Hotels in Kashmir
Hotels
in Leh-Ladakh
|
Trekking Itineraries
. .
B
I J U.
.