Transfer to hotel. Relax and acclimatise. Visit Leh market in the evening. 

A day for acclimatization. Optional visit to the Leh palace and the Shey, Thikse and Hemis gompas. Last minute shopping in the Leh market.

The trail goes through a flat and desolate plain along the river Indus and swings into the mountains along the pretty, willow-lined Zingchen gorge.

Today’s trail is not too strenuous, rising 300m over 22km, crossing the Markha river a couple times. There are a few ancient chortens along the trail, and a number of wolf pits used to trap wolves when they roam the valley during the winter months. Markha is a big village, complete with a derelict fort on the hillside and a small village monastery.

Kang Yatse, commands the views for the next two days. On the walk there are sights of some fascinating geological creations of large boulders balanced precariously on top of consolidated earth spikes. Continue down over a bridge to Thachungtse, a popular place to spot blue sheep slide up and down the steep cliffs with incredible agility.

We pass several Mani walls and suddenly come across a small lake. The view is wonderful from here – both of KangYatse, whose bulk gets reflected in the still waters of the lake, and also of the Markha Valley which we are now well above. We descend slowly to the valley of Nimaling which has a semi-permanent population of villagers who come from the Markha Valley to graze their livestock on the summer pastures.

We take a meandering path up the mountain to reach wide pastures where wild yaks graze. Walk over loose rocks to drop altitude to the other side of the mountain, where we establish our Base Camp right next to the stream.

Take the day to rest and practice some technical skills – useful for the snowy slopes of the next day. In the afternoon, gain some height and acclimatize your body.

We walk 3 hours to establish Advance Base Take.  We walk up to the snow to practice walking with crampons. Summit preparations and we eat dinner early and get to bed by 7 pm to be ready for the summit push.

Be prepared for a long day of 12 hrs- Summit Day! We start at midnight for our summit attempt of Kang Yatze II (6250M). Walk initially on scree and moraine before getting onto snow. It is a gradual walk all the way except for a few steep parts where we rope up. We should be at the summit by daybreak to catch the sun rise and the glorious view of the Zanskar range and the distant Karakoram. Descend to Base Camp for brunch.

Climb back up and descend to Nimaling. Make our way to Kangmaru La (5260m). The descent is steep and we enter a narrow valley. We reach Chuskirmo, a little after the valley flattens out, and board waiting vehicles to take us back to Leh, a two hour drive.  Wash up and walk into town for your last evening in Ladakh.

Early morning transfer to Airport for Leh – Delhi flight. Trip Ends!