Day 7: Ganda La Basecamp -> Skiu

Kanda La

We had to climb the Kanda La pass today which is at approximately 4980 m high. We started from our upper base camp at around 8.30 am. The climb was steep, so the going was slow. On the way we saw marmots. Though the climb was hard the scenery was breathtaking. We were climbing through the Stok range of mountains. It took almost 2 hrs to climb from 4545 m to 4980 m where the highest point of the pass is. After taking rest and taking photos I climbed to the ridge of the pass to take some ariel shots of the pass. The GPS showed 5026 m at the top of the ridge. It was a beautiful sight with the Stok range of mountains on one side and the Zanskar range on the other side of the pass.

Afterwards we descended towards the village of Shingo which is at 4150 m. Like all the villages in our route Shingo also has only a couple of houses. The village sits in a a gorge and there is a arrest camp at the entrance. We had our lunch there and around 1.30 pm we started walking towards Skiu where our camp for tonight is pitched. The walk towards Skiu from Shingo goes through a beautifully coloured rock laded gorge. A small stream flows along the gorge towards Skiu. Am was slower than the rest of us as her knee was not feeling well. So our guide walked in the front with other girls and I stopped in between so that Am can catch up with us without getting lost The walk through the gorge was fantastic. It took more than 3 hrs for us to reach Skiu.

There is a monastery at Skiu at the entrance of the village. Other than that there are probably about 20 houses in the village. Since our pony team reached the village late we didn’t get any camping place directly at the village. Our camp was instead pitched at the beginning of the Markha valley, on the banks of the Markha river.  I actually loved that place as it was far away from the crowd, peaceful and quiet with a fantastic view of the Skiu monastery at a distance. All of us were really tired from the long trek. I unpacked my bag and headed to the river to wash my body. The water was freezing cold, still it was so refreshing that I am glad that I did that.

At dinner Stan organised some local beer, called Stang, made from barley. We talked about it before, I never thought that he will take time to organise it. I just had a cup of it. It was a sweet beer, more like the Cider. I don’t know how strong it is. As even after a mug of it I felt alright.