Break From the Law travel blog

Me at the beginning of our day trek.

The view from our walk to Rizong monastery.

We are crossing the Wuleh Tokpo River.

Me & our guide on the way to Rizong Monastery.

The view during our walk to Rizong Monastery.

The view during the walk to Rizong Monastery.

Sign for the nunnery at Rizong. We stopped by here for a...

Two buddhist nuns working in the garden at the nunnery at Rizong.

Rizong Monastery.

Me & our guide crossing under the gate to enter the Rizong...

Rizong Monastery.

The view from Rizong Monastery.

Rizong Monastery.

A young monk at Rizong Monastery fastening prayer flags at the entrance...

Me on the trail to Yangthang.

We walked for a while next and through Wuleh Tokpo River.

We walked for a while next and through Wuleh Tokpo River.

Wuleh Tokpo River.

Wuleh Tokpo River.

The view from the walk to Yangthang.

The view on the walk to Yangthang.

Houses in the village of Yangthang.

The fields outside Yangthang village.

The fields outside Yangthang village.

A rose bush in the midst of the field.

The view from our walk to Saspol.

The view from our walk to Saspol.

Yangthang village at the base of the mountain.

Yangthang village.

The view from our walk to Saspol.

The view from our walk to Saspol.

The view from our walk to Saspol.

Old ruins at Saspol.

And we finally arrive in Saspol !


Today we went on a long hike, leaving our resort at around 8:45 a.m. and not finishing our walk until close to 4 p.m. We first walked to the Rizong Monastery, stopping along the way at a small Buddhist nunnery. As a road has recently been constructed where a trail once was, we merely walked along the road to get there. While this makes life easier for the local residents, it does not make for exciting hiking

The Rizong Monastery lies situated in a valley out of view from the road, so it is quite surprising to see it when one eventually comes upon it. The monastery is quite new in relative terms, having been constructed only in the 19th century.

After our visit to the Rizong Monastery, we walked to a trailhead along the Wuleh Tokpo River for a several hour hike through a valley and up a pass to the village of Yangthang. As the trail was washed out in a number of places, we had to ford the river in our sandals on multiple occasions. Upon reaching Yangtang, we again had to walk along the road for several kilometers before coming to another trailhead. After another several kilometer walk, this trail ended as well and we had no choice but to simply stroll along the road again for several kilometers until we reached the highway. From there we caught a bus back to Leh shortly after 4 p.m.

It seems to me that many of the treks here require those walking to spend a good deal of time walking along the road in addition to on the trails. Many of the treks here consist of walking along historic paths between villages, but as roads have been built on these paths to connect the villages to the outside world in recent years, hikers are forced to simply walk along the road. Ladakh's tourism authorities would be well advised to build new hiking only trails in such places, as foreign tourists have little interest in walking along paved roads. This is really my only complaint about the hiking in Ladakh, which, based on my limited experience, is quite good generally.

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