Trip Reports

Stok Kangri - 22 Jul to 6 Aug '16

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, August 2016

Ladakh - “Land of Mystery” - not really India but not Tibet either, like much of the rest of the world, is changing fast. The region only opened its borders to foreign visitors in 1974; I was fortunate to go there in 1979 when it most certainly still was “Little Tibet” - Buddhist, remote, undeveloped, very authentically traditionally Ladakhish. Buffering India, Pakistan and China and being within the Jammu/Kashmir region (well known for its recent and current unrest) it has attracted an ever-increasing military presence, road-building programme, political and administrative infrastructure, which collectively have been responsible for a huge influx of Hindu and Moslem population; daily prayers broadcast from the several mosques that have appeared in Leh drown out the fluttering of prayer flags and low-murmurings of “Om Mane Padme Hum”. And those broadcasts in turn are increasingly being drowned out by the roar of Royal Enfield engines, the like-in-every-other-city-in-the-world rapidly increasing volume of traffic and the general noise of the thriving 'adventure-tourism' industry. For Ladakh has certainly been “discovered” by the modern world – there are several flights a day in and out of the airport and many intrepid travellers make the road journey either from Srinigar in the West, or over the Rhotang La from Manali to the South.

It is deservedly becoming a “must see” destination on the list of any traveller; easy to get to (if you can safely negotiate the Indian Tourist Visa application system); a fascinating cultural history; a vast landscape of stark, harsh beauty; and a choice of activities including white-water rafting, mountain-biking, motor-cycling, paragliding, trekking and mountaineering, to satisfy every level of challenge-seeker (except perhaps the feint-hearted). Stok Kangri has become THE mountain in the country to bag, so like Ben Nevis, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, even Everest, don’t go there and expect solitude. But like all those other mountains you don’t need to walk far from the congestion to have the place to yourself.

The itinerary for this trip was just sixteen days all in, long enough to allow the eight of us to get from and back to our respective homes and have enough time to explore the history and culture, to witness the contemporary transformation, to trek through the landscape and to climb a 6,000m mountain in this extraordinary region of the Himalaya. And long enough for us to get to know each other well enough to be able to claim the adage “met as strangers, going home as friends”, and stay true to that other cliché “leave only footprints, take home only photos” (time for plenty of both). We were blessed with conditions dry underfoot (but never too dusty) and enough cloud overhead to keep us shaded from what can be a very intense sun. Warnings of expecting Base Camp to be disgusting were unwarranted; sure there were other groups there but the site was impressively clean and tidy and the company allowed us to extend the good-natured banter that we had established amongst ourselves beyond the confines of our own mess tent.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable, challenging, interesting and satisfying “travel experience” (these expeditions can never really be called “holidays”); a good fun group supported by a great team of Sherpas, caterers, horse-men and horses; a privilege to be able to spend just a little more time in Ladakh, glimpsing into its deep fascinating past and dipping a toe into the mountainous wilderness that is there still to be explored.

Thank you Jagged Globe and our in-country team for once again providing the seamless organisation and support, thank you Raj Kumar and your crew for looking after us and keeping us safe and thank you team for your good company and sharing your adventure.

Mungo Ross, Expedition Leader

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