Ladakh
Ladakh lies in the eastern half of the state of Jammu & Kashmir in the far north of India covering an area of approximately 60,000 sq. kms. and ranges from 2600 metres to 7670 metres in elevation, making it the largest and highest district in India. Ladakh is sandwiched between two mountain systems - the Karakorams to the north and the Himalayas in the south. Ladakh can basically be divided into five geographical regions - Central Ladakh (the heartland of the Indus valley), Nubra (lying to the north of the Ladakh range), Rupshu (a dry, high altitude plateau lying in the south-east of Ladakh, Zanskar (one of the highest inhabited regions in the world) and western Ladakh or Lower Ladakh (around Kargil).

Ladakh really is a "Little Tibet" and is situated on the Tibetan plateau. The daunting height of the Himalayas adds to its isolation, even today the main road routes to Ladakh remain closed for more than six months of each year. Until 1979, there were no regular civilian flights into Ladakh so from October to June the region was completely cut off.

Today, it is full of amazing sights - strange Gompa's perched on soaring hilltops, dwarfed by snow capped mountains, the barren shattered looking landscapes splashed with small, brilliant patches of green and ancient palaces clinging to sheer rock walls. But most of all it is notable for its delightful people - friendly as only ladakhi's can be and immensely colourful.

Stok Kangri Peak
Stok Kangri is one of the most popular trekking peaks in the Indian Himalayas. The proximity to Leh (the capital of Ladakh) brings a lot of people to its summit. Not so difficult peak to climb, this trip has a short acclimatization trek built in where we climb a 4890m/16040ft high pass to get to the base of the mountain.

The ascent of this 6000m plus mountain in 10 days is probably the quickest one can climb it, keeping in mind that one needs some time to acclimatize to the altitudes as well. After spending the first couple of days acclimatizing in Leh during which time we also visit some monasteries and the interesting Leh market, we set off for a week long trek. Instead of approaching the mountain head-on we travel some distance west and then approach it through a slightly longer route crossing the Stok La (4890m) and then descending to the Stok valley. This approach gives us a little more time to acclimatize and the steep climb up to Stok La acts as a good test before the final ascent.

The final climb of Stok Kangri will present a challenge to even the fittest of the members. Even after being fully acclimatized and completely in form, one would always find any climb going over 6000m to be a hard one. The climb itself is not technically demanding, and on days with good weather conditions, involves going up a steep rocky scree slope and walking over sharp rocky ridge to reach the snowy summit. Most of the snow on the mountain melts away by mid July, however with weather becoming more & more unpredictable one cannot rule out a possibility of dealing with unexpected snow and ice on the mountain.

Day 01: Delhi to Leh (3500m).
Board the early morning flight from Delhi to Leh. It takes a little more than an hour to get to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. On a clear day the flight offers excellent views of the mighty Himalayas. Arrive at the hotel for welcome drinks followed by breakfast. Spend the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 02: Monastery visits in Leh.
Spend half the day visiting Shey and Thiksey monasteries around Leh. Return to hotel for lunch and spend the day exploring the Leh market.

Day 03: Leh to Rumbak (3870m) 1hr 30mins drive and 4 to 5 hrs trek.
Drive to Zingchen (3390m) and trek to Rumbak. The drive goes past the Leh airstrip, the Spituk Gompa, crosses the river Indus and carries on as a bumpy jeep road till Zingchen. The trail follows the stream from here till the pastures at Rumbak which is a junction of a few trails. The campsite is a little more than an hour's walk from here.

Day 04: Trek Rumbak to Mounkarmo (4250m) 6 to 7 hrs.
After an early morning breakfast we approach the base of the Stok La and start climbing the steep winding trail up to the pass. Stok La is at 4890m and this climb makes everyone feel the altitude. A steep descent from here brings us to the Stok valley and along the more popular route used to approach the mountain. We camp at a small campsite just short of the bigger campsite of Mounkarmo.

Day 05: Trek Mounkarmo to Stok Kangri Base Camp (4975m) 3 to 4 hrs.
Now we follow the busy trail up to the Stok Kangri base camp. It's a short day with gradual ascent to the campsite. The base camp is on a big meadow and is usually full of climbers from all parts of the world.

Day 06: Rest at the base camp and move to the High Camp (5315m) 2hrs walk.
Spend the first half of the day relaxing and recuperating before the big climb. Post lunch we move camp to a small campsite just before the glacier. It takes two hours to get here. Alternatively we could rest the whole day and leave for the summit in the middle of the night. Dinner and overnight at camp.

Day 07: Early Climb to Stok Kangri (6150m) and back to Base camp. 9 to10 hrs.
Wake up early in morning to start the climb which crosses the glacier and then start climbing up the steep slope to the summit ridge. A couple of hours of scrambling on the ridge brings us to the summit of the Stok Kangri. The summit offers wide open views of the Karakoram range on the north with the Saser Kangri dominating the sky and Zanskar ranges on the south.

Day 08: Spare Summit day.

Day 09: Trek to Stok village and drive to Leh 6 to 7 hrs trek and 1 hr drive.
We exit out of the Stok valley at Stok village. After washing up at the hotel we will have time enough to do last minute shopping in Leh market. Overnight at hotel.

Day 10: Fly to Delhi.
It's an early morning flight back to Delhi. Trip ends!