Nubra Valley Trekking
The main village is Deskit, which has a regular bazaar consisting of a single line of shops, and a gompa. This is situated on a rocky spur above the village with commanding views up and down the valley. From Deskit, the tour circuit proceeds down the Shayok to Hundar, past an area of rolling sanddunes, their contours apparently solid, yet liable to shift with every gale. Here there is a small population of Bactrain camels, shaggy double-humped animals, which in the old days, were used as pack animals on the Central Asian trade routes. During the past 50 years, they have been bred for transport purposes in Nubra; today visitors can take a camel safari out into the dunes from Hundar.
The other circuit proceeds up the Nubra river, taking in the pretty villages of Tirit, Lukung, Tegar and Sumur. Nubra's other kanor monastery, Samstaling is situated on the mountainside just above Sumur. This was the route taken by the trade caravans, and Panamik, the last village on this circuit, was at that time a busy centre, the last major settlement before the caravans plunged into the mountains of the Karakoram and the Kun-Lu. Here they invariable halted for a few days to make final preparations for getting over the mountains, or to recuperate afterwards. There would be no supplies, not even grazing for the animals, for about 12 days after Panamik, so they had to carry all their provisions for that time. The Government maintained a granary to sell foodgrains for the men, and even for the horses.
But this arrangement was insufficient for the amount of the traffic, and the local villagers made a killing, selling grain and fodder, and letting out their fodder-fields for the horses to graze in. Today, Panamik is a sleepy village, its people quietly going about their work in the fields. Though the granary is still there, converted into a store for miscellaneous supplies, it is difficult to imagine the village's narrow lanes congested with the bustle of the caravan traffic. On the mountainside above, the village hot water bubbles out of the earth in thermal springs, locally reputed to have therapeutic qualities. And across the river, clinging precariously to the mountain there is a sliver of green - a few trees rooted in meagre accumulations of soil among the bare rocks surrounding the tiny Ensa Gompa.
Trek Itinerary:
Days 01 : Arrive in Delhi
Days 02 : Delhi fly to Leh
Days 03 : Leh excursion
Days 04 : Leh to Phyang
Days 05 : Phyang to Hunder
Days 06 : Hunder to Digger
Days 07 : Digger to Saboo
Days 08 : Saboo to Leh
Days 09 : Leh to New Delhi
Days 10 : New Delhi excursion
Days 11 : Departure Day
