MENTOK KANGRI

Fly Delhi to Leh (3,500m)

Take the early morning flight from New Delhi to Leh. It is a short flight of about 75 mins, but offers great views, as we fly over the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Overnight Hotel in Leh.

Explore around Leh

We spend the two days allowing our bodies to adapt to the high-altitude and soak in the local culture. There is plenty to keep you occupied. We visit some of the monasteries in and around Leh such as the Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. There is also the option of visiting the old Leh Palace and the Khardung La Pass (world’s highest motorable road at 5,600m/18,400ft). Leh also has a useful market and you could do some last-minute shopping and pick up some gear for the climb.

Overnight Hotel in Leh

Explore around Leh

We spend the two days allowing our bodies to adapt to the high-altitude and soak in the local culture. There is plenty to keep you occupied. We visit some of the monasteries in and around Leh such as the Shey, Thiksey and Hemis. There is also the option of visiting the old Leh Palace and the Khardung La Pass (world’s highest motorable road at 5,600m/18,400ft). Leh also has a useful market and you could do some last-minute shopping and pick up some gear for the climb.

Overnight Hotel in Leh

Drive Leh – Rumtse (4100m)

Finally we leave Leh and begin our journey by hitting the road. Today we drive for about 2-3 hours, and camp at Rumtse a small village on the Manali-Leh highway. The village is just short of Tanglang La Pass, the second highest motorable road in the world. Our campsite is just off the road, close to village Gya and we have the full day to relax and allow our bodies to acclimatize. We would be going for a short day hike outside camp to get our muscles working.

Overnight Camp - Rumtse

Drive Rumtse – Tsokhar (4500 m)

More or less, we leave civilisation today as we continue our drive through the Tanglang La Pass, towards the beautiful Tsokhar lake. Its a 3-4 hour drive to the lake and as we approach the lake, we can see Tsokhar village on the other side of the lake. Our vehicles would return to Leh after dropping us off and our mules/horses for the trip would join us later in the day. We will have plenty of time to go for a long walk along the shores of Tshokar lake. For the next eight days, we will be pretty much on our own.

Overnight Camp - Tsokhar

Trek Tsokhar – Nuruchan (4,590m)

After spending the past five days vacationing, today we get down to business and begin the trek. Today is a short day, and we walk for about four to five hours to reach Nurchan. Our campsite is set next to a beautiful stream and we can see the very picturesque, saddle-shaped pass that we would be crossing the following day.

Overnight Camp - Nuruchan

Trek Nuruchan – Rajungkaru (4,800m)

The day starts with us having to cross the narrow stream, and then we are on the trail to cross over the first of four passes during the next three days. Today we just have to negotiate one pass, Horlam Kongka La (4,840m). Its a very gradual ascent to the top, which is marked by the typical Buddhist prayer flags. One can even see Tsokhar Lake from the here. From here it’s an hour and a half’s descent to the campsite.

Overnight Camp - Rajungkaru

Trek Rajung Karu – Gyama Burma (4,790m)

Today is a long day, but one that would prepare you well for the summit day. The agenda is to cross over two passes, both of which are more than 5,000m.
First up is Kyamayuri La (5,240m), which is visible from Rajungkaru, and is another perfect saddle. The views from the top of the pass are breathtaking and looking back we can see the entire valley spread out below us. A long and a gradual descent is followed by a to climb to the next pass, the Gyama Burma La (5,210m). Once we reach the top, we have a pain-staking one and half hour descent to the campsite at Gyama Burma, which is just about visible as tiny speck from the pass.

Overnight Camp - Gyama Burma

Trek Gyama Burma – Karzok Phu (4,500m)

Compared to the previous day its a short day of about six hours. We cross over the final pass of the trip the Yalegon La (5,241m). Just as we begin the descent, the Tso-moriri lake comes into sight and its a brilliant sight, barren mountains, snow-clad peaks and the lake, all in a single frame.
Its a long and hard two hour descent, as we descend about 800 metres all the way to our campsite at Karzok Phu. Mentok Kangri is now visible to us, standing tall and proud, in all its glory.

Overnight Camp - Karzok Phu

Trek Karzok Phu – Base Camp (5,250m)

Today we make our way up to the base camp for Mentok Kangri. Although its just another six-hour day, it feels like a long day as its uphill all the way, with some moraine walking as well and we try and camp as close to the mountain as possible, as that would reduce the time taken by us on summit day.

Overnight at Base Camp

Acclimatize at Base Camp

Finally, a rest day. After all the hard work over the past five days, we decide to take a breather to let our bodies recuperate. Post-lunch, we would sort out our equipments for tomorrow.

Overnight at Base Camp

Trek to High Camp

Summit Day

The day starts very early today, as we’ll give you a wake-up call at around midnight. We start at around 1 and make our way through big boulders for the first hour or two. In some sections, the rocks are really loose and we have to scramble for about 15-20 minutes. Its a very steep climb to the ridge and once there the summit is only about an hour and half away. The view from the summit is unparalleled. For the first time in days, we will be able to see Tso-moriri lake, end-to-end.

Overnight at Base Camp

Contingency day

Trek Base Camp to Karzok

Very short day today, as we descend for about two-three hours, all the way to Karzok village.

Overnight Camping - Karzok

Drive Karzok to Leh

Our vehicles would be waiting for us at Karzok and we leave early in the morning and its a six-hour drive back to Leh.

Overnight Hotel in Leh

Leh to Delhi

Early morning flight back to Delhi. Trip Ends!