HOW MANY DAYS ARE REQUIRED TO COVER ZANSKAR

Invariably, a visit to the ZANSKAR valley is linked to the LADAKH itinerary & hence assumes a very unjust & insignificant time allocation for its coverage. But a visit to the ZANSKAR valley cannot be considered to be complete without experiencing a taste of its spiritual culture & local hospitality. Most of the journey covers the diverse landscapes ranging from the green SURU valley, PARAKCHIK glacier, RANGDUM, PENZI LA, DRANG DRUNG glacier & the long remote stretches. I have seen people considering ZANSKAR as a touch down point and returning back the next day.

In most of the itineraries, a visit to the ZANSKAR valley does not include more than 3 or 4 days, out of which 2 complete days are spend on the to & fro travel time.  The remaining 1-2 days are good enough to cover the local sightseeing. However, if you want to include PHUKTAL monastery in your ZANSKAR itinerary, it would require atleast 3 additional days at a reasonably good pace. A good trekker may be able to do it in 2 days too, but it would be very tiresome.

Hence I would recommend as follows

  • 3 days (Kargil – Padum – Kargil) without PHUGTAL monastery trek
  • 4 days (Kargil – Padum – Kargil) without PHUGTAL monastery trek
  • 7 days (Kargil – Padum – Kargil) with PHUGTAL monastery 
A detailed itinerary suiting your available days.

3 DAYS ITINERARY (KARGIL –  PADUM – KARGIL)

DAY 1 (KARGIL to PADUM)

  • If you are driving a self owned vehicle, it would be recommended that instead of Kargil, you should try to extend yourself till PURIKUTCHEY / SANKOO on the earlier day. By doing this, you can get more time this day for enjoying the journey enroute.
  • Start by 06:00 am to 06:30 am from KARGIL / PURIKUTCHEY. Enroute, visit the Trespone Mosque for SURU valley view, Nun Kun peaks, Parakchik Glacier, Rangdum Gompa, Penzi La, DRANG DRUNG glacier & Reach Padum. Enroute you can break at RANDUM for lunch break.

DAY 2

  • Visit the KHAR Palace in the morning to get a complete view of PADUM, PIBITING & KARSHA.
  • Proceed to ZANGLA FORT overlooking the ZANGLA village & ZANGLA nunnery. Enjoy the fantastic views from a deserted Fortress which was once a capital of ZANSKAR.
  • Visit the STONGDEY Monastery to be fascinated by the Vast Valley Views & the aerial view of the village below. (The view from the monastery gallery is my all time favourite in Zanskar)
  • Visit the KARSHA Monastery to see the life at KARSHA. You will find the little lamas in the schools at KARSHA looking amazingly at you. At KARSHA, enjoy the evening view of PADUM from a distance.
  • Next to KARSHA is STAMSLING Nunnery. Although, it looks very close to KARSHA, there is no direct access route. One would have to do a long turn to visit the Nunnery.
  • Enroute back to Padum, visit the PIBITING Monastery perched in the middle of the valley on a hillock.

DAY 3

  • Start early by 06:00 am to 06:30 am. Enroute, 6 kms from PADUM, you can visit the SANI Monastery.
  • If you start early from PADUM, you can make a detour of 16 kms from TUNGRI to cover ZONGKUL monastery enroute. Instead of taking a right turn to take the bridge at TUNGRI, go straight further 16 kms. You will have to back track the same distance till TUNGRI & take the bridge for a KARGIL.
  • Break at DRANG DRUNG glacier to get a glimpse of the amazing glacier.
  • Halt at RANGDUM for lunch
  • Depending on the available time, you can decide to break the journey at PURIKUTCHEY, SANKOO or extend further till KARGIL.

4 DAYS ITINERARY (KARGIL – PADUM – KARGIL)

DAY 1 (KARGIL to PADUM)

  • If you are driving a self owned vehicle, it would be recommended that instead of Kargil, you should try to extend yourself till PURIKUTCHEY / SANKOO on the earlier day. By doing this, you can get more time this day for enjoying the journey enroute.
  • Start by 06:00 am to 06:30 am from KARGIL / PURIKUTCHEY. Enroute, visit the Trespone Mosque for SURU valley view, Nun Kun peaks, Parakchik Glacier, Rangdum Gompa, Penzi La, DRANG DRUNG glacier & Reach Padum. Enroute you can break at RANDUM for lunch break.

DAY 2

  • Visit the KHAR Palace in the morning to get a complete view of PADUM, PIBITING & KARSHA.
  • Proceed to ZANGLA FORT overlooking the ZANGLA village & ZANGLA nunnery. Enjoy the fantastic views from a deserted Fortress which was once a capital of ZANSKAR.
  • Visit the STONGDEY Monastery to be fascinated by the Vast Valley Views & the aerial view of the village below.
  • Visit the KARSHA Monastery to see the life at KARSHA. You will find the little lamas in the schools at KARSHA looking amazingly at you. At KARSHA, enjoy the evening view of PADUM from a distance.
  • Next to KARSHA is STAMSLING Nunnery. Although, it looks very close to KARSHA, there is no direct access route. One would have to do a long turn to visit the Nunnery.
  • Enroute back to Padum, visit the PIBITING Monastery perched in the middle of the valley on a hillock.

DAY 3

  • Visit the ZONGKUL MONASTERY in the morning to see the magnificent monastery embedded in a cave.
  • While on your return, see the SANI monastery. Break for lunch back in Padum.
  • Post lunch, proceed to BARDAN monastery to see the Monastery perched on a hillock.
  • Go further to MUNEY monastery.
  • Return back to PADUM. You can spend the evening at PIBITING monastery.

DAY 4

  • Start early by 06:00 am to 06:30 am.
  • Break at DRANG DRUNG glacier to get a glimpse of the amazing glacier.
  • Halt at RANGDUM for lunch

It would take about 11-12 hours from PADUM to KARGIL considering all breaks.

7 DAYS ITINERARY (KARGIL – PADUM – PHUKTAL – PADUM KARGIL)

DAY 1 (KARGIL to PADUM)

  • If you are driving a self owned vehicle, it would be recommended that instead of Kargil, you should try to extend yourself till PURIKUTCHEY / SANKOO on the earlier day. By doing this, you can get more time this day for enjoying the journey enroute.
  • Start by 06:00 am to 06:30 am from KARGIL / PURIKUTCHEY. Enroute, visit the Trespone Mosque (for SURU valley view), Nun Kun peaks, Parakchik Glacier, Rangdum Gompa, Penzi La, DRANG DRUNG glacier & reach Padum by evening. Enroute you can break at RANDUM for lunch.

DAY 2

  • Visit the KHAR Palace in the morning to get a complete view of PADUM, PIBITING & KARSHA.
  • Proceed to ZANGLA FORT overlooking the ZANGLA village & ZANGLA nunnery. Enjoy the fantastic views from a deserted Fortress which was once a capital of ZANSKAR.
  • Visit the STONGDEY Monastery to be fascinated by the Vast Valley Views & the aerial view of the village below.
  • Visit the KARSHA Monastery to see the life at KARSHA. You will find the little lamas in the schools at KARSHA looking amazingly at you. At KARSHA, enjoy the evening view of PADUM from a distance.
  • Next to KARSHA is STAMSLING Nunnery. Although, it looks very close to KARSHA, there is no direct access route. One would have to take a long turn to visit the Nunnery. It offers the same views as KARSHA.
  • Enroute back to Padum, visit the PIBITING Monastery perched on a hillock in the middle of the valley.

DAY 3 (PHUKTAL Trek) 30 kms drive & 8 hours trek.

  • Start early from PADUM & hire a taxi for a drop / drive till Icher village. It’s a 30 kms drive & would take approximately 1.5 hours. Enroute, you can visit the BARDAN & the MUNEY monastery. Insist on a drop till the last motorable point at Icher on this journey.
  • ICHER to ANMO is a 5-6 hours trek. Anmo to CHA would be another 2 hours. Break for the night at CHA preferably OR at ANMO

DAY 4 (CHA – PHUKTAL – PURNE) 6 hours trek

  • Start off from CHA & visit the PHUKTAL Monastery (2.5-3 hours trek).
  • Return on the same route OR to PURNE village (3 hours trek). Break for the night at PURNE.

DAY 5 (PURNE to PADUM) 8 hours trek with 30 kms drive.

  • Start off from PURNE & break your journey at ANMO for snacks / lunch.
  • Trek to ICHER for about 5-6 hours.
  • Drive / Call a taxi from ICHER to PADUM.
  • Enroute visit the MUNEY & BARDAN monastery if not covered while on Day 3. Ideally, it is recommended that you visit BARDAN on Day 3 (while travelling to PHUKTAL) & halt at MUNEY monastery on DAY 5, so that the time span is evenly divided.

DAY 6 (PADUM -ZONGKUL – SANI- PADUM) 64 kms drive.

  • Visit the ZONGKUL MONASTERY in the morning to see the magnificent monastery embedded in a cave.
  • While on your return, see the SANI monastery. Break for lunch back in Padum.
  • In the second half, you can either re visit the STONGDEY monastery or the PIBITING monastery.

DAY 7 (PADUM – KARGIL) 240 kms drive.

  • Start early by 06:00 am to 06:30 am.
  • Break at DRANG DRUNG glacier to get a glimpse of the amazing glacier.
  • Halt at RANGDUM for lunch
  • It would take about 11-12 hours from PADUM to KARGIL considering all breaks.