Markha valley trek
Discover one of the most beautiful valley of Ladakh going through the Hemis National Park
The Markha valley has a lot to offer to the avid trekkers. You will cross traditional villages with their irrigated fields, meet the very hospitable Ladakhi at their home, discover the stunning landscapes of the Hemis National Park, crosses high altitude passes, and spot many species of birds and mammals.
There is no technical difficulties on most of the trails around the Markha valley, until you want to climb the Kang Yatse of course !
As there are several options to trek the Markha valley and the Stok Kangri range, you can easily adjust your trek according to the time you have in hands and according to physical fitness.
Markha valley trek features (Markha to Shang Sumdo)
Duration of your trek
Day-min : The minimum number of days required for the trek (from Leh to Leh)
Day-max : The maximum number of days you can spend on this trek. Prolonged itinerary can be discussed with our team.
AWTD : Average walking time per day (<3 : easy, 3 to 5 : moderate, >5 : strenuous
Altitudes of your trek
Min : Minimum altitude of your trek.
Max : Maximum altitude of your trek.
Ascent : The total ascending difference of altitude on the trek.
Descent : The total descending difference of altitude on the trek.
Difficulty of your trek
Stamina : The physical effort involved during your trek. Rated from 0 (easiest) to 100 (most strenuous). If you have an average fitness you can consider all the treks up to 50. See here for more details
Technical : Difficulty of your trek in terms of exposure to danger and required experience.
0 to 20 : No difficulties,
20 to 40 : Walking on good mountain trails,
40 to 60 : Some walking on difficult mountain trails (steep slopes, rocks, etc.),
60 to 80: You are exposed to some dangers (void, snow, falling rocks, etc.),
80 to 100 : Experience required (please inquire).
Overall : Average between Stamina and Technical rating.
Duration
Altitudes
Difficulty
Markha valley trek map
MARKHA VALLEY TREKS ITINERARIES
There are several options for your trek in the Markha valley and around. There are all shown on the map in green. In this page the main itinerary starts from the village Sara and ends at Shang Sumdo. Visit this page for the trek to Shang Sumdo via Rumbak.
Markha valley trek, best time to go
Best time to trek into the Markha valley is from May to September In early season you may not be able to cross the high passes because of the snow.
The Markha valley is known for the presence of the Snow Leopard. If your purpose is to observe the Snow Leopard, you must trek the valley in winter time and cope with the extremely low temperatures that fall to minus 20 or 30 degree Celcius.
JAN
Avoid
FEB
Avoid
MAR
Avoid
APR
Avoid
MAY
You may go
JUN
Best time to go
JUL
Best time to go
AUG
Best time to go
SEP
Best time to go
OCT
You may go
NOV
Avoid
DEC
Avoid
From our gallery
Markha valley trek photos
Itinerary
Day One : From Leh to Markha
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| One hour Homestay | We leave Leh in the morning. The trek starting point for the Markha valley is no more Skiu because of the road that goes into the valley since 2020. The road is suitable for your taxi till the small village of Sara. As the drive from Leh to Sara is not so long, and the walking time from Sara to Markha village is around one hour only, we may decide to go for a rafting descend on the Zanskar river in the morning. After the lunch we drive to the village Sara and start walking from there. We stop at the village Markha. Night in a homestay. |
Day Two : Markha to Hankar
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 4 hours +250m / -0m Homestay | The real trek starts ! Today we have a good day of hiking to reach the village of Hankar which is about 12 km ahead in the valley. No worries, the climb is only 250 m which is very reasonable. We cross the 4000 m as Hankar is at around 4050 m elevation. Enjoy observing the life of the locals in higher side of the valley, this is the last village. Tomorrow we will be in the realm of Nature ! |
Day Three : Hankar to Nimaling
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 5 hours +850m / -0m under tents | Today we will leave the inhabited part of the valley ! As we climb, the landscape becomes very interesting with a stunning view of the Kang Yatse. The bottom of the valley that was quite green till Hankar gradually turns into a high altitude desert. The villagers of Hankar used to go these higher altitude to graze their Yak and goats who feed only the rare grasses. At Nimaling there are fixed camps where we will stop for the night. Enjoy the starry sky at above 4800 m ! |
Day Four : Nimaling to Shang Sumdo
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 8 hours +430m / -1650m Homestay of back to Leh | Today is a long day as we have to climb to pass called Kongmaru La at 5283 m elevation. The climb is a bit strenuous because of the high altitude. But you are rewarded by the amazing view from the pass. The Kang Yatse look gigantic and the valley behind the pass shows wonderful rock formations. We have then a long descend towards Shang Sumdo. We have a total of 1650 m of difference of altitude between Kongmaru La and the village of Shang Sumdo. You can either stay for the night in a homestay or we can send you a taxi to take you back to your preferred stay in the Indus valley. |
Gallery
Markha valley trek photos
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