Today begins with a visit to the Leh City and a learning experience on the background of the ancient heritage. We will take a tour of the Leh Fort and the Old City, followed by a visit to the Leh market to purchase any gear or special needs if any. Leh has a rich history of trade during silk route times and is located on the bank of Indus river where Indus valley civilization thrived. We will also visit the Shanti Stupa from where you can get a panoramic view of the City of Leh.

Today is the day when we will leave Leh and only to return after 15 days of having experienced Himalayan Wilderness, Culture and trekked across the hidden valleys of Ladakh – The Zanskar.The journey will start from Kanji, a remote village outside for which we will undertake a drive of 4 hours from Leh. Kanji sits under a steep hill at the confluence of three valleys and the head of a canyon that runs north to the main Leh to Kargil Road. Today will be our first camping day and our camp will be setup by the tea house near the river, the village is above us, sprawling over several low hills.

We will start our day by visiting the Monastery at Kanji Village. Kanji Village is almost like a trekking junction that leads pathways in three different directions. Today being the fourth day of the expedition, we will start our first day of trek by undertaking an easy day trek to the Kanji La Base camp. It will be a flat trek and fairly easy for the participants. On the way you will find Nomadic people settlements (Doksa) with Yak and Sheep. Sometime back this used to be a permanent summer place for many Kanji Dwellers. Overnight at Kanji La Base Camp

Today will be a hard day of trekking. We will start early and will start a steep ascent to Kanji la pass located at altitude of 5246 m. It will take 3.5 hrs to arrive at the top of the Kanjila pass. From the top you will get a beautiful view of the nearby peaks. You can also find the view of Nun and Kun, the highest Peak in Ladakh region. From the top it will be a steep descent to the Base of Kanjila and will take 3 -4 hours. Overnight Camp at River Junction.

The Camp at River Junction of Kanji river and Pigdong river is at 4150 m altitude. Today we will start our trek from the camp, descending along the river and crossing it several times during the four hour long trek.  Sometimes we get to cross deep gorges along with great views of many peaks of the valley till we get our first view of the Rangdum monastery. Rangdum is the gateway to Zanskar and the monastery is 18th Century old that was solar powered by GHE in 2017. We will be camping overnight at fixed tents at Rangdum village. 

Next morning, we begin our journey from Rangdum as we enter the Zanskar valley and cross multiple villages along the way in our vehicles. The journey is going to be long and along the way we will cross Penzi La and the famous Drang Dung Glacier, the biggest glacier of the Zanskar. The glacier is known for its peculiar river shape and the effect of climate change is quite visible as it has receded considerably over the years. Our destination for the night will be the town of Padum which will be the last place where we can get some supplies, before heading off to trekking.

Padum is a town named after the Buddhist God Padmasambhava. It is the only town of Zanskar valley and also the administrative centre in Zanskar. It was historically one of the two main capitals of the Zanskar Kingdom, the other being Zangla. Today after a relaxing breakfast we will before head to the base camp - Stongde village which is 21 kms from Padum. Stongdey also houses a Monastery which is the second largest monastery in Zanskar Valley and is located over a hilltop. Overnight at camp site in Stongde.

Today the day will start with the visit to the Stongde Gompa, which is about 750 years old and is one of the oldest monasteries in Zanskar, perched precariously up on a craggy rock ledge, and surrounded by a lovely birch woods. During our visit to the monastery, we may be lucky to visit its room of treasures 'lha khang', or prayer hall. We might be able to catch the morning prayer, which is a surreal experience, a step back hundreds of years in time. After our visit to the Monastery, we will begin the day with a gradual ascent to a beautiful doksa where we will camp for the night.

We begin the day with a gradual ascent to the Stongde La pass (5140m). It is an uphill and long walk to cross the Stongde La, the only pass of the trek. From the pass, we get great views of the Namtse La, Zangla village and Stongde. The trail down is quite good, following the left side of the river and hillside. Three hours and two river crossings bring us to a lovely campsite with a few trees. Overnight campsite at Takthak along the river bed.

It's an early morning start today as the sun hits camp just before 6:30 am, we'll be up in time to enjoy the day (and our first cup of fresh coffee!). We start our four-hour day with a descent through a narrow gorge and a hilly trail; bring your sandals, as the next section of the trail crosses the river approximately 15 times! A climb up from the river rewards us with great views of an open valley to the south of us, and another hour of easy trekking brings us to our campsite for the evening, a great location with spring water and lots of sun.

Today again you will walk along the valley and see different landscapes. Another four-hour day with a river crossing, you will turn left to enter the beautiful shade village greeted with artificial gate made up of rocks. After 15 minutes’ walk, you will arrive at Shade village. Shade village was Solar electrified by GHE in 2017. We will be welcomed by the villagers with traditional barley beer. Shade is a very isolated village in Ladakh. During this season villagers are busy in harvesting, collecting their potatoes, collecting the grass for animals. Overnight camp at Shade village.

Today is the Expedition Impact Day and the team will install the Solar water heaters in the village, which is currently the most pressing need of the villagers of Shade as boiling the water in winters is very tough affair and uses a lot of firewood. The temperature during winters falls well below zero degree Celsius in this region, so the requirement of hot water is natural and pertaining. Apart from the environment, this step of Solar Water heater installation will provide benefits to the community on a long term.

This is a long trek day today and we will start our trek early from village Shade and will be trekking for 7-8 hours to reach the village of Yougar. Entire trek route is alongside the river Tsarap chu that finally merges into Zanskar. The famous Phugtal monastery is located on the opposite the village Yougar and can be reached by crossing the bridge across the Tsarap Chu River. We will stay overnight in the local homestays in the village of Yougar.

Today, we visit a 2500-year-old Buddhist monastery known for its architecture and heritage. The structure is built around a cave which is believed to be associated with many scholars of the ancient times. Both the monastery & village Yougar were electrified by GHE in 2016 & 2018 respectively. After visiting the monastery, we will trek for 2.5 hours to Cha village where our vehicles will be waiting for us. We will then drive to the town of Padum, where we will be staying for the night. The trekking part of the expedition is over & now we will be driving back the next 2 days to Leh.

The journey from Padum to Kargil is an unforgettable one. It has everything in it that one would want from driving across the valleys of Ladakh. We will be taking the same route back till Rangdum crossing Penzila and going further towards Kargil. After crossing Rangdum, we will be visiting villages such as Parkachik and Panikhar where you can get a glimpse of the Islamic culture of Ladakh along with beautiful views of the Sankoo valley along the Suru River. We will reach Kargil by evening and overnight at hotel in Kargil after a long day's drive.

It is time to head back to Leh after having travelled 17 days in the Himalayan wilderness. Today the team will travel from Kargil to Leh by road, a journey of 250 kms. On the way to Leh, we will pass through the 8th century Buddha statue at Mulbek and visit the famous Lamayuru monastery, known for its Moonland feature. The journey from Kargil will be around 5 hours with enroute Lunch. We will be driving on the National Highway 1. Finally, overnight in the Hotel in Leh after 15 days and time for a well-deserved shower.

Today will be a leisure and reflection day for the team to visit the Leh market and pick up souvenirs, including Pashmina, Apricot based food products and other local handicrafts. In the evening, we will have a debrief on how the Expedition experience was for everyone and what can be the next steps for development of the communities that has been impacted by our expedition members. After Dinner at a roof top restaurant, we will head to the hotel for our final expedition night.

“The mighty mountains beckoned, and we answered the call. “It’s time to say our farewell all around and make our way back to the airport with the GHE Team Leaders who will assure your safe departure. It's been an adventurous and impactful Climate Action Expedition 2023.