Trekking in north India

Skipper

It's not en route Srinagar-Kargil.Land in Delhi,fly to Jammu,stay 2ds enjoyingAmong others Vaisnodevi temple at Katra. Go to Patnitop-Sanasar[1day].Move to Pahelgaon by car[8/9hrs].Trek to Amarnath in3ds[everyone do] & return in2ds or in1day via Baltal. Move to Srinagar[3/4hrs].Stay at least 3ds.Sightseeing infos only u b'come sure.Srinagar is cool.
By the way,Gangotri is not biggest pilgrimage. U'llsee 50/60 men there at ur time.
Try Amarnath & Rupkund; .......sure u'll come again.

mila_asier

Thanks again.

I have been visiting some pages about Amarnath. It looks interesting.

You told me there are few pilgrims trekking to source of Ganges. How is the landscape in Amarnath trek? As spectacular as in Ganges? Are there Shadus in Amarnath Yantra?

How is the situation in Srinagar now?

Dilliwala

It's not correct about few people going to Gaumukh. So many people go that the govt has now set a limit of 150 per day.

Larsuld

I agree with AvidTrekker that the Darcha-Padum section is the more interesting option. At least that is how I found it 8 years ago. Phuktal and Bardan gompas are amazing (take a glimpse at the former at http://www.terragalleria.com/asia/in...indi11455.html)

There are a more villages between Lamayuru and Padum, which is, make no mistake about that, also a great trek. If you decide to trek from Lamayuru to Padum, by all means fly to Leh, as you would otherwise be looking forward to one or two too many a painful busride.

Trekking from Padum to Kistwar as Praks suggests sounds interesting regardless! As long as people here vouch for its safety for tourists. You could do it in reverse order as well - visiting Srinagar then trekking to Padum - Lamayuru or Darcha.

About Leh - I don't see any particularly good reason to visit Leh except if you need to arrange your trek from there, or if you are completely exhausted from trekking and desperately need some luxury. The town itself is a very uninspiring mix of regional central market town, army garrison and backpacker chill out spot. Many backpackers like to hang out in these places forever, but end up talking to other backpackers and eating European food instead of seeing the country they are in and eating roasted barley flour and drinking local brew. Buddhist culture is much more alive in the villages. And there are a lot of weddings there in summer because its the only time of year visitors can come. That is my humble opinion only, of course. For a combination package of Buddhism and backpacking chilled out luxury, there is no substitute for the Dalai Lama's exile 'capitol' - McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala) in Northwestern India.

I'm getting all worked up because I am going back to India this summer my self, but I hope some of it is atleast slightly useful!
The big problem with the Himalayas, which the Gods didn't think about when creating it, is that there are just too many possibilities for a summer vacation.


Best wishes
Lars

Skipper

Can u compare ruby with emerald?Both of them are beautiful.But at ur time of visit Amarnath should be the first choice,specially considering ur inclination over pilgrimage.Also
Kasmir is called 'Earth's heaven'.Srinagar is just fine now.
Never go for sadhus bcos they are99% fake &1% will not come before u.

Skipper

U are right Dilli but at her time of visit there is no tourist season in Gangotri.Only climbers & high alt. trekkers are seen mostly at that time.

Dilliwala

While I agree that it's not peak tourist season, I don't agree with the 50-60 number for Gangotri. Even at Yamunotri, the least visited of all dhams, there'll be more than that.

mila_asier

Thanks again about your suggestions. I think I have been convinced to trek to Amarnaht. Sources of Ganges, may not be the best option for August, because of the wheather that won't let me enjoy fully the peak's landscape and the landslides can make the access longer (5&6 days go and return for 5 days trek).

But there is something that makes me to be worry visiting Kasmir: security about political-milatar situation. Is it the trek to amarnath secure? and what about Srinagar?

Thanks again

mila_asier

In Ladakh my plan is to trek from Lamayuru to Padum. Can anybody advice or guide me about the prices for a english speaking guide, or horseman and his horses to carry luggage and food?

AvidTrekker

Horseman with two horses will charge 2000 rupees maximum per day (try to bargain for 600 per day, but in season they wont come down that easily) and will carry 120 kilos (60 per horse)
.
.

P.S.Broken English Speaking Guide will cost Rs 1200 per day. Even then his English will be a mixture of Hindi and English. The fluent English speakers are hired by very well known agencies at Rs 2500 per day ....

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mila_asier

I have been trying to shedule our travel in order to decide which days the internal flight buy. I would like to know if it is feasible.

Thanks

day 1 flight Spain-Delhi
day 2 dehli Delhi
day 3 flight Delhi-Leh
day 4 visit Leh
day 5 visit Leh-Lamayuru
day 6 trek1 Lamayuru-Wanlah 3-4 h, 10 km zanskar
day 7 trek2 Wanlah-Houpatta 5 h, 15 km zanskar
day 8 trek3 Honupatta-Photaksar 6 h, 17 km zanskar day 9 trek4 Photaksar-Singge La 6 h, 15 km zanskar day 10 trek5 Singge La-Linshet 5-6 h, 15 km zanskar
day 11 trek6 Lingshet-Snertse 6-7 h, 17 km zanskar day 12 trek7 Snertse-Hanumil 5-6 h, 14 km zanskar
day 13 trek8 Hanumil-Pishu 4-5 h, 13 km zanskar
day 14 trek9 Pishu-Karsha 4-5 h, 14 km zanskar
day 15 trek10 Karsha-Padum 2 h, 6km zanskar
day 16 car/bus/ Padum-Kargil
day 17 car/bus/ Kargil - Srinagar
day 18 visit Srinagar
day 19 car/bus/ Sriangar - Pahalgam 10 h traslado/bus-camión
day 20 trek Pahalgam-Chandanwadi 4 h, 16 km Amanarth
day 21 trek Chandanwadi-Panchtardi 8 h, 26 km Amanarth trek
day 22 trek Panchtardi-Amarnarth Cave Amanarth trek
day 23 trek/bus/Panchtardi-Baltai-carretera-Srinagar
day 24 visit Srinagar
day 25 flight Srinagar - Delhi
day 26
day 27
day 28
day 29 flight Delhi-Vanarasi
day 30 visit Vanarasi
day 31 visit Vanarasi
day 32 flight/train Vanarasi-Agra
day 33 visit Agra (Taj Mahal)
day 34 train Agra Dehli
day 35 visit Dehli
day 36 flight Delhi-Spain

I have some days free which I have to distribute before or after ladakh/kasmir/vanarasi-agra....¿any suggestion?

kolobar

I think you should consider to use your free days for a few rest days. Bus rides like Padum - Kargil are more strenous than walking on the trek. I definitely recommend you to stay at least one more day in Padum. You can take a taxi to visit few gompas around the city like Stongde, Sani... There is a road and public bus service between villages in Zanskar valley therefore you can save a day or two at the end of Lamayuru to Padum trek.
Also you might need more days in Leh to organize your trek. If your ponyman starts from Leh, he will need few days to reach Lamayuru. If you intend to hire ponyman in Lamayuru you might not be able to get one on the planned day. During high season ponymen are in great demand and there can be sometimes a lack of them.
I agree with AvidTrekker - good guides are employed by agencies. Also bad guides are employed by agencies. I doubt if something like independent guides on offer exists at all in Ladakh. Consider if you need a guide at all. All ponymen know the way and there will be probably enough other trekkers so it is not easy to get lost...
Definitely stay more time in Srinagar. You will arrive there after two days of uncomfortable bus ride and after a day you intend to do another one. To see the city, enjoy some time on a houseboat end go for boat rides on Dal lake will take more than 2days. It is the best way to rest after a long dusty trek or/and bus ride.

raj_s

Its a good idea to keep a day extra to relax in between.
I have friends in spain who always end up with schedule delays on visit to India just because things are different here.
Anyway your english seems to be pretty good

mila_asier

Thanks again. Anybody can inform me about security in Srinagar and Amarnath?

Thanks

AvidTrekker

At Amarnath...

Very tight. High Security zone. Crawling with Army people.

In spite of this many Indians do the Amarnath pilgrimge, as it is a holy objective.

Srinagar is less tight, nonetheless Army presence everywhere.