Darcha to Lamayuru Trek - Day 5 to Day 6

By: satnam on 9:21 AM

DAY 5: LAKHANG TO SKI/KHI/HING VILLAGE (4060m) - 7 Hrs

It was one of those trekking days when you see a unique, colossal rock in the morning, and it remains in sight till the end of the day. The morning was relaxed and so was the day. We started quite late at around 9 a.m. Everybody had already left. The boy on duty at the Lakhang hotel seemed disinterested with his job. When we asked "what can we have for breakfast?", he replied "nothing". At last, we got some Maggi and left.

Little brother of the hotel boy

Morning was cloudy but the sun came out soon.

Experimenting with the camera’s toy effect

As we started walking, we approached a gigantic rock, which would be visible throughout the rest of the day. There were so many boulders in that area, it would have given any rock climber instant orgasm!

Rocks, rocks everywhere, but not a single belayer.

The rock  was huge and had a cliff-like straight drop, perfect for B.A.S.E jumping. Hoonar and I were absolutely spellbound by its formation and size.

Whoa...so big

The further we got from the rock, the bigger it looked

The landscape was changing melodiously to beautiful scenery, which is what Zanskar valley is known for. We were grateful to leave the snow, rain, fog and chilly winds of the initial days behind.

We were so overwhelmed by the natural beauty everywhere that we decided to take it easy and have a long break, after just 2 hours of walking. :)

Yes, that rock will be seen a lot today

By the time we finished our break and started moving, it was close to noon and we were really hungry! There were no passes to be climbed that day. Only level walking and descending, but no altitude gain.

Did not have to cross that, for the sake of picture photo

 

Find a man with Pateela

The walk down this valley was straight, with the big rock staring at our backs all the time. The Dutch party had left early in the morning, and we did not see anybody coming our way other than a lone horseman. It was quite a monotonous day. No ascents or descents, but the valley was simply exquisite!

A lone horseman, the only company for the day

Too much attention to the rock

Tres Magnifique!

It was 2 p.m. which meant lunch time but we were far from Kargyak. Whenever we asked someone how far it was, they always replied “30 minutes”. After hearing 30 minutes 2-3 times, we finally saw the green and marvellous sight that it was. 

Kargyak, the first village in Zanskar Valley !!!

Notice the ROCK on the right?

The Dutch couple at Lakhang had recommended staying at Ski/Khi/Hing village some distance from Kargyak. We followed their advice and pushed ourselves for another hour. No lunch for three straight days!

We reached Ski/Khi/Hing (everyone pronounced it differently) at 5p.m. and managed to find a nice home-stay quickly. Thankfully for our stomachs, our amazing host prepared dal sabzi (lentils and vegetables) immediately. Hoonar dropped dead (not literally!) at the home-stay place, while I went out in the evening to roam around the village and check out the crowd.

Finally the correct name

Quite an evening

I met the Ladakhi family from Chumik Napko (Day One ) And played cricket with the kids. I must admit that the kids here are way more honest and fun-loving than city kids.

Shovel as wicket !

Met a gang of local boys as well, who mistook me for junior Milkha Singh B-), which is not entirely incorrect! They probably watched Bhaag Milkha Bhaag recently.

One on the right is a Lhama

And the late evening was spent drinking a local liquor called "Arak" with local people. You can see how happy everybody looks!

Everybody is blushing

Highlight of the day : Momos with boiled potato stuffing for dinner

DAY 6: SKI/KHI/SHING VILLAGE TO TESTA VILLAGE (3950m) - 7 Hrs

It was an ordinary with nothing special, except seeing lots of trekkers going in the opposite direction. We started the day early at 7 a.m. with a heavy dose of carbohydrates in the form of dal, sabji and rice.

Yum yum

After descending down the Shing village, we had to cross a bridge. The trail runs straight with a river to its left.

Soon the sun came out and we kept walking pretty ordinarily on this pretty ordinary day.

No, I am not holding that rock. Just trying a warrior pose

After around 2 hours of walking, we reached Tangzay village which has a lovely hotel.

Another bridge crossing and the trail comes out to the left of the river this time. At this time, we started seeing tourist traffic from the opposite side.

Just after passing Kuru village we took a small break and had alloo momos from last night.

Two days back, we were caught in snow and rain everywhere! But on this day, we passed through picture-perfect villages, which made us fall in love with Zanskar valley. We reached our final destination of the day, Testa village at around 1:30pm, and took it easy for the rest of the day. The Dutch party was going to Purne, where most people stayed, so that they could take a day-trip to Phuktal Gompa.

For the first time during the trip, we had a chance for a midday nap, and we did that quite enthusiastically! When we woke up, we found ourselves locked inside the home-stay place somehow, but were free by evening. There is a satellite phone in Testa, which we used to call home. Later that evening, we took a stroll around the village.

Testa village from above

Highlight of the day : Saw a guy trekking with diving fins

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Darcha Lamayuru Map