Places Covered: Delhi - Leh - Manali - Delhi
Day 01: Arrival in Delhi. Transfer to Hotel there. Day 02: Morning flight to Leh.
Day 03: Tour of Leh city, including the sixteenth-century palace and Gompa.
Day 04: Tour of Shey and Tikse gompas, and Stok Palace.
Day 05: Visit to Basgo fort and Alchi gompa, a remarkably well preserved 11th -century gompa and one of the artistic treasures of the Himalaya.
Day 06: Drive to village of Chiling, from where we begin the trek. A short ways from Chiling we step onto the frozen Zanskar river for the first time. Trek to Tilat Do. Overnight in cave.
Day 07: Walk upstream on the ice to Bakhula. Overnight in cave.
Day 08: Walk through tremendous canyons, inaccessible in any other season, to Nyarak. Overnight in cave.
Day 09: Continue on the frozen river to Sarakdo. Overnight in cave.
Day 10: Walk to Hanuma, the first village and most likely the first people
we have seen since leaving Chiling. Overnight in village house. Day 11: Hanuma to Pishu, another small village. Overnight in village house.
Day 12: Pishu to Karsha, site of the largest monastery in Zanskar. Overnight in village house.
Day 13: Karsha to Padum, the regional capitol of Zanskar and the goal of our journey. Losar (Tibetan New Year's) celebration.
Day 14: Rest day to explore Padum and the surrounding valley.
Day 15: Visit to local villages and gompas, including the kingdom of Zangla.
Day 16: Helicopter over the main Himalaya range to Manali. A spectacular one-hour ride flying over the main Himalaya range.
Day 17: Tour of Manali. Stay overnight at Hotel.
Day 18: Flight from Kullu to Delhi.
Day 19: Depart-Delhi, Transfer to airport for flight to onwards journey.