Ladakh offers one of the world’s best trekking destinations. Ladakh owns a mixture of Tibet, Mars and the Alps. Ladakh’s culture enriches every trek by having old mud villages, ancient monasteries, warm and humble locals. Unlike popular treks in Himachal and Uttarakhand, Ladakh’s treks are uncrowded, clean and silent. Ladakh is one of the best in the world for star gazing because of dry weather.
1. GHT(Great Himalayan Trail) Trek Ladakh
GHT Ladakh Trek is a very difficult and challenging trek, the duration of the trek is about 20 to 30 days. This trek is very similar to an expedition. This trek is mostly chosen by serious trekkers. It is one the wildest long distance treks on earth with zero habitation for days and remote high passes(5,000m to 6,000m) like Parang la, Kongmaru La, Kandala, and many more. GHT trek is not for beginners, this is a tough and high altitude trek.
2. Zalung Karpo La Trek
Zalung Karpo La Trek is famous for its rarely trekked route with dramatic desert canyons, superb wildlife: blue sheep, snow leopard in winters, beautiful campsites at Dat, Sorra and Lungmo Che. The duration of the trek is for 10 to 12 days with a maximum altitude of 5,200m(Zalung Karpo La Pass) and level of difficulty is hard.
3. Spituk Trek Ladakh
Spituk Trek Ladakh is perfect for acclimatization for trekkers who are planning for Markha Valley or Stok Kangri. The difficulty level of this is easy to moderate and trek duration is about 4 to 6 days with max altitude of 4,900m where you see wide open valley views of Indus Basin.
4. Chadar Trek Markha Valley Trek
Chadar Trek is one the most challenging treks because of the risk of ice breaking while walking on a frozen river, temperature which drops to –30 degree celsius with max altitude of 3,300m. Still this trek is loved by most of the trekkers for its stunning icy canes, and frozen waterfalls. Trek duration is about 8 to 10 days and the trail demands a strong level of fitness and experience.
5. Markha Valley Trek
Markha Valley Trek is one of the most popular cultural treks in Ladakh. Villages with homestays, majestic views of Kang Yatse range, balanced culture and landscape are some of the reasons behind the love towards this trek. The difficulty of the trek is moderate with a maximum altitude of 5,260m(Kongmaru La) and the trek lasts for 5 to 8 days.
6. Sham Valley Trek
Sham Valley Trek is full of beautiful apricot orchards, ancient monasteries. This trek is chosen by those trekkers who want a Ladakh experience without harsh altitude and the duration is only about 2 to 3 days because of this, Sham Valley Trek fits best for beginners, families and for those who want to acclimatize themselves for other high altitude treks.
7. Rumtse To Tso Moriri Trek
Rumtse To Tso Moriri Trek is known for its one of Ladakh’s most scenic high altitude traverses, crystal blue lakes, long, wide plateaus with wild horses, and nomadic camps of Changpa people. With a maximum altitude of 5,435m(Yalung Nyau La) and trek falls under a high difficulty level which lasts for about 8 to 10 days.