The Markha Valley starts from Spituk. Continue on the dirt road from Spituk, along the Indus River, all the way up to Zingchen. It takes about two hours to reach Zingchen on foot from Spituk. Drive from Leh to Spituk and reach Spituk early in the morning as it gets very hot in the day time en route to Zinchen. Carry extra water as it may take several hours to find a source of drinking water. At Spituk look for the set of the first Gelukpa Gompa in Ladakh. Go past the village and cross the bridge over the Indus River. After crossing the bridge look out for the guards of Hemis National Park. Walk by the trail until you notice a small village on your right. All this while the Indus is on your right.

The green scenery now gives way to dry grounds. There are a series of dry gullies to cross for about 2 km. The trail then splits into two. One is the jeep trail which remains in the lofty grounds while the other is the mule trail which is shorter. After a 4 km Markha Valley on the mule trail you reach a vantage point from where you get an impressive view of the Indus Gorge below. Look out for some prayer flags. Leaving behind the Indus river, walk towards Zinchen gorge ahead which is another 7 km far away from the junction of Indus and Zinchen Rivers. As you cross over, the trail heads towards the south as you cross another road bridge next to a gorge. An additional 3 to 4 km walk and you will reach Zinchen.

The trail crisscrosses a stream flowing through a gorge. Take the wooden bridge to cover the stream and go to the left of the gorge. Further up move to the right and cross the stream. This trail heads to Rumbak from Zinchen. It takes about 3hrs to reach Rumbak. From there start to your right side to reach Yurutse. Take the small wooden bridge over the stream which takes you to the valley on the right. A 984 ft climb from there, brings you to Yurutse village.

Walk ahead for an hour and cross the bridge past a forest check post of Hemis National Park. The trail is well placed by Forest Officials and proceed till Sumdzom. Register and obtain permits to enter the park. From Sumdzom there is an upstream walk and you come across the wooden bridge two times as you pass through an alluring gorge (Zingchen Nala). The trail enters a valley that narrows down as you move ahead passing via two rocky canyons of sorts. In front of you is Kandala Nallah trail through fields. On the left side, the trail proceeds eastwards up to Rumbak Village. The rocks are rounded so tread carefully. There is an easy stream crossing that will appear to your west after which you get a grand view of the snow-clad peaks of the Stok Mountains as you cross over a fenced plantation area. Rumbak is at a height of 12,470 feet. Notice a route moving further down ahead to Stok La where you can go climbing the Stok Mountains, namely Stok Kangri. Rumak takes the turn towards Yurutse which is a slow climb and can be hard as the effects of high altitude sink in. The landscape is barren and the mountain brightens with a yellow glow and green pastures. Overnight stay in Yurutse.

Start early in the day towards the Base camp of Ganda La which is a steep gradient involving an hour-long hike. As you move up the valley to the base camp, look for the peak of Stok Kangri looming behind you. Look for the usual prayer flags as you reach the lower base camp of Ganda La at an altitude of 14,272 feet. A further 30 minutes or 1 km will bring you to the high base camp of Ganda La. Enroute you may sight Blue Sheep, Marmot, and Argali roaming the land freely. The Ganda La Pass is a further 1 km up in the valley where the elusive Snow Leopard resides, though sighting one will be rare. At the top of Ganda la pass, you get a grand view down to Zinchen Gorge and Stok Mountains and towards the Skiu side of the valley. The contrast in the landscape on both sides is incredible. The trail is well defined, zig-zags all the way up to the pass. Keep your ears well protected as it is extremely windy. As you pitch down to Skiu, observe the terrain intensifies becomes rocky in nature. This pass crossing section can be hard for trekkers as one may experience headaches, nausea, etc. Ensure you do not hike too fast as the variance in height gained and lost is significant for the day. Carry plenty of water as the quality of water is not that good on way till Shingo. A water filter can help you here.

After two hours of difficult descent, you will reach a settlement named Shingo (13,615 feet). The last section of the Markha Valley for the day until Skiu takes around 3 to 4 hours. The dusty trail undergoes a yellow-colored valley. From Shingo lookout for a trail heading south towards the village field from where you take a logical trail moving towards your left. This trail enters into a narrow gorge with an abundance of wild roses that bloom in the months of July-August.

The trail is well established all the way till Skiu. Expect to cross Shingo Nallah three to four times on the way to Skiu. All this while, the trail is descending down crossing the stream on stepping stones. The bottom of the gorge is full of willow and Sea buckthorn providing much-needed shade from the sun. 1.5 km before the end of the gorge, the stream disappears and you reach Skiu. You have just entered Markha Valley. Observe Markha River coming down from Chilling. This is the point from where Stok Valley blends with Markha Valley. We camp overnight at Skiu.

Today is a moderate day for trekking with very little altitude gain/loss though there is a lot of distance to cover. From Skiu, start eastwards towards the Markha Valley. Walk along with the Markha River with mountains on both sides. The trail for the day is a comparatively level walk over the river bed, side trails along the river with few parts where you have to climb up and down due to broken down trails in few sections. Walk beside the river for 2 km till you reach a bridge section. Do not cross over but stay on the route along the river. The trail from here has few washout sections requiring you to climb, few meters up and down to pass the broken section of the trail. The trail to Chalak village from here goes through a bridge crossing towards your left and a further 2 km Markha Valley to reach a clearing known as Narding go around with a 3km walk up the valley to a spot called Sara.

Another one km and you reach a bridge crossing section. Cross the bridge and return back to the right side of the river. Observe cultivated Barley fields ahead. You have reached Chalak. We rest at Chalak village and have lunch. It takes around 4 hours to reach Chalak from Skiu. From Chalak the trail ascends slowly as you pass by a trail marked with Bharal horn for directions. Observe chortens and mani walls set high above the river throughout the way. After 2 to 3 km the valley comes up and a river junction takes you to Markha Village. Let the guide decide the best spot for the river crossing. You may find the height of water to be femur high. The water is icy cold so better to take off your shoes and socks and pull up your pants. Once you cross over, Markha Valley for a couple of kilometers till you see a final bridge crossing. As you cross over the bridge you approach Markha -the biggest village in the area, where we camp for the night.

Today is another moderate day for trekking. Follow the trail from Markha village alongside Markha River, remaining at the right side. Ignore a wooden plank bridge. After 2 km you reach the intersection where a path from Zanskar meets up. Look for suitable spots to cross over Markha River. You will be required to cross over at least twice. Consult a local in Markha or leave it to the experience of your guide to making this decision. After the second river crossing, it is a 2-hour hike up to Umlung. Look out for the Umlung Gompa and cross over from its base to reach Umlung. You can get a breathtaking view of Mt. Kang Yissay as you climb up from Umlung towards Tacha and Hankar. After 2 hours, skirting up a gorge, you reach an old village named Hankar. A km past Hankar the trail breaks into two. One going to Thochuntse and the other to Zalung karpo La. Continue on the trail going along the branch takes you to Thochuntse which is another 1 km ahead. Proceed to a bridge made of stones and you enter a field area which is Thochuntse. Camp overnight at Thochuntse.

It’s a shorter 6 km trek to Nimaling. 15 minutes from the Thotchuntse campsite, the trail forks. Take the trail to the left. After 1 hour climb, the landscape is smoother, curvier. The climb becomes gradual. After one hour into the climb, leads you to a pond where you can fill water. A distant walk on a grassy meadow leads you to Nimaling. You see effusive streams on your left with a glacier backing the Kang Yatse and to the right is the Kang Yatse peak. The campsite of Nimaling is in a broad valley and is completely exposed to strong winds. When it snows, the green of the valley turns to an absolute white carpet glittering with snow. Camp overnight at Nimaling.

Today is a difficult day due to the highest altitude pass crossing of the Markha Valley. From Nimaling look ahead towards Kongmaru la Pass. Cross a stream part and continue towards the north climbing a long face of a ridge leading to Kongmaru la Pass. The hike from Nimaling to Kongmaru la pass takes around 2 hours and is a steep incline hike. At the top of the pass, you will get a great view of Indus valley and Ladakh ranges. You can also see a wide array of wildflowers on the slope leading to the pass. You also get a mobile signal of the BSNL network here. The downhill descent from the pass to Sumdo is brutal. The terrain is rocky and drops down steeply as you enter into a narrow canyon after trekking down 2 to 3 km.

The canyon has a typical landscape one is accustomed to seeing in Ladakh. The brown and reddish rocks on both sides allow not more than 2 to 3 people to pass at a time. After 2 hours of hiking the canyon widens up till you reach Sukarno. The hike from Sukarmo to Shang Sumdo is a long one with a major part on a dry river bed. After an hour of walking on the river bed, you come to a section running along a small hill. The trail here is descending consistently. The last section involves an hour of level walks to reach Sumdo along the same river. Sumdo is a small village with tea shops and parachute tents. Take a cab from Sumdo to Leh which is 8 km on the highway road. You can also Markha Valley to Hemis to visit the Hemis Monasteries. This is a 2 hour Markha Valley from Sumdo. From Sumdo, it takes about 2-3 hours to reach Leh.