Zanskar Valley, Ladakh

Zanskar or Zangskar is an important tourist attraction in Ladakh for trekking, monasteries and scenic places. Zanskar includes a valley and a river running through it. It is famous for extreme rafting tours that scale for 12 days. If you are looking for adventure activities in Ladakh, this is the right place to visit.

Zanskar Attractions

• Zangla – nunnery, sightseeing spot and culture

• Zongkhul – cave monasteries

• Stongdey – Stongdey monastery, scenic spots in the valley and others

• Karsha – Karsha monastery

• Panikhar – Zorawar Singh fort

Penzella Pass running through Zanskar valley is a good spot for camping, picnic and others. Monasteries are famous for exploration, mural art display, paintings and others.

Top activity to enjoy here is trekking. You can find numerous trekking trails here. Starting from mountain passes to simple village routes, you can find many trails here. Some of the trails are strictly for avid trekkers. Learn about the route and difficulty before trying it. Iconic trails are the Chadar trek, Padum trek and others. If you are looking for long trekking route, try Rangdum to valley via the Pentse La or valley to Lamayuru or Padum to Markha valley. Rafting is another important activity here. The Zanskar River provides many rafting trips that are as short as few hours long to the classic 12- day rafting trip. During winter, the river freezes and people trek on the river.

Other top activities here are

• Rock Climbing

• Picnic

• Camping

• Sunset View

Best time to Visit Zanskar

With respect to the altitude of the place, it is accessible only during summer months. Summer starts in June and ends in September. All the trekking routes and adventure activities are common during this season. This is also the right time to enjoy water-based activities. If you are visiting in winter, the river route will be available for trekking.

How to reach Zanskar

The valley is easily reached through road route from Kargil. Kargil is the largest town near it. The valley lies on the highway between Leh and Srinagar. Zanskar is 240 km away from Kargil. You can hire jeeps, taxis, buses or others from any important cities to reach Zanskar. The route from Kargil to Valley is open from July to November. If you are visiting during June or July, it is more interesting to trek to Zanskar from Panikhar. If you are visiting the valley via the Srinagar-Kargil route, halt at Drang Drung glacier for sightseeing.

Shopping in Zanskar

Yak’s fur is used for making articles. You ought to buy carpets or clothes made of this fur. Big bazaars are not available here. Other top souvenirs to buy are

• Silk Carpets

• Tibetan handicrafts and Kashmiri art works

• Local attire

• Pashmina shawl